Neath, Rhyll samba

As the title of this post suggests I am still playing around with Bethany's foam letters to come up with anagrams of her name and as an affectation I thought I might start using them to title these posts although I may soon tire of the idea or run out of decent anagrams.
   Bethany herself has had another tooth break through with what appears to be a few more on the way with the subsequent discomfort that ensues. The teething gel does offer her some relief but she does not appear to like having it applied as she keeps her mouth shut when I try to rub some on her gums. Once successfully negotiating my gel covered finger into her mouth I then have the challenge of her biting down on it which I have not managed every time.
   I am not sure why I am so reticent to admit my interest in the supervisor role that came up at work, albeit in a temporary capacity, as everybody expects that I would do so. This was in fact one of the main reasons I came into the department in the first place as I had gone as far as I could as Laboratory Manager for the foreseeable future so the move into process allowed me the opportunity to climb up to eventually end up in the Shift Brewers office. The fact that it paid more for less hours and less hassle made it a no brainer at the time but I still don't feel comfortable discussing this with others for some reason. The circumstances of the vacancy don't particularly help as one of the current supervisors is taking a sabbatical from the role as he continues to cope with the loss of his wife and I feel slightly like I might be treading on his toes - advancing my own position at the expense of his grief.
   There was a pause for thought as weekend working is required and Alison is picking up most of her shifts at the weekend but it should be manageable as it is only 1 weekend in 7 and it tends to be only for a few hours. The fact that it does not come with much of a pay increase is not that much of a concern as I think of the bigger picture which is why I did put my name forward. In fact it would appear perverse if I did not do so as I have come this far taking and passing the AME and moving into process after expressing a desire to become a shift brewer. It certainly does not mean that I will get the job as no doubt others who have been in the department longer will also be worth considering but to not apply would have been a mistake.

It is strange that I feel like I have got a bit more done this weekend despite doing overtime and going to work on Friday night. This was possible because Alison was off Saturday allowing me to have a sleep although I did get up earlier to have some weekend. Not having to spend all day with Bethany on my own allowed for more spare time for a little while before going for tea to the pub where we met Helen who was with Fiona and Adrian who had come down to visit. Their daughter Emily was quite taken with Bethany and assumed the big sister role, constantly referring to her as Baby Bethany. After eating they enjoyed running around the soft play area and outside on the slide with Bethany managing to clamber her way up both using the stairs and via the slide itself.
   Bethany then took great delight in simply running in circles around the lounge area of the pub much to the amusement of several people who were quite taken by her and commented that her pink shoes with flashing lights reminded them of Dorothy and her ruby slippers - I thought it best not to point out the colour discrepancy and gave a polite sort of smile before continuing to follow Bethany on her next circuit. It was repetitive and I managed to grab a drink as we passed our table but it did have the upside of wearing Bethany out so that she slept well last night.
   That was then and now the house is upside down again and the white T-shirt I put on Bethany is looking like a big mistake. Partaking of an Easter egg I felt compelled to give Bethany some which of course accounts for the chocolate stains but it also looks like she has been involved in a massacre as I gave her some strawberries thinking healthily after she had already wolfed down two bananas. The strawberries proved to be not so popular and she had more fun squashing then on her tray and rubbing her sleeves in the puree as I later discovered. She now looks like she is wearing a Jackson Pollock interpretation of a Neapolitan ice cream.

A bit of a shame yesterday as the nursery had a photographer in taking pictures of the children. As Bethany was not due in we could still make an appointment to have her picture taken and we duly arrived at 1:50 pm to do so. She happily marched in waving at the girls who work there but as we walked past her area and toward where the photographer had set up she started getting upset and the tears soon followed. She clung to me and would not let go and every attempt to put her down resulted in more tears despite our best efforts to distract her with toys and even one of the girls coming across from the nursery.
   It appeared that we were the last appointment of the day and as the photographer started to pack up we realised that it was not to be and we had missed the chance for this year. The assistant manager obviously felt a little sorry for us as we left and said that she would try to get a good photo of her whilst at nursery as she was happy enough to have her picture taken then. This is more usual as she does enjoy her photo being taken and will pose for the camera, but the last time we had a professional photographer take some pictures she got upset then as well.
   Her clinginess was probably down to the fact that Bethany was tired as she often has a sleep around that time and she remained so as we visited Stan and Judith afterwards to drop off Ju's birthday present and rather than run around their garden she sat in my lap. She did perk up after about three quarters of an hour and was soon happily throwing sweets on their lawn, but a quick trip to the river whilst it was still nice saw her fall asleep in the car.
   She continues to grow as is to be expected as we got her a second pair of shoes today to fit her size 4F feet. Half a size in five months doesn't sound a lot but that is probably for the best at £30 a pop. Curiously as her feet get bigger her pushchairs get smaller as Alison insisted that we had to get a stroller - something more lightweight with summer approaching and Bethany keener to walk more. Personally I could not see a huge amount of difference from the pushchair we already have other than the colour and it meant a fight with the winter version as I tried to dismantle it before hiding it in the attic.

Anna's been in the wars again much to Alison's anguish as she fell over the other night when crossing the road. Her first comment was to protest that she wasn't drunk and had only sipped a couple of halves but from the sound of it she appears to have lost her footing crossing where a speed bump was. What sounds fairly innocuous does not look so innocent with a cut that required stitches and black eye for her troubles. After failing to staunch the bleeding and with towells and furniture covered in blood Anna called 111 who sent an ambulance and when the paramedics could not stop the bleeding they took her to casualty where she waited four hours before being patched up.
   As Anna pointed out these incidents do seem to occur when my parents are away on holiday so we may need to ensure that they remain housebound in the future.

This weekend Bethany has been investigating flora and fauna. A walk round South Park saw her stop to pick up and pull apart what felt like every daisy and dandelion and quite a few blades of grass as well. She was fascinated but I did have to stop her from running to the flowerbeds to destroy the plants. As usual she was amused also by the ducks and geese on the duck pond and she attempted to follow the squirrels, walking round a tree when she saw one do likewise.
   Her curiosity continued at home and she has pulled off a number of flowers from a bush in the back being happy enough to run around on the decking. No doubt my father will be pleased to know that the step he put in to allow her easy access up and down the decking has not had much use as she climbs down straight onto the flags, finding two steps to be more effort. She does enjoy climbing as our stairs testify and as well as the steps leading from the duck pond to the cafe at the park found out yesterday.

Woo - and indeed - hoo! Not only have I received feedback for one of my poems but they were rather positive about it as well. I can die happy in the knowledge that I have created something that has given somebody else pleasure assuming that they have no reason to just be polite. Or perhaps they are a polite person who can't say a bad word about anyone and felt obliged to post something on my Guestbook out of pity. I'll let Mr. Pessimist take a back seat on this one and allow my ego to have a massage and if nothing else having words of praise in my Guestbook can only be a good thing.
   It has given me more confidence about continuing with this venture - not that I was thinking of stopping - now that I've done a couple in quite a good turn around time. My initial fears about writing personalised poems for people I did not know are fading and strangely I have found the last couple of efforts to have been easier than those I did for family and friends (or myself). This I put down to the fact that I know too much information about those close to me and trying to edit that down can be quite painstaking. At such times Helen has chipped in with suggestions about what events she thinks are important for poems done for our parents and if others do likewise it can get a bit unwieldy.
   Poems ordered from Design a Rhyme come with a limited number of facts and information and such constraints can help focus as I know what I have to write about without being distracted by personal views. Also the fear of writing poems for family anniversaries and special occasions is that the number may change but the personnel generally doesn't. In that regard I'm already worrying about my father's 70th birthday and it's not for another 3 years. It may well be expected, and I don't resent that (in fact I'm quite proud), especially since I've started this little business up, but what more do I have to say that I did not already mention on his 60th. If he hadn't framed a copy I could have hoped the senility had kicked in and just replaced the 6 with a 7 and see if he noticed (only joking Dad, honest).
   With those done via the website I have composed them in less than a day whereas family occasions poems can take upto a week.  In the case of the latter I will have the main structure and most of the couplets worked out in the first afternoon and the rest of the time is spent redrafting safe in the knowledge that it is not needed until a certain date. If somebody buys one then I will continue with any redrafts until it is complete in order to send it to the customer as soon as possible.
   All I need now is a few more orders.

Another self-pitying weekend as I bravely battle against man-flu. Well a sore throat and blocked nose at least which is not very interesting but incredibly annoying as I've just got rid of one bug and they never really used to bother me. One of the side effects that I keep forgetting about is that I can taste very little: after picking up some lollies and other treats on the weekly shop I had one after unpacking thinking the ice cream would be soothing on my throat. Aside from not being able to taste it it had also part defrosted by the time I got home so was no longer as soothing as I hoped. More disappointing was the special offer on wine where I bought a Sauvignon Blanc for Alison priced at £9.50 ish and a Bordeaux for myself which they had marked up at £13 odd in the 2 bottles for £10 deal. Knowing that they were still making a profit I nevertheless looked forward to sampling a wine that ordinarily cost more than I would pay only to detect the warming alcohol sensation.
   Curiously there are some things that I can still taste which unsurprisingly include balsamic vinegar and menthol (not together) and more surprisingly pine nuts. As I was preparing tea it led me to think what a chef would do with a cold if he could not taste his creations: rely on following a strict recipe that has served him well and hope that the ingredients he is using are similar to produce his dish, get others to taste for him or more likely not come in if he is contagious and sneezing or coughing all over the kitchen.
   Even more annoying is the fact that my metabolism is saying it's mid-winter but the weekend weather announced SUMMER'S HERE. At least it gave Bethany the opportunity to play out the back which she enjoyed and in particular the table and chairs that Alison picked up for her. Her favourite routine was to carry the chairs back into the house and put them down in the dining room before shouting at me to carry the table in for her after she only managed to drag it a couple of feet. Once done she would reverse the process and repeat with her furniture removal tiring her long after it had done me.

Now I'm on a roll. Another poem order - I almost feel like a professional now. I was nervous at first as the customer ordered a 36 line poem but did not initially provide too much information but after receiving a few more details I sent the resultant poem within 24 hours of first seeing the request. Given that Bethany has been quite needy and I did a full shift at work I was a little smugly satisfied at how quickly I turned it round. I did ask for any feedback and I've been checking my e-mails all day like a needy teenager waiting to see if the girl he fancies likes him as well but to no avail so far.
   It is giving me an insight to those guestbooks that pop up elsewhere and also to the question about where you heard about them and I can sympathise with such requests. I feel particularly anxious about an independent review as this is a new venture and as previously mentioned it would be nice to know how other people receive my efforts and whether it is worth continuing.

Curiously the busier my day the less I have to write about. I'm not leading an adventure strewn life, it is the quotidian events that eats up my hours. So aside from having less time to spend blogging it does not seem worthwhile to report on household chores and going to work. Further lack of time can usually be attributed to Bethany and whilst she is still unwell she is particularly demanding. Not that I begrudge her my time only that I am having to play catch up at the moment.
   Having less time to spend blogging is probably no bad thing as I do have a tendency to waffle on and I could really do with a good editor. Not that I particularly mind rambling on as long as I don't get too boring or repetitive but it does feel like a guilty pleasure. That is one of the reasons why I am quite taken with Twitter as the restrictive format means I have to cut a lot of my meanderings. To avoid any danger of scribbling any nonsense about what I had for breakfast I restricted myself further by posting all my tweets in haiku form @quickhaiku and have since set up another account for my Design a Rhyme site
@designarhyme where I tweet in couplet form.
   A confession, however: The other day Alison fancied some chocolate and not having any in the house she decided to break into Bethany's Easter egg supply. The chocolate buttons she gave to Bethany and pretending that she would not enjoy the egg itself started to eat that. I made a futile attempt to prevent this before helping myself to some of the chocolate. The justification that she has plenty does not assuage the guilt especially as we have our own from each other but I had already ruled those out earlier as it is not yet Easter. Alison then came up with the excuse that she was giving Bethany a treat with the buttons and once the chocolate shell had been broken to get them then we had to eat that.

We've spent most of this evening waiting for medical people to look at Bethany who has been rather unwell today. She has not eaten much today and around tea time she started shivering so for Alison's peace of mind we took her to the walk-in centre. They had difficulty doing some checks as Bethany was upset so administered a bit more paracetamol and sent us to the children's day ward at the hospital. This did not allay Ali's fears much but she had picked up a little and after some initial examinations by the staff nurse and junior doctor we were left waiting in the examination room for the senior doctor to take his turn. All the staff we encountered were excellent as you would expect but we must have spent about three hours from arriving at the walk-in clinic to leaving the hospital where they assured us that it was nothing serious but gave us a slip for open access for 48 hours - which basically means if she gets any worse we can go straight back to the ward without involving a GP first. Luckily on getting back to my car I was relieved to see that I had not got a ticket as I did not have enough spare change on me when we arrived for the car park. I did not expect to need any, the machine did not take notes or texts and I was not really in the mood to go hunting for change with a sick baby stripped to her nappy in my arms. I'm sure there is probably somewhere else to park outside the visitors car park in such situations but again I was not going to start searching.
   An equally disturbing thing occurred this afternoon when I was getting my hair cut. Another man was getting his hair cut behind me and I thought nothing of the snippets of conversation that drifted over concerning going down to Blackburn. I assumed he was referring to watching a football match but then he mentioned about people wanting to disrupt the Royal Wedding but he'd be there in front of Buckingham Palace. The barber who had been doing my hair asked if was EDL to his assistant after he'd left which she confirmed but, a little too keenly for my liking, described how he'd talked of marching against a mosque in Blackburn.
   I really don't have the time and inclination do detail why they are so wrong and that is probably for another blog although he did leave with a stereotypical skinhead - mind you I was getting my head shaved as well but suffice to say the Queen can rest easy knowing that some morons are coming down to relieve the pressure from her Guards and they can be guaranteed to do a bang up job of keeping the peace.