Week 26 of #Project365 23rd - 29th June. A photo every day for a year!

I am so glad to see the end of this week. I've had some bad weeks in my life and this one makes it up there in the top 5. Ellie ended up in hospital after doing some silly things, drinking vodka and spending all day outside in the sunshine. If you can think back to Tuesday it was red hot! She is fine now but she gave herself and us such a scare! All the doctors, nurses and staff at the hospital were amazing, there was no judgement even though there really should have been. I am so grateful to them.

We've had a quiet weekend, well Stu, Ellie and myself have. Becky went to a fancy dress party last night. Her and her girlfriend went as Troy and Gabriella off High School Musical. I am expecting to see the photos when she gets home.

Now for a photo every day!

175/365 - 23rd June

Biscoff cheesecake! We went out for lunch, we hadn't planned to but we were up early dealing with the water people and blocked drains and the thought of staying inside on such a lovely day did not appeal. I did not feel like cooking either so a roast dinner out was perfect!

176/365 - 24th June

All of my plants are outside now and I found a space for them. They could do with going in the ground but I am having problems with weeds. They were doing really well, now I am trying to bring them back to life after them not being watered for a couple of days.

177/365 - 25th June

Ellie's cannula pumping fluids into her. It was an ordeal to get it into her as it turns out she has really tiny veins and being dehydrated made them hide. She now has some amazing bruises from being poked and prodded

178/365 - 26th June

It turns out hospital food is not as bad as Ellie thought. She was looking and feeling more like herself which was a massive relief to everyone!

179/365 - 27th June

Daylight coming through the curtains on Thursday morning. I came home Wednesday evening to get some sleep while Stu stayed with Ellie at the hospital. I fell asleep while it was still light out and woke up at 6am and it was light out again. It confused me so much, I thought I had only been asleep for about an hour.

180/365 - 28th June

Glastonbury was on our TV for most of Friday.

181/365 - 29th June

We had to do something to make it feel like a Saturday so we got a meal deal delivered with the food shop! This is almost one of my favourite combos. Tuna & Sweetcorn sandwich with chicken satay skewers and chilli dip. They did substitute my drink though. This one was fine and the added vitamins probably did me good.

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This week my Word of the Week is: Hospital! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

There's a song by My Chemical Romance, Teenagers and one of the lines is "All teenagers scare the livin' shit out of me" and that is so true, well mine does. She sure knows how to scare us. We've had a bit of drama with my Ellie. She is fine with me sharing this post! She said I should as it could be a warning for others.

Ellie did some very silly things on Tuesday when she was supposed to be at college. Drinking vodka, spending all day outside in the heat and hanging out where she shouldn't. The first I knew about it was when college rang and said they have her and she is very drunk and unwell. I felt so bad! I just assumed she was at college because she told me she was, I never thought to check on the tracking app we have or Snapchat as she has never bunked off college before as far as we knew. One of her older friends bought the alcohol and one of the only good things about them drinking was that they were mixing it with fizzy pop. I thought at first they were drinking it neat. The college said we should get her checked out at the hospital and off we went.

She was in hospital for 2 nights hooked up to a drip trying to get her rehydrated and her bloodwork right again. She had a cannula put in and that was used for anti sickness drugs and a bag of whatever they were pumping into her. It turns out she has small veins so had a nightmare getting blood from her as they were testing her blood every few hours. She is like a human pin cushion now with lots of bruises.

 I stayed with her on Tuesday evening and I had about 10 minutes sleep and Ellie had a couple of hours. Ellie was vomiting lots and there was of course all the checks from the nurses, doctors and the beeping from the machines. I stayed at the hospital all day Wednesday and then came home at about 6pm to see Becky and get some sleep! Stu stayed the night with her when she had been moved out of A&E and onto a different ward. I was sound asleep a little after 8pm and slept right through until 6am when I heard the bin men and remembered the bin hadn't been put out. I came running downstairs to sort that out.

By Thursday lunchtime Ellie's blood test results were coming back as almost normal and was given the go ahead to go home and finally got home just before 6pm with orders to drink plenty of water, stay out of the sunshine and leave the vodka alone. It seems all the sunshine has gone in the time that we have been in the hospital. Thankfully there is no lasting damage and we are going to college next week to discuss things.

Ellie knows what she has done wrong and is so sorry for scaring everyone. The little madam will be kept on a tight leash for the foreseeable. I know teenagers have to learn from their mistakes but this could have been so much worse. It has scared her and us. The thought of drinking any alcohol again makes her feel sick and she hasn't touched Dr Pepper since as that was what she was mixing the vodka with.

The NHS is amazing and all of the doctors, nurses and staff at the hospital. I know what she did was a waste of their precious time and it shouldn't have happened. Ellie knows that too and feels so ashamed! I can't fault any of the staff at the hospital, they were amazing with her and so supportive. There was no judgement which I am grateful for, it made the whole situation a lot easier to get through.

There's a lot more to the story and I am not sharing a lot of it as Ellie doesn't want me to which is fair enough. She was happy with me to share this part of what has gone on. Take me back to the baby and toddler years, it was so much easier. 

I hope you have all had a good week!

What I have been watching on TV lately!

 I love to watch TV. I have the TV on for most of the day as background noise. Sometimes I just want something I can half watch and sometimes I want something that I can really get into.

We have normal TV, Disney+ and Netflix at the moment so I am not short of things to watch and this is what I have been watching lately!

Bridgerton!

I was so late in starting to watch this. I am all caught up now and I love it! It is just one of those shows which make you happy. There is so much I love about it. Lady Danbury is so witty, the whole Lady Whistledown mystery was brilliant. I loved that she was Penelope, she was one of my favourites before the big reveal so after I loved her even more! The music is brilliant, I kept thinking it was just classical music until it wasn't and there is a lot of recognisable songs: Ariana Grande's  Thank U, Next, Taylor Swifts Wildest Dreams and Miley Cyrus's Wrecking Ball to name a few. The costumes are just stunning! I love all of the dresses, well apart from the Fetherington sisters. Some of them were just ghastly. hehehe It is guilty pleasure TV at it's best!

The Euro's!

I'm not a football fan usually but I have spent the last couple of weeks watching a lot of football! There has been some fantastic moments and I am writing this last week so by now we should know who's going through to the next rounds. Eek!

Killing Eve!

I thought I had watched it all when it was on TV years ago but I read something about it, someone being killed and I thought I don't remember that so I had to rewatch it!

Killing Eve is a British spy thriller television series. The series follows Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), a British intelligence investigator tasked with capturing psychopathic assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer). As the chase progresses, the two develop a mutual obsession.

The first 3 seasons were brilliant and it turns out I did watch a couple of episodes of the 4th series and must have given up on it. It wasn't the best. It seemed rushed but at least I saw the end of the story! 

Wrestling! 

I am back in love with watching the WWE. It has been really good lately. I love the shows that are over here in Europe, the fans really get behind their favourites. There are so many good stories going on at the moment too. A big Scottish guy getting screwed over every time he has a title match, people returning from injuries, the Wyatt Sicks, a whole new group of creepy people have just debuted and then there is Chad Gabel who is such a bully to the 3 wrestlers he's supposed to be training. They are just starting to turn on him, hooray!

Better Call Saul!

This was the prequal to Breaking Bad and one of those shows that I never finished watching when it was aired on Netflix. I am so glad I watched the ending. Some people weren't happy with it but I liked it.

Ex-con artist Jimmy McGill turns into a small-time attorney and goes through a series of trials and tragedies, as he transforms into his alter ego Saul Goodman, a morally challenged criminal lawyer.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live!

Sky TV have taken back The Walking Dead from Disney+ and with it they are showing one of the last part of the Walking Dead series.

The love story between Rick and Michonne. Changed by a world that is constantly changing, will they find themselves in a war against the living or will they discover that they too are The Walking Dead?

I won't give the ending away but it was a good one! I have watched the other spin off's the one with Negan and Maggie, Daryl's and of course Fear the Walking Dead but this one was the best one! I don't often just sit and watch the TV, I am always doing something else but this had my whole attention! If you have watched The Walking Dead and want closure you need to watch this.

I have been thinking about what I am going to watch next, I have noticed House of Dragon is on Sky TV and everyone is talking about it and of course that is going to make me watch Game of Thrones again so that should keep me busy for a while.

What have you been watching lately?

What I went without as a child!

 A few weeks ago our Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that he went without “lots of things” as a child growing up in the UK, citing Sky TV as an example. The memes after on social media were hilarious but I don't think that was what the interviewer was pushing for. I know children going without things is nothing to joke, there are a lot of children who do go without the essentials and that is so sad. I don't mean to disrespect that but this post is a tongue in cheek look at the things that I went without as a child.

I was in no way hard done to as a child, I didn't go without the essentials like food, clothing and warmth but there were some things I went without that other people my age had and I sometimes resented my parents for. On the other hand I had things kids my age didn't have: horses and ponies, quad bikes, a farm to play on and lots of toys!

Sky TV!

Sky TV was a luxury when I was a child and my family never had it! My family would not have benefitted from having a ton of TV channels as my brother and I were always out on the farm and my parents were always working. The first time I got it was when my eldest was about 7 years old so that's 14 years ago. 

Branded clothes! 

My parents would not buy my brother and I branded clothes. We didn't have expensive clothes but we weren't badly dressed. I think it was a good thing that I didn't keep up with the latest trend as I am not bothered now about spending loads on clothes. My first pair of branded trainers cost me a couple of pounds from a car boot sale and most of my clothes now come from Primark or Shein.

Coca-Cola!

We never had Coca-Cola when I was growing up. The only time I remember having any fizzy pop was at Christmas and it was the cheap supermarket version of cola. It was probably a good thing, I have always been reluctant to let my girls have fizzy pop.

Electricity!

When we first moved to the farm house that my dad had built we had no electricity supply for about 3 years. There was some sort of dispute about who should supply it as the farm was over 2 counties, it wasn't that big but two fields were in one and the rest of the farm in the other. Our power was run on generators and was only switched on when it started to get dark, the generators needed filling with petrol every couple of hours which I can't imagine was any fun for my parents on cold evenings.

Takeaways!

We would get fish and chips when we went to the beach and apart from that nothing! The first time I had a takeaway was when I was at my friends house when I was about 13 years old. I don't remember ever getting one at home as a child or teenager.

Birthday parties!

I had one birthday party when I was a child and I think my brother only had one too and I think my mam thought that was enough. Our birthday's weren't ignored, we would always have a great day out to a theme park for my brother's as his was in April and mine being in November meant the theme parks were closed so we would always go for a big shopping trip and a fancy meal.

A Mr Frosty!

Mr Frosty was the thing of dreams in the 80's. We all wanted this little fella because it meant we could make slush puppy drinks to our heart's content. I think my mother didn't by me one because she knew the mess and chaos I'd create. I was daft enough to by Ellie one a few years ago for Christmas. It was the Olaf slush maker. I'd say near enough the same as Mr Frosty. It was useless! It did not crush the ice.

Fun cereal!

I thought I was so hard done to not getting fun breakfast cereal! We would have Cornflakes or Shreddies but nothing fun. I wanted Coco-pops, Lucky Charms or even Honey Nut Loops but my mam would never buy them! I wanted to be full of sugar on a morning, maybe my mother knew best!

Holidays!

I never went abroad as a child and only had a couple of weekends away when I was growing up. One to Scarborough and another to Blackpool. My parents had businesses to run. A milk round and then the farm. I don't think the animals would have appreciated being left for a couple of weeks. My brother, my friends and I camped out on the farm or their farms which was fantastic fun!

Fun packed lunches!

My mum would always pack me rubbish packed lunches for school. There was no chocolate biscuits, fun yoghurts or fizzy pop! (They were still allowed in the 80's and early 90's). I got ham sandwiches with mustard, sandwich pickle or ketchup, cheap no-name crisps, boring plain biscuits and diluted juice.

Even though I went without these things as a child I was still very lucky to have a good childhood. This post is meant in fun and not to offend.

What did you go without as a child that everyone else seemed to have? 

The first year of college, done!

This time last year Ellie had just left school and I was worrying about her starting college but here we are, at the end of this week she has completed her first year doing electrical engineering! I know for a fact I have worried a lot more than Ellie has, she has taken it all in her stride!

Ellie started college the day after we came back from our little holiday which was stressful to start with but it was also the day that Ellie would get the bus for the first time for herself. All summer I had tried to get her to say where we were going and pay but she was having none of it. Thankfully when she got her college bus pass she just had to scan it and get on without saying a word. On the first day she met up with some friends and that was it, she was away!

She settled into her class so well, obviously she paired up with the only other girl on her course and they have been an unstoppable force. The teachers have said they try their hardest as if they are trying to prove they are just as good as the boys. They don't have to try, they are as good as the boys!!

For the first few weeks of college Ellie hung around with people that she had known from school at break and lunch times but soon branched out a little and made friends with people in doing her course and others in the engineering department. She soon got herself a boyfriend which thankfully didn't last long. He was a bit controlling and the final straw came when he said to Ellie she couldn't hang out with her friends, she told him where to go.

Every day she comes home and says so and so said this, so and so said that and I can't keep up with who she is talking about as she seems to know so many people. For months I thought Alex was a boy but it turns out she's a girl. She thinks nothing of waking into town with her friends and having a look around the shops and popping into Wetherspoons for lunch. Some of her friends are 17 and 18 years old which I am wary about but they all seem like decent people.

The highlight of the course has been when she has had her practical lessons and she has been in the workshop doing the wiring and whatever else she does. Trunking, trays, conduits and many more words describing things that I don't understand. My dad does though, he has loved talking to Ellie about what she has been doing in college.

Ellie has cracked on with the written work and actually finds those lessons fun and interesting. In her course she doesn't have one final exam, she has assessments throughout the year and she has passed them all. There was one in the middle of the year which she had to resit but learned that she had to revise and that paid off with her last assessment when she got full marks!

Ellie has one more day at college and that's her done until September! She has already signed up to do the next year of Electrical Engineering. She has said that the teachers are hoping to put the two classes together with those doing their 2nd year so there will be no new starters holding them back. She is looking forward to another long summer of fun!

Our weekly meal plan! 24th - 30th June! #MealPlanningMonday

Last weeks meal plan went well, we ate almost everything! As expected the Thai-Style Coconut Chicken was my favourite meal and we really enjoyed the Sausage & Pepper Chilli Con Carne Pasta Bake too. Becky even said it's better than the pasta dishes which she makes and she is an expert at making anything with pasta. 

The Gousto box was delivered early on Saturday so I didn't have to jiggle any meals around. The poor delivery guy was  very angry about it though as he said it weighed too much and he has been underpaid. Eek! Come to think of it, it's the first time that I have had Evri deliver my box so I am thinking they deliver the lighter boxes and Yodel or DPD do the heavier one's. 

Yesterday it felt like I had a whole day of it before 10am. On a Sunday I like to have a lie in but yesterday just after 9am we had the water people here unblocking drains. Ours and next doors was blocked, our toilet was filling up and outside in the alley way was starting to smell. It turns out no one is to blame and there is a dip in the drainage where everything yucky is sitting and piling up. Eww! It's a common thing in older houses and we were told that when we go to the loo we need to flush twice to keep the water flowing. When I say no one is to blame I have thought, we might be. Since we got a shower put in we've stopped having baths so there is no surge of water, clearing things where the dip is when we take the plug out. Oops. I might have to start having baths again or just filling one with cold water so we can clear the drains.

Anyway, because I was up early it felt like a long day ahead of me doing nothing so I convinced Stu and Ellie to go to the pub for lunch and it was so good. So good to have a big meal without sweating in the kitchen making it and so good because my mashed potato is rubbish compared to the chef's at the pub! I need to ask him about it next time I see him.

It's funny about 3 months ago I would never eat cabbage, I had it at the pub and now it's something that I think about all of the time. I even took Ellie's off her. I don't know if my tastes have changed as I have got older or it's just the way they cook it but it's so good!

What I didn't plan for when I ordered the Gousto box a couple of weeks ago was the weather! Oops! It's supposed to be quite a warm week and I will have to spend time in the kitchen cooking. Eek! I am hoping to get the meals cooked on the morning so we can reheat them later on as our kitchen gets the sun from about 11am and it ends up feeling like an oven in there by tea time!

On the menu this week we have:

Monday - Gousto meal - Classic Hot Dog With Sweet Onions And Cheesy Fries. Stu is not getting out of cooking on a Monday, he is going to make this. hehehe I would have left it until later in the week but it had a short use by date on the sausages.

Tuesday - Gousto meal - Beef Meatball & Tomato Farfalle.

Wednesday - Some sort of salad, I am planning to go to the farm shop to get some fresh bits and hopefully they will have some lovely cooked meat too.

Thursday - Gousto meal - Plant-Based Chick'n Pie With Mash And Green Beans. I am very interested to try this as I have never had meat free chicken before and it looks so strange. It looks like really pale doner kebab slices. I'm not telling my family it's meat free, I want to see if they notice. hehehe

Friday - Pizza, out of the freezer!

Saturday - Sticky Honey Mustard Posh Dogs With Chips. This is our favourite meal from Gousto!

Sunday - Quiche and salad.

What are you eating this week?

Week 25 of #Project365 16th - 22nd June. A photo every day for a year!

June is flying over. We have a few things planned for next month and I keep thinking the things are weeks and weeks away but they're really not. Eek! Why does the best part of the year have to go by so quickly. 

My week has mostly been spent watching football and enjoying the sunshine, yes the sun has finally been shining here! Friday was just gorgeous and we spent most of it at my dad's. Today we need to do some gardening and cut the grass, apart from that we have nothing planned. I think we are going to have a lazy day at home.

Now for a photo every day!

168/365 - 16th June

Father's Day and the men in my life had a fab time. We went to see my dad, dropped off his present (which he loved) and went for lunch then went to the pub for a few drinks. The sun was shining so it was lovely sitting in the beer garden.

169/365 - 17th June

These hay fever tablets have kept me going for the past week. I woke on Monday thinking I had a cold but it was just allergies. Ugh! 

170/365 - 18h June

The bee's are loving my garden, they are big fans of the pollen unlike me.

171/365 - 19th June

I hunted out my Voter Authority Certificate ready to vote next month. I don't have any photo ID so got myself one of these last year so I could. If you have no photo ID you have until Wednesday to order a free one to vote in the upcoming election.

172/365 - 20th June

I was putting some rubbish out and noticed something on the grass, I went closer and noticed there was a pile of feathers. Poor bird. I am guessing a cat got it as there was no sign of the bird in my garden.

173/365 - 21st June

I stayed up to watch the last episode of Doctor Who off the iPlayer. Technically it was still my Friday as I hadn't gone to bed. hehehe It was good but a bit of a let down. I still enjoyed it though.

174/365 - 22nd June

Our Gousto box was delivered and we have Chick'n Pie later in the week using meat free chicken. I have never had meat free chicken before and I can't imagine how it's going to taste. It looks like ill slices of kebab meat from the takeaway shop. lol I am sure it will be lovely.

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This week my Word of the Week is: Football! WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

I always say I am not a football fan but then something like the World Cup or the Euro's happen and I am hooked! I have seen nearly every match and considering I am not a football fan I have heard of a lot of the players. From what I see a lot play for teams in the English Premiership for teams like Man City and Arsenal. 

The Turkey v Georgia match has been my favourite so far, Stu has Georgia in his works sweepstake so I was cheering them on and they did so well considering they are only in the tournament because they did well in the UEFA Nations League. (I make it sound like I know what I'm talking about but I really don't). lol They're the underdogs so have nothing to lose and they really did give it their all. They even sent the goalkeeper down to the other end of the pitch near the end of the match to help out with a corner, it all went wrong and Turkey got the ball and had a free run to the goal, the Georgia's goalkeeper couldn't catch up. I am gutted they lost.

As much as I like the football I like some of the drama that goes on like the players arguing with the referee. France's Mbappe had a bit of an accident breaking his nose when he hit someone's shoulder and he went back onto the pitch holding his nose and sat down. The referee wasn't happy as he saw it as time wasting and gave him a yellow card. Eek! Going forward if he plays he will have to wear a protective mask.

On Wednesday, our usual bingo night we ended up going to the pub anyway. The staff were umming and ahhing about the bingo going ahead as it was just the usual's in but about 10 minutes before the Scotland match kicked off the pub started to fill up so there was definitely no bingo. Hmmf. We watched the match in-between chatting and still had a good night.

Becky always says she's not interested in the football but has seen quite a few of the matches too. She was sat at work watching one with a resident and for once she knew what she was talking about as it was Portugal and knows all about Cristiano Ronaldo. hehehe We have realised this tournament is probably the last time that we will see him play as I am sure he said he wouldn't be playing in a World cup again.

It's the moments around the football which I like, some Scottish fans helping an old man in the rain holding an umbrella over him. A little German bar selling a couple months worth of beer in one day. The Scottish fans singing their national anthem before their match on Wednesday! They were loud. The ground staff trying to stop the stadium flooding when it absolutely chucked it down and of course seeing all the fans having a lot of fun.

I will be sat here watching the football for the next few weeks, obviously wanting England to win all of their matches. They were abysmal on Thursday evening, they didn't deserve the draw. I could have done a better job of passing the ball. I did laugh at the likes of Alan Sherer getting angry talking about the game but still having to be professional. He looked furious! It still looks like we're thought to the next round though. Phew! I can't imagine that "Football is Coming Home" though, not after how they've played so far. Eek!

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good one!

What I have loved this week! Week 25. #FridayFavourites

Hello there and happy Friday! This past week seems to have flown over and it feels like I don't have much to show for it. It has not been a bad week though, just busy!

I am here today to share some of the things that I have loved this week and I am of course linking up with Erika and Andrea to share them.

Summer Solstice!

Yesterday was the longest day of the year and it actually felt like summer. There was no threat of rain and as I am writing this it is 18C but it felt warmer. We have had quite a bit of rain over the past week but the flowers in my garden have started to bloom thanks to it. The weather forecast is looking good for the next week too! Sunshine and warmer temperatures. Hooray! It feels like summer is actually here!

Football!

The Euro's are happening, the The UEFA European Football Championship and the country has gone football mad again. I am going to write more about it in my Word of the Week post tomorrow but I have watched a lot of football over the past week and I am loving it. England were playing last night and I am so disappointed in them, they did not play well at all but did manage a 1-1 draw. We should go through to the next round.

Father's Day! 

We all had a lovely day on Sunday, we went to see my dad to give him the gifts that he didn't want me to buy and of course he loved them. A cheese hamper with different flavoured cheese, crackers and chutney and some fancy ginger biscuits. We had lunch and then went to the pub for a couple of drinks, it was so busy but we had a fab time.

Gel nails!

Last Friday I did my own gel nails and they are still going strong. I know they don't look the greatest but they are better than when I first did them earlier in the year. lol I thought they were going to be bright red, when I put it on it was red but dried more of an orange colour! I love it! Now I am thinking the other colours which I bought in the set might not be the colours that they look like straight out of the bottle. I have a blue, green, pink and a lilac.

Doctor Who!

The new series is coming to an end and there's just one more episode left! I have really loved the new Doctor and his companion Ruby Sunday! They have brought something different from all the previous Doctors and companions. I am so tempted to stay up tonight to watch the new episode at midnight when it is released on the BBC iPlayer. Who is Ruby’s mum? What’s was Susan Triad’s dreams all about? And there has to be more to Mrs Flood!

Hay fever tablets! 

I woke up on Monday thinking I had a cold, I felt rotten but then my eyes started itching and puffed up. I took a hay fever tablet and in a few hours I was feeling much better! I have suffered this week when I wake in the morning. I am not happy about the hay fever but I am glad it wasn't a cold. I have only been bothered with hay fever since we moved here 5 years ago, we are surrounded by fields and my poor nose does not like it. 

Inside Out 2!

It's not one of my favourites but my girls. They have been to see it twice, once on Saturday and then they went to see it in 3D yesterday. The first time they saw it they didn't wait until the very end and there was a little extra bit after the end credits. I thought I had taught them better, always stay right until the end. I learned that from Marvel movies. They said it was even better 2nd time around.

What have you loved this week?

No ID to vote, no worries! Get a free Voter Authority Certificate!

I don't like to talk politics on here but I was talking to someone the other day about the upcoming election and they said they are not voting as they have no photo ID. I informed them that they could apply for photo ID to vote called a ‘Voter Authority Certificate! Don't let a lack of photo ID prevent you from exercising your right to vote. This upcoming general election is an important one. Even my brother who has never voted in his life is going to in this one!

A new law was brought in over the last couple of years that you need a photo ID to vote in any elections. For people like me who doesn't have a driving license or passport meant that I couldn't vote until I heard about the Voter Authority Certificate! I applied for one early last year which only took about 10 minutes online, the biggest chunk of my time was getting a passport style photo, just on my phone. It was easy and in less than a week I had the sheet of paper and the ability to vote!

The deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate to vote in the UK Parliamentary general election is 5pm on Wednesday 26th June!

Here is how you can apply for a free voter ID certificate!

Check eligibility:

Ensure you are registered to vote.

Confirm that you don't have any of the accepted forms of photo ID.

Prepare your required information:

You need your National Insurance number. If you don’t have a National Insurance number, you can provide other proofs of identity, such as birth certificate, bank statement, utility bill, etc.

You also need a recent, digital passport style photograph. The photo needs to be of your head and shoulders, with your face uncovered. It needs to be clear and in focus, in colour, against a plain, light coloured background, your true likeness and with no photoshop or filters, just like a normal passport photo.

Application Methods:

Online Application:

Visit the official Government website.

Complete the online form with your personal details and upload your photo.

Paper Application:

Download and print the application form from the government website.

Fill out the form and attach a recent, passport style photograph.

Send the completed form to your local electoral registration office. The address can be found on the Electoral Commission website.

In-person Application:

Visit your local electoral registration office.

Fill out the application form and provide the necessary documentation.

The staff can assist you with taking and uploading your photograph if needed.

The free voter ID doesn't have an expiry date but they are expected to last roughly 10 years as you will need to continue to look like the photograph. 

Are you ready to vote?

Pizza Scrolls - Recipe!

Did you know that this week is National Picnic Week? National Picnic Week is an annual celebration that invites people to connect with nature, enjoy good food, and create lasting memories through the simple pleasure of picnicking.

What better way to enhance your picnic experience than with a batch of these scrumptious pizza scrolls? They combine the classic flavours of pizza with the convenience of a hand held snack, making them an ideal addition to your picnic basket.

Pizza scrolls are versatile allowing you to customise them with your favourite toppings and fillings. Whether you prefer a traditional pepperoni and cheese combination or a veggie packed option these scrolls are sure to satisfy everyone's cravings. They're not just a treat for your taste buds but also a fun and interactive way to celebrate National Picnic Week!

Makes 12 scrolls

Ingredients:

220ml of warm water.

1 packet (7g) of fast action yeast.

400g of strong bread flour and a little extra for flouring your surfaces.

1 tablespoon of sugar.

1 teaspoon of salt.

A jar of tomato pizza sauce.

Grated mozzarella cheese.

Fresh basil leaves.

Equipment:

A measuring jug

A large mixing bowl

A rolling pin

A spoon

A knife

A 20 x 30cm baking tin lined with parchment

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan).

Add the yeast to the 220ml warm water in the measuring jug. Set to one side while you combine the bread flour, sugar and salt in the large mixing bowl.

Add the yeast/water to the dry ingredients and bring together with your hands to form a dough. Tip out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 to10 minutes before returning to the bowl and leaving in a warm place to prove for at least 30 minutes.

Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back by pushing the air out of the dough with your fist and tip it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a large rectangle, keeping the thickness around 5mm. 

Use the spoon to spread the pizza sauce evenly all over the dough before sprinkling with the cheese and three quarter of the basil, roughly torn. Roll It all up into a long sausage shape and cut into 12 portions.

Place the scrolls swirl side up in the baking tin, leaving a bit of space for expansion in between each one and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden. Allow to cool slightly before topping with the remaining fresh basil leaves and serving.

This recipe is from the Easy Peasy Baking campaign, launched by UK Flour Millers, making baking simple. You can find more Easy Peasy Baking recipes and information on the campaign over on the Fab Flour website.

5 years living here!

Oh how time flies and the last 5 years really has! This time 5 years ago we were getting ready to move from Northumberland in the North East of England down to near Scunthorpe. I still don't know how to describe where we live. Sometimes people say it's Yorkshire, sometimes the midlands and sometimes it's just North Lincolnshire but if you are reading from say London do you know where North Lincolnshire is? It's not the most well known areas. For people who aren't around here I just say we live over the bridge from Hull. lol

Next week is 5 years since we moved here and I can honestly say things have changed for the better. All of my family have changed, relaxed and feel so much happier here than we ever did in Northumberland. Yes, we had some good times there but in 5 years things have just been better! 

When we moved here both Stu and I couldn't sleep because it was so quiet! There was no drunken fools walking home from town, there was no one fighting on the street and there certainly have never been any drugs raids in the houses around us. In fact if we see a police car now we get shocked and wonder what is going on. 

A few days after moving here I wrote this blog post about how it felt like a whole new world and in some ways it still does. I still can't get used to all the green, grass, fields and flowers. I thought by now my body would have got used to it all but I am suffering with hay fever for another year it seems. That is the only negative I have about living here but I wouldn't change it. I love having a garden even if I am having a battle with weeds at the moment. There is nothing better than hanging washing out on the line!

When we first moved here I thought I would miss being in walking distance to the main high street but living where we do we have the best of both worlds. Scunthorpe is a short bus ride away and Hull not much further and with the £2 bus fares even if I did drive I still wouldn't drive to Hull with the bridge toll and parking costs. Yes, sometimes I miss being able to nip to McDonalds or Costa but in the long run it has saved us money! I rely on online shopping for the groceries and random things but that's fine. We do have a little Tesco and Co-op locally so it's not like we go without. Now when we go to town it feels like more of a treat than an every day thing.

I have seen the biggest changes in the girls. Yes, in 5 years they would have changed but I think if we had stayed in Northumberland Becky would be plodding along unhappily doing goodness knows what and Ellie, I don't know. There might have been a mental breakdown or two. I'd like to say I was exaggerating but she was not in a good place mentally when we left Northumberland. 

When we left Northumberland Ellie was suffering with social anxiety but now she is a totally different girl. I wouldn't say she is fully confident in everything but she has came out of her shell! She sailed through school doing well in her GCSE's and is almost finished her first year of Electrical Engineering in college.

Becky works full time, night shift in a care home. She loves her job and the residents. She said it's a job she could see herself staying in for life. It's close to home, the hours suit her and the money is good! Soon after moving here Becky came out to us as bisexual and over the last 5 years she has had a few girlfriends. She has been seeing her currant girlfriend for about a year now and is happy. She said if we still lived in Northumberland she would not have came out to us or anyone. Things were different there.

We live in a small town which has a village feel to it. Everyone knows everyone and I feel like we are getting there with the locals. We have had some moments when we have felt like outsiders but I just name drop my dad as he has lived here for almost 15 years and all is good. hehehe We have not had a good relationship with one of our neighbours, from the day we moved in she has hated us and I don't even know why? Well I have a fair idea, before we got this house a lot of local people were after it and I think she knew someone who wanted it. I just laugh at her now because everything she has done against us has backfired on her. Oops. In Northumberland if we had an argument with a neighbour I would worry about our windows being smashed or house set on fire. (It happened, our neighbours house was set on fire when we were in bed asleep) but here the worst that happens is she complains to everyone who will listen and refuses to take parcels in for us. lol

The best thing about living here is having my dad up the road! We see him a couple of times a week, he's a busy man but I still speak to him most nights on the phone. The girls have a great relationship with him and his partner. He is so proud of them both. Some people look down on carers but he thinks Becky is amazing for being one and he has really taken Ellie under his wing when it comes to her being an electrical engineer. He has had her doing wiring and has been buying her tools.

I think we moved at the best ever time! We moved here at the end of June and by early 2020 the world was in lockdown because of Coronavirus. I think if we were in Northumberland when that happened we would have fallen apart as a family. In the job Stu had in Northumberland he would have still been working during the lockdowns but here he had a few months at home as he wasn't an essential worker.

I have said this is my forever home! If the landlord ever wants to sell I will beg, borrow and steal to keep it! I couldn't imagine living anywhere else!