aunty_cis

Finished it!

2008-07-01T22:00:10Z

After my mardy little rant about choreography the other day I have now finished the bugger. I have rejigged the dodgy middle bit so it makes sense and nailed the last drum-solo-ey bit and now I quite like it again! phew!

Next choreo project: either a drum solo or a stick dance for Boomshanka
and I could do with working on some solo stuff for me.....

I also took advantage of today's nice weather to sit outside and put the first coat of paint on the bathroom cupbpoard doors. They will be ready for the second coat tomorrow and then I need to do the door frames. Unfortunately these cannot be removed from the bathroom for painting so I shall have to be VERY careful not to splash white gloss on the new grey tiling. Eeep! I am not the tidiest, most brilliant, DIYer.

Still not heard from the Env. Agy about that third job - wish they would get on and put me out of my misery.
However I am being chased by an agency who are trying to persude me to go work for a rival lab to ALcontrol. Trouble is, its a nightmare commute and theres a lot of old ALcontrol staff working there, which isn't really appealing - but its nice to be wanted!

the pitfalls of choreography

2008-06-26T16:26:06Z

I remember being told some time ago that if you pick a piece of music to choreograph you will end up hating it by the time you are done - well, I already hate Said Murad's 'Esmerim' and I ain't even finished it yet!!

I am choreographing it for my classes (they dropped some heavy hints about wanting a new dance to learn) and when I started I thought it was an excellent lively piece, now I am hating its repetetive bits and the awkward middle section. I think I have cracked the latter but I am so fed up with it that I cannot tell if its any good or not - sigh!

Don't know if I am just being moody in general, I am feeling a bit out of sorts thanks to this cold I am trying to get rid of. Nasty throat at the moment.

It also doesn't help that I have received 2 letters telling me 'no thanks' from job interviews, no matter what else I have in the pipeline it is always depressing to be told you're not wanted!
I do still have one more left to hear from and I have also been approached by an agency recruiting for another lab - but its quite a long way away and I don't really fancy the commute - they will have to make a *very* good offer to make up for that, basically I would much rather have something local.... or is that me and my case of the blehs again?

Heres hoping that my voice lasts through tonights class - and that the class cheers me up! It usually does, despite the effort and energy required to teach, not sure if it is down to excersise related endorphin thingys or satisfaction at seeing my students progress - probably a bit of both. Then after my class I intend to go to Boomshanka's guest class on African dance so that should shake me out of it!

Boomshanka gigs etc

2008-06-22T17:21:52Z

Peace in the Park went off very well - the weather was kind and so was the crowd. I like Festival crowds, they are usually a very happy bunch, eager to be entertained.
Was very good to meet starsnsammichesalso as we were LJ-only acquaintances until now....

The weather for Heeley festival this weekend was considerably less kind - my costume is still drying off now! It was worth braving the rain though, as the crowd also braved it in order to watch us - we *really* appreciated that! like I said - I like Festival crowds!

Heres hoping for a bit less rain at the Green Fair where we are performing this saturday. Currently the plan is that the Boomshanka class will perform at 1pm and the troupe will perform at 4pm.

The troupe set will include one of our older numbers that has been totally revamped for this show and our new one that has only been performed once before (at Bedazzle), so even if people have already seen us this year there will be something different.
The troupe are going through a process of tidying up, improving and, where we feel necessary, totally reworking some of our old repertoire, as well as learning new dances. With the number of performances we have going on this summer we need plenty of variety.

After the Green Fair, our next performances are at the Sharrow Festival and Stannington Carnival - both on July 12th (1pm and 3.20pm respectively).

In other news
1) we went to see various friends in 'The Rover' on Friday night - it was an amusing romp with swordfights, sex and some very well timed comic moments, it made for an enjoyable evening.
2) I have had my parents drop in this weekend on their way north. I don't get to see them anything like often enough so I was glad they did - even though I still feel the need to clean like a demon before they arrive in fear of motherly disapproval of my housekeeping and the fact that their stay meant I could not make it to the Barnsley dance class on Sunday morning which led to other minor disasters! - Anyway, they approved most heartily of the new bathroom.

I had hoped to BBQ saturday night but that was right out due to the weather so instead I cooked slow roast moroccan lamb:
I used a nearly 1kg shoulder of lamb joint (a fairly fatty one with bone in - but the bone isn't very big). On the day I bought it, I put it in a plastic bag with some olive oil, garlic, a little lemon juice and Steinbergs 'Ras al Hanout' spice mix. I squished it around and let it sit overnight then stuck it in the freezer until required. It was then ready marinated and I just needed to take it out of the freezer, give it a bit of a blast in the microwave to get it defrosting and then stick it in a low oven (150 C) for a few hours, until it was falling apart. I took the juices from the roasting dish and added a bit of red wine to make a gravy.
To go with it I did roasted squash (cut in half, deseed, rub on a bit of oil and put in the oven with the lamb for an hour or so)
and spicy cabbage (this time I also added some finely sliced red onion, so the result was quite pretty. cut cabbage and onion finely, heat oil in a heavy, deep pan and throw in a bay leaf, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. when they start to pop put in the onion and fry until starting to soften. Then put in the cabbage and a mean teaspoon of turmeric, stir. If you want your cabbge crunchy, then just stir for a few minutes. If you want it softer put the lid on the pan and leave it over a gentle heat for 5 minutes or so. If you want it spicier then ground cumin and chilli can be added but my folks don't do chilli so I didn't this time).
I also made my version of baba ganoush (roast aubergine dip) which I find goes very well with lamb, either kebabs or roast. For this I start by 'toasting' a couple of aubergines over a gas flame, until the aubergine starts to soften and the skin is black and crispy. I then stick them in the oven to roast for a half hour or so, to ensure they are cooked through and properly squidgy. Leave to cool for a bit (or risk burnt fingers) then separate the flesh from the skin (I won't say 'peel' as it is a combination of scraping the fleshy insides off the skin and then picking pieces of burnt skin off the flesh...). put the flesh and any juices from the roasting dish into a pan and add a mean teaspoon of tahini and a generous tablespoon of sour cream (or yoghurt - sour cream is better for my diet and gives a creamier result which I love - yoghurt is more authentic). Stir until the tahini is properly melted and mixed in (not left as a lump sticking to the back of the spoon, which is what it will try to do). Turn off the heat then crush a smallish clove of garlic and stir in thoroughly. I don't ever feel the need to add salt but taste to see if it is required and add if you want.
and yes - all the above is totally fine on my diet!
So was the roast lunch we had at the Riverside on Sunday - once I had let Steve have my roast potatoes and yorkie pud, which isn't so hard when you have a huge plateful of roast beef and veg.

Sunday lunch followed a walk around the city centre - my folks were very impressed with how it has improved over the last few years, the way the Winter Gardens have got established and all the new public art. We also bought some stuff at the Farmers market - where the stall holders were trying not to be blown away. We saw at least one flying gazebo and had to catch another before it took off!

My 2 interviews this week seemed to go pretty well. I am not sure about the South Yorks lab admin job, as it seems a bit of a nightmare in some ways, so if I am offered it I will have to think quite carefully about it. The Env Agy customer service job is much more my sort of thing, but quite a bit less money so will also require thought but is a good fall back and I think I should have a very good chance to get it, as my experience is way more than adequate. Once in there, it would also offer very good prospects. Still waiting to hear from last weeks Env Agy interview as well, which is an interesting post *and* better money, so would be ideal but not sure how good my chances are.....
wait and see, I guess.

Istanbul pics & Peace in the Park

2008-06-13T17:07:35Z

Just a quick post to say that I have posted up some photos on Facebook (where I go by my real and full name - Cicely Heaviside) from Istanbul - although I took hundreds many of them didn't come out well due to low lighting conditions, my shaky hand and ignorance of camera use, but the best ones are there. At some point I will get some video up too.

Tomorrow (Sat 14th) I am performing at Peace in the Park with Boomshanka Tribal - we are on in the 'Cabaret Tent' at about 6pm. Heres hoping the weather stays at least a teeny bit fine!
Next Saturday we will be at Heeley Festival and the Saturday after that at the Green Fair.

Istanbul - last day and home sweet home again

2008-06-11T16:19:05Z

We were due to fly back Saturday afternoon - we didn't leap out of bed too early in the morning, but we didn't hang around too long either, we had breakfasted, packed and checked out by 10am. We left our case at the hotel and headed out to the Spice bazaar where Steve bought Baklava and Lokum (Turkish delight) for friends at work and family and I picked up some spices (saffron, smoked chilli, tea). We then headed out into the back streets again and had a good wander, finally finding ourselves at the University. As it wasn't far from there we walked down to Ataturk boulevard to see the 4th century 'Aquaduct of Valens' that crosses it - again an impressive juxtaposition of the very old and the modern!
We then walked down to Aksaray to catch the tram back to Sultanahmet (interestingly, Aksaray was most like the down-town district of Cairo where I stayed when I went a couple of years ago - the shops and the busier traffic - but it is still several degress saner than Cairo! While I had really enjoyed staying in down-town Cairo, it had suited the manic pace of the trip I was on then, I was glad this time for the relative peace of Sultanahmet - in the evenings at least! - and our proximity to the tourist spots, so had no regrets about not managing to get a room at the Grand Ons Hotel in Aksaray with the others. As far as I could tell, everyone was quite happy with where they stayed, which was good).
Then it was time for our last lunch - we decided to try out the Doy-Doy - not far from the hotel and mentioned in a couple of guides as one of the better Sultanahmet/touristy restaurants. We sat on the not-quite-top terrace with a lovely view of the sea and the Blue Mosque and had yet more pide, followed by tea - Steve tried the cinnamon tea, which was bright red! It was a very nice meal and we had time to make it a relaxed one, before getting back to the hotel to sort out the suitcases and get the minibus to the airport.
The journey home was pretty much like the journey out - fairly unstressful. Everything ran to time and we landed at Manchester at 9.30pm and were through passport control in record time. Baggage claim did not take long either, but as the last train back to Sheffield went at 9.50pm we knew we would not make that, so called Steve's sister Hayley, as she lives in Manchester, and stayed over with her that night, finally making it back to Sheffield around 2pm Sunday.

Once home we found the cat was too busy enjoying the sunshine to make much fuss of us!
I also found 2 letters inviting me for job interviews, which was cheering.
One of them was for the same department of the Environment Agency that I tried before - the interview was yesterday (Tuesday) morning and I think it went ok - maybe better than the last time, so I shall wait and see. In the meantime I also have an interview for a Lab supervisor/customer contact position with Sheffield council next Tuesday and have since had a phone call and another letter inviting me for interview with a different part of the Env. Agy. next Wednesday, so it looks quite positive!
Steve meanwhile has been told that they will need him at work until (at least) the end of November (thats more than a year after the place *should* have closed!).
Other immediate stuff coming up: I have a couple of classes to cover as well as my own and I will be dancing with Boomshanka Tribal at 'Peace in the Park' on the Ponderosa on Saturday - not sure what time yet. If the weather holds (hahahaha) we shall maybe have a BBQ Saturday night.
I shall also now apply myself to uploading all the Istanbul photos and various videos to my computer and then sort out the best ones and get them onto the net.

Istanbul - more thoughts on Thursday, the Friday and a wedding

2008-06-11T15:38:24Z

Remembered a couple more bits from Thursday:
We managed to fit in a visit to the Blue Mosque late in the afternoon. Its a very beautiful building from the outside - the minarets are a very pleasing shape and the cascade of domes looks amazing. Inside is amazing too, all covered in patterned tiles and with the huge main dome suspended above on massive pillars. It also felt very solemn - people were just starting to come in for evening prayers.

later in the evening as we made our way up the Istikal Caddesi towards Taksim square and supper we were delighted to spot a branch of Lush (well, we smelled it first!) - Sandy had to pop in and pick up copies of the Lush Times in Turkish.

Okay, onto Friday...

As we had quite a late night Thursday we did not rush to get up too early. and ambled up to the Aya Sophia. Another very impressive building - not so beautiful from the outside as the Blue Mosque - partly because it is so big, it is difficult to get a good sight of it, but also because it is so old (537 AD, so more than a thousand years older than the Blue Mosque) and has had quite a bit added to the outside to shore it up!
Its amazing to think that such an immense structure was possible so long ago and that it is still standing.
Inside you get a sense of the size of it and also of the clash of cultures here - originally built as a church, with beauitful mosaics depicting biblical scenes, it was made a mosque when the Ottomans captured the city in the mid 1400s (around the same time the city's name was changed from from Constantinople to Istanbul). Not much was changed, the mosaics were whitewashed over and some crosses removed and huge wooden medallions with Islamic inscriptions were hung up.
It was declared a museum by Ataturk in 1935 to try and stop the arguments over who it belonged to (not entirely succesfully, apparently) and the mosaics restored and that is how it stands now.
Some of the power of the place is, I think, lost in the fact that it is no longer a religious site, but also thanks to the floor to ceiling scaffolding in the middle of the main dome, which prevents you from fully appreciating the size and scale and sheer darn impressiveness of the place. I overheard a Turkish guide telling his party that it is a local joke that back in the 6th century, the whole place was built in just 5 years. In the 21st century, the scaffolding has been up over 10 years and they still haven't finished the renovation work....
But it is still a darn impressive building and very beautiful inside. The mosaics, although suffering from a little wear and tear, have a sort of glow to them....

We wandered back to the hotel, via lunch at a nearby cafe (more pide!!) and had a quick snooze and shower before getting ready and heading out to the main event, the reason we were here - yes, the Wedding!

The minibus picked us up and the journey out to the university at Bebek took just over an hour. We arrived to find everything set up in the gardens of the lodge, with a beautiful view out over the Bosphorous. We chatted over drinks and nibbles while everyone arrived and then it was time for the ceremony, which was introduced by the DJ playing Queen's 'Another One Bites the Dust' which amused us!
Ken was resplendant in a tartan waistcoat (but *not* a kilt) and Ebru looked wonderful, her dress was beautiful and her hair swept up.
It all seemed to go quite quickly - even though each bit was translated into English and the registrar seemed to have a bit of trouble with Ken's name... but then they were married!
After that it was time for dinner, again outside, under the trees. I felt quite full from the nibbles and, by now, a bit nervous so I didn't eat a lot but what I did have was delicious (most especially the stuffed peppers and the raspberry creme brulee).
Having eaten and with a full on attack of nerves about dancing for an audience of Turkish people, I went off to get changed. I got back in time for the speeches (plenty of references to Ken's appetite, tendency to fall asleep etc) and cake cutting but by then - oh horror - it had started to rain! we had brough a little bit of English weather with us!
No-one seemed too bothered and it was quite warm, so I said I was fine to dance outside and handed my CD over to the DJ and then I was on! My first steps out onto the pavement reveled that it was rather slippery underfoot so I mentally altered the plan for my dance to reduce the amount of spinning. My veil didn't behave as well as it normally would on account of being a bit damp but after an inital fumble I got it under control and started to enjoy myself and then it seemed to go pretty well. I felt quit exhilarated when I finished and then the DJ put some more music on and I went round dancing with everyone for a while before sneaking off to change back into civvies so I could have a drink, some cake (chocolate - yum!) and relax! The rest of the evening was spent dancing in the rain - no-one seemed too bothered by it....

Istanbul - Thursday - Topkapi Palace/Basillica Cistern and a Stag Night

2008-06-10T21:54:46Z

We nominated today for major siteseeing and had been tipped off that it was best to get an early start so we were at the Topkapi Palace by 9 and into the Harem as soon as it opened at 9.30! Spectacular place, all decorated with many many tiles and ornate fireplaces. The whole palace was quite beautiful, with plenty of trees for shade. We saw amazing jewellery in the treasury - Huuuuuuge emeralds and rubies and flasks made out of rock crystal and gold plated thrones - amazing!
I was spotted and marvelled at by several parties of school children on account of my hair - I let some of them touch it to prove it was real!
We had lunch in the cafe, which was expensive, but delicious - kebabs and baklava; Mmmmmm!
There was still plenty of palace left - we enjoyed the armoury, with some very wicked looking swords and recurve bows and we also liked the kitchen with the giant cooking pots, pestle/mortars etc.
I was also quite impressed by the collection of Holy Relics - the exhibition was very well put together, with info about both Christianity and Islam and where they cross over, some good insights into the Islamic traditions and, of course the relics - bits of the Ka'aba, shreds of the prophet's beard, his banner and John the Baptist's arm!
We were very tired and footsore by the time we finished - and it was hot in the sun, especially as the palace sheltered us from the wind, we decided to go and see the Basillica Cistern.
I liked the place - it was underground and therefore cool, but full of water and therefore humid! A bit spooky and odd, I guess, but I like underground places! It was lit up and there some impressive fish living in it.
After that we decided to do some transportaion site-seeing (the trainspotter within) and get the tram across the Galata Bridge through to Kabatas, then the new Funicular up to Taksim Square. This is the 'New' city and is very happening - was a lot busier in terms of 'real life' than Sultanahmet, which being full of the tourist stuff was a bit unreal. We walked down the Istikal Caddesi, being passed by the old style tram, and then down the street of music shops - better than anything you might find in the UK, said Steve, peering at rows and rows of guitars, Ouds, Flutes, Drums. Some shops had modern instruments, some traditional, some both and then there were occasional shops selling amps and similar equipment. We walked all the way down to Karakoy square (very steep) then I insisted we rode up and down on the 'Tunel' - the old funicular - just because it was there! We then got the tram back across to Sultanahmet and went back to the hotel for a lie down and to get changed before heading out to join Ken's stag night.

We met at the Side pension (where Ken and various others were staying) and once more got the tram across to Karakoy and the Tunel up to the Istikal Caddesi where we had supper - a fairly cheap but decent meal of Kofte (meatballs) with white bean mash and salads (aubergine salad, yoghurt dip and the nice spicy tomato dip in my case) and some pudding - I think mine was the chicken breast milk pudding, which I wanted to try. It was hard to tell there was chicked in it, as it was very well cooked and more there for texture than taste, but it was a nice pud anyways, very creamy and sticky.
We then headed on up to Taksim Square where we had a couple of beers in a trendy wine bar (one of *the* places to go apparently) and then headed back down to look for a dodgy side street bar. We did this by heading up a side street and listening for loud music and it worked! We settled ourselves in and beer was brought to us and then a band appeared. They looked like a metal band, but played kind of rock treatments of what sounded quite traditional. The front man looked like Geezer Butler (long black hair, big black moustache) and hammed it up marvellously with lots of glaring and gestures. I tried videoing it but not sure whether it will come out as it was very dark! The band took a break and I had a look at the music selection on the computer they were using - I want some Turkish Rock!
When the band came back they started wth instrumental covers of 'Smoke on the Water' and 'Black Knight' and then when the singer came back it got quite up beat so we all got up and danced enthusiastically. In the meantime the staff kept us well topped up with Beer and Raki - no sooner had an empty glass hit the table then it was refilled!
Eventually we dicided to call it a night and went off to find taxi back to Sultanahmet - we managed to pack more of us than was strictly sensible into a Dolmus (minibus) - and made it to bed at about 2.30am. As stag nights go, that oen definitely rocked!

Istanbul - Wednesday Bosphorus Cruise

2008-06-10T21:01:41Z

This was part of the Wedding celebrations, all of Ken's friends and family from the UK who had arrived in Istanbul, along with some of Ebru's friends, took the ferry up the Bosphorus.

The boat zig-zags back and forth across the water between the European and Asian sides, with a lovely view of the city and the bridges (the 3rd and 5th largest suspension bridges in the world). We stood on deck in the sun - the wind made it quite cold in the shade!
We disembarked at the last stop - Anadolu Kavagi on the Asian side. We had a couple of hours here so the energetic amongst us walked up to the 'Genoese Fortress' (its actually Byzantine) on the hill above, where we had magnificent views of the Black Sea - and some people spotted Dolphins playing. We then walked back down and had an excellent lunch in one of the fish restaurants on the waterfront. The deep fried mussels were amazing and the Dolphins made a re-appearance. We finished eating just in time to catch the ferry back, so more lounging on deck and chatting.

We landed back at Eminonu and some of us took a quick trip through the Egyptian (Spice) bazaar and then headed off on a tour of the back alleys up past the Grand Bazaar (no more shopping allowed today though) and back to Sultanahmet, where we tried to find the Cistern of 1000 columns. We did find it eventually but it was shut, so we made arrangements to meet up for food later and headed back to the hotel.

Istanbul Part 1 - before I went, getting there, shopping

2008-06-09T13:22:23Z

first - all the stuff I did *before* we left the country:

a couple of Boomshanka gigs for Charity - on Monday 19th May at the Lava Lounge for a Cancer Research event and on Saturday 24th May at Penelopes for a 'Free Tibet' clubnight.

Then I did a spot at 'Millers Modern Music Hall' on Friday and Saturday 30th/31st May - bit different to my usual thing, as I did the number to 'The Glow-worm' Gavotte - a bit more restrained than usual, but still fun, used my silver Isis Wings, which made the audience go 'Ooooh!' a lot.

On Sunday 1st June I went to Bedazzle - a bellydance showcase event in north Leeds, raising money for the 'Just Because' Breast Cancer charity - with Boomshanka, where we premiered our new RnB fusion piece, which seemed to go down well.

Then on Monday 2nd we flew to Istanbul - nothing like packing it all in, hey?

journey out was fine - all on time, luggage arrived safely, taxi to hotel already waiting for us at the airport. The hotel (The Antique Hotel, Ozgul Sokak, Sultanahmet) was nice, the room was small but not pokey, clean, on the first floor with wrought iron over the window so we could leave it open all day and not have to use the aircon. The owner - Mustafa - was quite a character, very funny, but also very helpful. Breakfast was served on a terrace with views out over the Sea of Marmara and inland to the Blue Mosque.
Because we arrived very late Monday night (well tuesday morning!) and got to bed around 3am, we didn't get a lot of sleep and were woken by the dawn Call to Prayer - but only that morning, after that we just slept through it!
We dedicated Tuesday to shopping and headed for the Covered Bazaar where Steve drank a lot of Apple Tea and I tried on lots of costumes. The first shop I went to had a very nice silver bedlah (fancy bra & belt set) but I said I would think about it for a bit and went off to try some more - the next few stalls had nothing quite as nice but then we found a shop in a little courtyard where I tried on a bedlah with dark pewter sequins and beads which I also really liked. I thought about it for a bit and decided that I would go for that one and it became obvious that the vendor was making an opening for some haggling so I gave it a try - at first he wanted to stick at the first price but throw in some accessories (skirts, shoes, veils) but as I actually have plenty of that sort of thing I managed to get the price down by 50 lira instead, so was quite pleased with myself. We went to the cafe in the square outside and had lunch (kebabs) while the costume was altered to fit me properly. Then I picked up the costume and some coin belts to take back for my students and we were done - much to Steve's relief!
We went back to the hotel to drop off the bagsand have a bit of a lie down, then went out to find supper. We eventually chose a restaurant just off the Hippodrome and had a pide (Turkish pizza, *very* yummy) to start and then more kebabs (Steve had a pistachio kebab, I had a garlic kebab, also very yummy). Desserts were on the house - I had Sutlac (rice pudding, slightly spiced, with cardamom and cinnamon I think) and Steve had Baklava, which he pronounced much nicer than any he had had in the UK - fresher and stickier!

so, gotta go get some stuff done - will post about the rest soon!

just wardrobe....

2008-05-17T16:57:29Z

in case you didn't catch the Nemi cartoon in Friday's Metro (May 16th):

http://www.metro.co.uk/galleries/cartoon.html?in_gallery_id=2&in_page_id=10

I can really identify with this, which is why I have just spent a good hour trying to organise my wardrobe so I can find things!! and have the space to hang up my new purchases.

I *really* need to chuck some stuff out!

Holiday wardrobe

2008-05-17T14:52:23Z

I had quite a serious shopping trip yesterday - the mission was to find clothes that Steve and I can wear in Istanbul without roasting!
In Steve's case this means something other than black jeans and T shirts
In my case this means mostly lightweight stuff that fits as most of last years summer wear is now a bit big, but also trying to find some things that I can stand to wear that are NOT black!

Having had some succes I thought I would post a few details of what I found, as I thought some of you others might find this useful!

For Steve we actually started on Monday while killing time waiting for the passport office appointment in Newport - we bought a pair of khaki combats and a pair of lightweight dark grey trousers from M & S for about 15 quid each, which I thought wasn't bad - Marks is good as they have different leg lengths available and have longer legs in small waist sizes, so Steve was able to get something that fitted pretty well.

Yesterday I had a look in Primark and found linen and cotton shirts in pale grey and khaki for a princely 7 quid - very good plan for the guys, I think, as at that price if they never wear them in England, who cares? I also found a pair of black linen trousers - also in a long leg and small waist - for 6 quid - brilliant! Would definitely recommend any of you guys wanting cheap and lightweight stuff go have a look.
I did also buy Steve a smart shirt to wear to the actual wedding, as well - Its black with a fine silver thread stripe - its cotton and much lighter weight than his other 'smart' shirts and was also only 7 quid. But perhaps everyone else could avoid getting the same one? or there will be sulking!

For myself I found a dark grey linen skirt for £8 (I now fit into skirts in Primark!! woohoo!) and a purple sundress (£5)and also treated myself to *another* sarong/veil in purple with coloured metallic stripes (£2) - too nice to be put into the class-veils bag just yet, sorry dancers!

I then popped across to TJ Hughes and managed to find an outfit for me for the wedding (its quite unusual for me, but I like it!) without breaking the bank and a pair of khaki linen trousers for £9. They had linen trousers in all sorts of colours but they all seemed to be too short - even for me! - except the khaki ones, but if anyone wants shorter or cropped linen pants then go have a look. There was sod all in the mens dept. but to be honest I think I have everything Steve needs now...

I finished with a quick sprint up to New Look and their 'Big Girls' section (aka 'Inspire' - don't think I have got quite small enough yet for the normal section in places like that...) where I netted a couple of long cotton tops - well they might do as dresses on someone with thinner knees (the world isn't ready for mine yet!) but looked pretty good over trousers - good basic sightseeing outfit, I think. I also managed to find a pair of black cotton combat/cargo pants and some basic black linen/cotton blend trousers. The tops were £12 and the trousers £15 - a good bet for any girls looking for nice light cheap trousers, I think, especially if you are in the 'luxury size' bracket like me!
Well, one of the tops *wasn't* black!

although I might keep a look out for a couple more tops for me I think we are basically sorted!

Oh yes, I also called into the Castle Market and bought a couple of purses from the bag shop - one with 2 zipped pockets on a neck/shoulder string for me and one with 2 zipped pockets and a mobile phone pocket on a belt loop for Steve (its smaller than his ~~man-bag~~ gadget bag).

I was VERY good and didn't buy any more shoes - although it was hard. But I really do not need any more, I am the Imelda Marcos of flip-flops!

Phew!

Istanbul here we come....

2008-05-16T10:17:53Z

passport, flights and hotel sorted!

Not in the Grand Ons - no rooms available - but not far away in the Hotel Antique.
Really looking forward to this now! Maybe need to make sure I have some Hot Weather clothes that fit.

Bathroom is nearly done - last bits of tiling, floor and fittings to finish. And, with most of the tiles now up, I can stop worrying about it being too dark, because its not! I think the window is big enough to let in more than enough light (and the white ceiling helps).

Didn't get the Env. Agy. job by the way - other candidates had better background knowledge than I did. But when I phoned up for the offered 'feedback on my interview performance' they did say I did well in all other areas and that there might be another opportunity coming up that would suit me better - they will know in about a week if it is happening. So although a bit down about not getting the job, I am cheered that they do seem to like me enough to offer me something else.... after all, they could have just left it with 'sorry but there were a couple of candidates better suited...'

Apple Blossom

2008-05-12T21:23:18Z

a very good long weekend!
Steve took the day off on Friday and we went up to Leeds in a rather haphazard fashion - there were a couple of Guitar shops he wanted to investigate and I went and found the 'B never to Busy to be Beautiful' shop (the make-up arm of Lush) where I had lots of fun.
Shopping over we had a quick pint and then wandered up to the Lebanese restauraunt for tea - I had a very nice fillet of lamb with cardamon and lime.
We then pootled off to the Cockpit to see 'Red Lorry Yellow Lorry' - the gig finished at a very civilied time and enabled us to get the train back to Sheffield.

Saturday we got up and packed in a very slow and lazy manner for a trip to Herefordshire where some old family friends were celebrating their 25th Wedding anniversary. We set off after lunch and arrived mid afternoon, to find the place all fields of apple blossom - the B&B we stayed in was surrounded by orchards of cider apples and they were all in blossom - it was really rather lovely. The B&B itself was excellent - an old coach house in the middle of nowhere, serving home-made sausages for breakfast.
The anniversary do on the Sunday was nice - lovely weather, a very good lunch and many many people being entranced by my hair! (Purple hair is obviously not a common sight in deepest Herefordshire!) Also very happy for the couple, as they are quite lovely.

This morning we called in at the Westons Cider farm - it would have been rude not to! - then headed for Newport. Why? It had a passport office and Steve, having decided that he *would* like to come to Istanbul needed to get his passport renewed and had managed to get an appointment at the Newport passport office for this afternoon. At least this means we can now get on with booking....!

We also found a guitar shop around the corner from the passport place and he bought a guitar! Quite random. I manged to bag a couple of pairs of flip-flops.....

Bathroom update: we now have hot water and can therefore bath! hooray! The airing cupboard is built and the tiling has been started - it looks more like a bathroom again.

Highland Fling!

2008-05-05T19:34:05Z

Well they did have Highland cattle and a stall selling haggis burgers and a bagpipe band with scottish dancers.
Quite what is Highland about Boomshanka, I cannot imagine; given a little more notice I am sure we could have come up with a tartan slant for the costumes, but what the hey...

the three of us felt very small in a rather large arena, the music could have been louder and the ground was very slippery and muddy, also a little sloping - but no-one slipped over, the crowd were cheerful and some did come and join in when invited.
The organiser seemed pleased with us (I think we were an emergency fill in for someone who had dropped out, hence the short notice) and may be inclined to offer us more events.

Despite the very unpromising start to the day weather wise it turned out warm and sunny and we hung about a bit to admire said cattle and pipe band, also some shire horses and falconry - all in all a very good day.

I came home via a shower at a fellow troupe members house and painted the new bathroom ceiling - only got a tiny bit of paint in my hair! We now have a bath and therefore running (cold) water, but no hot water yet.

bathroom update and Boomshanka gig

2008-05-04T16:28:25Z

well, here is the weekend and we are still without a bath or hot water! Thankfully delanthearand lillith have let us use their bathroom (much appreciated - cheers guys!) so we are not too smelly. Washing up is a bit of a pain tho' so tonights dinner may be off paper plates.
The ceiling is done and some of the walls are now plasterboard rather than bare brick - there are still a few holes in the floor ( salmonofdoubt was carefully looking out for spiders yesterday).

Boomshanka have a (very short notice) gig at the Highland Fling in Graves Park tomorrow - not sure how many of us will make it and I think we will be on around 2pm, but this may change....
We are also taking part in some silly games earlier on - about 12.30 ish, I think - and could really do with some extra bodies to make up a team - anyone up for a bit of Welly Throwing? I will be driving across setting off at about 11.45, so can offer lifts to a couple of people if anyone is mad enough to want to join in. Call, txt, email or comment if you are...

so how did it go then?

2008-05-01T16:22:24Z

Job interview with Environment Agency yesterday - and I *think* it went ok. I answered all the questions without bluffing or saying anything stupid and they seemed quite impressed with my answers. There was an IT competency test (get some data out of an Excel spreadsheet and write a letter in Word) which I think I did fine, so now I just wait and see..... only problem I can see is that they may possibly see me as overqualified, but I told them that I was willing to take a step down the ladder in order to stay within an industry that interests me and asked about career prospects within the Agency, so heres hoping! People semed friendly and it looked like a decent place to work. I could also get there by tram and a bit of walking in about 45 mins total, which I really like! Not having to drive to work would be great.

The bathroom is no longer just bare brick, some plasterboard is up and the new loo is in (it flushes! and refills in minutes rather than hours!). Still no running water up there, or heating, so its a bit like camping here. Today the bath was being fixed in place and the old boiler taken off to make way for the new. I also went out and fetched the tiles, so they are stacked in the back room ready. Tomorrow should see re-instatement of hot water and bath and the ceiling being plastered.
Now considering lighting - which is almost as much of a pain as the tiles!

not having to clean the bathroom....

2008-04-28T16:03:09Z

well, the hair is done, nicely dark purple/blue/green again (Special Effects colours; Pimpin Purple, Deep Purple, Fishbowl and Sonic Green, for those who care...). It went through an amusing blonde-and-pink, fluffy candyfloss stage between the roots-bleaching and the actual colouring but is now much better.
Of course I turned the bathroom nicely purple in the process but that doesn't matter one tiny bit, because right at this moment it is all being ripped out and chucked in a skip (well chucked onto the back patio to await the skip which arrives wednesday). Wish I could do that every time it needed cleaning!!
Think we have decided to go with the dark grey tiles (my inner Goth won that argument) for the new bathroom -and pay special attention to lighting and maybe add an extra mirror.

I have suceeded in making the skirt part of the suit I planned, now my sewing machine is playing up, so I may go with a shirt rather than worrying about the jacket. The skirt is nice though, very pleased with it!

I have spent the day in the attic adding to my latest choreography for Boomshanka (the industrial/rock one). I have a couple of very fast step sequences that will need a bit of work - having been very inspired by Shakra off the latest Gothic Bellydance DVD, they have some great moves and I am fully looking forward to the release of their 'Industrial Strength' instructional DVD in June!
Anyway I want to get this dance finished and then move onto some more trad stuff, lots of ideas at the moment.

Roast Squash and Halloumi - recipe

2008-04-23T21:22:59Z

nearly forgot this - time for another recipe!

nicked from Beanies handout (and they nicked it from the 'Moro' cookbook, apparently) - and slightly altered, the original called for Feta cheese, but this works well with the wondrous Halloumi... this is fairly low effort, but very tasty.

Amounts are random - entirely up to you!

Roast a squash (one large one will probably feed 3-4 people)
I do this by cutting it into quarters, scraping out the seeds, rubbing with oil or butter and putting in a fairly hot oven(200-220 C) for 45 mins or so.
While the squash is roasting, toast some pine nuts (don't leave them in the oven too long, they only take minutes)
Also while the squash is roasting, get some Halloumi (I use 1 piece between 2 people, which may be greedy, but we like the stuff!) and chop it into dice, then fry it quickly until it is nicely coloured (deep or shallow fry).

When the Squash is done let it cool a little then scrape out the flesh from the skin. Put the flesh in a bowl and mash it up with a little lemon juice, a small amount of garlic (1 or 2 cloves), and some mint (dried or fresh). If it has got a bit cold you can reheat (microwave or put it back in the oven for a while) but it doesn't need to be piping hot. When you are ready to serve, put the squash in a bowl and sprinkle the Halloumi and pine nuts over the top.

Eat quickly before Steve gets to it.....

Lantern Carnival

2008-04-23T21:07:00Z

Fortunately it stayed fine enough on Saturday for the Sharrow Lantern Carnival to go ahead. First tme I have taken part - some of the lanterns were very impressive in terms of either size or construction and the parade looked really good. We (Boomshanka Tribal, that is) stayed at the back with the Samba band and danced along to them - it was pretty hard work keeping it going all the way round but it was fun.
We were on stage almost straight away once we got to the festival base in the General Cemetary - this was a good thing as it was a bit cold, so we didn't want to stand around! We did the same set as we had done for the Planet Zogg gig, with an improvised encore to Oojami and it was great fun - really good enthusiastic crowd, including some young girls who saw us at Beat-herder last year, fans!!
Barnsley Arabic started back on Sunday and it was nice to get back into that - can't wait to see the finished Khaleegy number.
Then I spent Monday working on a new choreography for Boomshanka, in time to start working on it at troupe practise that night. Most of us are now pretty ok with Kim's new dance, so that will be coming to a performance soon and now I get to play, which means the next dance is going to (ahem) *rock* a bit.
Result of all that was, I ached all Tuesday! No rest for the wicked either, as I was teaching last night and then covering for Ruth tonight and of course teaching again tomorrow. Still, quiet weekend coming up - should be refreshing the hair and attempting to make myself a suit for this job interview, as I don't have anything smart that fits and can't find anything in the shops - wish me luck!!!

question for the parents out there

2008-04-17T13:59:52Z

usually I stay well away from the remotely controversial, but wondered what you all might make of this.

I received the following email from my sister:

Hi all,
Nanette, who forwarded this email originally, is a good friend of mine here at work, so I can vouch that the content of her email is (tragically) true. I am forwarding it to you guys because the majority of you have either at least some contact with small children or know someone with small children or you are a mother yourself and you may want to forward it on to those people for their information/safety.
Thanks,Ianthe
From: (removed for privacy)
Sent: 15 April 2008 14:08
To: (removed for privacy)
Subject: Forward to Save a Child
My grandson Eddie died in November 2007 at the age of 14 months, the victim of accidental strangulation caused by window blind cords.
This tragedy has opened all our eyes to the potential hazards within the home.

So that Eddie's death is not wholly senseless, I would ask you to do two things.

First, would you please visit his memorial page at http://eddiesmemorial.com/index.html where you will find
(a) a useful information section containing links to some very informative (and sometimes sad) websites, some of which very clearly show the hazards presented by blinds,
(b) a worthwhile petition to sign to try to ban the sale of corded blinds for the home market and
(c) a lovely photo album of a handsome little lad (the printable version is best).

Second, I would ask you to forward this email on to anyone you know who has young children, or who regularly has them in their home, to alert them to this potential danger.
If, between us, we can save the life of just one child, it will be worth the small effort required.
And remember, the only safe window covering is a cordless one.
All the best.
Grammie 'Nette

So: while I wholeheartedly agree with the informative sentiment of this - making people aware of the potential hazards, I wonder whether the petition to ban corded blinds/window coverings is going a bit far? We cannot remove *every* possible hazard from the home.... should we want to try?

I am not a parent and therefore thought I would ask the parents out there for their opinion?

suprises? or things coming together...?

2008-04-17T13:38:18Z

Well the snow this morning was certainly a suprise! its gone now, of course (down here in Hillsbro') but it was a proper blanket first thing.
Heres hoping that having got that out of the way it will stay fine enough this Saturday for the Sharrow Lantern Carnival to go ahead.

and in the post was a letter from the Environment Agency inviting me for an interview - hooray! Not for the better paid customer services type job I originally applied for but a different section - but its still an interesting sounding job and its an 'in'. And, in fact, after 4 months, its an interview, so I am not knocking it!

we have also booked (engaged? ) a plumber to come and sort out the bathroom etc within the next couple of weeks. I am now wondering if I should re-dye my hair before he starts; so the new bathroom is not instantly turned purple. But, when freshly dyed, it can be a bit of a nightmare and I may be having to beg showers elsewhere for a couple of weeks while the bathroom is done.....
but, nice and fresh and smart (in my book, anyway) would be good for the interview, too.

and, in other news, I went shopping yesterday.....
not the most earth shattering info, I know, but:
I have been dieting (some of you may have noticed) - doing a low carb diet a bit like Atkins, and it has worked. I am a stone and a half lighter than I was when I started at the end of January. It has been suprisingly easy ( a diet that allows me to have curry!!) and I intend to stick with it for quite a long time.
Anyway, having been, when I started this, a size 22/24, I was really rather chuffed yesterday to be able to get into - and do up - a pair of size 18 jeans. I didn't buy them, as they were still far too tight. But I did manage to score a Per Una skirt (first time I have *ever* found anything in that range to fit me), a top from H&M (among the sea of size 4s was a lonely 16!) and a few other bits in the Sale at Evans (16s and 18s).
So, just a small thing in the grand scheme - and probably the last you will hear from me on this subject - but it has cheered me up. That and the fact that I feel generally better in myself and the dodgy knee is less dodgy than it has been for some time and I have looked at pictures of me dancing *without* thinking 'eeeewww!'. Result, methinks!

my arms ache...

2008-04-15T15:27:58Z

...as do most of my abdominal muscles, which I am assuming is due to the Veil workshop at JoY on Sunday morning.
I don't generally use more than 1 veil at a time and the amount of extra energy required to fling 2 about the place is quite something. That and we were also doing some quite energetic 'flinging' type moves. The 7 veils bit was really more about 'how many veils can you wear at once', although there were some pointers about being able to take them out of your costume elegantly..... in general it was nice to go over some of the double veil stuff we did with Khaled at a workshop a couple of years ago - I feel a bit more confident about all that now. Points to Leyla for making it clear that dancing with veils is definitely a western thing! In general a very good, enjoyable workshop.
As for the rest of the Jewel of Yorkshire wekend:

the curry on Friday night was delicious and worth waiting for (large group, full curry house, took a while to get a table). Having only booked 2 workshops in advance, I got down to the Victoria Hall first thing on Saturday morning to see what else was available and picked another 2 workshops. Then there was plenty of time for a cuppa and some shopping. I have a *fabulous* new pair of trousers, a new hip scarf and some more DVDs and CDs.
First workshop was one I was really looking forward to - a masterclass with Khaled. It was billed as a shimmy special, although we didn't seem to do that much shimmying, it was more a general technique masterclass, with some shimmying included. It was still very enjoyable, but also very challenging - picked up some technique pointers, but much of it I will have to do more work on!
The next workshop was much more restful - Troupe Movements, with Chris Ogden, no challenging technique here, but some interesting patternsand ideas -and also a certain amount of chaos as she tried to get 20 odd people of varying degrees of experience to carry out some quite complicated manouvres!
That was it for my day, so I popped back to the hotel for a shower and change and a cup of tea before the evening show.
The show was great - maybe not the best JoY show I have ever seen, but still amazing. We are so lucky to have an event like this!
On Sunday my workshops started with Leyla's Veil and then a workshop on performance technique with Jaqui Jamal. Unfortunately I hadn't taken any notice of the 'level' of this one (I guess I expected it to be a higher level, given the subject matter) and it was a 2. So most of what was covered I am quite familiar with and I think I should have picked something else. My own fault, as I am sure that other people there found it very useful, next time I will pay more attention to the workshop level. I did at least get an honourable mention for having good arms, which was nice as I have been desperately trying to improve them!!

In general a brilliant weekend and I am already trying to decide what workshops to do at the next one!
Next big weekend event will be 'Gothla' so I had better decide what workshops I want to do at that, too.

Bathrooms and Boomshanka....

2008-04-04T11:47:02Z

thought it was about darn time I posted.....

Dance related: - did my veil dance as a solo piece at City Limits on Saturday as part of Nisha's bellydance/bollywood showcase, which went pretty ok. Boomshanka performed 'Galvanise' and looked really good, I didn't join in in case of too much costume complication (was running off to a fancy dress party after and needed to become Cleopatra - in a silent movie/Theda Bara way - so didn't want any more costume changes). Also pleased to see that Tasmin and some of my students have formed a troupe - you go girls! needs a little practise, but has great potential!
Ooh, and when some of the photos from the night went up on facebook, I could actually see the difference from last year - I have lost over a stone and it definitely shows! Really quite pleased about that. I know other people have been able to see it, as I have been getting a lot of comments on the last few weeks, but I haven't been able to see it myself until now (goes to show what a distorted image we have of ourselves, I guess!).

popped up to see DivaC and do a bit of choreography stuff/gossip which was nice.

This weekend Boomshanka are performing at the Sharrow Lantern Festival - meeting around 8pm at Mount Pleasant Park, off London Road and parading to The General Cemetary for the show (I think). Unless, of course, it snows or rains horribly, in which case I don't think it will happen. I have lots of new choreo ideas for Boomshanka once we have finished learning Kim's new routine - we are going to be breaking out in all sorts of new musical directions, but I also want to put in some more trad stuff too. Either ways we should have some great new numbers to perform later in the year.
I also taught an extra 'Improvers' class for Boomshanka last night - a whole class on shimmying! boy were we knackered by the end of that - but in a good way. Next up, in a fortnights time, veils, apparently. So expect a LOT of spinning!

House related:

- I have had a few more tradesmen in to have a look at the bathroom/boiler and quote for refurbishing/replacing - will see how the figures come out. I also took a look in a couple of bathroom showrooms yesterday, which was scary! I *hate* all this modern suare stuff and whats with all these designer sinks that aren't big enough to wash your face in? Also, chap in on showroom confirmed my suspicions about 'push button' flushes on loos - nightmare to fix if they go wrong. So definitely looking for old fashioned curvy style (but not ornate 'Edwardian style with furbelows!) sink, lever flush loo and a bath that does *not* cost 1400 quid (its a bath, dammit)
and tiles cost HOW much???????? sheesh!
I thought 'how complicated can it be, its a bathroom?' unfortunately, now I look in more detail, its very complicated.
Oh yeah, and taps - how ugly? I saw some monstrosities yesterday, again, plain and simple, please!
Gonna go look at some more later (sigh)

Mmmm.... powertools.....

2008-03-26T14:22:48Z

been too busy to get to the 'puter for a while (well, that and Steve was doing a bit of maintenance on it all weekend...) as I have been indulging in that traditional Easter pursuit: DIY

nothing too excesive (or requiring much competence, thankfully) but I have built a set of shelves in the alcove off the bedroom and then I got excited (drill happy) hung a new mirror and put up a shelf in the dining room too. May tackle the kitchen later.....

I got myself a little jigsaw to help hack up the uprights (hack being the operative word, but hey, I wanted function more than form) so have added to the powertool collection.
The shelves in the bedroom were earmarked for Steve's magazines - and he has practically filled them already. As well as filled the paperbin with old SFX magazines that I made him chuck out (mean old me! hehehe!)
strangely though, although the new shelves are full, there doesn't seem to be much *empty* space elsewhere as a result! Too much junk, will spend some time sorting and being generous to charity shops. We did manage to clear one set of shelves in the dining room tho' and now I need to decide what might go in their place

the new shelf in the dining room nicely holds my collection of dance DVDs, which were otherwise getting a bit out of hand. Now I just need to do something about the CDs

which reminds me - I have asked this before - but who was it who so very kindly left us copies of 'Pan Pipe Moods' and 'Line Dance Party' last year? It was *such* a thoughtful gift and I would like to say Thank You.......

extra teaching

2008-03-02T18:24:50Z

I have covered a couple of classes for other teachers this week: first of all, the Boomshanka Tribal class that Ruth teaches on Wednesday, as she has jetted off to sunnier climes this week.
It was a nice group - enthusiastic and pretty competent, considering the class has not been running for that long. I think they were maybe a little unsure of what to expect at first but relaxed and enjoyed it once we had got going. The class was followed by a troup rehearsal, although there were only Kim, Zoe and I there so we just ran through some dances (always useful though!) Was quite interested to find that both felt they could do with some more technique teaching (they had been in the class beforehand) so I will have to see what I can do. They may try and get to my Thursday class.
Speaking of Thursday class, there were a couple of new recruits this week and one lady from my Tuesday class, who is definitely getting into it. It looks like there will be plenty of my students heading for JoY this April, its nice to see them banding together.
Today I covered for Candi, who is away at the MAJMA dance festival - we had a little hitch getting into the hall but it was sorted. Quite a small class, so we looked at some quite different stuff to usual in the first hour and they seemed to enjoy that. We spent the second hour working on the new Khaleegi choreo - which seems to be coming together nicely, then reminding oursleves of the Haggalla dance - which we managed pretty well.

So what with that little lot and the ceilidh on Friday night (first one I've been to in *years* and probably more enthusiasm than competence on my part, but still lots of fun, although I did ache a bit the next day) I am pretty tired. Think we shall go for tea at the new Indian place by the Rawson Spring - it needs trying out and then theres no cooking to worry about either!