Sunday, December 24, 2006

Happy Christmas

Hope you all have a very merry Christmas. I am sorry for the lack of blogage in recent months. I hope to restart properly in the new year - got some news to share and some photos to show :-)
with love
Ali

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

nana's 90th


it was my nana's 90th birthday last friday and we went to Whitehead for the weekend to celebrate with her. She was in great form - keeping a running count of the number of cards she had and who all her flowers were from. It was really good to see her but I guess with so much going on I prefer to see her when its a bit quieter and we have a chance to chat and to hear her stories.

We had a big family gathering at my aunts house - complete with sushi. My nana used to make sushi every new year so its somewhat of a family tradition - dating back to the pre trendy sushi era!

Iain and Majlinda were over with the kids for the occasion- Alban and Emma have grown up so much since I last saw them (christmas last year). I managed to delete the contents of my camera so only have some fuzzy ones of Alban. Emma amazingly managed to sit still long enough for a photo to be taken. Its her second birthday tomorrow - happy birthday emma.

the birthday girl

cheeky grins

Saturday, October 07, 2006

milky bars are on me

So its been a week since blogging. Work has been really stressful so i havent been doing very much else. Last saturday was however the social event of the century - fancy dress :-)
i went as the milky bar kid and jamie went as a 70's cop. It was much fun. I love fancy dress - any excuse to be silly.
enjoy the pics...


We were out at monser mash for kirsty's birthday yesterday. I love bangers and mash - what a fab idea to have a restaurant that sells bangers and mash!! And all set in a happy days kind of diner thing (www.monstermashcafe.co.uk),

Anyway I better get going and do some housework - it is a Saturday morning after all.

Saturday, September 30, 2006

sorry mum

we're just about to go grocery shopping for tonight. We're having a fancy dress dinner thing. As usual jamie and i are a little last minute - still gotta think up a costume and make dinner for 20. its going to be a fun afternoon!

I think the highlight of the morning was mum sending me a picture text of her bottom. genius! i wonder if she'll be cringing when she looks at the blog at work?? i hope so :-)

hoping to get some fun photos of tonight too - watch this space.

Friday, September 29, 2006

team komolafe

mia and ruben

this week started well with a coffee with the komolafes - it was so good to see lynne and segun again. it has been a while since we last caught up. It was my first chance to see new wee baby ruben - and to get a cuddle. Mia has grown up so cute and really sweet natured too. Its so good to spend time with old friends.

mia is defiantely uber cute - she has the tshirt to prove it


Wednesday, September 27, 2006

brel

jamie mid set - better photos taken with the slr but not uploaded them yet


so its been a while since the last blog, but i wanted to tell you about our fun night out to glasgow last thursday. jamie had a support gig for the felt tips at brel in ashton lane, the west end. When we first arrived it was like being in spain - it was really warm and everyone was sitting about outside the bars. It turned out to be a fun night. i love glasgow. Jamie played well (if i do say so myself) and we got chatting with a reviewer from the herald who said he had really enjoyed jamie's set and took his number.
I think the highlight has got to be stuart's first ever kfc on the way home.

thats the very bag - a momentous event!!

How do you get that old without having tasted the delights of kfc??

needless to say - stuart enjoyed it

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

a quick hello

its been a busy week. not very bloggable but fun. Just thought i should say hi before i head off to work. jamie's off work this week and im enjoying getting my breakfast made for me :-)
Anyway gotta run.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

walkies

after the business of the gig on saturday night I missed church on sunday morning (call myself a christian huh??) . which was a shame because EVERYBODY has told me it was really great. paul was talking about grace - at least i should be able to get parts 2 and 3 over the next few weeks!

sunday afternoon brought a peaceful leisurely stroll and catch up with our favourite springer-owning friends Karen and Jeremy and their little baby Nathan. Well... I say peaceful... it was appart from the guy pumping out beats from his turntable complete with mahhussive amps and own generator... as you do!

the big amps - sorry pic is small - i wasnt getting any closer to the madman or his followers!

baby nathan seemed to enjoy the hardcore dance anthems rocking out the braids

Cara really enjoyed the walk especially having jake to play with - I enjoyed a chance to get caught up with Karen :-)

sunday strolls

the 3 Tour

jamie in action

Jamie had a support slot on the 3 tour's stop in edinburgh. It went down well - 7 cds sold - and lots of compliments :-) it was really good to see yvonne and dl too and to hear them playing with neil alton and gareth davies-jones. i was really touched that my workmates and friends came along too. Thankfully they seemed to enjoy it (or at least they pretended to convincingly)


lots to catch up on... the dominion

the dominion

well it's been a while and I will endeavour to fill you in without missing anything out.
Last Thursday Bagger invited Jamie and i out to the cinema. But not just any cinema... the dominion - a family run cinema that is more of a night out than a quick film kind of place. It has really friendly staff and a bar and fantastic recliner chairs

jamie and bagger - how many cinemas let you take your beer in?? there were free pringles too - but I had eaten them pretty smartish :-) once you pop you cant stop

going on a thursday night meant the place was quite empty. The film we watched was ok - but not magnisficent - so ok that i cant even remember the name of it! But thanks to the dominion and a bucket of kfc it was defiantely a good night out!

the view from my very comforable reclined seat - dont worry you copyright people - it was just the pre film adds

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

poor puppy

the lack of pedicures has taken it's toll. Poor Cara needed another operation to remove another dodgy nail. This time she came home with what is described in Scotland as a red "stooky". It's very cute!

amazingly the sock hasnt been chewed off... yet

she even has a little wellie to put on when she goes out for walks/pees. Its made of a saline solution bag and a bandage. Cara's got quite used to it and now sits at the door with her paw up ready for wellification and more amazingly she sits when she comes in for de-wellification!

"oh wellies they are great gosh wellies they are swell..." mr billy connolly - genius

the saddest part of the whole thing is listening to cara groan in pain - every so often there's a little whimper from her. Is it wrong to make prayer requests for a puppies paw?

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Where is mecca?


No jamie and kirsty are not prayin to Allah but having stretches for poor jamie's back :-(

blackford hill

kirsty at the top

I have just been for a walk with jamie, kirsty and the dog up blackford hill (well... half way up it!). the views were beautiful. The sun was setting and the sky had a pinkish tinge. There were lots of tiny tiny little frogs and some bats too. Cara chased rabbits for ages and has now crashed out on the sofa :-) best to let sleeping dogs lie.

Monday, August 28, 2006

gig at the lot

jamie had a gig on Sunday night - supporting erin hill at the lot. The lot has brilliant accoustics and atmosphere. All in all jamie's gig went well - apart from the pre-amp battery dying on the first song - and some tuning issues. I find myself over critical because I know how good he can be. I think everyone enjoyed it though. The website has had its first purchasees - need to be getting compliments slips etc sorted out.
Unfortunately Jamie has hurt his back (lifting a box of cds!) and is quite sore :-( poor jamie.

my ma

just a quick wee blog - its been a busy weekend. My mum has been over and we spent some time at the festival etc. here's some pics to tell the story...

going to the cinema on friday night - by the way the break-up is just as depressing as the title suggests

me and my ma

my ma - out on the town - lunch at the lot

Thursday, August 24, 2006

From the bus stop


I'm having a go at blogging from my mobile. Have noticed that autumn is on its way. Check out these leaves!

Monday, August 21, 2006

brand new

well last week was full of brand new things...

1) jamie's new cd has arrived - well i say cd - i mean cd's - we have 6 big boxes of them hanging about the house. his website is up and running too - check it out - www.jamiewilsonmusic.com and please buy a cd - so that i can have my spare room back!












2) a new phone!! with 3.2megapixel camera - yay!! so i can take pictures all the time :-) for those "i wish i had my camera with me" moments. its been good fun so far - i'm sure after the fuzzy iain archer pictures you avid blog-readers will be glad to hear the news!



3) having my aunt marilyn and uncle ian over for a cup of tea! - sorry no pics folks - but it was really good to see them and to spend time with them. they normally live in africa so it was defiantely a brand new experience to have them round :-)

4) webcam - i had my first web-cam chat - i dont have a webcam but it was really cool to be able to see hazel and peter and to hear them talk. i reckon it would be really cool to use with kids - will have to try and talk my brother into getting one. although it would mean less of the pyjama-wearing computer use.

5) going for a whole week without blogging!

sweeping the clouds away

this is one of my faourite photos taken with my new phone - its the cloud over glasgow.
i love the golden edge to the cloud and the rain underneath - but i hav enever seen a cloud's shadow in the sky before and i was so glad to catch it with a camera - truely amazing!

it has been a while. last week was very busy with work and play. it has left me pretty tired out. its probably the reason for my bad tummy and my sleepy head :-( feeling a little fragile after it all. so i'm off work today.
saturday saw jamie and me going through to yvonne and dl's place for the evening. it was really good to see them and to get to spend some proper time with them... see the wedding photos etc. it was also a chance for jamie to have a go on yvonne's new guitar :-)
yesterday (sunday) Molly (from church) had lots of the young(ish) people round to hers for lunch - there were about 25 of us - it was really good - here's some photos of the crowds
mel and the gang - the big table

Friday, August 11, 2006

Iain Archer

the man himself - Iain Archer
well last night I went to see Iain Archer - live in Edinburgh :-) I'd been looking forward to it for ages and had bought myself and Sarah tickets for it for her birthday (hmmm... why did that not seem really selfish at the time - its a bit wrong to buy someone tickets to a concert that you want to see!) Anyway Sarah had to work :-( so to save the prospect of going on my own Arlene offered to accompany me having heard nothing of Iain's songs and nothing about him.
Well i must say i had the best night ive had in ages! Iain played some of hs older stuff and some new ones too. The best bit was standing front row and being able to see all his effects stuff - he must have had at least 20 different pedals and 3 different mikes!
He also had Matt Jones - who plays with lots of big names that i cant remember - on stage with him playing keyboards/tambourine/computerised drum thing/£1.99 argos kazoo kinda thing. He was genious - the tambourine was stuck to a stool with gaffa tape so he could play it with one hand while playing keyboard with the other!

this is matt playing an instrument that looke d like one of those kids plastic keyboards except it had a pipe that he blew in to get the noise - it was very comical to watch but with a cool sound


Iain talked a bit about Northern Ireland and his new album "magnetic north" is coming out soon. I wish sarah had made it cos no one cheered when he said he was from bangor (maybe co. downers dont cheer - they maybe think its uncouth?). He didnt play wishing - no surprise there I guess!
It really reminded me of going to see him when i was 15 in belfast - i remember the quote at the time that van morrison said "this boy is a litle bit special". I think that was meant to be a compliment!

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

this fringe is too long

A rather odd man with a backpack wandered up to my work today and asked many strange questions. He looked like Michael Palin and for a moment I could have been fooled. After realisation that he most definitely was not the mighty Palin I was losing patience (lets face it I probably would have lost my patience if Michael Palin walked up and asked 100 stupid questions too).
It was like being a tourist information point - he wanted to know what the fringe was... was it religious or political? I told him it was art - but it got me thinking... The fringe is all around me just now I have to fight my way into work and usually arrive with handful of flyers (despite my "no thankyou" efforts to dispel the enthusiastic fringe-evangelists). I stand at the bus stop to go home and the people that walk past are all different colours. I dont mean that racially I mean literal - orange and blue and pink - and with the most bizarre props. The worst fringeans being the street performers at the top of the road that shout things at you as you walk past - so that the crowd of 30+ people laugh at you - I wish I could make out what they say. Everybody is vying for my attention - desperate to tell me how exciting their drama will be or how amazing their musical is. To be honest even the most raving of reviews wouldnt get me to go near a musical! I feel kinda sorry for all these poorly paid performers who come to edinburgh and have to spend the best part of their day convincing people that they are talented.
It does bring a good atmosphere to the place and I am looking forward to seeing Iain Archer play on Thursday (I went to see him when I was 15 in Belfast!) but I'll be glad when they all pack up and go home :-)

Friday, August 04, 2006

my space

I have officially been termed an "internet geek"having dipped my toes in the northern irish favourite site - bebo - and found some old friends there. Also been checking out some musicians myspace sites where you can listen to their music for free. Having travelled all around the world wide web I have returned to blog here - at blogspot - for this is my home - this is my space.

Monday, July 31, 2006

rainy days in edinburgh

well this is the first time Ive had a chance to be on the computer in a wee while. Jamie has taken to myspace like a duck to water and so our wee computer has been very busy. You can check out his stuff on www.myspace.com/jamiewilsonmusic you can even hear his music. It'll not be long till the CDs are out and he has 2 gigs in the offing just now so its all go on the music front.

I must admit im having a rather grumpy day. I woke up sore and it got worse. I realised i had left my jacket with the hood in the car (i.e. sitting outside Jamie's work) so i had to wear my wee rain jacket. It was only a light drizzle so I made my way out of the flat and up to the park. The rain got heavy and the wind blew and the water ran dripping from my face. Then I saw the bus in the distance - like a beautiful mirage or refuge and safety. I thanked the Lord and reminded myself of how he blesses his children. I ran like an eejit with arthritis across the park and over the road and jumped (in a rather slow jumping fashion) onto the bus. the bus driver was smirking and I was laughing at the state of myself... until it became apparent that i had no money on my bus pass and was going to have to get off the beautiful bus of refuge into the rain once more. I reminded myself how the Lord never said he'd keep his children dry from the rain (it would be pretty wierd if he did!) and walked the whole way to the bank and then the post office to get my wee card topped up. Ten minutes of standing at the bus stop meant that i had a pretty good river running down my head and out my shoes - excellent for annoying fellow (dry!) passengers. The guy next to me laughed at me and asked what star sign i was. He then proceeded to read me my stars - apparently I was having a "brilliant day"! Dead on!

sunny days in Northern Ireland

I just wanted to finish posting about the trip to NI.
When we first arrived on the sunday we went to glenabbey (my mums church) and then a quick detour to see my nana who was in her usual fine form. Then we headed up to belfast for a quick tour of all the tourist sites (??? tourist sites i hear you ask... stormont, lots of murals, and maggie may's for lunch... not much else to see!). From belfast we went to my bro's house and he drove us to Coleraine, along with his weeks supply of confectionary!
On the Monday night we went to a ceilidh - well it was called a ceilidh but the callers had made up the dances. Very hard to do a strip the willow the wrong way! i did however enjoy spinning my 15 year old partner till he fell over (revenge is mine - its the first time i've been the taller of the pair!). It was a good laugh though and had all the important bits - loud music, banter, sweat, random screams and confused foreigners!

Kirsty with a Poor Bear Ice-cream (or Pooh bear as it is still known- stupid disney and their stupid lawsuits!)

On the Tuesday we went to Portstewart for a Mauds Ice-Cream... mmm... the taste of home! It was really hot and we went a walk round to the strand (big beach). Largely to get away from the karaoke people in the bandstand!

the strand from the convent (you can prob just make out the line of cars on the sand)

Tuesday night brought a double treat with Louise coming over to visit. It was very cool to see her and catch up on her news. It was also very useful to have her around as she can save 6 seats at a time in the big tent (that girl is tall! - wish i had taken a photo!). i have to rely on my body odour to keep the hoards away. Julia also came along after I bumped into her at my mum's church on sunday. It was so exciting to see her again and especially to be with her and worship God together - what an encouragement she is!

Being in Northern ireland certainly has its benefits as you bump into old friends. I have to say though that there were a few gut wrenching moments as i bumped into my old maths teacher Miss Carson (now married with 3 kids) at the causeway and my old french teacher (Mrs McIllhatton) in Coleraine. For some reason, that I still havent worked out, I felt sick when I saw them. I wonder if its guilt from being so cheeky in their classes or just that i dont want to think about school days? Miss Carson told me that I had grown up - I would hope so too - its been 10years since I was in her class!!

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Giant's Causeway


so Rahel, Kirsty and I went to the Giant's Causeway last Monday. its my umpteenth time there but I still find it mesmorising.

This time armed with my new camera I prayed for mist and large waves and perfect photo ops but was met with dull light and no wind at all :-( . Still... the rocks are amazing and at least it wasn't raining. the whole thing makes me feel very small - which I am of course... but sometimes I forget!

After a long wait a small wave lapped over the rocks - yay!

I was trying to get an arty shot of Kirsty sitting at the pinnacle of the rocks. As she was getting ready to pose I saw this little face appear in my viewfinder! there was a little voice saying "help... help me please... I tried to go down the wrong way... help". Kirsty had to help the poor women back up again. i found the whole thing hilarious :-)


Can you spot little Kirsty playin the organ?

Saturday, July 29, 2006

New Horizons

Kirsty and Rahel at the Giant's Causeway

I'm just back from my latest trip to the great norn iron and I have lots of photos to share with you. Kirsty and Rahel (Kirsty's friend from Australia) went with me. We stayed in the university halls at Coleraine (UUC) - the poshest halls I've ever seen - all ensuite and nice furniture! I even thought they had furnished it with a brand new coffee maker until i realised that mum had brought one - i guess it was one of mums essential travel items - hope she can get it to india ok!! We were staying with Mum and Margaret and Alan



it was so good spending time with these guys. I think that made the trip for me. It has been a while since i've see Margaret! We went along to bible readings on Joseph in the mornings and "evening celebration" in the evenings (worship and bible teaching). The evenings were on suffering and how important suffering is in a christian's life. It certainly has flipped a lot of my thinking on its head... still pondering a lot of what was said!
I was also challenged on being more environmentally conscious. Will keep trying on that one!
We spent time in the afternoon doing some touristy things which i'll blog about later...

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

happy birthday to me!!!

its my birthday!! it has been a fab day. it started by several wake-up texts wishing me a happy birthday :-) I woke up to lots of cards - one of them from my aunt cathie had pictures of my 2nd birthday - our family on a cruise up the zambeeze river!!
then i mosyed into work where they gave me a card and a pressie and the usual banter. Had some lovely texts from friends through the day. Now Jamie is home to cook me dinner. Birthdays are so cool!!

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Hazel and Peter's wedding


well in an effort to catch up on recent events I will upload a few pictures from last week's wedding. It was a fab day - much fun and emotionalness for all. Scariest moment was trying to fit into the bodice top which was bought before fat found me in a serious way. I thought i had broken the zip!! eek! anyway... embarassment avoided... i have never prayed so much for a garment of clothing in my life.
Feeling very chubby just now - either need to lose some serious weight or buy a new wardrobe of big clothes! Any ideas on weight loss anyone!?!


I hope my silly poses bring you a smile :-) This is Sarah and I sprinkling confetti over the happy couple (making sure to get some down Peter's neck!). The obligatory picture of Jamie, Finn and Sarah being posh...