Hanging out at St Pancras Station

Having arrived early at St Pancras station in London, I've got some time to kill before I board a Eurostar train to Brussels and I thought I'd make the most of it by sharing some useful tips for anyone who visits the station.

Being a frequent visitor to London, my regular train from Cambridge actually arrives at King's Cross. However, I spend as little time as possible at that station, preferring to wait for my return journey just over the road at the capital's international terminal.  No doubt that will change when King's Cross completes its own refurbishment and redesign and becomes more passenger-friendly.  In the meantime, St Pancras with its open concourse, free wi-fi and a wide array of eateries is the place to be for travellers who find themselves in this vicinity.

But I'm a fussy old blogger and am not happy just hanging out in any old establishment.  One of the reasons I love this station is the place that I am sat right now:  The Sourced Market deli.

Located opposite the National Rail Ticket office and Starbucks - towards the back of the station - it's only a very short walk for the side entrance to King's Cross.  Not only does it serve great food and coffee, but it ensures that everything is sourced responsibly and in tune with the seasons.  The company also takes great pride in promoting local produce from London and surrounding counties.  It has a great mini-market for those who are in a rush to pick up something for their journey, plus an informal area to while away the time with a deli meal.

And if you're in the need to check your emails or browse the Internet, it offers a very strong signal to free wi-fi. (log onto St Pancras Wi-Fi for access).

Of course the other reason why I tend to make St Pancras my first port of call on any visit to London, is its fabulous free facilities.  It's always puzzled me that it costs 30p for the privilege of using the toilets at King's Cross, when over the road at this more modern station it's in fact gratis! 

But don't trek all the way to the more centrally located loos in the middle of station.  Instead, take my most useful top tip so far... If you find yourself in need, beat the long queues and head to the the back of the station where you'll find almost instant access to alternative facilities that are located next to Left Luggage.

You'll find they're the nearest to Sourced Market too, so you could always drop back for a coffee when passing.

It's been great having a chance to chill before getting onto the train for Brussels, but for now I have to scoot.  There's no doubt though that I'll be back at this same spot when I return tomorrow....à bientôt mes amis.

So many distractions

So here's where I fully confess to being crap at blogging lately.   Please don't anyone mention how it's been almost three months since my last blogpost here.

How the blimmin' 'eck did that happen?  After all I used to blog all the time!

But let's see.  There was the flu, then Christmas and the most horrendous of colds and I can't ignore the small fact that it's been much easier to bung up an update on Facebook.  However, I can't blame it all on illness, festivities or the online equivalent of the local pub.  I've actually spent much of my natural hibernating time getting offline and going out and have become busier than the busiest buzzing bumblebee.

And yes, there has been opportunity to blog, but to be honest, there has been so much happening, I just haven't known where to start.  It's not so much blogger's block, but blogger's bombardment.  And the process of mental editing before fingers even touched the keyboard, finally got the better of me.

It probably all started when I volunteered my finely tweeked busy-body skills to Never Mind The Buzzcock's Phill Jupitus, where I jumped in head-first to organise the Bury St Edmunds leg of his book tour.  Yes I know...Phill Jupitus!  It was BIG news for a little blogger!  So why didn't I blog about it?  Well, primarily there was that issue of discretion but also I couldn't overcome the fear that man with the randy-sounding email address was just an imposter. And I remained to be convinced that the call from the bloke with the Essex accent was the genuine article until the big man himself turned up at the back entrance of Waterstone's.  And then I got the flu and my part in the book-tour was old news.  Great book by the way...google it and look it up!

Waking up to 2011 in more of a back-down-to-earth manner, I decided to put my best foot forward to commit to new work projects. Even though I'm still knee-deep in rubbish issues which are even taking me as far and wide as Brussels, elsewhere, the Philanthropic Housewife within me has been busy with a new column of the same name, which shares the virtues of simply doing nice stuff.

And as for my leisure time, I began the new year with a mission to fill it with new skills.  With so much happening,  I can't even begin to find a suitable starting point for filling you in properly on my fledging flirtations with scriptwriting classes, Zumba dancing and crochet lessons, whilst travelling around Suffolk using any route but the A14.

I think it's best to leave it to my Twitter\Facebook\blogging pal Janet to bring you up to speed regarding what I got up to yesterday.  She's far more efficient at blogging, not to mention the craft of crochet!  The picture I've included is of my first attempts of juggling a crochet hook with a ball of yarn.


All I can say is the crochet needs as much co-ordination as the Zumba and that one day, there'll probably be a comedy-script hitting the BBC writers room that features both, with Phill Jupitus being head-hunted for a leading role.
 
And if that really does happen, I'll be sure to blog about it.

By George Davina! Where did you get that hat?

Well it's a bllimmin' good job I'm slap bang in the middle of my "Buy Nothing New" month as I could have easily found myself in a bidding war last night with Davina McCall for one of Boy George's trademark hats.  With a starting bid of £200, it was very tempting to raise my hand in a cheeky manner during the after-dinner auction at the fundraising event known as Platform 12.

The evening was hosted by the very lovely Davina, on behalf of Focus12, the drug and alcohol rehabilitation charity of which she is a patron.   The gorgeous pink Philip Treacy hat donated by Boy George was just one of many lots and raffle prizes on offer to raise some much-needed cash.

Based in Bury St Edmunds, Focus12 supports people who suffer from addictions often at their most desperate times of need and last night it was hard not to be moved by the personal accounts of two former addicts, whose fate would clearly have been so much different without the help of the charity and its Chief Executive Chip Somers. Focus12 has helped them to rebuild their lives from a point of despair to one where they can proudly enjoy "normal" family life again, something that most of us take for granted.  It was so easy to see how the organisation has made such a huge difference, giving a second chance to those who really need the charity's support. The Platform12 event was held to raise awareness of the charity's work as well raise funds and it brought together a whole host of trustees, supporters, celebrities and people who Focus12 has helped over the years since it launched in 1997.

Of course, I kid myself that I could have afforded the beautiful pink flash of celebrity millinery, or that I would have got away with even winking my intention to bid with my husband close by.  With the lot fetching much more than he might allow, I didn't dare raise my hand.  After an entertaining set of bids, Davina was the lucky winner of the hat and thanks to the power of social-media, her winning bid was reported by the man himself from backstage at his concert in Rotterdam.

Twitter: Boy George " @thisisdavina Bought my hat at a charity auction for the Focus12 charity, good cause, top woman, goddess in fact!"

Blonde bombshells Abi Roberts & Tracey Smith

I may have missed out on a tweet from upon high, but our table made its mark elsewhere in the bidding wars, with my gorgeous and very funny pal, singer\songwriter and stand-up comic Abi Roberts successfully winning a day out at Westminster with Dr Dan Poulter MP.  It was indeed a surprise last minute entry, but she most certainly got her man and I can't help wondering who will be the most entertained during the tour. I have a sneaky feeling that the honourable gentleman will enjoy being Abi's guide as much as she'll enjoy the visit.  Here she is celebrating her bidding coup with the Queen of Downshifting, Tracey Smith, who herself was in the mood for celebration with news that she's about to start shooting her new TV series, The Great Downshift. 


But the best news of all was that Focus12 raised almost £30,000 from the fundraising event, thanks to the wonderful donations, the keen bidders and raffle ticket sales. With serious cuts in government funding, this money can be nothing but a valuable contribution to fund the charity's excellent work.

And last but certainly not least, huge congratulations go to Sarah Stamp, the charity's event organiser for pulling together an amazing evening.  Thanks Sarah, it was a privilege to support Focus12 last night.....and er....should Boy George fancy donating one of his other hats to another good cause...please send him in this direction won't you!


Now after such a late night, I feel the urge to head for the kettle for a much needed  "morning after the night before" cup of tea.  I think a slap-up brucnch might be in order too.  Now while I go off and potter in the kitchen if you're inspired to raise funds for Focus12, you can find out more about the charity and ways in which you can help at the website www.focus12.co.uk.

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Added 23/11/2010 - the brilliant guests who joined me on the table.

 In this photo L-R: The very gorgeous and totally clever Nadine, friend, teacher and govenor extraordinaire; Adrian aka husband of mine, clever sod and strategic thinker; Roger Wright; Dawn Kelly and  Martin Kelly (Roger can regularly be seen treading the boards of the West End as the leading man in many a blockbuster show, including Thriller and The Lion King.  Dawn and Martin are more your "behind the scenes" professionals, responsible for a vast array of BAFTA nominated and winning productions (and will be producing Tracey's fabulous new show too).

And more thanks go to Gareth Hughes, Jennifer Howze, Abi Roberts and Tracey Smith.  As director of photography Gareth will soon be working with Tracey, Dawn and Martin in their up-and-coming project. Many of my blogging friends will also recognise journalist and blogger Jen as one of the co-founders of Cybermummy.  Of course, Abi and and Tracey need no further introduction, except that Tracey is a trustee of NACOA, the National Association of Children of Alcoholics and having grown up with an alcohol dependent mother whom she loved dearly has every empathy for the work of Focus12 and the folk that they work hard to help.

The hole in the wall

For those who have switched from watching paint dry to following the story about my cavity wall insulation, the good news is that after much investigation we are indeed the proud owners of a pre-insulated home.

Mind you, it took a survey arranged by the Energy Saving Trust on my behalf to reach this conclusion. I had contacted the original building company, who didn't know what they had installed at the time, but confirmed that it would most definitely be insulated by cavity wall filling or some other thing called  a void! 

A.... VOID?  I'm still no clearer on that one, but it sounds like a synonym for cavity to me  They might as well have called it a hole  Of course we could have delicately balanced ourselves in the loft to tease out a sneaky peek, but with the reputation that precedes me I would have probably ended up with my foot through the ceiling.  So I decided to call out to the experts instead.

Without any further ado, a representative from the Mark Group turned up today, drilled a hole in the wall, and investigated the state of our cavity, using the survey lens pictured above.  It really was as easy as that and took no more than 10 minutes.  The verdict was, it's a well packed wall...hoorah!

So, with the cavity wall insulation verified, I'm now pondering what other steps I could take for Baglady's Living ASAP pledge programme.  Well, I did plant up a batch of spring bulbs the other day, instead of waiting to buy them in pots during March.  I wonder if that counts?   At least they'll look cheery and I'm happy I've saved us plenty of pounds too. 

Anyway, back to sorting out holes in the wall. More information about cavity wall insulation is available here or at the Energy Saving Trust website. Further details about Baglady's ASAP (as SUSTAINABLY as possible) pledge  programme can be found at www.bagladyproductions.org.

Shopping Therapy

After an expensive month of birthday celebrations, half-term holidays and very random treats, I am back on my laptop pondering the opportunity to go cold turkey and take a real break from spending.  Some people might think I'm totally bonkers....with it being November and the run up to Christmas and all that.  But for me it's the perfect time to promise myself that with the exception of food for the family and essential toiletries, I will not buy anything new throughout November.

Over the last few years I've become pretty good at avoiding the temptation to splash out on all forms of  consumer crap but I'm aware that in recent months I've thrown more than a few pounds down the drain on stuff that I might not have missed

So given that November 27th is officially BUY NOTHING DAY, I thought that I might as well get into practice and kick off my pledge this afternoon.  It'll be good for my bank balance and my pledge to live more sustainably.   It's just a shame I didn't think about it earlier, I'd have saved myself a trip into town this morning as well as £14.00 on a child's tennis that I found in a sale.  I really should have advertised a request on Freecycle or at least put a shout out at my local bartering group.  

Oh well, I'll be better prepared next time and with the silly season ready to hit in full force, at least I'm feeling more relaxed that I won't be caught up in it.  I'm just looking forward to emerging again in December, ready to enjoy the more simple aspects of the festive season.

Anyway, if you want to join me in this money-saving challenge and share the idea with your friends, more information about Buy Nothing Day can be found at www.buynothingday.co.uk.

Helping the Treehouse Appeal for a new children's hospice: Ashes-to-Ashes script up for auction

This week I had the overwhelming experience of visiting our local children's hospice in Ipswich. It was their open day and as you can expect, I didn't leave without a tear in my eye.  None of us ever want to face the prospect of our children dying and visiting a place where this is a reality can't help but tug at the heartstrings.

Don't get me wrong, the hospice which is run by EACH isn't a sad place.  The atmosphere in the converted bungalow was indeed a happy one and the positivity of the staff shone through as they told us how the hospice is used for short respite breaks, specialist play activities, music therapy and end-of-life care and treatment.  As well as helping the children who have life-threatening conditions, the team also supports their parents and siblings through counselling services.  It also organises fun activities and events where family members can meet families in the hospice's care.

For the children, the hospice is a fun place to be and staff make it feel homely, with a dining room, living room, bedrooms and a beautiful garden.  However, it is clear that they don't have enough space. The music room doubles up as the parents' bedroom, the sensory room is also used as a bedroom and most of the rooms in the house also have to serve as meeting space.  More importantly, when a child visits the hospice for end-of-life care, all other on-site services have to be put on hold.  Although families understand, this isn't how it should be.

Thanks to an amazing fundraising campaign, which is supported by BBC Radio Suffolk and the East Anglian Daily Times, EACH is now well on their way to raising the money needed to help the Ipswich hospice move into a new larger home.  Launched this year, the campaign known as the Treehouse Appeal has already raised £1.5million.  However, it needs to raise the same amount again to pay for a purpose built hospice that will give them everything the children and families need.

It has been a fabulous campaign, which has inspired people all across East Anglia to take part in parachute jumps, organise fundraising events, enter sponsored walks, runs and bike rides.  One of the Radio Suffolk presenters, Lesley Dolphin, is even attempting to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

I must admit that with all this physical exercise going on, I am feeling a bit guilty that I haven't yet got off my backside to exert my muscles.

However, what I have done is somehow managed to blag a rare signed script for the last ever episode of the Ashes-to-Ashes series, featuring signatures from Philip Glenister, Keeley Hawes and all the regular cast.

And I'm very excited as this is being auctioned at BBC Radio Suffolk, live on air tomorrow morning, where the winning bid will be donated to the Treehouse Appeal.

Of course, it would be great if this could raise as much funds as possible, so do please tell any fans you might know and ask them to listen to the James Hazell Show from 9.00 Friday morning, when the auction is going to be launched by none other than Philip Glenister who played DCI Gene Hunt.  Even if you're outside Suffolk, you can still listen in online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/suffolk/hi/tv_and_radio/.  Anyone wishing to place a bid should call the studio on 01473 212121.

I can't wait to find out how much the script raises and if it beats my expectations, I'll probably be so excited that I'll dress up as Father Christmas and join in this year's Santa Run.

This is such a worthwhile cause and more information about the Treehouse Appeal and how else you can help can be found at the project's fundraising page: http://www.each.org.uk/how-to-help/treehouse_appeal/

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1/11/2010...Apologies for the belated updated, but I'm pleased to share the news that the script auction raised a MASSIVE £750 thanks to the fabulous enthusiasm and media magic of James Hazell and Philip Glenister.  It really was amazing!

My cavity wall insulation is still debatable

Really how blimmin' hard is it to work out if you've got cavity wall insulation?

Having avoided it for years for fear of having to tidy all the rooms in the house - not realising of course that they're insulated from the outside - I only started to look into it last week as part of my ASAP pledge. And although I'd rather be doing far more exciting things like the washing up, I'm on a mission to get this thing sorted.  After all, according to the Energy Saving Trust around 30% of heating can be be lost through the walls of an uninsulated home, so it's well worth the effort!

But before I decided to bother a company that specialises in such matters I thought I'd call our housebuilder to enquire whether they'd installed cavity wall insulation when they built the house seven years ago. Of course, I might have remembered myself if I hadn't been too busy at the time counting the number of halogen ceiling lights we wanted to have fitted in the new build.

"I don't know." said the man at the end of the phone when I called the Taylor Wimpey office.

"Can you find out?" I replied.

"Yes, we'll ring you back." came the uninterested reply.

That was two weeks ago and I haven't heard anything since. I rang again last week, spoke to someone else and got the same reply.  How can it have taken so long for a housebuilder to find the answer? Surely even a computer could say Yes or No. They must have known at the time, whether through policy or building regulations.

I feel like I've hit a brick wall.

However, this is only a small brick wall compared to some that others have faced recently.  While I'm busy debating whether I've got cavity wall insulation, a friend of mine who pitched a sustainable programme idea to a national broadcaster found herself being told by a defiant commissioning editor that "Climate change is debatable".

Now that's some brick wall indeed.   As a non-expert on these matters, I simply hope that those who say it is debatable actually use it to open a debate rather than close it.

But for now I'm looking at the smaller picture at home and knowing that cavity wall insulation save us fuel usage and money, well that has to be a winning strategy all round.   And after avoiding it for months, I'm now more determined than ever to get it sorted, even if it comes to drilling a hole in the wall.

Now where did I put that drill....