Other Interests - hmmm!

A bit about the modern day Mitford Girls

A bit about me, I was born near Colchester, Essex on 21st May 1962 [OK, so it's out, I'm an Essex gal! - don't care, lololol!] Makes me a Gemini I guess, but we can never decide! <weg> [well, I am right on the cusp!]  I only changed the subject so hopefully you forget to work out how old I am! I have lived in the North East of England for almost all but the first two years of my life, so guess I am quite colloquial with the local dialect, commonly referred to as 'Geordie'.  I love the area itself, which is beautiful and lush, probably because it rains a lot and our temperature is always 3-4 degrees cooler than London's!  

I have several passions in life, at the moment I am currently:

a]    Writing two books;

b]    Researching the Genealogy of my [and other] families;

c]    Kept active by my girls, but have a penchant for playing football, tennis, squash, swimming, snooker and 'puting!

I have three daughters, Jessica, Sophie-Jo and Jenni-Fay, and I'll start with the older one first.  Many readers of these pages may well have heard of Jessica Mitford, of the infamous 'Mitford Sisters' fame, in which the majority of the females are extreme extroverts, [thankfully I was adopted into the 'clan' in 1962!] <g>  My Jessica may well turn out to be like her name-sake, who knows!  However, at the moment we are like modern day sisters, and unlike our predecessors, we enjoy the simple things in life, and live a somewhat tranquil existence now.  Having said that, I have probably packed more into the first half of my life than most people manage in a lifetime.  

We get on very well for mother and daughter, and like many parents in this day an age, we spent a long time alone after the breakdown of my marriage to her Dad.  it probably brought us even closer together, and we enjoy a very good and loving relationship. [However, friends who have gone through the teenage years have forewarned me, and I am ready for the inevitable - in fact it already seems to have started and she's only 10!]   We spend a lot of time doing fun stuff, like swimming, cycling, dancing, games, days out, holidays, etc, as well as the quiet times, like having a midnight snack watching a video!

Jess: Born in Gateshead, [famous for Steve Cram, the 'Gateshead Angel' and 'Metro Centre'] Tyne & Wear on 6th June 1990 - send her an e-card, she'll love it!  [OK, so not an Essex gal, luckier I guess, just a pure born'n'bred Geordie!]  Her  interests are anything to do with getting into mischief, boys, dancing, boys, computer games, boys, roller-blading, boys, swimming, boys, cycling, boys, sports, boys, adventure days out, boys, theme parks, but if asked directly will totally deny any interest in boys!!!! 

Her Favourite things are: a cuddly Roger Rabbit and a soft frog she's had all her life, her sisters, bike, scooter,  roller-blades, make-up [normally mine! - this picture shows how far a little bit of blusher can go! - and I never managed to get the pink out of the 'bra'], a hard-back Winnie-the-Pooh book for full attendance at school for a year, and my motorbike!

She lives for playing out with her friends and getting up to mischief!

Soph: Born here in Northumberland, on 6th January 2000.  What can one say about a hyper-active toddler?  Well, she's already definitely her own person, I have a feeling she may become a female boxer or something, having already given me a black eye, chipping my cheekbone and damaging my sinus, and then just a couple of weeks later, scratching my cornea! [Mind you, having said all that, Jess once fractured my nose when only about 18 months old!].  She, like Jess, turned fourteen months and hit the terrible two's!   

She's very robust [not over-weight, just under-tall!<g>] ... and beautiful, healthy and extremely playful daughter!  She already has quite a social circle of friends, all born within three months of each other, and all great fun to watch and share time with on a regular basis.  They go swimming, to soft-play and playgroup most weeks, and then we have a coffee-group, whereby a few of us meet at least once a week, throw the kids in the middle of the room, and leave them to their own devices while we drink coffee and gorge on chocolate biscuits <g> - [well not quite, but not too far off the mark either!], - so there's three days taken out of each week!

She's the tidiest of the three, mimicking Mum's efforts to keep on top of the housework!

Jenni:  The latest addition, born at North Tyneside General on 11th April, 2001.  Early days yet ... she is learning to cope with her two sisters, especially Soph, who most of the time kisses her to pieces, ... but has the odd moment when she gets a bit too rough!

Well, that's enough about us modern day Mitford girls for now ... one last thing for here ...

… my favorite quote …

" This is the true joy of life, the being used up
for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one;
being a force of nature instead of a feverish,
selfish little clot of ailments and grievances,
complaining that the world will not devote itself
to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my
life belongs to the community, and as long as I live,
it is my privilege to do for it what I can. "

- George Bernard Shaw