Going Places

It's work, work, and more work for you, karen, but happily you seem to be enjoying it. This is because you are applying yourself to goals that mean a lot to you and that are helping you climb the ladder to career success. Your ability to impress those in important positions is getting you places. This week, you have the help of the New Moon to give you an extra boost. From Monday, you have a two-week window of opportunity that you can utilize to help your dreams and plans come to fruition much sooner. Whether you are starting a new job, going for an interview, or aiming for a promotion, make use of this special influence. It is also useful if you are taking the first steps to promoting a product or service and need the publicity. In fact, it should be especially beneficial in this instance. Mars moves into your social zone after Friday, which will coincide with a renewed interest in networking and getting out with friends and family. If there is someone you particularly want to meet, you will be very forward in introducing yourself. Sunday is fun: it is going to be a wonderfully relaxing day when you will be at your best.

Watch out Baggy!!

Strictly vs X-Factor

I am boycotting Strictly Come Dancing until Karen and Gary are out of the comp.

As for the X-Factor whenever I sit and watch it I end up wanting to bawl my eyes out - now what's that about?! (And I don't mean cos the singing makes me wince...) It's all that 'on view' human emotion...joy n pain. Luckily Saturday night saw me out in Medway missing it all but home in time for MOTD!!! Pain for Arsenal, joy for Hull!

Speaking of joy n pain Tess is on shortly...

Rock n Roll

Been a busy week - lots to get stuck into - places and people. Where to start really?

Monday I went to the Bank. To talk money and futures. It was heartening in these less than perfect economic days. I go through the day at work, went swimming and did 30 lengths in 25mins. Neck ache temporarily forgotten.

Tuesday. I detoured from team drinks to celebrate impending wedding. For some reason the social side of my work life feels less significant than it once did. Maybe a year on my reflection sees a different face. I did tho go to the gym and on the way to the tube pop my head round the door and wish said colleague all the best. Marriage in Hong Kong - long weekend! So weird being one of the senior members of staff and watching as all around me mature, buy houses, get married and have children. I feel like the static character whilst the world whizzes passed. And yet I am growing to like that sensation..

Wednesday. Day off to acknowledge the life and times of Gucci the dog. Mazza and Rosie were treated to the FB tour of London complete with umbrella. Yes it rained as we stood under a tree in St James Park. I suspect it was a case of two's company and three's a crowd but they got to see a fair bit of London (I walked them a good 8 miles) and fed and watered them. It was good to see Mum so animated. She and Rose go back to when my mum was working, before me and during the era of meeting my dad and escaping her mum. It is so obvious how much my Mum idolises Rose. Rosie and I have a connection - her influence helped stir me to take action and return to studies - the Bar - well why not aim high. What a fateful retirement do my Dad had. Rosie and I are quite alike. She lives by herself - through choice and has a stubborn streak much like me. Yet we are not related but my Mum fears us both for our opinions and views. So as you can imagine the day was filled with memories and the grouses of less London-lite people. I'm sure they had fun - but the way they ran to catch the 7.04 train suggests they were ready to return to green and pleasant Kent.

Thursday. Ah Thursday. Spent all day in pain. Neck and eyes causing misery - but it was a day on non-stop meetings. My ideal to go to the gym paled when I realised I was better off wandering home and relaxing. Long day.

Friday. A morning trip to the doctors. And today an unusual event - one of the team celebrated their last day. Team lunch and beers. The day was busy. And come 5.30 I was off and out to see a piece of my past in a play. I was clearly not popular for this decision, but even as a static character I cannot be in two places at once. So to Tonbridge I went.

Saturday. FOOTIE! Sunshine and hugs.

Sunday. Washing and pre-Monday prep.

But ah - the week ahead is but short as I indulge is several days off!!

And now this overview is complete I can focus in on some of the more interesting parts of the week...

Footie

General observation as I watched MOTD Saturday evening through bleary eyes (too many white wines and erm vodka cokes...) was the marvellous input of ex-Gills players

Marlon King - now @ Hull City
Jason Brown - now @ Blackburn - he was in goal for whole game
Jlloyd Samuel - now @ Bolton - defender whose decent tackle gave Ronaldo a penalty (say NO more)
Oh and Tony Pulis of course - the Stoke City manager - some of his tactics would be useful now!!

Gillingham 1 - Port Vale 0

Hehem. An own goal. Gives us 3 points. Sees us 8th - which the Vale manager isn't so happy about... Mind you it was a bloody awful game!!

But Pops was on top form and the crowd around us were ok - plus the sun made it very pleasant! Well worth the trip down.. well sort of!

'The Truth and Other Lies'

Was a play written and performed by the Little Bridge Theatre Group. It was running Wed-Fri at the EM Forster Theatre which is part of Tonbridge School - and if you ever get the chance go and look at that for a school! It's an amazing building and the grounds out the back as the sun was setting were, for a Kentish Maid like me, a treat to see. Shame that to get to it from the station you pass through a High Street were you get chatted up 'Alright love, fancy a drink with me?' Never happens in London I fear.

I was as so often is the case by myself - which was for the best. Thankfully the theatre had a bar so I could neck a can of John Smith's in a safe environment as opposed to the offered Wetherspoons distraction.

At 7.30 we were ushered into the studio. The company ranged across the ages - from I would guess late 60's through to a young lad of perhaps 5 or 6. Between them they had interwoven aspects of their lives to create a montage of story lines to which Verity viewed with cynicism and hardness.

The stories dealt with aging, loss, betrayal (almost), miracles, childhood ill treatment and death. SO life then.

It was a promenade piece so I was part of the performance just by standing in the audience. I have to say the 2 hour piece (with an interval and another can of John Smiths) went really swiftly despite the strain on the knees - suggesting it was indeed a powerful and entrancing piece. There were a few forgotten lines - but the scenes of children dealing with their aging parents struck a cord. There was a moving scene with a lung cancer patient which this week has significant resonance for me. And there was a moment when the young boy got separated from his parents. Unlike my brother he did not catch the train home. The best line 'sometimes its not so much finding the right words as the right ears'.

So why was I there?

Well there is a strange thing in my life that somehow keeps me connected to certain people whom I have met in odd or extreme circumstances. This was the 3rd time I had been in the same room as The Actor. The 2nd longest time we've been in the same room together in fact. It was incredibly odd. When we spoke to each other it was like the real Karen was elsewhere - and instead this uber luvvie version appeared. I was so full of joy to see him so well and so where he should be I wanted to burst with smiles. The performance had made me think. The scenes he was in - were they based on his experiences? We shall talk soon about all this I know. He will demand my opinion, listen to it and reflect on it and challenge me again. I always seem to give more than I get. Yet seeing him was a positive not a negative experience. All the mixed messages and highs & lows of our former selves less important. It's been several years and much has happened to each of us. After the performance I bolted for the loo but inevitably came face to face with him as I left. We talked - he walked me out of the theatre understanding I had to catch a train, and we agreed, footie soon. It was a floaty feeling. One of confirmation for me at least that my instincts about the guy were right. I was very very taken by him way back when. But now as a static character he has rushed past so often he was once more stood before me. Recognition. Can't change the past. But sure as hell can learn from it.

As for me, I had chalked up another solo diversion that went well and made me smile and made me feel like a cat stalking the rooftops as she returned to London swaying her flares and squeaking her leathers.

Who'd be a girl?

The fortnight has been a doctor and nurse farce.

Well not so much farce as much as being told that at 'my age' I should reconsider my child birth options. Any of the recommended changes pretty much enforcing a menopause like state onto my body. Yes. Just what I needed to hear. Suddenly not smoking and being healthy than ever were not cutting the ice anymore. Here was a fresh faced doctor giving me the low down on my body and age. I suppose I should be flattered that I am still considered old enough to bear children...however as I left the surgery I did ask who'd be a woman? He had no answer - what a great start to the week. So going for my smear test this Friday was almost the reprise. Thankfully the nurse, although fresh faced, at least conceded that she too had lost her sense of time. I could not believe it had been 3 years since the last one. For the squeamish turn away now. Now a days they use a plastic monkey wrench and a brush... no really they do. It feels so odd and for the rest of the day your womb response with cramp like pains. The nurse gave me some leaflets. More feminine things to worry about. So at my age it was most comforting to read in The Observer today the contrast of 25yo mothers vs 35+ yo mothers. As I walked round the circuit this morning I realised that whilst I suspect I would be a good mum - it would probably now be a role I would never play. Not so much daunting as one of those but why do I have make a choice? It was fitting that Miriam Margolyes was on Desert Island Discs talking of how she had not married or had children (OK so she is a homosexual) and how that had disappointed her parents. Her life had been filled with other roles. I suspect mine is too - just not so obvious ones to the outside world - but certainly to those who need that static character in their life.

2012 fever

Reaches Rochester

Thanks

Sparky for a tops evening. More decisions huh...

Fog on the Don

Where have I been?

erm here or here abouts!

Two poor footie results have kept me silenced.

A week of runny nose and sore throat and achy chest mean I have been 'getting by'.

Friday night saw me drinking way too much, it had started so civilised as well, and thus the lovely weather that was Saturday 20th Sept I missed by spending most of the day in bed - good company of the Ryder Cup on Radio 5 though. My body probably needed to recuperate. Plus I find it helps put a week of tension and grief into perspective.

Today - determined to make the most of the weather I went for my walk at 7.30am. There were few people about and enough of a chill in the air to make my fingers react unbidden. Ah the thrill of knowing you are alive. Home. Another pants Skype session. Followed by shower. Breakfast. Realisation still have headache - eye strain? Toothache?

Ironing. Walk. Crossword.

Lamb chops and steamed veg.

Come Dine with Me. In Kent.

Ryder Cup as I await Part 2 of Tess. Sadly I haven't read far enough in advance... so I could miss it and catch up in week - but my week looks a bit full!

Hidden Away

The gentle light of the Full Moon on Monday, karen, is going to bring many hidden things to light. Thoughts that have been partially buried beneath layers of activity and stress will suddenly stand out in stark relief. If you have been repressing anything or have been in denial on any issue, this, too, is likely to come to the surface. It is better to square up to anything that needs sorting out, even if you have to get professional help to enable you to resolve things. Your career and your professional image are uppermost in your mind. You seem determined to make headway and are also savvy enough to realize that you can't do this alone. You need the help of people in key positions to achieve your aims. There is no better time to forge ahead and make those vital connections. You may have to join clubs or groups in order to get closer and infiltrate that inner circle, but for you, it is well worth it. Jupiter is once more direct in your sign, which means that all the hard work you have put in recently is about to pay off. Don't commit to any financial deals on Sunday as it may not work out as planned.

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From Poultry

Crystal tips

Where's Alistar?

today...

Capricorn (Dec22-Jan20) You could get the green light as far as your career ambitions are concerned. Not only are you the most capable person for a particular job, but you're also the most desirable candidate. The powers that be admire your leadership ability. They also sense you possess the necessary diplomacy to handle the job. Assuming a very public role will prove stimulating. You may need to update your wardrobe as a means to look the part.

Mm. My hair is slightly large today. Sometimes late nights mean you are less alert in the morning so experimenting (or time saving as I justified it to myself) seem like great ideas... now I can barely fit hair through doors. So far everyone is being very polite!!! Ha ha!

I have also realised I am no longer used to late nights and little sleep! Mind you I am still buzzing. I want to dance and sing! Tra la la!

Dance 2night

Piccies of the gig cf Beeb web

Not football!

Get into the groove!

Quality!

Mad dreams follow..

should I

go and see Madonna on Thursday?

Am totally hooked on Hard Candy now and keep bopping when certain songs come on!! (mainly Dance 2night) Oh yeah boogie on the tube, on Rochester station, on the escalator and anywhere I happen to be!!

Anyway more tickets released, its Wembley Stadium - and after Bowie she is still a hero I want to see live.. so there you go just answered my own daft question! best go buy... ta ta...