SUnday

New things today were a grand tour of one side of the Glasto site; the tipi field, the Park field and generally soaking up the sunshine which was a bit unexpected...new acts were Bellowhead, Duane Eddy (even though he's been performing since the 1950s!). Our "plan" to watch Plan B was scuppered as the field was full so we returned to Avalon to watch Show of Hands again.

Saturday

AFter more 3 Daft MOnkeys, this time at the G stage (formerly the Glade) and local band Dry the River (at the John Peel stage) who both put on incredible performances, we saw the amazing Patrick Wolf who I'd wanted to see for a long time. I have his Magic Position album which is fantastic, but seeing him live is a feast for the senses - he is a fabulous performer and immensely watchable.

We then walked back to the Avalon Stage for Devotchka. Walking through mud is no easy task as your wellingtons get sucked into the very fabric of the earth and each time you pick up your foot, it takes monumental effort to drag your foot back out of the mud and each time, chances are that your foot will come without the boot. However, Devotchka were worth the walk. They're best known for their soundtrack to the great film Little Miss Sunshine. MrM and I then decided to support two local bands; Malarchy and the Johnsons before heading back to the Avalon stage to watch Newton Faulkner, the Guillemots and Flogging Molly.....

Friday

After seeing Hobo Jones and 3 Daft Monkeys, I saw a young performer I'd not seen before, the 85-year-old BB King! Then Mumford and Sons who we'd seen before then U2 who we hadn't. We got soaked....

Thursday

New thing today was slogging through the mud, mud, mud and watching a fine band called the Turbans and then later watching the brilliant Mad Dog Mcrea! This is a fab band who we booked for our wedding - they cancelled just a few weeks before our wedding but we love 'em anyway.....

Wednesday

New thing today was sleeping in our new van at Glasto! As the stewards directing the traffic were too busy snogging to send us the right way, when we entered the site, we ended up in the car park instead of the campervan field, which entailed skidding across various fields through mud and pedestrians and sliding into position. MrM and I sorted ourselves out, walked onto the site and got our wristbands before heading back to the van for a nighttime drink and a sleep in preparation for four days of partying! While we were sitting there, I observed the weirdest thing I've ever seen at a festival - a deer ran past us!!

Tuesday

Fabulous day with the wonderful L, P and J who ventured to London from Paris for a day packed with walking, eating lovely food, a visit to the British Library where we saw the Magna Carta and first drafts of classics such as Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus (I mention this, not only because I'm a huge fan of Angela Carter, but because Carta/Carter - geddit?!).

We had a fabulous meal at the Kensington Square Kitchen which I was treated to for some unknown reason!(where it only occurred to me when we were leaving that it was not the kitchen that was square, but the address of the cafe).

A visit to the lovely Orla Kiely shop and the day was almost over. I love you guys and wish all of my new things were this exciting!

Monday

Ugh, new thing was a horrible blood test...

Saturday and Sunday

New thing was the reclamation yard which is about 200m from my home as MrM and I thought we'd look for an old fireplace to hide the monstrosity in our dining room. This place is a real treasure trove of items that have been salvaged from old houses; there's everything you could think of here, and more. I knew there would be fireplaces (who rips a fireplace out of their house anyway?) but who could have guessed that there would be reclaimed toilets, milk churns and red telephone boxes. We quite helpfully forgot our tape measure, but had our eye on an Edwardian fireplace with original tiles before MrM dragged me away before I bought one of those old enamel signs that said; "You may telephone from here" as we had to get some gas. Again, a new thing as we went to the gas shop near our old work.

Sunday, we went to Prior's Court School for the open day. Prior's COurt is an internationally-renowned school for children with autism and is set in the most beautiful surroundings just north of Newbury. We had a lovely look round in particular at the very striking art collection which appears in every room, office and part of the grounds...

Wednesday and Thursday

Rickmanworth and Maidenhead -seemed to be doing a lot of "passing through" at the moment!

Wednesday

Yesterday, purchasing a brand new bed. Today, watching an amazing film called the Pipe.



This is an incredible documentary about a part of Ireland that is about 15 miles from where my dad grew up and from where my family has come from for generations. This is one of the most beautiful, rugged and unspoilt parts of, not just Ireland, but Europe but unfortunately, Shell is building a gas pipeline right through the beautiful bay and surrounding land, disrupting the landscape and overturning a gentle and environmental way of life. In fact, Shell wanted this land so much it got a court order for the pipeline through five families' farms. When the five farmers protested, they got given 94 days in jail.

In a remote corner of western Ireland sits Broadhaven Bay, a postcard perfect area housing the tiny village of Rossport. It's a unique area of coastline that has sustained generations of farmers and fishermen, and one that has caught the eye of Shell Oil.
On 29 June 2005, five men from Rossport were imprisoned for 94 days after defying a court injunction allowing Shell workers to enter the men's land to lay a high-pressure raw gas pipeline close to their homes.
Many people believe that the Irish state subverted the constitutional rights of its citizens to help Shell 'grab' tracts of farmland against the wishes of the landowners.
In a country where the memory of British landlords survives in the psyche, Shell's attempt to force through the pipe evoked huge emotion.
This film follows three members of the Rossport community, following the arrival of Shell, when they become tragically divided on how they deal with a pipe that could bring economic prosperity or destruction to a way of life shared for generations.
True Stories commissions and showcases the best international feature documentaries.

Monday

New thing today was unbelievably on my doorstep, yet I've only just found out about it! I am a swimming nut and try to go every day. However, in the last month or so, MrM and I have been mad busy, and I have been feeling incredibly tired, so we decided to save ourselves a bunch of cash every month and cancel our joint gym membership. MrM hasn't been to the gym since March and I'm starting to get bored of the tiny, crowded swimming pool.

SO! Today, I decided to go to the pool in town, but while I was paying to get in, noticed that there was a sign for the outdoor pool. "Is the pool open today?" I asked. It was! And I could not believe my eyes! There is a beautiful outdoor pool in my town!

I had the best swim I've had for years, talking to friendly people and swimming the massive 75m which seemed quite far to me after the 15m pool I'd been using previously! There was a beautiful light in the pool and it seemed to me that nothing has changed for years - it really brought to mind my first carefree swimming lessons in the 1970s as a youngster! I had a look into it, and the pool here at Northcroft has been here since 1890! It was rebuilt during the two World Wars and is one of the largest outdoor pools in the UK. I am kicking myself for all the times I could have come here and didn't!

Saturday, La Boheme

New thing today was La Boheme at Newbury Racecourse performed by Opera Brava and supported by Greenham Common Trust. The morning looked lovely and sunny; at 5pm exactly, when the doors opened, the heavens also opened. However, by 7pm when it started, the weather was dry, if a little cold. However, this couldn't stop about a thousand people from turning up with picnics to enjoy Puccini's lovely story and music - a great night!

Thursday

New thing today was the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading. I'd been here before for work (when I worked on New Year's Day and did a story on the year's newest babies!) MrM and I also looked around two houses later in the day. One was lovely but on a surprisingly busy road (also, I think I made the vendor cry by asking him why he was leaving? "It's our dream to retire by the sea," he choked. Mmm, maybe not your dream, eh? We then went to see another house which had loads of potential but was on another busy road - so busy in fact, that someone nearly knocked me off my bike when I was en route.

Wednesday

New thing today was having a blood test (which lasted two hours when I had allocated about five minutes!) and then the restaurant part of the Red House pub at Marsh Benham. Thanks for treating us Mum!!

Tuesday

Househunting. Didn't manage to shoot anything.

At the last moment, MrM found out he couldn't come so I was dispatched to view three houses. The first one was tiny and overpriced, the second one was hideous and had a dog buried in the background and the third was out of our price range, so of course, I liked it....

Monday

The M&S at Terminal 3 at Heathrow while waiting for ma mere to arrive.

Sunday

Long, long walk around Hungerford, Denford and Hungerford Common...

Saturday

I've neglected this for a bit as my "something news" have been a bit lame this week. However, today's was heading to Shalbourne to view a house as MrM and I have decided that we'd like to live in the countryside and we'd like a bit more space. Today's house wasn't for us, but great to see what's out there....