Spread your wings and fly away

It has been a funny old day, as Mr. Arkwright would say in Open all hours.

It was very busy, not helped by having to make my way through rush hour traffic to get into town and home again to pick my son up from the library.

Now I assumed that he had gone to the library to do either:

Studying
homework.

Alas, silly me, no.

He spent the time there playing on the computer with his friend.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't what I am typing on now a computer? Is this not good enough? Why go to the library to do that?

"Well it was fun" he says when I ask him that very same question.

ok, again silly me.

So dinner was late again because I had to drop everything to get to the other side of town in rush hour traffic to pick you up.

Next time WALK!

There are times when you wonder why the hell you bothered. You try and keep everyone informed of events that are happening. You decide that you want everything out in the open and so you make sure everyone has a copy of the latest information sheet.

What do you get?

A thank you for your time?

A thanks for the effort?

No.

You get somebody complaining that you are wasting paper when one sheet on a board somewhere would have done.

The thing is the person who complained never ever reads the board and is the one that complains no one tells her anything!!!!!

In other news, i am tired, fed up and need a drink. There is a bottle of wine with my name on it and I am going to drink it (well one glass at least!)

Sorry to all those that I have missed birthdays for, I really am getting lax, but things are really hectic here, hadn't expected working full time was going to eat into my home life this much and can't access blog on the computer at work AGGGHHH

Hope you all had a good birthday anyway!

Right have to go and get some food into my starving children's mouths!

Take care xxx

I'm on a diet and want chocolate!!!

Dammit.

There are maltesers in the fridge, I am off to have some

I am going to apologise for being a crap friend.

I have missed a few birthdays.

I have missed quite a few posts.

I have missed even more private posts.

I am snowed under at the minute. Work is very busy - only had 15 of my 30 mins lunch break today and still ended up staying way after I should have finished trying to catch up.

I have resorted to bringing work home, something I said I would never do.

So if I don't pop on i hope you forgive me.

Anyhow in other news, it looks increasingly like youngest is Dyspraxic. The more I research it, the more he fits in that category. As they say knowledge is power. Spoke to the SENCO this evening and the latest assessment suggests that is the case. Now I have the long wait for an appointment from the local assessment centre to have it officially confirmed. In the meantime plans are in place to get him as much support as possible for this year and for when he starts high school, which reminds me, I have just managed to apply for that online

At least my suspicions have been confirmed and I know what we are dealing with.

Right paperwork calls

You know you are going to have a bad day, when yet again you wake up with a headache that you know was not alcohol induced, your shopping is late arriving and you have a child who cannot keep his room tidy and frequently loses things in there on a regular basis!

I am trying not to let all this get to me though. I have left hubby to deal with it all as I cannot be arsed to do so.

Yesterday evening saw us all (as in the quiz team) at Henlow stadium to watch the greyhounds run. Now I am not really into greyhound racing, I know full well what happens to a lot of them once they are past their best, often destroyed if homes are not found for them, and I am acutely aware that there are a lot of Greys that are in need of homes otherwise they will be destroyed.

Anyway not entering into a debate about this one as I have my views on it but last night was good fun. A great meal - mozarella cheese and tomato tartlets for starters, lamb with dauphonese potatoes and vegetables for main and I succumbed to the marmalade bread and butter pudding with vanilla custard for desert and it was delicious! Not being a betting person, along with hubby I only put £1 on each race, managed to win three times out of 10 races so in the end I got back 3 of the £10 I decided to spend!

highlight of the evening - the trainer who put the dog into the trap then promptly fall over (shouldn't have laughed but it was quite funny. the amount of them that pooped before the race - can't believe we were betting on the ones that had pooped in the hope that it made them run faster and this was without wine!!

Disco afterwards which wasn't all that good but a nice end to what was a great evening with friends really.

This morning I looked at my retired racer. He is now very lazy, even getting the other dog to bark for him if he can. He was one of the lucky ones, he found a home, one that cares for him where he can live his days in peace. Greys are affectionate dogs. They love attention and that much was in evidence on the track yesterday. They love you stroking them, and they love to eat and sleep. Generally they are pretty lazy really, even if they do enjoy chasing a rabbit

Right enough of this rambling, have to go and do some work now, planning will not do itself

Three women friends, one in a casual relationship, one engaged to be married, and one a long-time wife, met for drinks after work. The conversation eventually drifted towards how best to spice up their sex lives.

After much discussion, they decided to surprise their men by engaging in some S&M role-playing.

The following week they met up again to compare notes.

Sipping her drink, the single girl leered and said, "Last Friday at the end of the work day I went to my boyfriend's office wearing a leather coat. When all the other people had left, I slipped out of it and all I had on was a leather bodice, black stockings and stiletto heels. He was so aroused that we made mad passionate love on his desk right then and there!"

The engaged woman giggled and said, "That's pretty much my story! When my fiance got home last Friday, he found me waiting for him in a black mask, leather bodice, black hose and stiletto pumps. He was so turned on that we not only had sex all night, he wants to move up our wedding date!"

The married woman put her glass down and said, "I did a lot of planning. I made arrangements for the kids to stay over at Grandma's. I took a long scented-oil bath and then put on my best perfume. I slipped into a tight leather bodice, a black garter belt, black stockings and six-inch stilettos. I finished it off with a black mask."

"Well?!," exclaimed the other two. "What happened?!"

"When my husband got home from work, he grabbed a beer and the remote, sat down and yelled, 'Hey, Batman, what's for dinner?'"

You will be glad to here, I have calmed down a little since my last post (sorry it was friends only just needed to vent a little). After a sleepless night of tossing and turning, managed to put things away in their little compartments in my mind.

As I look out of the window the weather does not look all that promising at all. It is quite windy outside, but hoping that it will brighten up later. The last thing I feel like right now is work, but alas, it has to be done. Need I say the housework is still sitting here untouched, the dog hair laying everywhere now and dust on the telly and coffee table which looks ugly indeed. The washing is threatening to take over the bathroom, the ironing is rapidly turning into a mountain. Do I care? At this precise moment no, not really. I may do some when I come home tonight, given up expecting anyone to help.

What has really annoyed me though is someone has played with the stapler. I have a load of loose staples all over the computer desk and it has been left. No effort has been made to throw them away! Do they really think that things manage to disappear round here!

Can feel myself stressing again!

is it me or is this week dragging?

Right going to have some breakfast and get out of that door and face whatever they have instore for me today at work.

Have a good day everyone!

hugs xxxxx

Working in a school can be fun.

I mean where else can you guarantee that within the first week you will suffer from:

1) a cold
2) an upset stomach
3) have bruises where children have either: pushed their chairs into you or run into you because they are not looking!!

On top of this I have the monthly joys of being a woman (not!!) a stye on my eye and a very sore knee!!

I have a mountain of work to do and haven't done any housework yet - that is annoying me already as despite asking several times for a certain someone to hoover the floor for me, it still hasn't been done. I will, no doubt, be buried under dog hair soon.

Last day of the holidays has arrived, back to work tomorrow which is a stupid day to go back on. Simon starts sixth form college this morning. He gets his timetable and gets shown round the building as far as I can make out. He is on the courses of his choice - maths, further maths, chemistry, biology and he has to do the ECDL course but I know he will sail through that one. Can't help but feel he is taking on too much but I have arranged for him to have a little help with his maths, not that he needs it, but sometimes to have someone explain something from a different perspective or different teaching style can make it so much easier and he has benefitted from the extra help for his GCSE, so we are keeping it on.

His only problem now is to find a Saturday job which seem to be few and far between at the moment. It is frustrating him a little but I am sure one will come up eventually.

Woke to the news that the Government have managed to make changes to education again. All children will have to stay in full time education until they are 17 now, that should be fun trying to keep my youngest in school for that long. While I am all for further education and getting as much as you can out of it, I wonder if it will help those children who are bored with school, who are not challenged, who are left unsupported either by home or school, those that struggle like Richard does. When some schools take in children as young as three years of age, you can't help but wonder why so many of them decide to keep away from school - will making them stay there if they don't want to be there until they are 17 help this situation? I don't think so though on the other hand there is no requirement for them to spend that time in the classroom if they are not academically minded, as they may receive training elsewhere, say in the construction industry for example.

On top of this there are huge changes in the curriculum again for secondary schools at all levels with a diploma being introduced

The curriculum will still include the statutory requirements for learners to gain strong foundations in English and mathematics and to be able to see the importance of subjects and their applications to the real world.

However, the new curriculum will encourage schools to plan events, out-of-school learning, daily routines and involvement in the local community in ways that enrich the learning that takes place in the classroom. Learners will gain valuable life skills through this sort of learning experience, such as managing money and engaging in debate.

Schools will also look at how the skills used in different subjects can be brought together, and will plan the school day to allow this to happen. So, for example, in an area where flooding is a problem, geography and citizenship teachers might jointly plan work on why flooding happens and what local people can do to protect themselves.

The new curriculum will blend the best of old and new, with individual schools deciding what changes will be most helpful in improving the curriculum that they offer.

At key stage 3 your child will do the full range of subjects: art and design, citizenship, design and technology, English geography, history, ICT, mathematics, modern foreign languages, music, PE, PSHEE (personal, social, health and economic education), religious education and science.

At key stage 4 they will do citizenship, English, ICT, mathematics, PE, PSHEE, religious education and science, as well as a selection of the optional subjects offered by individual schools.

Schools will decide how to organise the curriculum, so each subject may not appear on your child's timetable every week.

We have reviewed all subjects to ensure there is a stronger emphasis on the skills needed for life and work.
We have developed a set of personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS), which draw together the skills pupils need for success in learning and life. These skills cut across subjects and can be developed through the full range of activities and events offered by schools. So, for example, participating in a fundraising challenge will help young people to become good at planning, working as a team and presenting their ideas with confidence. Setting challenging homework will develop learners as independent thinkers who can manage their time effectively.
PSHE education has grown in importance and scope at both key stages. Two main areas will be taught:

* personal wellbeing
* economic wellbeing and financial capability.

Personal wellbeing includes health-related issues such as teaching about sex and relationships, and drugs and alcohol. Pupils will be taught to understand and recognise the importance of personal identity, to feel positive about who they are and to understand the values of others in the diverse communities in which they live. Economic wellbeing and financial capability will develop an understanding of how to manage money and be an informed consumer. It will also include careers education.

The new curriculum has an increased emphasis on functional skills, the core elements of English, maths and ICT that provide pupils with the essential knowledge, skills and understanding to be confident, effective and independent in life and at work.

In fairness, the high school Simon has just left, was one of the first to implement a lot of this before it became a national thing. They joined up with one of the local colleges and offered NVQs and apprenticeships in engineering, construction and hairdressing. A lot of the schools in the area sent some of their pupils along as well to benefit from it. They realised that not all students were academically minded and to keep them in school they offered an alternative that they might be interested in instead. They got a lot of support and funding from a local trust in the area and quite a few children have benefited from it so hopefully when it is Richards turn to go there, there will be something that he can find he can do rather than the endless problems we are getting now.

So the changes may or may not work depending on the delivery of the curriculum, teaching style of the teacher delivering it, the way the timetable is structured (something that will cause headaches with all teachers and head teachers alike) and if your child likes that style of teaching or not.

Will it raise standards in education? that remains to be seen.

1. What was the name of the first Roman Emperor.
Augustus Caeser

2. In which part of the body are red blood cells made.
Bone marrow

3. What is the largest mountain in Africa.
Kilamanjaro

4. Who is Captain of Blogship Lollipop.
La-Spice

5. Where is Nelsons Column.
Trafalgar Square

6. What are Bonsai.
small japanese trees

7. What is a baby Kangaroo called.
A joey

8. Who runs the blogships boutique.
Ladee-bird

9. In which Ocean is Christmas Island.
Pacific ocean

10. Who is President of New Zealand.
Helen Clark

11. What blogger makes the best cocktails on board ship.
Not Bob

12. Is the Tropic of Capricorn north or south of the equator.
South

13. What is a Samoi.
Small dog

14. What year did the Titanic hit an iceburg.
1912

15. Who painted the Sistine Chapel.
Michaelangelo

August 23 - Universal Studios

A very hot day, almost too hot to go out as the weather hit 98 degrees today. Still we lathered up, donned our sunhats, got our nice taxi driver to take us to Universal Studios - another place that is basically filmsets, but my favourite if I had to choose between this and Hollywood studios.

We started at the Shrek 4D show which the kids love:

Off to Bettlejuice next a great rocking show of monsters and brilliant music

Over to do Twister, based on the movie starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt - their annoying chatter about how they did the special effects was excrutiatingly painful but the main part where you stand on an aisle and watch a twister go pass, with items being flown in the air by it was great, though it freaked Richard out a little. He therefore refused to go on the Mummy ride, an indoor rollercoaster which is one of the few I will actually go on just to prove that I can do it! It didn't help I had to take my glasses of though so didn't see much, think that made things worse actually!

Did the Jimmy Neutron ride which though indoors and again 3d it threw you about a bit and starred in our own Disaster movie with Christopher Walkern as the director (on screen) directing what we should do until we were in a train in an earthquake (nig got wet ha! ha!)

We met a few dodgy characters just hanging around as you do

Then the skies started to change colour and the heavens opened which gave us a good chance to pop into a small eatery for something to eat. Only problem was in the short distance we had to go we got totally soaked through to the skin!!!

here

August 22 - Busch Gardens

1½ hour coach drive to get there, so we were all up early. going to let the pictures tell their own story, I am only going to say that i really liked it here, hadn't expected it to be so lovely and we had a great day weatherwise as well. Oh and yes the menfolk tried out all the rollercoasters here and acted like little kids being allowed out on their own by the sound of their constant giggling

If you eat here I recommend the fajitas

20th August - Bargain shopping, GCSE results, Pirates

It is humid and wet today. The storm has passed over, but there are showers. Lots of people in other counties have been flooded, they have really suffered, stupid people still surfing on the telly. decide to give the parks a miss today, so we all meet up and go bargain shopping instead. We have found a great taxi driver and have hired him to take us to the premium Outlets, lots of designer stores and reduced prices. Buy Richard some new trainers as his got so wet yesterday they haven't dried out properly $11, some new Reeboks for me $31 and eldest is in search of something called skaters which he assures me are trainers of sorts but all the ones he has seen so far would eat into his holiday spends far to much so decides to give it a miss.

Take the I trolley along Internationl drive which I am not a great fan of but some shops have their uses and there are good restaurants along here as well.

We pop into Ponderosafor something to eat. I like Ponderosa, you can have an all you can eat buffet for $10 per person and there is so much to choose from including what we are all craving for by now fresh fruit and vegetables after a diet of fast food! I ate some tacos with some salad and had some fruit for desert. I won't tell you what Nig had because believe me he had three main meals, two desserts and another main meal to finish it off the pig! Mind you he had an upset stomach for the rest of the day so at least I could laugh at him

After looking in a few sports shops and electrical shops, clothes shops and cheap Disney shops (Si bought an Ipod 2GB $28) we headed back to Premium outlets to stock up on perfume and then had a nice drink by the pool back at the resort.

21st August - Results Day

I had a huge row with Simon yesterday, both snapping at each other till he got on my nerves. Still today I have turned my phone on to check my emails. Simon's GCSE results come out today and a friend is sending them to me and sure enough they are there:

Maths A
Additional Science A
Science B
History C
Statistics C
English C
English Lit C
Geography C
RE D
French D

8 A-C's for his GCSE, the relief is immense and the atmosphere has cleared between us. He was obviously worried about them and concerned that he wouldn't get the results he needed for the courses he wants to do at sixth form, but he has, all that studying of Maths and Science and the extra tuition has paid off.

It is raining again so at his suggestion we head off to Epcot and do the innovations centre. We look round the house of the future, sit in a hurricane, do planet space which has been updated and now Judi Dench narrates as we move through the different phases of the planet with live on. Then we walk over to the world showcase so that they can spend some more money in Japan where they are delighted that Simon is trying to learn the language and recommend a book for him - he says thank you in Japanese which they seem pleased with.

We go back to the pool, Richard wants to do some swimming as the weather has cleared up a little. I do some washing in the laundry while keeping an eye on him and it starts to rain agin.

This evening we celebrated Simon's success by going to the Pirates Dinner Party (Nick you would love this buxom wenches, a big ship and pirates!) All good fun especially when Nigel was picked to take part in a game! Food wasn't up to much, either plate of chicken and seafood, chicken and pork with rice and potatoes - no vegetables! Everyone had fun and we all had an enjoyable evening, just wish I hadn't left the camera in the hotel room!

19th August - (diary entry)

Morning
Today it is very humid, but no rain. I think by the look of it outside our window this morning that it must have rained a little in the night as the pavements are wet, but remember we are in Florida the heat will soon dry them up again.

The news on the telly is full of the hurricane again. However, they have downgraded it to a tropical storm and predicting a few tornadoes in some areas. It also seems to have turned slightly though they are predicting that it will turn back. One thing is for sure it will not hit us, we are too far inland, if anything all we will get is some heavy rain and strong winds, or so the man on the weather channel tries to tell us. Must admit watching the reports with the reporters on the telly standing on a very windy beach (like Borth on a cold very windy day) and watching the sand build up on their legs as the wind whips round round them. You can see surfers in the sea as well which I think is slightly irresponsible of them, but hey what do I know.

Evening

Undeterred we headed off to Magic Kingdom just after breakfast. I love Magic Kingdom, probably next to Animal Kingdom it is one of my favourites though Nig isn't too keen on it. There are a lot of shops here, selling Disney merchandise of course, and a parade that goes down main street in the afternoon.

The park is split into sections like so many other Disney parks; Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Liberty Square and Adventureland.

As we arrived and started to walk down the parade it started to rain slightly so this was an ample opportunity to pop into one of the many shops and have a drink. With the kids settled in front of a huge screen showing cartoons I have a browse through the shop and find a Disney jacket, quite discreet (I hate anything with Mickey plastered across it), so I try one on. Unfortunately it was too big and the only other size they had in stock was too small. However it fitted Simon perfectly so we purchased it, along with a t shirt for me and one for Richard, who despite having his own money cannot resist conning some out of us!

The rain eased up so we head of to Tomorrowland to do the Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, a game that puts you in the middle of a gigantic arcade game. Next we head off to the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor where the monsters tell jokes to make you laugh to fill up their meter and keep the electricity flowing. Then we just had to see Stitch's great escape, where you sit in a theatre strapped in while he bounces around you, burps in your face while they try to capture him - all done in animation of course!

We walked round the park and made a visit to a small world - one thing I hate because I hate the tune, but still you have to do it, it is part of Disney afterall!

We did the Peter Pan ride, a delicate ride through the air while the story is told, Snow white ride, Pooh bear ride then had some Pizza before going on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride which they have changed slightly since we were last there, and we managed to do it twice. (excuse the pictures here, ride is underground and lighting is bad)

Funny conversation in the Ladies loo though afterwards as it was raining hard outside by this time. American woman dressed in one of the Disney ponchos and dripping, looks me up and down and says "How have you managed to stay so dry?" clearly put out that I was only in a pair of cropped linen trousers and t shirt and not dripping wet.

"I have been dodging the showers" says I.

"Pardon?" She says.

"I'm English, I am used to this weather" says I and she just laughed.

"yes" she says, "I heard you were all mad" and walks off telling her companion that it wasn't fair I was so dry when she was so wet!!

We did the Haunted Mansion which I at throughout, not helped by the woman behind us who must have screamed at the top of her voice all the way through yet it wasn't that scary!

By now it started to rain really hard so we popped in here at Richard's request, walked around a few shops in search of that jacket in my size to be directed by one sales assistant over to Epcot where the Disney store there had some in stock. So a quick hop on the monorail and we were there in no time to purchase one for me. By now the sky was black, the rain torrential, the wind blowing so hard it almost knocked you over and we were wet through , in fact if it wasn't for the fact that I had so modestly dressed this morning I would have been a fitting candidate for the Miss Wet Tshirt competition had there been one, I was that soaked. Didn't stop us from asking the photographer at the exit to take a photo of us in the rain, she was none too amused!!

18 August

My friend S and I had booked a day trip for shopping experience. We don't drive in Florida, so it seemed like a good idea to book this shopping experience and visit the places it was going to take us to, and if we liked them we could get a taxi another time.

So there we are, up early and collected by the coach at 8 in the morning that took us to another area, which looked slightly dingy and not very nice, to collect a minibus that was going to ferry us and a few other people to the shops.

First stop Walmart. WE had an hour here, 50 minutes too long in my opinion. Ok Walmart as you know owns Asda. so there was nothing there that you couldn't find in your own branch really and if you live near to an Asda Hypermarket, well then Walmart probably only has about two extra shelves to look at. Yes it does sell everything under the sun. Yes everything is cheap. The only thing missing is the woman patting her back pocket really. We weren't in the mood for a food shop, the clothes - well though cheap there was nothing there we liked - anything else we did like would have been too bulky to take back on a plane and anyway we could buy it here if we wanted, it would just cost a little bit more. Don't get me wrong, if you live there, then this shop is ideal but pointless for a visitor who is staying at a resort.

We went outside a few minutes before the appointed time to wait for the minibus where we saw a few of our fellow travellers carrying bags of goodies bought from the shop.
"Did you not buy anything?" inquired one looking at me with horror etched on her face.
"No" says I "What did you buy?"
"Food" she says, "There is a hurricane on its way you know, you have to be prepared"
"Where are you staying?" I asked her thinking she must be in a Villa or something.
But no, it turns out she is staying at a hotel, but her hubby, who isn't with her and has been through a hurricane and came through the other side with a horror story to tell, has put the fear of God into her about what is to come. She regales me with the story then says she will pray for me and my family that we will be safe and not struck by it all.

It turns out this woman is her own worse nightmare. She is accident prone. We sit next to her on the mini bus and are squeezed in as she takes up a lot of room, and no she wasn't big she just likes to spread. She nearly lost her bag in the ladies restroom because she left it in the toilet. She is scatty in her own sweet way, but God will see her through!

The minibus collects us and takes us to the Florida Mall . We are dropped off outside the Florida hotel and are told to walk through the lobby to get to the information desk where we will be given free lunch vouchers. the Hotel is just lovely, clearly expensive, there is a ballroom, grand sweeping staircase and you feel as though you shouldn't make a sound or you will be frowned at! Collected our vouchers and started to have a mooch round the shops. Not impressed with Macy's or Saks. Both shops smelt mouldy and the clothes were really old fashioned, don't even think my 98 year old grandmother would have been seen dead in them. JC Penneys was a bit better clothes wise but didn't find anything we liked, Sears was poor quality, but Dillards, well lets just say clothes wise we spent a small fortune in there!! In fact the sales assistant was the mosthelpful person I have ever met. When I couldn't find the size I needed in one top she went and found another one similar. It was like having a personal shopper, nothing was too much trouble for her and she bent over backwards to help us with all our items and finding things that would suit and all we had done was look at some tops by Calvin Klein that I liked to start with! Couldn't praise this shop or the sales staff more, far better than the help we had received in any of the other stores.

Another favourite store was Bath and Bodyworks. Between us we bought loads of these as they were such a good price, and I like a bargain - hubby wasn't so pleased having to pack them in the suitcase afterwards though lol

It was home from home to see that there is a branch of Clarks there, their shoes are a pricey there as they are at home, a branch of Lush where we discovered the cream we like is more expensive over there, and a branch of Bodyshop which we didn't go into to compare prices.

Of we went to spend our free lunch voucher. After taking a look at the participating restaurants in the food hall and looking at the set menus, we decided on eating from Taco Bell. However the sales assistant wouldn't change the voucher because the manager wasn't there. As there was nothing else we liked we decided to pay for our lunch and went to Chao Cajun which makes the most delicious Bourbon Chicken that I have tasted, it was melt in the mouth sheer bliss.

We then headed out to Prime Outlets. Outlet stores I love. Where you can buy allsorts for so much cheaper than you get anywhere else. We didn't buy much here, just had a look around and anyway the skies darkened, the lighining flashed, the rain poured down hard, the thunder rolled and the winds were high. Great fun! We made it back to the resort in one piece by which time the weather cleared up and the sun came out again so a good opportunity to make the most of it, put our feet up with a good book and a drink by the bar until the Menfolk arrived back - who had spent their day elsewhere entertaining the kids - bliss!

As I was sorting through my files I found this and thought of you

17th August - a Visit to the Animals

After an uneventful night, I wake up to find it is boiling in our room. Notice that hubby has turned the air conditioning off and there is heat coming from the vents instead. Apparently he got cold in the night so instead of there being cold air, we now have warm air coming into the room. Head off for breakfast after dragging the kids from their bed and making them have a shower for which I get tagged a cruel mum!

The heat hits us as we head outside our room. It is only 8am and the pool is already full, it is at least 86 and I know it will get hotter. We decide to head off to Animal Kingdom today anyway, which is always at least 10° hotter here than any other park at Disney.

At the entrance to the park there were a couple of characters, whose names escape me, that Richard wanted his photo taken with and to get their autographs, so at least half an hour was used up while we waited in line for this to be done!

The park has 7 main themes in it; Oasis, Discovery Island, Camp Minnie-Mickey, Africa, Rafiki's Planet watch, Asia, and Dinoland. It is also home to the tree of life full of beautiful carvings

Once inside everyone headed for the new attraction, which was being built when we last were there, Everest. A rollercoaster ride, which I opted out of deciding to people watch instead. Met a lovely woman who was also waiting for her husband and children to get off the ride and we sat and chatted for a bit, swapping details of our journey over and where we were staying! They were very wet having been on a water ride before going onto Everest and the poor woman stood there dripping as we chatted!

Then they all went on a water ride, which again I opted out of and so did S ans she didn't want to get wet, so while they were on the ride, we found somewhere to sit and had a drink while we waited for them. Lots of ducks around us hoping for a bite to eat.

We then wandered around for a while then went on a Dinosaur ride where you whoosh back to primeval times for a wild ride of an expedition to rescue a stray dinosaur, and must beware the hungry clutches of one large meat-eating predator and the devastating power of an impending asteroid - which was quite fun!

After lunch of Pizza we split up, M & S going their own way while we went to explore on our own. No trip to animal Kingdom is complete unless you have done 'It's tough to be a bug', a 3D film about the life of bugs, with characters from A bugs life. Nig and I remembered to move our backs away from the chair and lift our feet up as the 'bugs' left the auditorium but forgot about the ones that run under your bum so we had a bit of a shock!

We then did the Safari ride, a pleasant trip looking out for animals that are looked after there

Feeling over heated and having drunk more water to fill a lake up, we decided to make our way back to the resort, to encounter the tail end of the parade

We all sat by the bar at the resort, the kids swimming in the pool while us adults had a drink or two and watched the lightning in the sky. Apparently it was a few miles away and no wasn't going to hurt us even though the tables we were sat at and the chairs we were sitting on were aluminum. If there was going to be a problem they wouldn't have been showing a movie on the big screen would they? reasoned my hubby as we sat there wondering if we would be hit. But no, we weren't we survived, it did seem to be miles away, the sky above us was clear and the air was humid, but no storm headed our way despite us being able to hear it wherever it was.

Did I say that I sat and drank the evening away?

Tut tut. Of course i didn't, I wouldn't do that now would I?

No of course not, we went back over to Epcot to see the illuminations instead!

August 16th

After watching the news this morning we are quite worried about reports of Hurricane Faye hitting the Orlando region sometime next week. Not that I am worried, I am English after all and we are made of stern stuff. I am determined that come what may we will enjoy ourselves so after a hearty breakfast, we head over to Hollywood Studios. Last time we were here, Hollywood Studios was known as MGM Studios so we are hoping that it has improved somewhat.

The 'streets' that you walk through at Hollywood are similar to ones you will find on film sets. Everything here centers around films and showbusiness as you would expect with a name like Hollywood Studios really

There is a new attraction there called Toy story Mania, an interactive 4d experience which fortunately we only had to wait in line for half and hour. then we grabbed some 3-D glasses before boarding our ride vehicle and zipping off into a world of immersive, midway-style games which included games hosted by Woody, Buzz, Rex and Hamm, a spring action shooter where you could launch virtual darts at balloons, rings at aliens, eggs at barnyard targets etc. we tried our hardest to beat the high score, but alas never came near it! It was good fun and the children thought it was the best ride ever!

Hubby, Si, S and M then made their way to the tower of Terror, something they have been looking forward to all year, before going to the Aerosmith roller coaster. Rich and I decided to opt out of this, get ourselves a drink and sit down waiting for them. Unfortunately it started to rain a little bit, so obviously it was the right time for a little retail therapy to happen in one of the many shops there

To avoid the rain when we all met up, we decided to have lunch in one of the many burger places that are scattered throughout, then once the rain had stopped and it became hot and humid again, we split up and headed off in different directions. Si and I went and did the Great movie show which really wasn't worth the bother as once I was in there I remembered it from our last visit and one of the girls who was playing a ganster really was wooden in her acting and kept fluffing her lines. We also did the Muppet 3D show as well which was as funny as I had remembered.

Meeting back at the hat (none of them people are us by the way) and stood and watched the parade that was coming up the street towards us.

We headed over to the Indiana Jones stunt show which was fascinating the
spent the rest of the time browsing round the shops there and trying to decide if we should buy anything or not. We headed back to the resort where we sat by the bar, drinking the night away, the poolside lemonade, made with Bacardi was very refreshing

August 16th - How to go round the world in a day Our first full day at disney and we decided, after breakfast, that we needed a relaxing day so we headed off to Epcot. Now Epcot is split into two parts - Future World and the World Showcase — both are unique and have wonderful attractions. Future world concentrates on the scientific side of life. You can learn about energy, planet Earth, go on a Fast track ride in a car on a track, go into space and learn to be an astronaut, hunt for Nemo to name just a few of the attractions on offer. We did most of it, though we didn't go into the innovations centre which has lots of interactive things to see and do which the kids love. The other part of the park is the World showcase, which is one of the best ways to see the countries of the world without boarding a plane, train or boat. Most countries have a movie where you can see their country in its glory, or other special ride or attraction. The architecture is outstanding as is the attention to detail - the leaning tower of Italy, the Eiffel tower in France. Where else can you visit China, Japan, Mexico, France, Canada, Britain, Morocco, Norway etc in a day! It was hot, in the high 90s and walking around you could see people around you getting burnt. We tried our best not to, applying the suncream every half hour. The children love Japan, went on a viking boat with hubby and got slightly wet, walked through Mexico and tried to book in their restaurant but unfortunately they were fully booked (note to self, next time book before you go ) At the entrance of the park is the Leave a Legacy site. This was set up as part of the celebrations in Epcot when we were last over there, so of course we had to find our tile amongst the many others that were there, on the walls of the statues that reached up towards the skies! Just one of the many hedge statues Hedge sparrows (there were lots of them everywhere) Mine! Mine! Mine! In the distance France A Tshirt in Canada Japan Germany China Epcot ball

13th August

After packing while my eldest son took the dogs for a long walk, dropping them off at the kennels then loading the car to head off to Gatwick airport, we really felt like we needed this holiday after, what has been a really stressful year for all of us.

We drove down the motorway through torrential rain. It wasn't pleasant and I was non too happy at being the one who was doing the driving, but hubby seemed to think my map reading skills were more dangerous than my driving.

After getting lost near the airport, we finally arrived at the Premier Inn where we were going to spend the night. The flight was for 11 the following morning and it is usually easier to stay overnight rather than fight your way through the car park commonly known as the M25 in the early hours of the morning.

We checked in then made our way to the airport to the twilight service, with Virgin, to check in our luggage easy as the queue was not very long and the person serving us was more than accommodating with our various wishes.

Back at the Premier inn, we met up with our friends who were coming with us (M&S), where we had dinner which wasn't that great for the price they charged, before we settled for the night where I didn't sleep all that well due to one child snoring, one child talking in his sleep, a hubby that snored and me trying hard not to have a panic attack and ending up hitting hubby in the face when I started to drift off!!

14th August

The day has arrived. Excitement creeps in, in a few hours we are going to be in the land of the Mouse yippee!!! Got up early, showered then met up with M&S for breakfast before we made our way on the coach to the terminal. Great having booked in the night before as when we got there the queues were massive! We went straight through security, fortunately we all decided that liquid items would be in the suitcase and not take any with us, so no need to have to delay putting them in them silly bags they give you at the airport like some passengers had to do.

We looked around the shops until our flight number appeared on the screens in front of us then made our way to the departure lounge where we spied our plane, ladybird, sitting there while everything was being packed on board. Eventually we were called to board the plane and once everyone was settled, it started to take off where eldest child starts to panic slightly. Fortunately I am sitting next to him, having volunteered to sit with the kids (big mistake) (hubby in another row) to hold his hand and calm him down a little, not helped by youngest child who says "Don't worry if we crash there will be nothing left of you you know!"

They fed us well, well as well as you can be fed with airline food. I had some sort of stew and dumplings, leaving most of it, but remembered to drink a lot of water and nibbled at some pretzels they handed out. We settled in to watch a film or two. The children wanted to watch Narnia, but unfortunately it wasn't working properly and after a few complaints the steward took it off. I sat and watched Fool's Gold starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson, an ok film if a little predictable at times. I read a fair bit, dealt with a child that was irritating the hell out of me and listened to my MP3 player. Fortunately the children were good on the flight if a little annoying, plenty for them to do, watch or play as there are interactive games on board.

The mistake, youngest child didn't shut up the whole 9 hours we were in the air, constant chatter in total overdrive and by the end I could have quite happily killed him!!! Why oh why do airlines only offer fizzy drinks to children? I had to beg for an orange juice for him as fizzy drinks make him hyper so he isn't allowed them. Wasn't it bad enough he was on a natural high anyway, could they not see I was coming to the end of my tether!

Landed at Orlando airport, find our coach to take us to the resort, sit waiting on it for an hour as they were expecting another passenger who didn't turn up, and finally, we arrived at All Stars Music, booked in, unpacked and spent the evening chilling out by the pool, conveniently located near to the bar!!

This was in the window of our room to welcome us

And this welcomed us into the room on our bed