"Man-Flu"

My *Man Of Many Contradictions" has come down with *Man-Flu*!

I don't think we women appreciate how *Man-Flu* is such a debilitating illness. After all, we just get bad colds. We will never experience such a devastating disease as - yes I am going to say it again, even though I can never really understand it - *Man-Flu*!

Amazingly it doesn't stop them from going to important business meetings, they just take paracetamol and struggle through. It doesn't stop them from keeping their golf arrangements, they just have to have that whisky after because they have *Man-Flu*. Should all of the drugs companies abandon their other research and concentrate on this? It makes me wonder so.

To all you men out there who are or who have ever suffered from *Man-Flu* I can only say one thing of encouragement. Thank goodness I was never your nurse!!

I can't be the only one to spot this irony!

On the news today, Cadbury's have had to recall about a million chocolate bars because of a salmonella scare.

Apparently the salmonella was found in January, but for some reason they did not report it to the Food Standards Agency until last Monday, hence the recall now.

Anyway if anyone is concerned they can call the consumer hotline 0800-81-81-81

....ate one, ate one, ate one!!

No Talent!

Oh dear! We had a bit of a tragedy yesterday.

Big Cub and Little Beaver went to school yesterday morning, both excited about entering the school talent competition. BC asked me to write a funny poem for him, (I like writing poetry and that is why I will keep up to date with Kate Weston's blog "Nom de Grrr!". I just find her writing so inspirational). I did as asked and wrote about the school janitor winning the world cup for England by scoring the only goal. It was kinda funny cos not only is the jannie Scottish through and through, but also I had placed him in goal so he actually ran up the field passing every Brazillian player and scoring in the last minute of the game. BC is good at reading out loud so everyone was happy.

Little Beaver wanted to enter the competition too. He came running out of his playroom holding a recorder and announced that he was going to audition playing the *flute* as he called it. Once I had explained to him that you don't play a recorder out of the side of your mouth, he went merrily on blowing and moving his fingers producing an excruciating melee of tuneless notes. Oh well! Let him have a go.

So the school bus brought my two little *artistes* home and - you've guessed it - BC didn't get picked. Oh! The tragedy of it all, he was in tears. He was using that *talking whilst crying* thing that upset children do which removes all spaces from between their words and produces a lot of snot. I gave him cuddles and reassurance but all to no avail. It was just toooooo disappointing for words.

Next thing, Little Beaver jumps off the bus waving the recorder (or still *flute* according to him) triumphantly. "I got picked, Mum!". Would you Adam and Eve it? This sent BC into even louder sobs of angst. "That's amazing!" I said to LB, (and I truly meant it - I am amazed!!)

So come Friday, the day of the show, I will have one upset boy in the audience and another doing *Pied Piper on Speed* on the stage. Why am I glad that the show is for the children of the school only, not the parents? Answers on a postcard!!

So why *My Curious Bedfellows*?

I thought I better explain my reason for the blog title, and also describe the rather *curious* family dynamic we have here at the moment.

Whilst wanting to talk about family and friends, I respect their privacy. I will, therefore, give them nicknames. So, for this piece, here is a summary of the people I live with.

To find a nickname for my husband was easy. He is *Man of Many Contradictions* (MOMC ? - does that work?) Why MOMC? Easy, for most things he has a strong opinion though his actions completely show the opposite. For example, although he considers himself a real hetero male and has pretty strong (sadly typical in my view) feelings about other sexual behaviours, his favourite artist of all time is Freddie Mercury. He writes *Mr Angry* letters to all in authority when he feels they are not doing their job properly, yet sticks two fingers up to authority when he drives his motorbike at 100+ mph. Don't get me wrong, I'm not actually complaining about this foible of his personality. In fact it gives for much hilarity in this household when either a) he goes *off on one* and passionately debates his side of the argument, and b) it is such good fun casting up his contradictions to him! I have no doubt that many of these will appear on this blog.

We have two boys with very differing personalities. Again you will read more about what they do and say, but I will give you a brief overview of each. Since they both go to Scouts, I thought using their group names would be good, so welcome to *Big Cub* (BC I guess) who is aged 9, and *Little Beaver* (LB) aged 6.

BC is very outgoing and a really sensitive boy. He will talk to absolutely anyone, and has no fear about approaching people. He does things like grow vegetables and then sells them by knocking on doors and he gives the money he raises to charity. We had never suggested he did this, it's just the way he is. Also, he is a typical 9 year old and can be a complete whingeing pain in the ass. When did teenage angst start at 9? Overall though, he is a kind, sweet little boy - well most of the time!

LB is very different. He has some difficulties which I will talk about in a future post, and this makes him very withdrawn until he gets to know a person. He is getting over this now and I think starting school last August really has helped him. His *condition* makes him very concerned about doing what he is told. He is very biddable and gets very (overly) upset when he gets into trouble. Having said all that, he works very hard and I am told that he is very intelligent for his age. (Of course I agree cos I'm his Mum!!) I think when someone has to work so much harder than the *norm* they excel in so many other ways.

We have a bit of a menagerie of animals (they don't mind me giving away their real names!) There is Isobel the hamster, Goldie the fish (original eh?!), Freddie the budgie and Ozzy the Boxer dog. Whilst the first three don't provide terribly much entertainment, Ozzy is totally mental and I am sure will provide much content for my blog.

Finally, (and like the pets, her real name!) Koan is staying with us for a while. Koan is a real enigma (bit of a Bhuddist in-joke there!) She is so special to me. She originally came here for R & R after surgery and is now considering her options for the future. It is she that was *primo-nagger* to get me to start this blog, and showed me what to do, who to register with etc etc in finally getting to this point. She is my techno guru too - although she has emigrated to Mac so has almost abandoned me on the PC front. "That wouldn't happen if you were using a Mac" - how often have I heard that?! You can read her fantastic blog here, as I'm sure many of you reading this already do - cos she's *real popliar*.

So that is a brief lowdown on who the *curious bedfellows* I live with are. I know there will be much material for me to post just from what happens in this madhouse. Our door is always open and the place is usually busy with children and adults alike. We do a lot of laughing - with and at each other, a wee bit of crying and quite a lot of living!! Hope you come to know, enjoy and join in the dynamic too!

And so ... at last!!

This is my first post ever. I have been nagged, cajoled and ...nagged again .... to start this!

I must admit that it is quite exciting to join such a community. I will try not to make mistakes - though I am sure I will - but will really appreciate and enjoy your comments. So please - even if you haven't commented anywhere before - feel free to give me your feedback, good or bad.

I intend to just write what I have or am now experiencing, what I know or believe to be true. I know I am not always right and enjoy having my ideas questioned. Trust me, I very rarely get p'd off by being given a different aspect on a subject. When I was 16 I knew everything - at 43 I have heard so much crap that I question everything.

Of course, I want you to laugh, cry - be involved in what I write. Most of all I want this to be a conversation between strangers yesterday - who may become friends today!