Another day, another shoe-related injury.

Thank god the gym is closed for refurb tomorrow. Means I won't feel guilty about not going (and I can have a couple of drinks tonight....)

I think there's some christmas cake left in the tin... now I just need to warm my hands up enough to open it without dropping it!

That's it... I definitely want to get a Xylophone this year...

Carl Orff - Musik fur Kinder III, No. 15

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osdgmGvC5S4



*wonders if there'd be any way of arranging a percussion day sometime in the future just for fun*

Oh.. and naughty, naughty Hans Zimmer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq5kbNW8VKU

Top composer, Carl Orff. Can't beat a bit of 'Carmina Burana'.

LOL at this guy..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjABuQslkqs

Oh dear...the England cricket team didn't do too well ...

I'm just posting because I've added a new line to my signature!

b-c likes!

Now I've structured my practice sessions, the 3 hours seems to pass so quickly it's amazing...

Can I convince my children that I *need* to go away on two music courses this summer?

Can you take them with you to one/both?

No.

Last year I went on one course and one daughter was on another music course at the same time somewhere else. I'm hoping it will be at the same time again this year - this sorts out once course and one daughter (but unfortunately I can't send second daughter on it as it is for brass instruments only) - I think it's a bit much too hope that I can find courses for both daughters at the same time as mine. I'm currently thinking of trying "Wouldn't it be fun to spend a week with Grandma without me?" (and to my mother, "wouldn't it be nice for you to have your grand-children to yourself for a week?")

On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, I often spend my time at work thinking about all the things I could be doing, if only my time were my own. I could be tootling some music, or out on my bike, or any number of fun and interesting things (which, regretably, do not pay the bills - hence the fact I am at work).

On Thursdays, though...on Thursdays I go to my music lesson after work. So not only am I sitting here at my desk wishing I was tootling, I'm sitting here next to my recorders wishing I was tootling. It's definitely most unfair

Just found out my 8 year old has had a 50 word story selected to be published in a book. It seems like there will be one for each county so hers will be in Bedfordshire.

I am so proud!!!! Imagine going to the library as an eight year old and getting out the book that has your story in it. Cool

How exciting! And your husband will be able to embarrass her with it on her wedding day! Seriously, though, congratulations to her; it may be the first of many writings.

Oh wow! Will have to read it!

Very well done!

I re read my post and realised it wasn't that clear - what I meant was there is a book published for each county with a master copy being held at the British Library. So her story is one of 300 or so in Bedfordshire I think. But still a lovely achievement for a child.

Anyway here it is (all 50 words)

THE HAUNTED HOUSE
Kirsty stood in front of the big purple doors at the front of the house.
It was falling to pieces. Suddenly the doors snapped open and bats flew
out of the chimney. She crept in. Not a single thing moved, a fat spider crept forward.
Kirsty ran quickly back home.

I particularly like the sentence that contradicts itself!

She was so excited when I told her. It made my day, in fact, week, as it's been cr@p so far.

good story!

I wonder if the British Library would let people read/see copies...it's not far from Clari Towers...

Zzzz...

That is very good Mini Mo and I can understand your proudness. My son is 12 and also to have his short story published, however we ordered the book and have now been waiting since October to receive it. I too felt very proud.

We have no idea what his story is about though, he has made us wait! lol

That's fab!!
I have a friend who is an author, and one of his things he does other than 'proper books' is 'micro-fiction' on twitter, so you get 140 characters! The other thing he's done is 'six word stories', which apparently Earnest Hemmingway championed. Here some are, for those intrigued by it

So you never know where one published short-story could lead

Once upon a time there was a lovely little sausage called Baldrick, and it lived happily ever after. The End

Sausages. You know how to make me hungry. I haven't had a proper sausage for a long time.

Bars 60-64 of Chopin's raindrop are absolutely amazing... Sends tingles down my spine

Fantastic achievement to both of you! Well done!

They often say that a short story is in many ways more difficult than a full novel as have to convey a lot in not a lot of words!

Congratulations. You are rightly proud!

No one wants to go to the Pantomime with me. Most of the usual suspects are in it!

I love the whole piece.

But that bit is particularly nice!

Today's Evening Standard reports of "a new web craze in which young girls make their virtual characters adopt [orphans] as fashion accessories... The creators are the team behind Miss Bimbo which has more than 2 million members and was attacked for encouraging young girls to give their characters diet pills and boob jobs"

That's crazy! I really worry about young girls and negative self-image...I've been really lucky in that I've always been surrounded by strong, beautiful women with tons of self-confidence of all shapes and sizes, and they've taught me that whoever you are, you're beautiful if you believe it for yourself however, my barely six years old cousin told me just the other day that she hated the way her "tummy stuck out" and that as she's quite tall for her age, she wishes she was small and had a "flat tummy" like her best friend and the "ladies she sees on TV" I was really shocked and really quite cross that media can have such a terrible impact on such very young children!

My cat Slinky would hereby like the following to be publicly know:

It's bad enough to be part-shaved and have a staple shoved in your fantastic war-wound.
It's tolerable to be injected with antibiotics.
It's bearable, being given daily painkillers.
It's a trial not having access to the outside world for 10 days.
But the ultimate indignity will not be tolerated - a bright-blue soft Elizabethan/buster collar!

(And I can see her sitting there thinking "well, at least my human-slaves aren't mean enough to take a photo of me in this thing and share it with their friends")

Andy Murray's doing OK at the moment...

My reckoning is a loss in the final. Although I would enjoy him winning the tournament.

He's got Cilic next, and that will be a challenge...

I have foot in mouth disease lately. I can't remember that last time I had a conversation in which I didn't say something insensitive, arrogant-sounding, or completely insufferable. Accidentally, but...

If I were in a conversation with me, I wouldn't like me.

I do know what you mean; I often feel the same about myself. But, for what it's worth (and I know it's not the same thing) I always enjoy reading your posts on the Forums.

Anyone else got the Murray-Cilic tennis match on?

Cilic has broken Andys serve

Didn't take long and Cilic is playing a lot better than Andy at the moment...

Well Andy lost first set but has a break now in the second

One set each now.

Andy now has a serve for the third set

Yep thats 2 sets to 1 for Andy now

....and he has a break in the fourth set. Nearly there now !

Thanks. That does make me feel a bit better.

5-1 in the fourth set, just one more game and its all over !

If he's having a break, won't the other chap win?

Andy soon polished him off 6-2 in final set.

(but glad he won )

Unfortunately I was at college or travelling to college during the tennis today. I checked the bbc website for score updates using my mobile and was happy when Andy won.