Helen Monkton

The Conversion

I know, I know, long time no post.

My excuse...

I have joined the dark (or light, depending on your pespective!) side of life and got myself a shiny new Mac.

Ohhh, it's so shiny and pretty...

The Apple Store in Southampton were lovely. I booked a personal shopping appointment and it was well worth it, as they spent 1 1/2 hours taking me through the features of the operating system and programs before even showing me the machines themselves. Customer service is very high on my 'will I buy from you or not' list, and they won through. I was impressed. Let's see if the live up to that when I take back the .mac that i really didn't need!

I know some of you will now be feeling a sense of betrayal at my conversion, but fear not, I am the same person. Some may even offer their congratulations. (Carla was stupidly excited as I opened the box for the first time!) Now as Charlotte, Carla and I sit adoring the dining table or couch we can match!

I could go on about their prettiness, sleek design, blah, blah but suffice to say, so far, we are very happy together!

Period Drama

I have been thorough surrounded by period drama in a variety of forms in the last few days. I have gone from Dikensian London to stately granduer finally rounded off by Austen's Country. I am thoroughly cultured.

Baking Days

Dried fruit...check

almonds...check

cherries... check

apples... err, mum can you pick some up?!

The Debating Chamber

i just got back from cell where I think we covered about as broad a specutrum of topics as you could imagine. I'm not quite sure how we traversed from a love languages quiz to whether Britain was still a christian county, via Polish immigrants and school nativity plays. In our brains it worked!

It was actually really interesting to gather thoughts and bash out ideas together, something I don't always get to do very often and yet something that I really enjoy.

This all was after we had organised the most important finer details about where we were going for each course of our Christmas meal safari. I think we were rather restrained in only opting for 4 courses, carla and i were up for between course palate cleansers...we were out voted! 

Tis the Season.

It's officially the run up to Christmas. For me, as well as the opening of the advent calendar (which I incedently don't have!) Christmas has truely arrived when I get to put up the decorations at the theatre. It's a sort of annual ritual that is approached in earnest the Sunday before the Christmas Concerts begin. I think it's the sheer scale of them that makes it fun. It's slightly grander to decorate an 8 metre tree freshly cut from the Goodwood Estate that a plastic one that's been gathering dust in a box for a year.

Last year we got new, lethal looking star decorations (lethal if they happen to 'accidently' descend from the sky onto the unsuspecting/grouchy patron) They are very pretty, but have to be assembled by us and attached by men who have qualifications allowing them to ascent ladders (Honestly, health and safety!) They do let us on ladders to put the lametta in the tree however, and the picture is just to prove that Did do some work!

They didn't let me put my cheesy christmas CD on though. I'll have to play it a few extra times whilst making the cake and mincemeat to make up for it!