Meaningless, meaningless

I'd just like to state, for the record, that I invented this game.  I don't know if you ever played it -- it was a staple of the Leicestershire playground by the time I got to secondary school -- but it was me that started it.

I remember it well.  In the break at Saturday morning orchestra, a bunch of us girls were playiing bog standard tig-off-ground -- the basic principle, for the uninitiated, being that standing on an object renders you exempt from being tug.  There were several small fixed benches we were using as den, and someone else was "it".  In a moment of genius I shall never surpass, I jumped up onto the bench where Charlie Playle was standing, pushed her off and shouted, "Budge!".  

And thus a new game was born.   No longer were you safe in your off-ground den -- at any time you could be removed from it by someone jumping on and budge-ing you.  A whole new level of tig-off-ground.

It might not have been Charlie Playle, in all fairness.  But she seems a likely candidate being as she attended both Saturday morning orchestra and my secondary school.  On my first week there, when I was being asked repeatedly whether I was a boy or a girl, I told her I was a boy and that my name was Thomas.  Hilarity ensued as it turned out I was in her games group and she helpfully ried to stop me getting in the girls' changing room.   But that's another story.

Just had a very, very lovely weekend with Tom.

It started with him taking Friday afternoon off as flexi, which meant he could get here before darkness fell and we could go for a coffee/hot chocolate with marshmallows before hunger pangs drove us back to my place.  By a complete fluke we made a lovely chilli before dashing back to Showroom to see Brick, which may be the first film we've seen together that we've both liked unreservedly (although it was very definitely a Tom film).  Yay!  Stopped off at the Rutland Arms on the way back because I wanted to see what it was like, and it was very good -- nice, traditional feel and Tom liked the smoke.  He thinks pubs should be smokey.

We'd been planning to get my sis and bro-in-law to take us to Yorkshire Sculpture Park on Saturday, but as the forecast was "pissing it down all day" rang them up and asked if they minded us going shopping in Leeds instead.  It transpired that they'd gone to lots of effort to arrange possession of their shared car so after a nice breakfast we hopped on the Virgin Voyager to Wakefield and got them to take us to Habitat instead. 

I spent all of my 60 quid's worth of gift vouchers on a brilliant tealight candelabra, a colander, an polka-dot umbrella, a salad bowl and 4 cereal bowls and then -- oh, the excitement -- they took me on my first ever trip to Ikea.  Which wasn't too bad at all, given my usual avoidance of the Saturday scrum of rabid consumerism.  The canteen had run out of cous-cous to go with the falafels, which was mildly disappointing, and I didn't like any of the lighting section at all (although I did manage to find a huge, bulbous lampshade to go in my room), but I managed to find some sturdy-looking wine glasses, a mixing bowl and some tealights, amongst other delights.

Exhausted, we stopped off at the pub on the way back to Wakey, then went for the most enormous curry ever, by which time we were too bloated to go home so drank some wine and attempted to sleep in the Most Uncomfortable Sofa Bed in the World™.

Back to Sheff first thing Sunday and decided we wanted to go camping next weekend.  This decision was aided by Tom's serendipitous discovery that PJ Harvey is going to be at the Hay Festival and me capitalizing on his lust by persuading him that going to Hay-on-Wye would be a brilliant place to spend a weekend.

Bought a bargainous 3-man tent on the way back from the station, after bumping into my PhD supervisor's brother on the stairs from the platform.  Spent the rest of the day arranging my new purchases and attempting to make my bedroom look less like an office by moving the computer and filing cabinet into the spare room.  Result -- room is now soft-furnishing-tastic and much more conducive to sleep.

A weekend well spent. :-)

Arrived back from Mexico last Tuesday with lots of stories that I can't think of off the top of my head but that keep spilling out in the midst of normal everyday conversation. 

It was good. :-) 

I have presents.

I'll be paying a customary visit to my folks next weekend (the one after the bank holiday).  Anyone up for a curry/juggle/video/film/dance/BBQ on the Saturday?

Happy Belated Birthday to Pete, by the way.  Bet it was a good Friday (arf!)