the queen's speech

Well, actually, it is more of a list of resolutions.

I think the queen probably said it all as far as the speech goes, and I have no need to add anything. I am not ridiculously wealthy and so have no excuses to make...

Christmas was strange this year because we spent it apart from our dear friends and I missed them terribly. This meant that there was less restraint on family behaviour which was a bad thing- but still quite amusing to see what anguish and heartache could be generated between teenagers over the ownership of a box of chocolates. These small frictions were dwarfed by the pleasure of uniting the family and watching Mysweet's cooking disappear.

As usual, I ate and drank far too much, and will be paying for it this month when I will be beating myself with a stick as I try to cut down on wine and fatty food...

So here is the list:

1 I will go for a good long walk with Porridge every day. Ever since the incident when we were attacked by a dobermanny sort of dog whilst walking in our neighbourhood, our walks have become shorter as I try to avoid places where we have previously met nasty animals. I have been pretending to myself that this isnt the case, and it is just that I dont have enough time.

But it isnt true.

I have a walking stick with a pointy end, and if needs be I will wield it. I must be a bit braver before this turns into a neurosis, and the cupboard is already full of those.

When I am walking I slip into meditation mode and always return full of energy and creative ideas. It would be silly to let one incident spoil this.

2 I will try not to get obsessive about my projects. It is insecurity that makes me work so many long hours preparing things to the very best of my ability. I think it stems from the spinning plate syndrome. I am trying to do lots of different things at once and spend a lot of time rushing from plate to plate to give them all a little shove before they fall of their sticks. And I want everything to be perfect.

3 I will try and establish a routine and keep to it. My whole working life has mainly consisted of working for unpredictable periods and times. This tends to lead to a work ethic of working all the time, paid or not, with no such thing as holidays. When you never know whether you will get enough work, a holiday is just a worrying time when you are not paid. Relax girl... no-one can work all the time.

4 I will blog when I feel like it, and stop worrying about whether my posts are good enough or not. I had some doubts after hearing about yet another blogger being fired after mentioning work, and they were anonymous! I wondered whether I should be talking about my autist students, hiding behind the language difference. I share many wonderful, and awful moments with them which I want to share with you. I will go on doing so. The more we can understand everyone's differences, the better the world will be. Their identities will remain protected.

5 I will get out and meet more people socially. There is a whole world out there, even if it is a small one in Brittany...

6 I will lose enough weight that I will be able to go to the sales and buy something that isnt from the outsize shop...two weeks is cutting it fine, but who knows!

7 I will be honest with myself.

Oh dear, I seem to have come over all serious, which isn't like me at all.

A frivolous resolution is required or at least a resolution to do something I like...

8 I will play the piano every day, and not just when I am waiting for the computer to boot up or have to learn an accompaniment to a song for my students.

There, that's enough to be going on with...

I promise to be frivolous next time.

Happy 2010 everyone!

New Year speech to the nation (a little late)

Time’s rolling on, and that New Year speech of mine is still not ready for you-tube yet, but I don’t have the same staffing levels as her majesty. This has not been an annus horribilis for us, and none of our palaces has burnt down. In fact the teetering edifice which is our family life has made it through yet another year without major mishap.

My sweet H has made enormous quantities of very nice jam, some really good pickle and some quite disgusting pickle. In his hunter gatherer sort of way, he has brought home a quarter of a pig and half a lamb, both of which he was acquainted with before their demise. (The pig was living on straw, he said, and seemed to think that this was a good thing.) As a result of this, the freezers are full of obscure body parts that I cannot identify, and, even if I could, would not know how to cook without reference to cookery books with lots of very tiny print indeed and written by scary Victorian women in frilly aprons, “take one pig’s bladder, soak for six weeks in cider and stuff with finely chopped pancreas…”
Drummer boy has fallen in love, given a lot of drum lessons, played a lot of concerts, and annoyed the neighbours with his deafening drum practice. He has been worn thin by his spectacular social life “A night in? What does that mean?”
Darling D has briefly experienced green hair, given a party in our absence which shot her to fame amongst her peers, and watched an extraordinary amount of English television.
Porridge’s nose has become pink, and Kitty has expertly dismembered a mole, but not before it left 24 molehills in the lawn.
And what of me you ask? (If you have bothered to read this far...)

I have decided to retire from singing because no-one asked me to sing and then decided to sing again, because some one asked me to sing.
I have improved my piano playing (there was plenty of room for that).
I have started a novel, got stuck, and got restarted.
I have discovered blogging.
I have won a shiny cup with Porridge (OK, so it was cheap and nasty, I don’t care, it is still shiny and a cup).
I have ridden the bipolar fairground ride, sometimes with white knuckles, and not tampered with my brain chemistry in spite of tempting prescriptions from ignorant doctors.
I am 3 kilos overweight.
And I am still here.

I have only one resolution for 2008, and that is to be around to give another speech at the end of it.