Festive Farewell

I survived the party, just.

It was manic, 2 hours of chasing round a huge jungle gym.

A huge game of tig, where I seemed to be “on” more often than not.

They ate all the food like a swarm of locusts.

I did suffer one injury, trying to hurdle a large obstacle, avoiding the child chasing me, I crashed heavily.

This delighted the children, of course, and served to slow me down even more.

Everyone seemed to have a great time, I know I did, any excuse to act like a big kid and fool around, and I’ll take it.

This afternoon it’s our work Christmas meal, and then I’m finished for the festive holidays.

So to all who visit, I hope you have a wonderful festive time and I look forward to returning to the blogosphere to read lots of posts on my favourite blogs.

Busy Busy Busy

Another quick post. This is going to help wean me off blogging over the festive period though!

Only a half day at work today – this afternoon it is Godzooky 1’s birthday party. His birthday isn’t until the 23rd, but obviously that isn’t the best time to try and organise a party.

So we’re having it today. He finishes school today, and then they’re straight off to his party. Whether we’ll cope with 15 six/seven year olds, only time will tell…. 

Randomness

My last full day at work before the Christmas break, hooray!

I’ve had to try and order something on-line today as a last minute present purchase. Mrs Zilla and I had agreed that we weren’t going to buy presents to open on Christmas morning.

It’s always too mental with the children opening theirs, and our common sense sides thought it would be better to get something in the sales, post christmas.

Then last night she divulged that she had bought me soemthing to open. Thanks for that.

So I’ve ordered her a dvd, if it doesn’t arrive in time it’ll serve her right!

In other present buying escapades, I went alone to Toys R Us on Saturday night, to buy a few more pieces for the kids, and to pick up party bag supplies for Godzooky 1’s birthday party tomorrow.

Heavenly Christmas shopping – it was open till 10pm, and there were about 3 other customers in the store. I am so doing that again next year!

Yesterday we were treated to meeting my Brother-in-Law’s new girlfriend. His fifth or sixth this year, I’ve lost count.

It’s bizarre, he brings them round and introduces them to our children, then we never see them again. I should mention now, if I haven’t already before, that he’s been engaged four times in the last 3 years. None have actually made it to the altar though.

As a weird aside – whenever he changes his girlfriend, he changes his car too. I can’t figure out why. Maybe he buries them somewhere, and changes his car to avoid forensic tests? 

That’s it for now – one last trip to the European market beckons. A nice mug of gluhwein should set me up nicely for the afternoon…..

Extra Brownie Points

have accrued from my actions last night.

It was Godzooky 1’s infant disco. He wanted to go, so did a couple of his friends. They couldn’t go unless I took them, and then stayed to supervise them.

In an effort to be a good Dad, I agreed to do it.

The concept of the infant’s disco is a bit bizarre to me: they get the school caretaker to play the music; DJ Eric B, and then gather about 60 kids in the school hall with flashing lights and loud pop music.

All the songs played are ones which make you wish you were deaf: Barbie Girl, Macarena, Saturday Night etc etc

The result is that all the girls stand right next to the DJ performing the requisite dance moves to each song, and the boys run around like lunatics, sliding on their knees and performing quasi-martial arts moves that they call dancing.

Rather than being a disinterested spectator, I was more like umpire and referee, as to who assaulted who first and who needed immediate medical attention.

The disco also seemed to be some sort of attempt to empty my pockets of all money before Christmas.

First of all there was the entrance fee (which Mrs Zilla had neglected to mention to me!), £1 each. However you did receive a free plastic cup of cordial for that.

Then there were the optional purchases of sweets and cake. Of course all my little comapnions were starving, and required either cake or sweets. For a quiet life I acquiesced: it made my life easier and quieter in the short term, plus I thought the least their parents could do was suffer a little sugar rush, I was suffering the disco after all?

It only lasted 90 minutes, but I can honestly say it felt a lot longer than that. I came out with only my 6 year old, don’t worry, the others had been picked up by appropriate parents . My ears felt violated and I’d lost £10 ($20 Snavy!) for the privilege.

I did get paid a sort of compliment though: I heard one of Godzooky 1’s friends say to him “Your dad shouts a lot less than mine”.

The highlight for me was on the way though. In the back of the car four 6 year old boys, talking as though I couldn’t hear them.

Major point of discussion, who had a girlfriend and whether they were going to kiss them at the disco. Godzooky 1 apparently has 2 girlfriends: Lorna and Gina. Both of whom know they’re sharing him.

He might look a lot like me, but he certainly has a lot more luck with the ladies than me! 

Warning: Nativity Play Post Ahead

Yesterday was a rush to try and squash a full day’s worth of work into a half day. It was worth it though to attend Godzooky 1’s Christmas play.

The way his school do things is as follows: the infants do a Christmas play which leads into the nursery children acting out the nativity, whilst an older child narrates.

This year the play was called The Bossy Christmas Fairy, who tries to take charge of the Christmas period, believing that she is the most important thing around.

She is dismissive of broken tree lights, scratched ornaments ragged tinsel, and a broken figure of Mary and Joseph. She banishes them to a box, not allowing them on the tree, putting herself in pride of place.

The children of the house see that the tree is half bare, find the discarded decorations, and promptly put them on the tree. The Fairy then realises that there is more to Christmas than shiny new things…… and the story of the nativity begins.

Godzooky 1 was a scratched bauble. He had a line to say:

“We’ve been in this family for 15 years”

I think he must be a secret Robert De Niro fan, because he delivered it with real menace! I half expected him to follow it up with a “Are you looking at me?”

The singing wasn’t too out of tune this year either, so all in all it was a pretty good performance.

The only down side was Godzooky 2 sulking because she wanted to get on stage with the children, and she wasn’t allowed!  

Hit and Run Post

today.

I’m off to watch Godzooky 1 in his nativity play.

Hit and Run Post

today.

I’m off to watch Godzooky 1 in his nativity play.

The World’s Worst Inventor?

All credit for this should go to the tv programme QI (Quite Interesting) as they highlighted the achievements (or non-achievements) of this man:

Thomas Midgely

Born in 1889 he did an engineering phD at Cornell University

In 1916 he began work on trying to find a better fuel to stop engine “knocking”. He worked systematically through the periodic table.

After 6 years he discovered that tetraethyl lead worked like a dream, very little engine knocking remained.

The fuel swept the world, although questions about it’s toxicity were soon raised and remained. “It was a gift from God” said the first company to sell it!

Not until 60 years later, when 25 trillion litres had been burned, did public health concerns overcome the petroleum industry resistance and bring in the unleaded era.

For his second significant invention Midgely looked to improve refrigeration techniques.

Early refrigeration equipment used nasty chemicals like sulphur dioxide and ammonia. Within three days Midgely had discovered a new safe chemical: dichloroflouromethane, the first of the Freons.

Freons are non-toxic – excellent! Except of course that CFCs aren’t that great for the planet after all.

 Intensive use of CFCs has damaged the ozone layer, and some of those CFCs released before the Montreal Protocol of 1987, will still be harming the ozone layer in 2087.

Both of Midgely’s major inventions have had widespread detrimental effects on the planet, and all it’s life.

His final invention proved to be his personal undoing though.

At the age of 51, Midgely contracted polio. When he lost the use of his legs through the illness, he invented a harness to enable him to get out of bed.

On November 2nd 1944 he became entangled in his harness and it strangled him.

Is it that time already?

Having not really felt festive yet, the date seems to have crept up and caught me by surprise.

It’s Godzooky 1’s nativity on Wednesday, I rather rashly said I would attend, then realised this is my busiest week of the month. Still a promise is a promise, I’m not going to put work before his play.

It’s only just over a week until his birthday party, and then the day after that is our work Christmas party, the day after that I finish for my Christmas break: 20th December to 2nd January.

So much to get done and yet so little time to achieve it in.

Better crack on then and get something done….

Not Happy

Yesterday I was thinking of my upcoming festive break, and what it might be nice to do.

I realised that I have not taken Godzooky 1 to a football match this season.

We have  a lot of games around the Christmas period, obviously because there are lots of people on holiday.

Looking on our team’s website I saw that they were due to play Blackburn Rovers on December 30th.

Blackburn is about half an hour away by car, so I thought this might be a good chance to take him to a game. The prices were very reasonable too – £25 for me, £7 for him

(Snavy – the current exchange rate is $1.96 = £1, so basically double the £ price to get a $ one!)

Normally the tickets are more like £30 for me and £15 for him, so this seems like a bargain.

Right, I thought, I’ll tell Mrs Zilla what I’m proposing tonight, then get the tickets when they go on sale next Monday.

When the kids were in bed (I want it to be a surprise for him) I said that I was thinking of taking him to the match that day.

“Oh…..no, you can’t” she said.

“Why not?” I replied

“Didn’t I tell you? I’ve arranged with Leo (my brother-in-law) we’re all going to the Pantomime on that afternoon.”

Er, no you never mentioned this to me.

It turns out that this had been arranged two weeks ago – no consultation with me, and certainly no mention of it.

Fair enough though, we’ve gone to the Panto for the last couple of years. It’s expensive, but good fun.

For those not familiar with Pantos I should perhaps explain a little. These are plays based on traditional stories where you’re actively encouraged to participate. Booing the baddie and shouting “He’s behind you!”

They normally have some soap star or minor celebrity in the cast, making a fool of themselves. The kids love it.

“So,” I asked, “which Panto are we going to see, and where is it on at?”

Apparently we’re going to see “Puss In Boots” at a theatre in Altrincham.

It’s possibly the worst Panto around here for miles. Crap story, crap theatre, no stars, just a local amateur dramatics production.

 So why are we going to see this abomination of a show? Because Leo lives in Altrincham and it will be handy for him.

Thanks, I am so not impressed!

Then the icing on the cake: this morning I got an email from our football club telling me that the prices have been reduced to £15 for me and £5 for Godzooky 1.

 Bastards!

I am seriously contemplating telling them where they can shove their Panto, and going to the football.