25 Things About Me

 I have taken this post directly from my FB site. Currently I am totally bogged down with end of term stuff and the many functions and responsibilities I have before my boss retires in just over a week. It's an emotional time. I have taken on a lot of extra work, so for today- I'm recycling.

1) I have drunk a mug of chocolate Nesquik nearly every day for the last 14 years.
2) I once won a competition on the radio for the fact that I only buy cheese if the price ends in 5 or 0.
3) I clean my ears to a silly degree and have given myself ear infections.
4) I have some of the same friends I have had since I was 9.
5) I once convinced a lot of people at school that the yellow haired old man supply was a friend's Grandad. She didn't laugh as much as me.
6) A fat man once sat on my hand and broke 2 of my fingers at center parcs. It did get me out of all cross country sessions!
7) My only Valentine card was from an elderly dog this year.
8) I am very untidy.
9) I have a horrible singing voice but have to sing a lot at work.
10) I love my job.
11) I can learn 30 children's names in half an hour..try me!
12) When I sneeze, I always get goosebumps.
13) I have been a vegetarian since I was 13 except from the time at a Girl Guide event when I forgot and ate a sausage roll.
14) I swam by a barracuda on holiday in the Maldives...it was massive and a bit terrifying.
15) I hated P.E, Maths and ICT at school. Now I am responsible for them in my job and have grown to love them.
16) I am very close to my brother and sisters. A friend of ours said they would "do the set".
17) When I taught Italian twins, the only words I learnt were Polar Bear and starfish.
18) I nearly lost the end of my left middle finger when I was very little. You can still see the stitch marks.
19) Barry Manilow's Copacobana is one of my all time favourite songs.
20) My cat Frodo has his own Facebook page.
21) I cry at E.T, Gladiator and Awakenings...other films leave me cold.
22) Me and my sister laughed until our sides hurt once when we watched our Grandma picking baked beans off the grass....we told her my dad didn't like them on the grass because birds don't eat them.
23) I am scared of caterpillars and slugs make me gag.
24) I once tried to bleach my hair and it was white yellow at the top and orange at the bottom. I was then followed by a man in a posh car who tried to proposition me.
25) I always sing to magpies to wish away their bad luck.

Harry Potter's Cloak of Invisibility

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was on yesterday. I make no secret of the fact that I love the films and have read each book cover to cover. I love them. Genius books which have got children and adults alike excited about reading again.
One of the things I LOVE about the books is the wonderful magical objects. In yesterday's film, we saw the Marauder's Map for the first time. This is by far my favourite of J K Rowling's inventions. The map is not static and shows where everyone is at that moment in Hogwarts but will hide its secrets with the words 'mischief managed'. Brilliant. What a wonderful idea.

I also love Harry's Cloak of Invisibilty. So many applications for this in the Muggle world.
Sometimes, unbeknown to me, I apparently have my own cloak of invisibility. I thought about this a little bit today when I saw a neighbour of my mum's who is a particularly nasty and small minded man. To give you an example of just how empty his sad little life is, he noticed when my mum had new tyres. Yes, not new hub caps....tyres.
Anyway, because he is an exceptionally rude and small minded man, and because I hate confrontation, rather than deal with him, both he and I pretend we cannot see each other when I come to visit my mum. We both put on the Cloak of Invisibility. Thus awkward situations are avoided. Today I got to the door, passing him without a glance between us.
I wore this cloak a lot in the run up to my court case. People who had said things about me which were untrue, were suddenly not able to see me in public. They would become engrossed in yogurt choosing or magazine browsing. Sadly, though I was apparently wearing the cloak,  I was unable to sail through the tesco checkouts without paying for my goods.

I am guilty of pretending others are wearing the cloak too. There is a particular man....I have referred to him as a free loading sleazebag in a previous entry...whom I always pretend not to see until there is no possible way I can avoid him any more. I do it to people who have upset members of my family too. This, in my opinion is the 'grown up' way of dealing with it, rather than pick a fight.
In my youth, I'd imagine what I'd do for a day if I was invisible. I don't give much thought now to what I'd do with this particular gift in my 30's. I am pretty sure I would not be up to any good though.
If I was clever and knew how to do it, I should transfer lots of money into my account, or delete my debts. Perhaps I'd give myself a payrise, lower my rent, have my ex suddenly finding he was on America's Most Wanted list?
However, I am a 30 something with a child like brain and an infantile habit of ignoring those I don't like, whilst getting annoyed that they ignore me!