Goodbye 2011

Being back at my parents for Christmas was brilliant. I had a fantastic collection of presents, that suited me to a T, but it was whilst washing decades of dirt off the old Lego on Christmas Day, I thought I'd look back and reflect on my 2011.

If you had asked for my opinion on 2011 six months ago, I would have told you that it was my worst year ever. At the bottom of a big pit of doom and gloom I didnt think my year would get any better, and thought that nothing else worse would have any effect on me. I'd become used to having a rubbish time, what difference would another ounce of crap have on me.

Ask me now what 2011 means to me, and I'll confidently tell you that it was the year that I found out who I really was, and it's probably the best year I've ever had. That sounds quite morbid, but I mean that its been the best year for making decisions and learning lessons. Its been difficult but extremely valuable.

May 2011 saw the messy end of a 7 year relationship. I made the difficult decision to hand in my notice and begin the process of moving up to Sheffield.

June 2011 saw me packing those 7 years into the back of a transit van. Saying goodbye to my job, my friends, the family I had been accepted into, and my cat; I cant say anything was worse than that. Driving away from my life I had created was punishment that I didnt deserve. But being typically British, and with my Land Girl spirit, I kept calm and carried on.

July 2011 saw me getting a new job and making new friends. Unfortunately my old life continued to return to haunt me, prolonging the grieving process.

August through to October was really just a blur, all sorts of nonsense bouncing around, trying to settle into a new way of life, trying to get to grips with reality and make sense of everything. On the flip side, I was taken under the wing of so many wonderful people, and made to feel extremely welcome and appreciated, and accepted for being myself. I started to feel a sense of purpose, and finally I had the chance to be me again.

October 2011 I found a lifeline. Something to keep me busy, to give me focus, and that has opened doors to a whole new chapter in my life . . . Roller Derby. Sunday 9th October 2011 was the the final home bout of the year for Sheffield Steel Rollergirls and it was the turning point in my life when I decided I needed make a difference. It was at that point I made the executive decision to stop trying to fill the 'relationship' gap, and do something productive instead.

Despite being told there weren't any spaces available to join SSRG, the following week I took my skates to the local skate rink and, as they say, the rest is history. No, seriously, you can read all about it in my previous blogs :-) The past 3 months have gone by in a whirl of wheels, disco lights, pasta,  Chesterfield Twisted Roller Vixens, progression, and making new friends every week. With the help of my family, friends and new team mates, the end of 2011 has taken a sweet turn, and has provided me a taster for what 2012 has to offer.

Today is the final day of 2011, and I have decided that 2012 is going to be MY year. I, like so many others, have dreams and ambitions . . . the difference is that I intend on making mine reality. Despite wanting to do and learn other things, my one main aim for 2012 is to pass my Minimum Skills for roller derby, anything beyond that I will see as a bonus. This year I have learnt just how important it is to be in control of your own life and happiness. If I hadn't been brave and made the life changing decisions I made this year, I would definitely not be in a happy place right now.

So now I'm going to sad tata 2011, what a rollercoaster! Oh and 2012, you'd better watch out, because the real Becky Kirby is back in the game. Time to enjoy the balls off the next 365 days!

Work hard, Hit harder

Tonights CTRV practice was a very quiet and intimate session, with only 6 attendees. Holly was coaching, Tom sat out with a cold, that left me and Claire, regular attendees, and our two guest skaters, Nina (Nina's Flytrap) and Paul (Bollock Obama). 

After a quick skate round and stretch for warm up, we looked into practicing proper derby stance. Man I need to practice my squats, they sting! 

Speed Skating stance

We practiced this, with crossovers for a while, then moved onto 'lateral turns'. Im not even going to try explain this, but in basic terms, pretend you're holding a tea tray, turn your torso to 'serve some customers' and your feet will follow. It's an important skill to learn as it allows you to cut across the track, cut across another players path, and essentially push them off the track. I think its called lateral blocking, but dont quote me, although I have heard another name for it. For those with tender ears and eyes I'll call it 'the C-word-Block'. Ultimately the best block to learn as it totally disables the other players actions.

After learning the lateral turns, through cones, and any direction around the hall, we then had the short discussion of to contact or not to contact. By unanimous decision we voted CONTACT!!! I wasnt expecting to have it thrust upon me until after christmas, so this was an early christmas present. Holly paired me with Claire, and Nina with Paul. At first, and in fact the whole way through the drill we looked like this . . . except with smaller boobs, haha! 

Claire's aim was to 'lean' into me, in effort to push me off the track. My job was to resist, so I did. And I did an effing grand job of it. Such a good job in fact, we only stopped once we got to the corner and spun out, with the most spectacular of falls I have achieved so far, ending up with us both looking like this . . . 

Yes, and we even had the smiles on our faces!

After we played with shoulder checking, we then moved onto some light shoulder hits. Paul, being big, was our hittee, and Claire, Nina and I were the hitters, biaaaatch! Catching up with Paul I did fear for my life, he's like 7ft tall with his skates on. But, lucky for me, he saw me coming, crouched down to my height and sat back and took my tiny nudge. Hmm, piece of cake, not as scary as I thought it'd be, so the next time I went in harder. We did about 4 rounds of hits, and I put more force behind each one, and by my last one I even managed to make Paul say 'ow'. WOOOP! I like to think we would have looked something like this (imagine I'm the lady in red- no, not Chris de Burghs one, that one in the picture) 

After our little battering sesh, we then moved onto one footed glides. Paul, Claire and Nina worked on slaloming, while Holly talked me through some techniques to stop my left foot veering inwards. I told her I was quite the professh on my right foot but when it came to being on the left, I did struggle. After a little tinkering with my balanced stance, we managed to get me going in a straight (ish) controlled line on my left foot. Once I get that foot mastered I'll be away. 

So, at tomorrows play night I'll be practicing left footed glides, lateral turns and stance.

Music to give you goosbumps

I was woken this morning, as like every other morning, by my radio turning itself on. Depending on how good a night sleep I've had dictates how fast i wake up and turn the volume down (the longer I leave it the louder it gets!). 

Its set to radio 1, and usually I'm woken by some shitty boyband, or Adele talking about some 'rumour', at that point I usually jump up and switch the f*cker off. But this morning was different.

I'd had a great night sleep, but as and the song started to play louder and louder, I got a tingle up the back of my neck and left it playing. I couldnt work out why, until I realised it was the song that was playing the first time I skated fast, with immaculate crossovers. It brought back some great feelings, of success, of achievement, that 'yessss' feeling. 

And funnily enough the song is actually called 'Good Feeling'

It was a lovely start to my day :oD

Congratulations to me

Tonight was my 2 month anniversary since starting roller skating. 4 weeks ago I started up with the new Chesterfield team, so I'm now skating twice a week. It's all going incredibly well; I have my skater name on my team tshirt and I finally managed to get off at the right stop by myself this week.

In 8 shorts weeks I have managed to learn lots of important skills which is vital if I want to play roller derby. So, lets take a look at what I can do . . . 

Staying upright :-)

Cornering (always a bonus) :-)

Stance & Stride :-)

Bending the knees :-)

Crossovers :-)

One Knee Slides :-)

One Knee 180 Slides :-)

2 Knee Slides :-)

4 Point Slides :-)

NOT using my hands to get back up after falling :-)

Bending the knees :-)

Sticky Skates :-)

T-Stops :-)

Did I mention bending the knees? It is quite important! :-)

Skating in a pace line :-)

Weaving :-)

Weaving in a paceline :-D

Recognising my gumguard was shit and replacing it with a better fitting one :-)

1 footed balancing on the straightaways (only the right foot- the left foot needs more work and the left trucks needs realigning) :-)

1 footed balancing (right again) round the turns :-)

Cannonballs (aka, shoot-the-duck) :-D 

Synchro Cannonballs with Bridget Von Jammersmack (we'll be the first RD synchro pairing, you watch this space!) :-D

Knowing that pasta is the dish of the day on skate days! :-)

Accepting that it doesnt do anyone any harm to walk rather than catch the bus, its the perfect warm-up :-)

I'm pretty sure there will be more thing's I've learnt that I've forgotten about here, but you can get the general idea that I've picked up loads in the small amount of time I've been skating.

So I may be boring people to death with talking about skating 24/7, but I'm actually glad I have something that I can pour my heart and soul into, something I can focus on. Not only am I keeping fit again (I've not been in such good shape since I was at school), but I have made new friends and am getting out at least twice a week rather than sitting and loafing in my room. I'm starting to get a social life again and I'm happy, pretty much all the time.

Last week's skate session will be cherished forever. Laura was inspiring, and she pushed me and encouraged me to go outside my comfort zone. Having someone push you, and shout words of compliment at you at the same time is a great feeling, and it's an even better feeling when the effort pays off. At the beginning of the session I was asked about a certain trick (cannonballs) and how cool it was. I remember saying 'ooh,they look amazing, but i can't do that just yet, it looks well hard'. Well, after a little push from Miss Jammersmack, and a few bums scuffed on the floor, we both had it nailed. And the best feeling was finding out that not even some of the hardened players can do it. Some people thought it might be beginners luck, but after we tried it again tonight, I think it's safe to say that I've got this one in the bag. I can confidently say that skating makes me feel like this . . . . . . 

Next week I'll be trying out something new . . . not yet decided what, but I'm thinking along the lines of transitions and toe stops?

If Carlsberg did Sundays . . .

In fact, if Carlsberg did Weeks, then they'd probably be something like the one I've just had.

It all started last Saturday, so 9 days ago. My sister was away at a wedding for the day, and I had two major tasks, to make malteaser tray bake and haul ass to the SSRG (unadvertised) bout in the afternoon. I got to the leisure centre after hitching a lift with a friend, and sat upstairs in the cold, not knowing anyone. Skip forwards two hours, a very fast paced first half, and tougher second, the bout was over. I headed over to the team for some post match sugar fixes. The malteser tray bake went down a treat, with some coming back for seconds, thirds and more. Bonus of the day was being told I could come to every bout from now on, as long as I brought tray bake! YESSSSS!

Sunday wasnt much to shout about, except for the fact that I SIGNED UP TO A ROLLER DERBY TEAM! All in the very early stages at the moment, but I'm now a member of the Chesterfield Twisted Roller Vixens. It all came about after talking to the captain of SSRG (Sheffield Steel Roller Girls) and saying about wanting to sign up with them. She said there were no places at the moment, but to get in with CTRV and train with them. So, I got in touch with the lady who was starting it all, and she told me to come along to practice on Wednesday 16th. I already had the standard kit, I just needed a gumshield.

Monday was gumshield shopping day, and after a loooong (watching paint dry slow kinda day) day at work, I got home, coaxed big sis into taking me Decathlon in return for a foreign 'reminds me of skiing holidays' chocolate bar. Well, I have never been to Decathlon before, and I am IN LOVE! Its a supermarket for sports, and it is amazing! I could have quite easily spent a lot of money in there. I will definitely go there when I have a lottery win :-) I got my gumshield, and spotted some Santa requests too. We paid up, and went home.

Tuesday wasnt anything special. I ate mini scotch eggs, and Mojo sweeties, given to me by a lady at work.

Wednesday was the big day. Skate day. First ever team practice! I started work early, and finished even earlier. I have to get my timing absolutely spot on, or else I wouldnt get to training. I made sandwiches in the hope that I'd eat them on the bus, which didnt happen. They turned into the 'apple in the bag to be healthy' type of food. they stayed in there until I got home, and emerged all squashed. Anyway, skate practice was interesting, and much fun! We all gathered outside the school, in the cold, and in our cool rollergirl outfits, cool both in the fashionable sense and the temperature sense, it was freezing! There were ex derby players, hoping to get back into playing, there were skaters that were just new to the sheffield team, coming along for the practice, there were a few hardened derby players, and there was my regular thursday night folks. So a good little group of us really. We all had a stretch, and a skate for warm up. Then we all sat in a group and introduced ourselves. It was like a little therapy group. 'Hi, my name's Becky, I'm here because I have an addiction to roller derby, cool outfits and quirky helmet designs'. We all said our bit, then carried on skating, learning one and two knee slides, and then an all fours slide. Best to learn how to fall before we learn anything too complicated!

Practice was over way too fast, but lucky for me I managed to borrow a new pair of derby skates, so that I could use them on thursday to 'get the feel'. I also managed to get a ride home, which was definitely a massive bonus, saved tons of time on travelling on buses and trains etc. I had some compliments on my helmet design on the way home, which was nice too. I got home earlier than expected, tucked into my squashed sandwich, and chilled out :-)

Thursday I managed to blag myself a later start at work, I was tired! I got to work, and made the day go as fast as possible, so that 4pm would turn up sooner. And it did. I made for a fast walk home, grabbed my kit bag (and new skates), filled up my juice bottle and headed to the bus stop. I caught the bus just after 5oclock, and got to skating at around 530. I bumped into my new friends in the boot room, and we all headed out to the rink together. The new skates were awesome, a little fatter than what I was used to, but they were amazing. I had on my cool rollergirl outfit on again, it definitely helps! There were loads of us, maybe 8 or so. We all skated around in our big padding, avoiding the tiny kids in tutu's! I learned a couple of new moves, which were definitely made easier in the new skates, way more flexible.

I got home from skating, feeling quite hungry, so had a champions dinner of pasta, cheese, skinny meat and bbq sauce :oD

Friday was a sleepy day, but my friend Nina came to visit. On the saturday we went an did a whirlwind tour of Sheffield. We did the museum, the galleries, the peace gardens and the winter gardens, and the fountains at the train station. We didnt fit in everything we wanted to but, at least we'll have a few more things to do when she comes to visit next time.

On Sunday Nina left very early, but I spent the morning swatting up, as on Sunday afternoon I was about to become an 'Outside Whiteboard Operator' for half of the SSRG vs London RollerGirls bout.

VS

Dressed in grey I went to the leisure centre and met up with my new group of friends. We were handed our NSO (non skating officials) tshirts, and what we needed to do. I got to watch the first half of the bout from the seats, with more people than the previous weekend. The second half I was on my feet, trackside, making sure I didnt get run over by ref's and skaters, either falling or making their way to the penalty seats. Needless to say I didnt cock up, and I got to watch pretty much the whole bout.

Afterwards, I dished out the malteser bake, much to the delight of the team. Every piece went, and I am proud to say that I've had lots of compliments since on how amazing it is! YAY!

I hitched a lift with one of the girls to the nearest tram stop, and made my way into town to meet Big Sis and our friend, and we headed to the cinema to see the new Twilight film. I'm not going to give the game away, but its pretty good.

After getting home from the cinema, the goodness kept coming. I had a text from one of my girlies to say she was engaged, and then I had an email to say that I could keep the skates that I had borrowed, no strings attached!

And that was pretty much the end to my truly awesome week.

I went to sleep with a huge smile on my face :o)

Don't like it? Then customise it!

There are many things in life that we dont like, but sometimes we don't do anything about it, because it's probably just a little bit too much hassle. Some things cant be changed, but the smaller things can.

Thats why I quite often deny myself those precious hours of sleepytime.

As with any standard cleptomaniac, I have lots of 'things'. And when I want new 'things' I don't bother to get rid of the old ones. Instead, I give them a new lease of life.

For example . . . A once white hoodie

Tarnished with a beautiful glass of red (yuk) wine. There aint no vanish that could get rid of the stain, so, I dyed it orange! It now looks even better than it did when brand new.

Example number 2 . . . Jeans

If you're feeling brave, and you want jeans in a darker colour, stick 'em in the washing machine and put in some dylon. My sister bought some super skinny blue black jeans from Gap for a stupid price, they looked awesome. I couldnt afford some at the time, but I already had a pair of skinnies, so bought some dye, and now I have my own pair, on the cheapidy cheap.

Example 3 . . . Mac laptop

After having a hefty bashing a few christmasses ago, I never thought it would open its little blinky eyes again. Two years later and I'm still typing away on it. I can't say that its customisation is the reason for its extended life, I think that's just trusty old Apple. But, I can claim that the new paint job I gave it DID cover up the number of dints to the lid. 

My finest, and most recent, example is my old snowboard helmet. 8 years ago when I first learnt to snowboard, camouflage was THE pattern to have. I kept it tame with just a jacket and helmet though. For one reason or another, I slowly stopped using my helmet, so has been left defunct in a dingy corner of my room for quite some time. Realising last week that I might need to start using my helmet again, I unearthed it, to find the camo was peeling off, revealing plain grey underneath. 

So I set to work with my trusty metal ruler, and sat for two or three nights, scraping all the pattern off. I ended up with an achey hand and some blisters but was quite satisfied anyway. There were some extra scrapes and scratches (quite possibly put there by accident) so I bought some wet & dry paper, and smoothed it all over.

Now my helmet made me look normal, and not like a little boy anymore (yays!). But still, it looked pretty boring. For about a week I've pondered over how to make it look better. For totally different reasons, I was googling tattoos at the weekend. One popped up that took my fancy, not for my skin (mum, relax!), but for my helmet.

I love the Cheshire cat, and I love smiling (it's my favourite), so I thought this was very apt, and it fit quite well into the helmet 'dynamics'.

Helmets have 'breathy holes', as I like to call them, and I always think they look like extra eyes. So, armed with my HB pencil, marker pens, my rubber, and Boots No.7 nail varnishes I got cracking. I drew on the design, and fine lined it all with the marker. Then I did my very best at staying inside the lines, and coloured it all in. Once finished, I was pretty god damned chuffed.

Nobody else has one like it, and that's why I like to customise!

I heart Thursdays

They say things come in threes, they also claim 'third time lucky', and I believe in both.

This Thursday was my third time at skating. And it was definitely lucky. I may have had to wait for a non existent bus for half an hour, but I got there earlier than last week, which meant an extra half an hour playtime. And I was glad for those extra 30 minutes.

Whizzing round in the same manner as the two previous weeks, and avoiding any collisions with kids along the way, I pondered on what to force myself to learn. So, I tried a few t-stops. Number one wasnt interested in playing ball, number two had a stutter, number three I tried with my right foot, and that was a big mistake. Somehow my brain said 'move foot' but my foot said 'whatever brain', ending up in an arms forward slam into the side stop. Let's stick with left footed stops for now. I kept trying them, and each one got a little better. I cant claim I'm any good at them yet, but I am getting more comfortable doing them. 

After about 20 minutes, the professionals turned up. Not the ones from that old tv show, they'd surely be on zimmer skates, or maybe even coffin skates by now?! They scooted past, making it all look VERY easy. Then some more folks turned up, and started going BACKWARDS! Time to make conversation - 'you make that look way too easy' I yelled. And that was the beginning of the rest of the evening. The guy I yelled at had come with his two friends, one of which plays derby, and her friend is just learning to skate. It was fun to finally have people to skate around with, and if anything it made it easier. I forgot all about the skating, and I ended up doing crossovers without even having to think. The surprise on their faces when they found out I'd only been roller skating for three weeks. I somehow managed to fool the friend into thinking I played roller derby. 'oh nooooo' i said 'I WANT to play, but I need a lot more practice'. She claims that I looked pretty confident and comfortable, and that my crossovers were very tidy. 

After much discussions of joining, and practising, they all advised to get myself kitted out with pads and wrist guards. I've been told that elbow and wrist guards dont need to be the most expensive, so to get cheaper ones, and the money saved on them should be put towards getting decent knee pads. I was then told 'i can guarantee that as soon as you get your knee pads on and start skating around, you'll want to do this . . . ' and she proceeded to get one knee down on the ground, slide along a little then get back up. Yes, I think I will definitely have to give that a try.

My new comrades introduced me to the two folks i'd seen on my first week. We all skated round as a group for a little while, with some folks pushing through and nipping past at times. That was when I realised I definitely want to play. We talked about training sessions, and how the girls practises are full but the blokes only have 12 people at theirs. A passing comment was made about me wearing a moustache and gatecrashing the boys practises. I guess it wont harm to ask. 

Anyway, the evening drew to a close, time DOES fly when you're having fun. We piled back into the boot room, and I had fun poked at my retro-esque skates. I was told I would need a new pair for derby, these ones just wouldnt work. I also managed to get a lift home, that saved waiting in the rain for the imaginary bus again.

I got home, and started the online hunt for pads. A recommendation on wrist guards had already been made, and they were only £9, either that or broken wrists? It took two nights of deliberating but finally all my bits and pieces are on order, and will hopefully arrive before next Thursday. 

 

Looks like I may have to make some hats and mitts, and cats to sell before I can afford to buy some skates, but thats what winter nights are for arent they? Staying in and plonking yourself infront of the sewing machine for a few hours, or infront of the fire/tv with a crochet needle and thick wool. Especially if each thing made gets you £15.

I may just have to put up a little bloggeroo about my handiworks, spread the word and earn some cashlings :-)

The inevitable Halloween Blog

Halloween weekend was a busy one.

With Mummy Buckle coming to visit we were up bright and bouncy on saturday morning, tidying (a little bit) and faffing. I do love a little Twitter.

Mum arrived safely in Sheffield, and after picking her up we drove back to the house for a cuppa tea. From there, Sister Buckle and I went and fixed our hair and made ourselves presentable for the day ahead. Sis stayed in the house to do housey things while Mum and I wandered up to the shops where we did the rounds of the charity shops. I dont recall buying anything apart from GIANT sandwiches (yum!)

Being a beautiful autumn day, I opted for my new DM's, cosy socks, lots of layers of tights, shorts, cosy jumper, two scarves and my 'Barbara' (pretend Barbour) jacket. Mum made a passing comment on my outfit choice, saying how funny to have 'bare' legs on such a cold day. Lucky for me that as long as my feet and torso are cosy, my legs will nearly always be okay.

So, after tucking into our sandwiches, us three, and our housemate ventured down into the city centre for afternoon tea. Very tasty, even the jam! We let the day carry away with itself and by the time we finished, we only had time to do a quick round of TK Maxx. I fell in love with a pair of mittens in there, but at £25, I couldnt justify buying them . . . yet!

From there, we met sis's workmate and headed for a light tea before then going to city hall to see Sarah Millican. Much laughs for the next two or so hours, can't even remember any of the jokes but it was definitely a great night.

The next day was 'halloween' even though it wasnt, it was only the 30th. The city was celebrating a day early, which meant only one thing . . . fancy dress ALL DAY!

I decided I wanted to be a 1940's housewife skeleton, but after the barrel fringe went tits up, I went as a fancy pretty skeleton instead. hah! So I had the uber cool curly to the sidey fringe, pretty starry scarf, the homemade halloween tshirt, skelly hoody, and skelly leggings . . oh, and the ever favourite black baseballs boots and floppy black leg warmers.

I must admit now that I looked pretty darn hot on sunday. My fringe was amazing, my make up was pretty, and my bottom looked fab. I need to wear my skelly leggings more often!

Fright Night was upon us in the city, the streets were strewn with thousands of people, stalls, rides and tat stalls (which we succumbed to and bought light sabers!) We bumped into some friends, ate candy floss, and burnt out our eyes with brandy 'hot chocolate', which was really just a cup of hot brandy and milk! We ate a cheapo cheeseburger from one of the stalls, they're sooooo good! There were lots of amazing costumes, but the 7 year old kids dressed as Chucky were a step too far!

Who ya gonna call?

We broke off the evening in town at around 730, and headed home to carve pumpkins. And they were friggin awesome ones at that! We stuck on 28 weeks later, which isnt actually that scary when you're carving a pumpkin and not paying attention. We each grabbed a laptop and googled some cool designs. Our housemate did an owl, sis did a ghoulie and a cat, and I did Darth Vader and the Death Star. It was a late night, finished carving at about 12.45. Totally worth it though. At one point during the night, we also dressed up the kittens in halloweeny tights.

Actual Halloween was quite tame, but we did go on the City Ghost Walk. We saw no ghosts, but we were told some great grisly tales, and heard of ghostly sightings and happenings.

So, that was halloween in a giant nutshell.

Thursdays . . .

are officially now my favourite night of the week.

At a cost of £3.50, I can now fill three hours of my thursday evenings with roller skating! YAY!

Last night I got home early from work, got changed, got my skates in my bag, and hitched a lift with the sis through what can officially be called rush hour traffic, and got dropped off outside the roller rink.

The last time I'd been inside was probably bang on eight years ago, on my first ever visit to Sheffield during sis's first year at uni. Apart from the outside of the rink getting a glamified makeover, the inside is pretty much the same as it was nearly a decade ago. It was an ice rink back then, but now the ice has gone, and it's literally just a roller rink.

Filled with some nerves at how truly retarded I may be on skates, I laced up and shuffled out onto the rink. Thank god it was dark! I thought I was going to stick out like a sore thumb with a comical bandage, but in actual fact I was possibly one of the more competent people there (on quad skates that is). Needless to say, I was soon outmaneouvered by a couple that I can confidently say belonged to the roller derby team. I plucked up the courage to pick up the pace, and was soon whipping round like nobody's business. Thinking about the list of things I was told to learn, I chose to go in at the deep end and try some crossovers. I can remember doing these on the driveway back home on my inlines a very long time ago. The only problem was that the corner i practiced on was right handed, and all rinks are left handed. 

Time to overcome the 'cant turn left' phase and go for it.

I managed one or two steps, and had a bit of a wobble, so carried on around the rink a few more times. I tried again later on, and managed a few steps. Thought to myself, ah, this maybe isnt so bad. I stopped at the side, and tried to relieve my 'fat hand syndrome' (where all the blood rushes into your mitts from all the arm swishing- is this a bad habit I need to stop?). I went around the rink a few more times, then joined in on the marked out derby track in the middle. I picked up the pace again, and went in for the 'kill' I managed a whole corner with crossovers and it was AMAZING! It was really smooth, and I picked up a lot of speed. I felt quite chuffed with my little self :o)

So the crowd of folks that were also skating varied quite a bit. There were your typical teenagers that obviously spent all their pocket money on going there, there was a kids birthday party. Lots of screaming 10 year old girls, insistent on going the wrong way round. Then there were the old timers that had no concept of speed and that if they hit a kid, that kid may just explode on impact. Then there were the quad pro's, the derby folks. A guy and girl just there practising different stops and having a lazy skate, and another girl joined in wearing a full derby 'boutfit' (as I've seen them called). Vest top and matching mini skirt (with polka dots and yellow frills), hot pants and a pretty bomb proof set of knee and elbow pads. They just pootled around, minding their own business, going sideways, doing fancy stops, fancy footwork, just generally looking very cool and putting me and my fat hands to shame.

Saying that, I didnt fall and I didnt make a tit of myself either, well not that i'm aware of anyway, despite the numerous arm flappings. I will most definitely be returning next week, maybe avec some extra padding?

I have recently become a Twitter convert, and on my return home I tweeted some of the girls, from the roller derby team, that I follow and told them about the fun I had. I'm quite happy to say that I got some very nice responses. There's a possibility that one of them may try and get to the session next week too, so hopefully I can get some tips from her. I'm pretty sure it'll be a big help to get some advice, plus it's another new person in the city and someone that I can talk to rather than skating in silence for the evening.

I called my parents and told them about my evening too. Dad tried to put a sensible outlook on it and said something along the lines of 'if it doesnt work out then i'm sure you'll find something else to join'. My response was 'no, i'm determined to make this happen'. There have been too many things that I've said I want to do and I've never done them, and I'm disappointed in myself. This is one thing I have the chance of doing, and I refuse to do a half assed job. It's not expensive, it's a great way to keep fit, and its the perfect way to make new friends. I may end up with a few bruises along the way, but if I keep a stock of arnica in the cupboard I'll be reet :o)

I think I'm in love

ROLLER DERBY WAS  . . . . . . . AWESOME!!!!!

Even though I was suffering from one of the worst hangovers known in the history of mankind, I can happily say that once the bouts were underway I soon forgot about needing sleep, food and painkillers! 

The promo posters were stolen, the team tshirt was purchased and the request email has been sent to get my name on the waiting list!

This is something I am determined to see through to the end.

Times to get my skates on, practice those t-stops, and get a gumguard (yes mum, that comment has been added for your peace of mind)

Are you ready for 'the whip' . . . ?

Ever heard of Roller Derby?

I watched my first game on TV at 4am whilst snowy holidaying in Andorra, i think it was 2006.

In a slightly drunken stupor I sat in bed, bleary eyed, and watched the teams of girls speed, shove and smack their way around the banked track. Helmets, padding and cool outfits a-must, this was one interesting sport. After watching an hours worth of girls battling their way round the track on skates I fell asleep and woke the next morning wondering whether it was all a dream. I stayed up again the next night to try and catch it again, but I didnt find it. I soon forgot all about it, but always remembered that it looked really good fun.

A Marathon Sport, rumoured to have started as far back as the mid-1880's (!!!), it has slowly developed into a full on spectator entertainment sport. In its hey day, Roller Derby was a multiday endurance sport, with cash prizes. In the 50's and 60's, when interest began to wane, RD was reinvented in order for it to be televised. In spite of this, spectator levels dropped, on trackside and through the airwaves, and the sport was no longer interesting. Not much else happened for the next 4 decades.

Dry those tears though because in the noughties Roller Derby was reintroduced to society. The revival hailed from Austin, Texas, and soon caught on worldwide. Back with a vengeance, roller derby gave a voice to girls who maybe never made it onto the sports teams at school, or maybe never made it onto the cool wall. Girls could be more than who they wanted to be without being judged. The girls involved with the sport didnt mind having a crappy job, because it was their spare time that they lived for, because that was practice time, that was when they went from being the girl with the standard issue uniform and name badge, to the girl with the cool uniform and cool nickname!

With the release of 'Whip It' in 2009, roller derby made itself known to the masses and RD Fever took over. Drew Barrymore did an excellent job directing AND starring in the hit movie. I'd like to say thank you and well done to her to bringing roller derby into my life.

Roller Derby 101

• Matches are called 'Bouts' and are played on either a flat or banked oval track
• Each Bout is 30 minutes long and are made up of shifts called 'Jams'
• A jam ends after two minutes have passed, or when the leader of the winning team places her hands on her hips.
• The teams are made up of 5 players: 4 Blockers and 1 Jammer (they wear a star on their helmet)
• The two teams of blockers create the 'pack' and start ahead of the Jammers
• The pack starts on the first whistle, the jammers set off on the second.
• The Jammers have to break through the pack, avoiding any pushings and shovings that are thrown their way.
• Once broken through the pack, the jammers have to get back round the track and through the pack again before they can score any points.
• A point is scored by a jammer for each member of the opposing team that they pass.
• Oh, and safety first, the girls have to wear helmets, knee and elbow pads, gum guards, wrist guards, and the most important of all . . . roller skates.

My local team, the Sheffield Steel Rollergirls are playing tomorrow in their final bout of the year . . . and we've got tickets. Not just that, but I've also got the email address to get in touch, just in case I decide to join up after tomorrows event :o) Well, I've already got the skates, the helmet and the nickname (which I'm keeping secret for now). Roller Derby isn't for sissies. There's violence, blood, broken bones and bruises. I read a quote today: 'it's not if you get hurt, it's when you get hurt'. If I do join, at least I'll learn how to take a fall and grow some balls, it might even give me more confidence, not just in life but to try new things out on my snowboard too. On the actual plus side, it could be a great way to make even more friends in my new city, and I've heard its a great workout for legs and bums. Au revoir cellulite! haha

The cure to all broken hearts . . .

What's a girl to do when in desperate need of a pick me up?

Buy new shoes of course!

And what could be better than a new pair of boots, ready for the winter months. 

For about the past three years I have hunted high and low, for the whole autumn/winter season, in desperation for THE perfect boots. They needed to be brown for starters. They also needed to be long, dont want to get cold shins. They also, as an absolute must, had to have 'roundy toes'. None of this pointy or kind of roundy toed nonsense. If they're not chunky, I dont want them on my feet.

So anyway, I never found these mythical perfect boots, until this monday. After what could have been the breakthrough to a new start on life, a big mother fluffer of a bombshell came and shat on everything. Back to square one it is for me then. So, feeling further than down in the dumps, and on the verge of vomming at every dreadful thought, I knew I needed to get help. 

On Monday I left work early so I could make it to the shops for some much needed retail therapy (forgetting the muchly needed deodorant- thank god I live with my sister and she has some spare!). I visited my favourite haunts, TK Maxx, HMV and Lush (just for the smells that day). On the way to TK Maxx, I spied THE boots in the window. I looked at them with big puppy dog eyes, in the hope that a member of staff would see my pain and give me them for free . . . that didnt happen. Plus, the price was too much for me to afford. Instead I then went to HMV and treated myself to some silly kid films, guaranteed to cheer me up again. I then went about my business in a few more stores, before then taking a leisurely stroll back home, keeping an eye on those thundery clouds though, they looked angry. I made it home safely, but couldnt forget about the beauties I'd just set my heart on. I knew I needed them for the winter, so saving up a pound a day wouldn't get me them until next spring. So I emailed mummy with my conundrum. She replied the next day, and lucky for me she said in a roundabout way 'buy them and put money back into your savings later'. SCORE!!! 

I wangled a trip to Meadowhall with Big Sis that evening, and made a beeline, via Primark, for Schuh once we got there. I've never spent nearly a weeks wages in one go, but it can safely say it has definitely made my world a happier place.

The following is, in short, the way I made a happier difference to my life this week:

Step One: Calm those nerves and de-stress

Went to Boots, bought Rescue Remedy, and turned that frown upside down 

Step Two: Buy a new hat (or two)

Step Three: Buy new boots

Step Four: Calm those nerves and de-stress from the thought of the price of said 'Wonder Boots'

Take more Rescue Remedy and dont look at the bank account for another week.

Along the way I also bought a new jacket, because my boots needed something to match. The boots are not just something to make me feet look awesome, they're a kick ass couple, ready to take on the puddles, leaves and snow of the world!

For those of you interested, they are Dr Martens. They're the Triumph Shearling, in the most beautiful roughy brown leather, fleecey lining, and ribbons for laces. I always have and always will LOVE Dr Martens. I had loads of pairs as a kid, then as a teenager, and now as a 'Big Lady' I have brought another pair into my life. I dont really care about the price, because you can count on DM's, they're trustworthy and they'll last a lifetime. Not just that, but as my good friend Sarah told me today 'u can always rely on the Bouncin soles to put a smile on ya face :o) xxx' and she was right! Thanks Saz xx

So, I would like to introduce my new boots to the world, because at the end of the day, amazing things are here to be shared. 

Please welcome Amelia Pond and Rory Williams, Wonder Boots of the Universe, my new best friends. Existing to make the world a better place, put bad people in their place and to put a big fat smile on my face.

It's a Lush-ous life

Watch this space folks, as step one of my Lush Journey begins.

I went to a recruitment evening at my local Lush store tonight. I must admit I did go there thinking I was going to be the only person to turn up, but much to my surprise, the queue was already 50 strong! Im glad I joined when I did as another 100 or so people joined after me.

Everyone armed with CV's and with nervous systems a flutter, we all crammed inside the small store. I did make the comment that it must be a Tardis as it definitely didnt look that big from the outside. We all listened carefully to what was being said. The more we found out about the job itself, the more people left the store. Luckily we were left with around 80 people. We were shown three different products, and we had to make a decision on which product we wanted to demonstrate ourselves. We then had 20 minutes to prepare our little worried hearts, and then approach one of the staff members, and give our demo!

I waited til quite near the end, as I didnt fancy the thought of having an audience of more than one during my demo. I chose a 'bubble bar'. Solid bubble bath. Lucky for me I had already prepared some witty comments on the product, and even luckier that the staff member loved them! Her laughter was my ticket to step 2 of the selection process.

Now all I have to do is prepare myself for 1pm on October 1st, that's when I need to prove myself!

Keep your eyes peeled to see how I get on!

Easier to wear a wig?

Oh my hairy friggin christ, my hair is sooo uncooperative right now!

Its at that really awkward short and moppy stage where its too long to funk up with spray (it just goes flop), but at the same time its too short to tie back nicely without me looking like a 5 year old on her first day at school. Even though I enjoy taking those tight bobbles out at the end of the day (ahh, sweet loose scalp feeling!) I cant help but think that my barnet shows some resemblance to that of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter . . . thank god I dont have those eyebrows!

Hair, you are so unhelpful!

Happy 5 year old hair- grow up!

Not long enough for victory rolls and not long enough for curls (i look like an ice cream in curls). I'm now in the stage I like to call the 'why did i cut my hair this short in the first place' stage. No resentment for the short hair, Im just annoyed that its going to take ages for it to grow back to a more manageable length. Extensions are an absolute no no! 

In fact, the only good thing its got going for itself is the colour. I went GINGER at the weekend and now I look like a lovely shiny copper pan. I love its shinyness! Someday I'll get my hair like this then i can make it look like this on fancy days, but a fiery red version!

I had a small act of defense on my fringe the other day, its was getting too long and I was struggling to even get my faux bangs to work. Now that it's shorter, I think I may be able to get them to sit nicely again. It may need another trim though, I've not yet decided.

Step no.1 in becoming a 'Big Lady*'

Eesh, I have to hunt for contents insurance. Yippee!

The past two days has seen me creating an itemised list consisting of almost every item I hold valuable in my life. Not only did I list all the items, but I had to work out how much it would cost in todays money to replace them. 

Phew, what a drag!

Next I have the added joy bonus of typing it all out and saving in an email so that I have a techy copy (cos if there's a fire I dont want my paper list getting burnt to a cinder). To add even more fun, I need to photograph my stuff too, to prove that what I say is on my list is actually the gods honest. To answer a possible question that my parents may ask, I can safely say that my goldfish bowl of sweeties is NOT included on my list, even though I hold it very dear to me.

Om nom nom!

Oh well, it's all for a good reason at the end of the day. I feel very 'adult' shopping around for insurance, goodbye fading youthfulness, hello grown up future . . . .

* By Big Lady I dont mean large, I mean grown up ;-)

New reading material!

Don't you just love it when you get an email from Ebay to say your item has been dispatched? You patiently wait a day or two, and frantically check the post as soon as you get home from work to see if your items has arrived. Only  to find a big, red, ugly piece of card from the Royal Mail.

Sorry we missed you

As if that isn't bad enough, I received my one of these over the bank holiday! Usually they state to wait 24 hours before coming to collect from the depot, but thanks to the bank holiday I had to wait 72 hours before I was allowed access to my goods!

Bah!

Anyway, Wednesdays are late closing at the depot, so Sis and I hopped in the Clio and drove on up straight after work. The handover was swift, and I soon had hold of my new book, after a recommendation from Land Girl 1980. I very much look forward to reading this one. The other book pictured was a spur of the moment buy from Ebay, from a lovely old lady that was having a clear out. That one arrived with no trouble, and no red cards from Her Majesty's Royal Postal Service. I started reading it on the weekend, and it is a very pleasant and honest collection of memories.

Spring Cleaning, in August

Trying to find an outfit for a day or night out has always been a stressful event for me. But more recently it's been made even worse . . . having clothes still living in laundry bags after moving house. Nothing wearable wants to be found, everything that is wearable is dirty.

Thank goodness for the Bank Holiday Weekend!

Three days off work, at least one spent with the Big Sister, another spent being lazy and the third spent tidying and getting all remaining unpacking done, and finished and in its rightful place! Thus being able to give all clothes a proper home, making locating going out clothes a damn sight easier.

There really isn't that much left to give a home to, only trousers and jumpers, but it is such a bore. Admittedly I did say to myself after moving house that I would refrain from being messy, and I am actually ashamed I've allowed it to get so bad. A slap on the wrist for naughty me. My trainers didn't even get put to bed after I created my sneakers blog, eek! World of embarrassment!

Time to unveil my beautiful bedroom- Time to get the ipod docked, and the volume up loud. 

My Leg- The Firemans Pole

WARNING- FOR THOSE FOLKS WITH A DISLIKE OF BLOOD AND GORE, AND THOSE OF A WEAK DISPOSITION LOOK AWAY NOW!

Monday started out as every other Monday does. I was awoken by the beautiful sounds of Newton Faulkner and his pretty little song called Gone in the Morning. I got up, feeling the dread really looking forward to another working week. I jumped in the shower, not literally, that would be a silly idea, but maybe a broken bone would prevent me from . . . .  no bad idea, I need to work, and it really is quite a nice little job.

Quick shower, hair dried upside down for maximum flickety effect, and make up applied with little effort. Now, as its only me prancing around in my room in the mornings, I either spend my time in my dressing gown, or just my underwear. Unfortunately, the latter option was my choice yesterday, leaving my legs fully exposed!

I was cleaning my ears out with the trusty old cotton ear buds, when Marcy the kitten decided she wanted to play with one ( an unused one- fresh from the packet dont worry!). So after she had pestered me for long enough, I threw one onto my bed for her to play with. She launched herself off the suitcase in an attempt to reach the bed. Unfortunately her little paws didnt give her enough grip. As she hurtled towards the ground and saw her little 3 month life flash before her pretty little eyes, she saw a lifeline- MY LEG!

So she did as any hunky fireman would do and grabbed on and slid down with ease. My leg however came off a lot worse. At first I heard the noise of claw on skin, then the pain, then I looked down, and luckily there wasn't anything to be seen. Phew, I thought, I got away with that one . . . . Not on your nelly, I took another look and the thing was bleeding- a lot!

HELLO!

So, I ran upstairs to show my sister and our housemate. My sister nearly vommed. Not at the sight of blood, but at the pattern it had displayed itself in on my skin. She has a phobia of patterns, called Tripophobia. She was kind enough to let me use her Boots cucumber wipes, mainly because she wanted me to get rid of the pattern, but also so I could clean up the mess before it got over everything else.

At lunchtime it still didnt look very pretty, it had bled under the skin. So now it looks like my leg has been run through an industrial sized sewing machine, or has been attacked by a stammering Morse Coder wielding a pencil compass!

All in all, I'm not going to be getting my legs out in public this week, and maybe not even next week. I'm not so self conscious about the wound, but more of the fact that I'm going to end up with hairy legs! I wont be shaving my leg again until it has healed- I'm not risking taking off more skin!

Blitz-Tastic Wensleydale

Leyburn Needs You!

(well done tourist information board for getting the wrong era on the advertisements)

Yes, the last weekend in July was the annual 1940's weekend in my old school town of Leyburn, Wensleydale, North Yorkshire. Run in conjunction with the Wensleydale Railway the 1940's weekend was packed to the rafters with stalls, singing and dancing, and folks having a reet good time- me and my family included!

This was the first year I managed to get to the weekend, it has been running for the past 3 years. Man did I have a  whap-diddly fun time, ALL DAY! We went for the Sunday, and we were up bright and early that morning getting hair, make up and spiffing Land Girl outfits sorted. By pure fluke I managed to tong my fringe into some faux bangs, and they stayed put. Phew! The red lippy topped the outfits off, and stayed at the top of my binoculars case/handbag for fast reapplication!

My dad laughed when he saw me, and I initially felt sad, but he said it wasnt in jest, but a laugh of joy at how fab I looked- "you look just like my mother" he kept saying. Love it! My sister just said 'Well we cant go see Grandad like this, it'll push him over the edge!" (we did go to see grandad dressed up, and after recent feedback he said we looked smart, especially Becky (moi :-) ) 

Anyway, back to the day. It started off with a photoshoot in the back garden. Any chance for dad to use his many cameras!

 

Driving into town I was really excited, and when we were driving past the crowds of people it did feel like going back in time. We parked up, and strolled back towards the hubbub. There were a few funny looks from tourists, but the reception from the other 40's folk was wonderful. My gawd the outfits on others were just amazing. Victory rolls, felt hats, red lippy, beautiful dresses and seamed stockings. There was a real wind up air raid siren, and most people took cover in the pub when it went off. The hottie 'US Army' boys were extremely nice, and even let us hop in their truck. Unfortunately the back seat did not come into use, dang!

 

I felt really proud to be part of the day. It's nice to have people admiring you, rather than you looking on in awe. I admit my head felt fizzy and giddy all day, it felt like a dream to be there. I also noticed that 8 out of 10 people had brought their little dogs too, next year my aim is to have a little pooch to take with me too, even if I have to steal my pals Jack Russell, Bailey.

There were couples dressed up, there were parents that had only dressed their children up, but there were some families where everyone was dressed up, avec baby gas mask suit! 

 

  

 

    

One of the our family friends provided the carnival games and swing boats, but I never did get to have a go!

There were so many beautiful vehicles, adorned with various name badges and doodles. The US Trucks all had names, the one we sat in was called Pearl :-)

  

 

 

We enjoyed a 99 ice cream, nom!

They must have had small heads back in the day, because these 'adult' glasses were tiny, and I have a small head!

We didnt get to see much of the singers, but the one we did see sang wonderfully, such a sweet little coochy voice. She sang some of my favourites, but not my most favourite of all, Oh Johnny Oh by the Andrews Sisters, nobody ever includes it!

I made a new friend, his cane even had a bulldog face imprinted on it! I want a bulldog! 

We had an awesome day, and vowed that next year, we'll do it bigger and better. My parents are planning on dressing 40's for the day too, and our little (but much taller than us) cousins. I'm hoping my friends will come too and we can all have a big 40's barbeque in the garden when we get home. 

I would really like to spread the word about this event, and urge you to take a trip to it next summer. It may be small but it's getting better every year. Anyone that's interested I can advise you of places to stay, and they even have a camping site for the more adventurous! Fancy tonging your hair into rolls after sleeping in a caravan all night, is it possible?

Get in touch if you fancy taking a trip up North for this next year, or even just a visit to Wensleydale, its a pretty spectacular part of the country! It would be nice to meet you if you did come up for the event. We need to get more vintage-ites up here because I can't afford London, teehee ;-)