Today has been as miserable weather wise as yesterday was good. So instead of taking the planned trip to Newcastle to wander the town we decided to bake! It turns out that John has a very good pair of kneading hands. This I have actually suspected for some time. I pulled my shoulder a few months back and he was kind (?) enough to give me a massage. To say that he nearly squeezed the life out of my poor muscles would be an understatement - and I have to say a dissapointment - he just doesn't have the firm gentle touch - he has the kneading dough touch. The bread? excellent. We do have a bread maker and it's OK but does anyone else have the same problem as us in getting the dough hook thingy out of the bread without leaving a gaping hole? Anyway, now John has realised a new talent I shall be encouraging it for all it's worth.
Regards B

Thank you all for your kind comments about the 'girls night out'. Just when I thought what a rotten world this is sometimes, my faith has again been restored. Suzanne called Christine (my daughter, aka 'the bairn') today with the most remarkable tale. In the post today she received a well wrapped parcel, and in it was her purse complete with all of her cards and cash and the precious ID. There was a short note which just said: 'I can't believe anyone would be so daft as to go into town with this lot on them. I found your purse so I am returning it to you'. There was no name and no address but absolutly everthing was there. How remarkable is that? Great eh?

Had a busy busy day again today. More hospital appointments with relatives this morning (I know the inside of our local general hospital like the back of my hand now). Then a long walk this afternoon with my health walk chums, we walked further than usual today and up some pretty stiff gradients....didn't stop the jaws however, and made the visit to the pub at the end all the more enjoyable.
Talk again
B x

What is is about hairdressers that makes them go into scalping mode with no more encouragement than the customer saying they want a good tidy up? And why is it that Dame Judy Dench looks great when they do it to her, wheras, I look like I have just been let out of Holloway at the stroke of 9am this mornin? I'm off out this evening with some friends, so lots of dangley things to compensate I think!

I heard on the radio on the way home that Tony Blair was supporting the health of the NHS even though it is obviously dying on it's feet. My sister in law has a lot of health problems, and this morning we went to attend an out patient appointment. Hospital, 7 miles away, parking fee £1.50 , and the reason they sent her the appointment? To give her a letter to take to the Xray department to make an appointment to come in for an Xray. Now then, is it me? - Because that was the biggest waste of time, and a great effort for my sister in law also who thought she was going to see a consultant. Steam comes from ears - and with my hair you can see it very easily too!
Talk later B

Mostly I think good of people, so when my blog friend Lesley's little cat Bella went missing on Tuesday I really thought that seeing she had posted loads of descriptions of her in the neighbourhood and put posters on lamp posts etc that everyone would feel as we would, that at the very least we would keep an eye out for the cat and take down the number just in case we spotted her. I know that J and I have done that loads of times in our area for both lost dogs and cats. Sadly, some sicko last night used the situation to get a gratuitous kick out of calling Lesley and telling her he had found the cat and when she asked did it have any distinguishing marks he said yes it has a big wet red stripe down it's belly, thinking this was hilarious he then hung up.
On Wednesday we went out with our friends on a Gateshead Health Walk and one of the group was in tears as she related that the swans on a lake we pass on a regular walk had both been shot and had been killed. This was a new pairing and this would have been their first year as a breeding pair, and we all eagerly looked forward to the event.
Cruelty in whatever form is gross cowardice. For whatever reason the perpatrator has to hurt to get some satisfaction in their sad personal life. The satisfaction must be short lived consequently the next cruel act has to be equal to or worse than the last.
Lesley we all hope and pray little posh Bella returns soon, safe and sound, and that you have no more horrible calls.

To any Welsh blog readers, Happy St David's Day, sadly no Daffies out in our garden but I do have a leek with which I shall make some soup! 
It is of course also Ash Wednesday and I stood in line with  a school of children under 11 to receive my ashes this morning. I love watching the kids in church as the ashes dry out on their foreheads, they all start making faces and wrinkling up their eyes to see who can displace the dry ash first.

We have a very overwieght cat called Poo Bah, he has a nifty trick. Some mornings before we wake naturally, he jumps up onto the radio alarm - where the controls are on the top - plonks his fat bottom down on the 'sleep' button - which gives 59 minutes of radio - then waits until we are fully awake before hanging one on my head in an attempt at getting me out of bed to feed him. Today we had one of these early calls. Because of course he can't read the time, he was a shade early and hit the button at 5.59am. What was obviously a trailer, was running on Radio 4,  and I,  for  no sensible reason whatsoever nearly fell out of bed laughing as the first thing I heard was, "At this time 3,000,000 Bison roamed the earth".
 Now I know what you are thinking, this is not even remotley funny, possibly you just had to be there, but even as I write it now I am bouncing up and down with mirth. It was just so random. Probably says a lot about me does that!