This is a revamped post of a couple of years ago.  I had originally changed the names, but I decided to use their real names this time.

As Pam is now battling with stage IV cancer, these memories are even more meaningful for us.

We went on a local Treasure hunt, which turned out to be the last one we went on, so I’m glad it was so funny, and memorable.  Mo and I had Pam and Michael with us, and this is some of what happened.  Trust me, there is no exaggeration here.

Michael: in charge of the map – Michael who is notorious for saying “Take a left” when he actually means take a right!

Pam: in charge of the sheet of clues – Pam who is notorious for having the ability to cover ten subjects in one sentence, without actually ever finishing the sentence!

Mo: in charge of driving – Mo who can, and often needed to, turn the car on a sixpence.

Me: In charge of trying to decipher what Pam was saying. Not an easy task, trying to weed out bits of the clue amongst the several different subjects, and shouts of “Michael, what are you doing?” and “No! Michael, that’s wrong!”

The story starts.
We started off, map and clues in hand and drove off to the first point, answered the clue and promptly drove to point 2. This was going to be a doddle. Two clues down and going well. We set off to number 3 on the map. We soon realized it was the same place as point No.1. We had to drive all the way back again. Now, at this point the map and list of clues were firmly grasped by Pam and Michael, and we were never to see them again.

We got to point No 3 to find other cars on the hunt there also, so we had made good time…. until then. The other cars all left, one by one, and we were still there. I said “Lets go, we can always look at that clue later, but we may not need to anyway.” This was a ‘crossword’ type treasure hunt that led to three car parts, so one missed answer wouldn’t be a problem. Pam would not give up and continued to dither around (like only Pam can) for another five minutes. Now we were playing catch up.
Point No 4 on the map was – you’ve guessed it – where point No 2 was. Back we drove again.

“Take a left turn here” said Michael, Mo turned ….

“NO!” said Pam “You should have turned right. Oh Michael, get it right!”

“Oh yes, sorry” said Michael.

“What’s the next clue” says I.

“Erm …… Mi-chaaael! Mind where you put your feet”.

“Why? I’m nowhere near you”.

“Next CLUE Pam”.

“Erm ……. Mi-chaaael!!! You’re reading the map wrong!”

“I’m NOT!”

“You are!  You always get it wrong”.

“NEXT CLUE Pam!”

“Where’s my bag? Michael where’s my bag? ……*fumbles on the floor*  oh, it’s under the seat.”

“Next clue please.”

By this time we had reached point No 4 and Pam and Michael promptly got out of the car clutching the clues – I sat there, in a state of bewilderment and still no wiser as to the clue!

Back in the car now for map point 5 and off we went

“Take a right here”

(Mo) “Where are we going?”

“Mi-chaaael! This isn’t right!”

“Errr, well I thought it would lead somewhere else” says Michael

(Mo) “I’ll have to turn round and go back then.” Suddenly, and sounding very stressed now, Pam says….

”I’ve had ENOUGH of this, you’re NOT DOING IT RIGHT!” and the sheet of clues go flying across the car. Mo and I stifle our giggles, Michael says…..

“It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part” – Silence for a while, then…..

“Where’s the clues? Mi-chaaael! Where are they? You’ve got your feet all over them! Give them here!” ….

“Take a right just up there Mo”…..

Some time, and many more ‘Mi-chaaael’s’ later, we drove past the starting point, for the umpteenth time, and noted that all the cars were back!

“Do we have anything filled in the crossword yet?” says I.

“It doesn’t fit” says Pam. “MI-CHAAAEL! You told me the wrong number and I’ve PUT IT IN ALL WRONG NOW!”

“At least we showed our faces” says Michael. It’s not the winning” ……..

“Shall we go for a pint” says Mo, trying to lighten the mood.

“Good idea” says Michael.

“Where’s the next map point?” says Pam.

This continued, and would have done all night, if we hadn’t suggested we call it a night and go back.

We walked in to loud applause and lots of laughter. Everybody had finished, handed in their answers and were drinking their hot chocolate. It seemed that it was no surprise that we came in last.  It was a great night. Mo and I gave up any thoughts of even finishing the hunt, let alone winning it! We were left with lots of very funny memories, that we will treasure more than ever now.

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I read a post by Jen at Redhead Ranting the other day, called ‘How did we survive’.  I read another post by Kathy at The Junk Drawer, called ‘Kids and Fire: A bad match’.  It got me thinking of what things were like when I was a child in the 1950’s.

We ARE still here to tell the tales, so it’s proof that……….

We survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

We survived even though our baby cots were painted with lead-based paints.

We survived the horrors of there being no safety regulations with babies, or children’s toys, which were often made from metal and had sharp spiky bits to hold them together. And some of them were also painted with lead-based paint.

We survived children’s play areas being built on concrete.

We survived the fact that we lived in houses made of asbestos.

We survived having no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and no safety gates on stairs.

We survived even though we had no child seats or seat belts in cars.  No crash helmets, shin pads or any other protective clothing when we rode bikes, or went hurtling down steep hills in home made go-carts with no brakes.

And we survived leaving home in the morning and playing out until evening.  No one was able to reach us all day because there were no mobile phones.

We survived growing up before Health & Safety was an issue.

We survived many more things that today, would be considered horrifying to most parents.

But we DID survive.

And yes, aside from two of the children, that is me with my sisters and one of my brothers.  Can you pick me out?

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I must humbly apologize, to all my bloggy friends.  I have told you lies.

More than once!

I have told you that I never did have a mullet in the eighties.  That I was too mature old for such a fashion.  You see, it wasn’t true.  I just didn’t know it was called a mullet at the time.   I’d always cut my own hair, so I didn’t need to know what styles were called.   I just did my own thing – which, as it turned out, seems to have been a mullet at the time.

Is this, or is this not, a MULLET?

You’d think that, being in my late thirties, I was old enough to know better!

What you can’t see is that I was also wearing BRIGHT RED JEANS!

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I was busy reading and commenting on blogs the other evening and noticed an awful quality sound coming from the TV.  It sounded like it was coming out of a tin can.

“What setting have you got the sound on?”  I asked Mo.

“It’s coming from the TV.  I’m not listening to it through the sound system” she said.

What!? we have a £400 ($600) sound system and Mo is listening through the tiny TV speaker!

“Whatever for?”  I asked.  “It sounds awful”

Mo turned the sound system on ….. Nothing!

She picked up the remote, pressed a few buttons, picked up another remote, pressed a few more buttons, and another with more buttons, sighed heavily and picked up yet another remote.  The speaker remained silent. All four remotes were thrown down in disgust.

“Nothing’s working!  Now what’s wrong?”

“Switch it all off and then back on again.  That usually clears any glitches” I said, wondering what on earth she had done this time.  You see, this has happened before but I can’t remember what she had done that time.  I know that it was very simple to correct.

What followed was an hour of unbelievable mayhem.  Remotes flew across the room, the TV unit was dragged out, scart plugs removed and swapped between the DVD recorder and the HD recorder, sound cables removed.  More of the remote throwing.  Of course this whole episode was peppered with expletives.

Now the fan came out. Mo had worked herself up to boiling point and needed to cool down!

“What did you do when you turned the sound off?”  I said. “It will be something very simple”

“I JUST TURNED THE SPEAKERS OFF!” Mo shouted.  She was a tad upset.

Of course I knew that she had done something else. You see, I know Mo all too well.  which is why I don’t let her near my Mac.  She cannot resist pressing buttons.  If there is a button marked ‘DO NOT PRESS’ Mo will press it.  That’s because Mo never reads what buttons are actually for.  If she wants to do something she will try every button until she manages to do whatever it is she wanted to do.  The trouble is that she does a whole lot more along the way.

“It’s the new HD recorder you bought me!  It’s broken already!  That’s just GREAT!” Mo snapped, as she yanked more cables out.

This scene went on for a while longer – remotes flying around, TV unit being dragged back and forth, more expletives, Mo sitting in front of the fan.  this sequence was repeated several times, and in that order until ………..

SOUND!!!

“What had you done?”  I asked, holding back laughter and knowing that it would be something stupid.

She plonked herself down on the sofa, aimed the fan at her face, and nonchalantly said ……..

“I had the sound turned down on the HD player”

Now just tell me.  Would this happen in your home? I expect not.

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Thanks for taking part in my Tuesday Teaser.  There were some good guesses!  Some of them made me smile, but when I looked at the photo again, any one of you could have been right.  There is only one clear winner though.

Well done to Matt, who guessed correctly.  It is, in fact, a corkscrew.  This is the actual corkscrew I used, though any corkscrew would have done.

Unfortunately Matt doesn’t have a link and I have no way of knowing if he just happened upon my blog by chance.   Matt, if you do come back, could you please contact me via my contact page, as I have no way of contacting you.

I have decided (because I can) to award an extra Magnabeetle to the person who’s comment made me laugh the most, and because it is obvious that she reads my posts ‘Sniggering door handles’ AND remembers them. In fact she remembers them better than I do!

The extra Magnabeetle goes to…….. Penny!

Penny, I’ll mail you for your Magnabeetle choice and address details.

This time it stays in England.

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Here we go again, with another Tuesday teaser.

This item can be found in most homes.  In fact, I think you’d be hard pushed to find a home without one.  They are also used outside and in many other establishments.

Please remember, when trying to guess, that I crop photos up very close so it’s a tiny portion of a larger object. If it’s a small object, I may take the photo from an unusual angle, so you may have to think out of the box a bit.  I hope you have fun trying to guess.

Rules.
The first person to guess the item correctly gets a Magnabeetle of their choice. If it hasn’t been guessed correctly after 24 hours (or there about) I will either post a photo showing a little bit more of the item, or give another clue, so you all get another shot at it.

Again, I think this may be too easy.  We shall see.

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Yes, you read that right!

Well, it’s not ME that’s having lunch at the Palace, but my nephew Chris.  Just so you know which nephew I’m talking about (I have a few) Chris is Sindie’s brother and Sandie’s son.  Sindie would have been so proud, as I’ve no doubt Sandie and hubby are.

He has been invited to have lunch with Prince Edward, some time in June.  Unfortunately protocol demands that this is as much as I can say, until the event has passed.

Chris’ company built ‘The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award’ website and also help with their digital/online marketing. The lunch is to say thanks for the help they have given over the years.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is a great scheme that gives young people the chance to fulfil their potential, and reach goals that they set for themselves.   It’s been a real success with many young people.

Below are some photos taken when Prince Andrew visited his company last year.

Prince Andrew Arriving

Chris with Prince Andrew

I’ve just realized.  That’s three generations of my family that have been involved  with royalty in some way.  My dad met the Queen when he was restoring some of her murals.  My brother has been to at least one garden party at the Palace, and now the third generation – Chris.

Why haven’t I been invited?  I think I’ll go eat worms!

It’s OK to be a bit proud isn’t it?

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Buckingham Palace image from: http://www.bde.enseeiht.fr/clubs/guide-inter/images/grands/Buckingham.palace.jpg

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We did it!

There’s not a single cable to be seen in our corner!

Do you want to know how we solved the problem? Well you’ll have to click here to read and see what a clever girl Mo is. Or you can click the DIY button on the right.  Either way you’ll get there.

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The other day, Mo and I were having a good old moan at the change in the weather.  It got down to zero degrees the other night!  I ask you, what’s with this sudden cold weather in May? It’s almost the holiday season.

“So much for Clible Warmit!” Mo said, before collapsing in a heap of laughter.

I knew what she meant.

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Just thought I’d post a photo of our finished DIY project.  If you’re interested in seeing more of the project just click the DIY link on the right.

Click for enlargement.

And there’s more.  Well, there will be when I can get my head around how to disguise my corner from hell.  It’s where all my computer cables, and socket banks are heaped in a tangled up mess.  It was all neatly hidden before, but now that the large sideboard has gone just look at the mess!

Does anybody have any tips on keeping cables neat?

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