Showing posts with label I hate camping I just want to stay in a luxury hotel with Pierce Brosnan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I hate camping I just want to stay in a luxury hotel with Pierce Brosnan. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Artist in Me

A while ago I reported that a piece of  art called "When it starts dripping from the ceiling" had been inadvertently destroyed by a cleaner who thought that the exhibit in a German museum was just a big mess. Today, I have even more depressing news - a Tracey Emin piece entitled "How I wish I slept" was broken by a teenage girl who, during a party at a gallery at which the piece was on display, got over-excited and knocked it to the floor.

Unluckily, only the plinth and glass surround was broken.

Anyway, the good news is that Tracey took it really well and said it was just an "accident". In fact Tracey said: “It's not like my tent which was burned to the ground along with other priceless works of art which was something to get upset about."

The tent was entitled "Everyone I ever slept with 1963-1995" and was a 10 x12 tent on which Tracy had sewn all the names of the people she had slept with.

It took her sixth months to complete.

Wow, that's amazing. Anyway, I thought it was such a great idea when I first heard about the tent back in 2004 that I got out the boys' 2 x 3 pop up tent and decided to give it a bash myself. Unfortunately, I ran out of names after I covered about a twentieth of the door flap. It took me about 10 minutes - even doing it in appliqué. 

Anyway, I'm not someone who gives up easily at things so when we upgraded to a family-sized tent which sleeps 12 (there's 5 of us but everyone's got big feet) I decided to have another bash at creating a Tracey Emin style piece of art. I started  my new piece back in 2008 on our infamous camping trip to the Isle of Wight which I mentioned here. As yet I have still not finished my masterpiece. I've tried to stamp my own mark on the piece though so instead of calling it  "All the people I've ever slept with 1965-2012" I've called it:

"All the things I've ever burnt 1965 - to date."

It's a work in progress obviously. I expect to finish it about 2032 - unless I win the lottery before then.
So far I've managed;

Lasagne
Curry
Spaghetti Bolognese
The Sofa
My hair
My red dress (aged 7)
My blue dress (aged 2)
Cupcakes ( Approximately 20 times)
Pizza (Homemade)
Pizza (Shop bought)
Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Yorkshire pudding
My hand
My shoulder
My legs
My arm
Mr T's hand ( That one didn't go down too well.)
The family dog (cremated)
My old boyfriend's love letters
My old boyfriends photographs
My old boyfriend (metaphorically speaking)
The clutch on my car
The rubber on my tyres (Numerous times)
Toast ( Too many times to even attempt to calculate)
My ear (actually it was the hairdresser but I suppose that counts.)
My back
Several frying pans
Several more saucepans
The Devil Wears Prada (Paperback)
A pair of Master Sam's underpants circa 2006....

..... anyway the list is endless. But you get the idea. I'm bored now so I'm going off to find something new to burn.



Monday, June 15, 2009

A Pina Colada Please!

Has anyone tried a Pina Colada? I've just looked at the recipe; 2 shots of white rum, 4 shots of pineapple juice, 1 shot of cream and one shot of coconut cream.

I've got to be honest; it sounds a little sickly to me. I've never been that keen on creamy drinks although in my younger days I did enjoy the occasional Bailey's Irish Cream. These days I tend to go for the hard stuff - like diluted Persil Automatic or Mr Muscle Sink Unblocker.

You know it's amazing what you can get hooked on in a recession.

Sometimes I even get hooked on the back on the door - usually it's because Mr T is fed up with me.

Anyway, the fact that I might not like Pina Coladas didn't stop me fantasizing about one during my latest BBC article Say "No" to Camping which if you've overdosed on the booze whilst reading this and can't put two and two together is basically me whinging on about the horrors of camping. But one thing I forgot to mention in the article and I feel it is my duty to inform you for sake of family harmony....

Never, ever, go camping with relatives.

Three years ago I was persuaded against my better judgement ( Read "Nagged to death") by my family and my sister in law and her partner into camping for 2 whole excruciating weeks in the Isle of Wight.

Now I am not a camping person; indeed I would rather leap naked off the Eiffel Tower than go camping. I'm just not cut out for it. What the hell is the point of going on a holiday where you have to plan it like a military operation? And all that stuff you have to take with you - it is worse than having a newborn baby and having to take all that baby paraphernalia with you just in case the world slips into an ice age or there's an acute heatwave on your way to the supermarket. Yes, camping is a lot worse because you have to take all that stuff AND the kitchen sink.

So anyway, as you can imagine, not being exactly happy about camping in the first place I was even more disconcerted to be informed on the day that we should drive in convoy with my S-i-L taking pole position because she had been to the Isle of Wight a number of times and knew the route.

Now unfortunately, driving in convoy is one of my pet hates - I'm an independent sort of gal and I'd rather muddle my way through things than play Follow-My-Leader. Anyway, in this case it was particularly annoying. Why, I hear you ask?

Because the car I was driving had satellite navigation.

Yes, I know, it makes no sense. And further, ask yourself this question - Would you want me driving behind you?

No, I wouldn't either.

Anyway, for the sake of family relations I decided to begrudgingly conform and duly did what I was told and in the course of time we arrived in the Isle of Wight. Whereupon I decided to get my own back. Now there were 3 cars in the convoy, My S-I-L, Mr T and myself and the kids.(Yep, I pulled the short straw - there's a surprise.) But my car (Well Mr T's) was the only one with Sat Nav, so as my S-I-L had not actually been to the particular area of the Isle of Wight where we were going I informed everyone that it was now their turn to follow me.

Ha! Yes, I know it's a petty revenge. But sometimes a gal's gotta do these things for her sanity. And it made sense did it not??

So, the boys and I were happily driving along following the instructions from that nice lady on sat nav when suddenly I noticed that both my S-I-L and Mr T have disappeared.

Obviously, I was thinking that they couldn't keep up with Mrs T's speedy driving and so I duly pulled in and waited.

And waited. And waited. And waited.

Eventually, after some more waiting, I got on the mobile phone;

"Where are you? Are you lost?"

The reponse;

"Oh, we decided to go another way. We're already at the campsite putting the tent up."

Now obviously I didn't curse in front of the boys but here's what I was thinking;

"~*!* ~* **##!**~!"

Well to continue... myself and the young masters duly arrived at the campsite, having been given the leaflet about which area we can camp in as there are a number of areas for different purposes. (ie with electric, without electric etc etc.) I followed the instructions from Mr T (it's a big camp site) and eventually the boys and I arrived to find Mr T & Co putting up this enormous tent.

Well you might think I was lucky to have missed out on the arduous task of erecting the tent. But no, instead I was thinking....

Why are they erecting the tent in the wrong place?

Yes, I'm sure you've all had similar moments when you know someone is wrong but then have to go about telling them nicely so they don't get shirty with you.

Of course some folks take a lot of persuading. Humph. However, once I'd got Mr T on board with my theory ( This required alternating between looking gobsmacked, waving leaflet, pointing at electric point we haven't paid for, repeatedly asking them if they've read the leaflet and generally looking throughly pissed off.) then the tent was then dismantled and erected in the place it should have been.

Now I should have been gloating with my victory but alas by then Master Ben had disappeared, dusk was beginning to fall and we were only a short distance from the sea.

As you can imagine, Mrs T was not feeling good. In fact Mrs T was feeling pretty bad.

Well as you know Master Ben is safe and well so all's well that ends well.

But Mrs T has a long memory and let me tell you it will be a long, long time before she ever, ever steps over the threshold of a tent again. It's luxury 5 star from now on! I'm too old and far too sophisticated for all that boy scout stuff. Yep, the boys will have to the boy thing together whilst I clear off to The Hilton. Hurrah!

Blimey, that was mega whinge wasn't it?! Anyway if you want some more reasons why you should never go camping check out my BBC article. In the meantime, I actually popped in to play this song which I remembered whilst I was writing it. You know it's been years since the last time I heard this song and I'd forgotten just how good it was.

But as we say in the UK... It's a corker!

The Witty Woman Is Still Not Dead

The news is I am not yet dead. But I am now 61. Jesus. That’s on the outside lane to six foot under. However, I haven’t quite reached the st...