Wednesday 27 June 2007

Jeni Barnett on LBC


The wonderful Jeni Barnett now has a new radio slot on LBC which can be listened to online:

1pm-2pm Monday to Friday LBC Radio

Click on the Listen Live link on the LBC website

NB. Aaaaaaargh this is the first time I have listened from the beginning and hear that Jeni is only sitting in for someone else. So this might only be for this week!

For years Jeni presented the excellent Good Food Live on UKTVFood but bizarrely, in some strange stroke of political manouvering, the programme format and Jenni were ditched in favour of a rather slow and less than inspiring food programming. It is so boring it is beyond belief - I understand that is to go off air soon, after its short run.

Moving to radio is a new career move for Jeni and just goes to show that no matter, we can always re-build and move into new directions. Jeni has been blogging and is refreshingly honest and open about the mental traumas we go through and I wish her well. It is a fascinating insight into a person in her position. Pretty human really!

Do visit her blog and show her a bit of loving! www.jenibarnett.com

After all, for many years she has kept us entertained and informed and held an excellent daily food programme together. And I am looking forward to seeing her larger than life character on TV again but for the moment the radio slot is doing very well!

Sunday 24 June 2007

Re-branding

W e l c o m e


The time has come to re-emerge and re-brand. Time to move away from the very dodgy Grans on Bran moniker with its edge of porn connotations. I didn't mean to mislead anyone but I did not want to fit in a pigeon hole.

By re-branding I am definitely making a statement that I want to continue blogging. It is fun, creative and therapy all in one go, but this time round I am definitely easing off the too personal stuff. It might be OK to know the inner recesses of my bizarre thinking but I don't need to be quite so public about some of the effluent in my past.

I did think I might write something a tad more but having spent some days copying over all these posts I'm pretty near exhausted. So no invitations or cyber cocktails just yet. Coming soon. It will definitely be a dress up event. :-)



Thursday 21 June 2007

Test

Shhhh! This is the soon-to-be re-branding of my blog:

http://grans-on-bran.blogspot.com/


Thursday 14 June 2007

Day and a half

Revolting. In hunting for my rarely used cheque book I picked up a little used handbag under my desk and as I did got a whiff of something unidentifiable and earthy. Holding the bag I sniff around, not thinking for one moment that the whiff was from the bag. Not finding anything and returning to the cheque book searching, thank goodness I didn't plunge my hand into the bag ... as I see the still line of grey fur between papers and old receipts.

Almost all reason leaves me as I wonder if this animal is alive but won't let go of the bag in case something jumped out and escaped. All this bravery whilst full of fear. But the mouse was well and truly dead and not only that, was flattened. What happened, why my bag, had I done something to kill the mouse in situ - had I stepped on it, and why didn't I smell it before now. Especially as I have an acute sense of smell. Worst of all, are there any more dead animals under my desk? Most repulsive.

On the other hand, it's a great day for it. Our car broke down. We had VIP guests (clients) and I left getting the lunch catering until the last minute. So on foot I hightailed it to the local store and lugged back all sorts of goodies: watermelon, pineapple, other fruits, juices, bread and fresh veg for a fresh soup. Having both arms feel like they were no longer part of my body wasn't enough. I had 40 minutes to knock up a lovely lunch. Yeah - on that score I can consider "job done and brilliantly executed". It was a lovely lunch enjoyed by all.

Later on, having got the car running with the help of four local lads, I go in search of a garage to get the car fixed. Apparently the battery was OK after all and it might be the starter motor. Interesting that there is all this smoke coming out the exhaust as well? Negotiating with the third garage my son phones me to say that his friend was laying on the ground bleeding from the head but that don't worry he was with him and that five teachers were also in attendance! (It turns out it was kids high jinks throwing stones at each other got out of hand - sheer stupidity.)

The mother of son's friend, a neighbour, hadn't yet been located so with car smoking away I ditch the garage and high tail over to the school to be there for the ambulance but they have just left. So it is a drive to the hospital to stay with the boy until his mum gets there. But it is getting to rush hour and hospital parking can be difficult... so I park the car at home and run all the way to the hospital. Admittedly it isn't far, quite a few streets away, but only weeks ago I couldn't even run fifty yards and here I was keeping up a good pace. I was still finding it difficult but I did it and arrived not even beetroot red. The boy's mother had already arrived so I wasn't needed which was fine with me. As a just in case I felt it important to be there but that is by-the-by.

The thing for me is that I now have a level of fitness. Less than a month doing my air walker exercises have already paid off. By this time I had forgotten I had done the earlier dash to the shops returning laden down like a donkey and here I was running to the hospital as if it were nothing. This is wonderful stuff. But before I preen up in smug self-satisfaction I am reminded of this revolting happening beneath my desk.

Urgh!

PS. Handbag and contents hit the bin with just a check that nothing identifiable was with it for security sake.


Original Comments:

jane said...

OMG a rat in your purse? Yikes! I suppose finding a dead rat is better than finding an alive one. A rat is a rat is a rat.
It seems no matter how many times little boys are warned, they still will do what little boys do. Even as an adult, my son doesn't heed advice...very wise advice, I might add!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 9:03:00 AM



Ally said...

Do you have cats? We keep finding small gifts in unexpected places.

And 'yay' for the fitness thing - you are (almost) inspiring me to have a go myself!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 12:26:00 PM



Chandira said...

I think blogger ate my comment, I left one here a day or so ago.

Basically as I recall, it said something (or should have) like this: "EEEEEWWW, dead mouse!!"

Yes, they smell so bad, I had one in my kitchen forever that I could never catch, when I lived in England.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 9:48:00 PM



Spicy Bug said...

GRAN!!!! So nice to see you again

Thursday, June 21, 2007 4:27:00 AM



Doris said...

Jane LOL I see my mouse has grown into a rat!!!! The little buggers were once upon a time alive but then after using the humane traps I ended up resorting to the poison. Apparently it is classic for them to wander off somewhere cosy to breathe their last. I heard it described as someone so drunk and needing to sleep it off - but they don't wake up.

Ally No cats but I have seen the sorts of presents they bring in. I'm not an animal person - though I'd never wantonly cause them harm .... unless they are a mouse taking up residence in my house.... and these cat gifts would be another reason not to have one. oooo I'm a hard person ;-) I'm glad you are feeling inspired regarding the fitness but you have better things to do such as cooking up that baby in your tum :-)

Chandira Pain when the comments disappear. From my point of view - ahhh, I'm loved after all ;-) Between you and me we're making England sound like the country of mega smelly rats and creepy things! LOL

Spicy Bug Woo hoo - you back too! I'm gonna come visiting sometime but I am keeping my blogging under control this time. And...... you have motivated me to take action on something but more of that in a new blog post another time! :-)

Thursday, June 21, 2007 2:10:00 PM

Monday 11 June 2007

Two years, apparently

Thanks to Jane of Jane Loves Tarzan for reminding me that I have been a blogger for two years now. Technically. I did take a break for some months, and I so archived my archive it's gone but who's counting?!

It's Jane's anniversary too.

Happy Anniversary!


PS. I love Jane's cake - so manic :-D

PPS. A little reminder why the moniker "Grans on Bran": It started off as a joke between me and Cheryl of Mad Baggage. I'm not a Gran but I could be. It was my wanna-be Porn Star name.... but that was a conversation over two years ago and goodness knows how these things get discussed ;-) But it was thanks to Cheryl that I started blogging.


Original Comments:

jane said...

Happy Anniversary Doris! I remember finding out you weren't a "gran" and was totally beside myself! For so long I thought you were a 60 something, or at least a 50 something Gran!

ps...Do you know where Cheryl went?

Tuesday, June 12, 2007 8:53:00 PM



Doris said...

Hi Jane and thanks!

Technically I should be done on trade descriptions with my moniker. I wonder if it causes confusion but I like it that it certainly makes a difference from all those bloggers wanting to appear much younger than they actually are! LOL

But do you think I should modify my name and go for something a bit more truthfully younger? Dirty Doris maybe? Ha-ha .....

I can't speak for Cheryl and it was a surprise to me too that she had stopped blogging. On the other hand, I stopped blogging and then came back.... sometimes a break is good or needed. But it was Cheryl who turned me on to blogging in the first place and of course it was chatting to her that I made up my name.... I owe her :-)

Tuesday, June 12, 2007 10:22:00 PM

Wednesday 6 June 2007

Annabelle the Sheep

Having recently discovered the excellent "The Oldies Project" I have also become more intimate with the visualisations on RealPlayer. One of which is the singular "Annabelle the Sheep". It is mad, it is crazy, it is blindingly simple but so funny and incongruous. With all the technology out there, to have a stick sheep bounce back and forth to one's tunes, and it's various cohorts making an appearance, really tickles.

Screen grabs below for instant edification.












Original Comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi honey :-)

Yep, I discovered Annabelle a while ago...what a cool sheep!

How are you?

I'm OK ish, gradually trying to put my life together again and reconcile all my inner needs etc...

Just thought I'd drop in.

Hugs

Jo x

Thursday, June 07, 2007 3:40:00 PM



Doris said...

Oh hello Jo :-D

So good to hear from you. I am sure it has not been easy. Mega hugs to you on your pathway to happiness.

Doris :-)

PS. Suddenly reminded of the Helen Shapiro classic Walking back to happiness ..... complete with dancing sheep!

Friday, June 08, 2007 12:34:00 PM



Doris said...

Aaaaaargh ... but not quite all those lyrics! Just the general positivity and happiness, acknowledging maybe things had gone wrong! :-0

:-)

Friday, June 08, 2007 12:36:00 PM



Doris said...

... and if I keep explaining and apologising I'll be digging a deeper hole for myself! ;-)

Friday, June 08, 2007 12:37:00 PM