tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70461810237461435242024-03-10T02:46:38.256+00:00The Philosophy of ListsThe List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.comBlogger675125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-6609621990267395742015-09-26T17:47:00.001+01:002015-09-26T17:47:11.841+01:00I've moved<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My new career called for a new approach to blogging. I'm still writing, but I've moved to</span><a href="https://inbetweentheshifts.wordpress.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> In Between The Shifts</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> - do come over and say hello!</span></div>
The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-85600228453133559392015-02-14T15:58:00.000+00:002015-02-14T15:58:02.459+00:00Humility<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I hadn't expected to find being a qualified nurse so different from being a student nurse.</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But as well as qualifying, I also moved hospital; and so many things are done differently at this hospital to the ones I trained at (often done in a better way, too). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">These past six weeks have been an exercise in humility as I have had to re-learn how to do some of the simplest things that I assumed I'd already mastered as a student:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a new type of catheter bag that empties with a tap not a valve;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">beds that have completely different controls (and that work reliably, unlike the ones at my last hospital);</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a macerator rather than a bedpan washer (infinitely nicer and more hygienic);</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">completely different cardiac montitors that have integrated ECG machines - no more going hunting for a portable ECG machine, wheeling it back to your patient, plugging it in, connecting it all up and then finding that it has run out of paper - here I just press 'print' on the monitor;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a whole different system of ordering food for my patients;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">completely new prescription charts, fluid charts, nursing notes and observation charts;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">wound dressings that I've never come across before;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">cleaning everything with old-fashioned chlorinated water, rather than anti-bac wipes. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My new colleagues have been so friendly and supportive. It didn't take me long to feel a part of the team. However, I still do a double-take when I catch sight of myself in the mirror and I am wearing the royal blue scrubs of a Staff Nurse, not the grubby white tunic of a student. Sometimes I feel like a capable, qualified nurse, and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I know what to do and sometimes I don't. I work much more slowly than the other nurses, and that is another lesson in humility, because in order to be safe, I have to ask for help more often than others.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15905582604" title="New uniform by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="New uniform" height="800" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8642/15905582604_49d4d07f10_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have at least one moment in every shift where something suddenly happens, an alarm goes off, my patient deteriorates, and I mentally shriek to myself <i>"Fuuuuucccckkkk!!!"</i>. But either it is something I can quickly fix myself, or I need to call for help and another nurse is by my side in moments showing me what to do. I learn more each day than I ever thought possible.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And that's the joy in this new job. Intensive Care is a stressful place to work, but its also so very interesting and fulfilling. Patients are at their most vulnerable and at their most sick, and it is deeply satisfying to be able to nurse them one-on-one and give them really good quality care for thirteen hours at a time. I am using my brain as well as my heart, and I love that.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/16099443448" title="On my way home #joysofcommuting #London by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="On my way home #joysofcommuting #London" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7475/16099443448_ce972666fa_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-62887216890205021812015-01-13T21:48:00.000+00:002015-01-13T21:48:00.314+00:00All change<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's all change for the New Year around here:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm working.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The car only gets used once or twice a week, now that we no longer have a school run to do.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm earning money.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">After a very late night out and a slow bus ride home, I awoke at 9:30am to find that Cam had unloaded the dishwasher, made a big pot of coffee and was frying bacon for breakfast sandwiches for everyone.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I no longer travel to work by tube.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We are going to go to Switzerland for our summer holiday this year. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm wearing bright blue scrubs at work, and a name badge that says 'Staff Nurse'.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">There is a hipster-run new bistro in our local neighbourhood.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I absolutely love this time of year: the crisp cold, the white skies, the sense of clarity and energy after the velvet-luxury, over-indulgent, laziness of Christmas. It makes me want to run, to clean, to sing, and to organise. Starting a new job fits perfectly with this vibe. In the dark early mornings I warm myself up with one of the (many) hats I knit over Christmas and walk briskly up the hill to work, marvelling at how much I enjoy this new life I've chosen. On my days off I make plans and lists: where to walk next, what I need to learn next for work, what I'm going to buy with my first month's salary (a new printer, most likely), what my sewing plans are for this year, and which bag I don't need to buy in the Cath Kidston sale.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">There's still cake though. There's always cake. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15651982434" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Lemon and blueberry cake by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Lemon and blueberry cake" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7485/15651982434_340a7f660c_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Lemon and blueberry syrup loaf</span></span></i><u><br /></u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-89632397777746820782015-01-03T20:35:00.000+00:002015-01-03T20:38:39.028+00:00Walking in the new year<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Two Christmas weeks of whole-family idleness has been blissful. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/16093348742" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Tagged by my fellow knitting, sewing, newly-qualified nurse, @lilyboot, to show you what's in my cup and on my needles right now: mocha in a Christmas mug (fresh coffee with a spoonful of hot chocolate stirred in), and a soft grey beanie hat for me. I ta by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Tagged by my fellow knitting, sewing, newly-qualified nurse, @lilyboot, to show you what's in my cup and on my needles right now: mocha in a Christmas mug (fresh coffee with a spoonful of hot chocolate stirred in), and a soft grey beanie hat for me. I ta" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8640/16093348742_c88418f37f_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>mocha and knitting - this is what much of my Christmas looked like</i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And now I'm starting the year with a pair of new walking boots, a whole pile of lists, plans, maps and new pens. Its good to feel busy and energetic again after so much sleep and rich food.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/16084057376" title="Plotting some future adventures with @gillusher #london #eastlondon #walks #adventures #daysout by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Plotting some future adventures with @gillusher #london #eastlondon #walks #adventures #daysout" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7462/16084057376_2d14f7a209_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15972573090" title="Happy New Year. May you travel well in 2015 xx by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Happy New Year. May you travel well in 2015 xx" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8612/15972573090_0db9b910f1_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/16161738416" title="New Year's Day by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="New Year's Day" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8577/16161738416_8aeefe45ee_o.jpg" width="480" /></a>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have resolved to cram as many walks as I can into 2015.</span>The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-59257881628184989122014-12-18T14:19:00.002+00:002014-12-18T14:19:58.969+00:00The slow advent of Christmas<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/16032416051" title="Christmas clementines #vitaminc #orange #nofilter by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Christmas clementines #vitaminc #orange #nofilter" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7580/16032416051_9d1d7c54ec_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Although the children and Graham are still ploughing on at work and at school - revising for science exams, writing up computer science coursework and making presentations to the Board of Directors - there are a few hints of Christmas starting to appear around here. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Olivia is appalled at Graham and my refusal to put up the tree so far. But in fact, it is going up tomorrow - an early record for us. The tree makes the house feel so cluttered and cramped it rarely goes up before the 22nd December. However, there are twinkly lights around all the front windows, up and down the stairs, and around the railings and in the bay bush at the front of the house - they went up a couple of weeks ago, as they look pretty and don't take up any space.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As a diversion from complaining about the lack of tree, Olivia made a giant advent calendar on her bedroom door - filling each envelope with a fat marshmallow or a handful of chocolate coins.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/16012163891" title="She made her own Advent calendar. Each envelope has a fat marshmallow in it. #handmade #advent #christmas #craft #marshmallows by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="She made her own Advent calendar. Each envelope has a fat marshmallow in it. #handmade #advent #christmas #craft #marshmallows" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7529/16012163891_eb179d33f0_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've baked mince pies, bought clementines, and done some secret making and wrapping of presents this week. Tomorrow I am going on a long yomp through Epping Forest to gather some foliage for a wreath. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15414235184" title="Pie time! I hope @runnergmcc gets home quickly.... #christmas #mincepies #warmfromtheoven by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Pie time! I hope @runnergmcc gets home quickly.... #christmas #mincepies #warmfromtheoven" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7497/15414235184_2b6ca78c78_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15863406207" title="Making the most of having the house to myself. Listening to TED talks, drinking coffee and wrapping presents. #Christmas #presents #surprises by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Making the most of having the house to myself. Listening to TED talks, drinking coffee and wrapping presents. #Christmas #presents #surprises" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7564/15863406207_c145f3380a_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Little, by little, the festive season begins to draw us in - as a subtle, seasonal shift, rather than as a loud, hectic, explosion of stress. That's just how it should be in my book.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/16032887471" title="Stencilled snowflakes in the Olympic Park #winter #qeop #london by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Stencilled snowflakes in the Olympic Park #winter #qeop #london" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7559/16032887471_1c1b324b24_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-83170636067331320232014-11-28T12:49:00.002+00:002014-11-28T12:49:17.986+00:0010 things<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">About
a month ago I realised that working as a nurse feels completely normal now,
rather than strange and new. This is A Very Good Thing, as
it means I no longer feel overwhelmed, but I still retain my excitement
and enthusiasm.</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15632586917" title="Time for a quick cappuccino and a gaze at the magnificent autumn morning sky over East London before I start. #work #nurse #sky #london #sunrise by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Time for a quick cappuccino and a gaze at the magnificent autumn morning sky over East London before I start. #work #nurse #sky #london #sunrise" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5604/15632586917_ec3f7f8887_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have just nine shifts left as a student.</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15650981927" title="7pm - supper time selfie in the reflective windows of the staff restaurant #work #nurse #window by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="7pm - supper time selfie in the reflective windows of the staff restaurant #work #nurse #window" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7474/15650981927_d2c2205c93_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I
am making time to run, although I am starting to realise that I can't
always go running exactly when I want. Such is life though - anyone
working or looking after children, or both, has the same problem.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Yesterday,
when the coach at <a href="http://www.joomla.eton-manor.com/">my running club</a> said that our session for the evening
was "Chats", I assumed that this meant running and chatting. So I set
off, cheerfully chatting to the person next to me. It turns out that
"Chats" is actually a loop of over 8km, which includes the
long Chatsworth Road in Hackney. And it also turns out that the lady I
had started chatting to is very experienced, races competitively most
weekends, and runs at a much speedier pace than me. My good manners and sense of
pride meant that I couldn't bear to either stop chatting or drop away
from her, so I ended up running over 8k at my 5k pace, whilst discussing analytics methodology in the publishing industry.
An amazing achievement.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I
bought some new lunchboxes from <a href="http://www.lakeland.co.uk/Homepage.action">Lakeland</a>. This yogurt-and-granola pot
is my favourite, and means I can quickly re-fuel with much needed carbs during
my 15 breakfast break at work. Plus, how cute is the tiny honey pot?</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15843377345" title="Good morning! I am loving ITU...almost as much as I'm loving my new granola and yogurt pot (from the marvellous Lakeland of course). Morning break time. #work #nurse #secondbreakfast #granola #yogurt #pot by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Good morning! I am loving ITU...almost as much as I'm loving my new granola and yogurt pot (from the marvellous Lakeland of course). Morning break time. #work #nurse #secondbreakfast #granola #yogurt #pot" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7502/15843377345_16ece271e1_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cam
is in Year 10, and has test after test at school at the moment. Some
of them are progress tests and some of them are official GCSE
assessments. He's characteristically laid-back about it all, but it
strikes me as being pretty relentless. I made him a chocolate cake
yesterday, and when he came home from school and ate a big slice with a
big grin on his face, I was so pleased.</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15703635530" title="I decided my best boy needed a cake - chemistry and history exams today, and a weekend of history revision coming up for another exam on Monday. Being 15 can be pretty relentless. #cake #autumn #sprinkles #chocolate #family by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="I decided my best boy needed a cake - chemistry and history exams today, and a weekend of history revision coming up for another exam on Monday. Being 15 can be pretty relentless. #cake #autumn #sprinkles #chocolate #family" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8618/15703635530_688c33a8af_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I read <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gone-Girl-Gillian-Flynn/dp/0753827662/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417178125&sr=8-1&keywords=gone+girl">Gone Girl</a> last week and didn't like it one bit.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've
had some good walks lately - just locally around Epping Forest, Hackney
and Walthamstow Marshes and the Olympic Park on my days off. The damp,
misty, golden autumn colours and smells just take my breath away.</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15251933283" title="Along the edge of the East Marsh in Hackney this morning. #walk #autumn #London #dayoff by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Along the edge of the East Marsh in Hackney this morning. #walk #autumn #London #dayoff" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7536/15251933283_4246e7a85e_o.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15247699763" title="On Hackney Marshes, gazing over towards the Olympic Park #London #walk #sky #dayoff by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="On Hackney Marshes, gazing over towards the Olympic Park #London #walk #sky #dayoff" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8603/15247699763_917733a75b_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">One
of the first things I am going to buy when my salary comes
through in January (the first money I've earned since 2009 - oh my), is a new
pair of walking boots. Mine are ten years old and the sole is coming
away from the boot on the right foot; they are not really very waterproof anymore.</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15679981440" title="Exploring #Leyton #walk #London #dayoff by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Exploring #Leyton #walk #London #dayoff" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7538/15679981440_4fdf7ebbc7_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">There is obviously a very long list of <i>Things I want To Buy</i> when I am earning again. </span></li>
</ul>
The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-81512744278898142522014-11-11T18:46:00.001+00:002014-11-11T18:46:18.746+00:00London's sculpture trails<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Back <a href="http://www.elephantparade.com/index.php/cities/london-2010-7/">in 2010, a parade of elephants came to London</a> to raise awareness of the need for elephant conservation. The children and Graham and I had such a fun summer going elephant spotting around town - ticking the elephants we found off the checklist, taking photos and deciding which ones were our favourites.</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr align="center"><td><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/4608586571" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Cam, elephant, Livvy by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Cam, elephant, Livvy" height="480" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4016/4608586571_93ae782183_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>A 10-year old Cam and a 7-year old Livvy with an elephant in Green Park</i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/4609190040" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Livvy checks the map by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Livvy checks the map" height="480" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3361/4609190040_4159488606_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>Livvy crossing elephants off the map in 2010</i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I thought at the time, what a wonderful idea it was. The project really captured the public's imagination; everyone in London seemed to be talking about it. It got us all out as a family, exploring London and sharing with each other the places we knew best (Graham knows the Royal Parks extremely well from cycling through them on his way to work for years, but I rarely go there) and the elephants were just very lovely works of art in their own right - sometimes beautiful and sometimes amusing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So I was delighted to find that there are two really good new sculpture trails in London this autumn. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">There is <a href="http://www.visitlondon.com/paddington/">a trail of fifty Paddington Bears</a> scattered around London to mark the release of the Paddington film and to raise money for the NSPCC. The bears have all been designed by different people, and are mostly clustered in a few parts of London so that you could easily see a whole bunch in an hour or two (although I am perversely tempted to trek all the way out to Heathrow to see the Chief Scout Bear designed by Bear Grylls). The Paddingtons will be in London until the end of the year, so you still have a couple of months to see them all.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.tfl.gov.uk/campaign/sculpture-trails">The second trail is to mark the 2014 Year of the Bus</a> (I know - who knew?). This one I stumbled across completely by accident as I was walking in the Olympic Park last week. I found a beautiful, floral bus sculpture, read the label on it, and knew immediately that I had to come back soon with my smallest nephew - bus-and-train-mad, four<span style="color: #0000ee;">-</span>year-old Leo - to see how many of the rest of them we could find. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15570881918" title="Year of the Bus sculptures by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Year of the Bus sculptures" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7489/15570881918_07f4e059a8_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">At the weekend, my brother-in-law and Leo joined Livvy and me for a stroll around the park to find the buses. Well, Leo scooted at high speed while the rest of us strolled. Instead of the paper map that Livvy checked off the elephants with in 2010, this time we had an app with a QR reader so that we could 'zap' the buses as we found them and mark them off the map on my phone. We had so much fun, and Leo adored looking out for the different buses. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The trail around the
Olympic Park is one of three bus trails - the others are in Westminster
and around St Paul's and the Tate Modern. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15756297705" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Year of the Bus sculptures by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Year of the Bus sculptures" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7499/15756297705_9d8dbb63eb_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Livvy and Leo find a bus in front of the stadium</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15756319245" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Year of the Bus sculptures by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Year of the Bus sculptures" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3955/15756319245_f4608872cc_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Self portrait in the mirrored bus</i></span></span><u><br /></u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15570905278" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Year of the Bus sculptures by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Year of the Bus sculptures" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7475/15570905278_7c4d01c11b_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>David and Leo with the number bus</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15136906513" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Year of the Bus sculptures by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Year of the Bus sculptures" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7490/15136906513_f59fab9b22_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Found another one!</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15756332655" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Year of the Bus sculptures by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Year of the Bus sculptures" height="800" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5608/15756332655_d46dbe56ea_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>This paralympic themed bus was mine and David's favourite</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15571482060" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Year of the Bus sculptures by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Year of the Bus sculptures" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7485/15571482060_d7b7737097_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>The floral bus from the other side - in front of the Broadcast Centre</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've got a whole, happy autumn of bus and bear hunting around London ahead of me trying to spot as many of them as I can - sometimes on my own or with a friend on a weekday day off, and sometimes with the family at the weekend. That makes me very content. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span>The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-14522360462806418262014-11-03T20:53:00.002+00:002014-11-03T20:53:16.944+00:00Lanyard love<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Every nurse loves a lanyard. We use them to display our security IDs and keep our computer access cards safe. They ensure we have rolls of tape handy and hold little aide-memoire cards that we've been given. The paediatric nurses like to cover theirs with colourful stickers.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15517495809" title="Untitled by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Untitled" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7471/15517495809_cf58db571f_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My current one in use is the big chunky black one on the right. I got it for taking part in a virus testing week which my trust was promoting early in October. When the research nurses came to visit us to tell us about the campaign, the first question anybody asked was "Do you have any lanyards?". Happily, they'd ordered plenty so most of us in A&E are wearing them at the moment. And these are very good quality lanyards with a nice big clip and a long, wide strap. They sit really neatly around your neck.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The A&E Porters all have black HEMS lanyards with little red helicopters on them (HEMS is the emergency helicopter service, which is based at our hospital and which we're all very proud of). People really covet the HEMS lanyards, and if they were ever being given away there might be ugly scenes as I can imagine people might be tempted to snatch. I don't know how the Porters got theirs!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I also have a blue NHS one (which my friend Sue bought off Amazon - I somehow thought you might have to prove you worked for the NHS to get one, but no). Its a little too flimsy for A&E use, so it's retired at the moment but may well get used again in the future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have a very pretty Cath Kidston one too. Cath Kidston is on to a good thing with her branded lanyards as pretty much every single nurse I know owns at least one. I don't use this red one for work any more because it doesn't have a break-away clip at the back of the neck. Many drunk or agitated patients find a lanyard very tempting and will pull on them, so you really want a break-away clip. Happily Cath is now taking this into account and her new range of lanyards has safety clips at the back. I love <a href="http://www.cathkidston.com/scattered-stars-lanyard//cath-kidston/fcp-product/1013048">this midnight blue one with stars</a>, and <a href="http://www.cathkidston.com/little-spot-lanyard//cath-kidston/fcp-product/1012532">this spotty pink one</a>. I would love it if Kaffe Fassett or Orla Kiely started making lanyards.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Amazon has a few decent ones too. I like <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/NURSE-QUALITY-LANYARD-MOBILE-HOLDER/dp/B00DQBODH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415046614&sr=8-1&keywords=nurse+lanyard">this blue one that simply says NURSE</a> - it could be good when I am in my new job where everyone wears scrubs and it's difficult to remember who's a doctor, who's a healthcare assistant and who's a nurse. There's also <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nurse-Integrated-Lanyard-Watch-Pink/dp/B009FA207C/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1415046754&sr=8-11&keywords=nurse+lanyard">this excellent pink one</a> with an integral nurse's watch in it.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15704954832" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Untitled by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Untitled" height="800" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8254/15704954832_9a8b7f42ac_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On my lanyard I carry my ID card, which I need to get in and out of the staffroom, the wards, and all the different parts of A&E (Resus, the Clinical Decision Unit, Paediatrics, Majors), a roll of transpore tape, a blue tape measure (mainly used for measuring wounds or measuring people for anti-embolism stockings), and a card on pressure ulcer prevention. Its always the last thing I put on when I get changed, and once it's round my neck I know I'm ready to start work. It's my daily medal, and it tells people who I am and what my job is.</span><br />
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<br />The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-25299594422228414902014-10-19T10:00:00.000+01:002014-10-19T10:00:00.594+01:00Seen in A&E<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We do three or four twelve hour shifts a week, and we see EVERYTHING.</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A nurse covered in white splashes of plaster of paris. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A patient being kept nil-by-mouth before going to theatre for emergency surgery, trying to sneak a swig of beer from a can in his bag. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A bike helmet, crushed like an eggshell.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A floor awash with urine.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Doctors and paramedics in bright orange helicopter jumpsuits.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Relatives crying and hugging each other.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A passport drenched in blood. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Porters pushing trolleys around with incredible skill. How do they never hit anything?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Nurses and doctors crowded around the radiographer, who is looking at a patient's brain scan.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Nervous looking medical students.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">People practising walking down the corridors with crutches.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A linen skip full of discarded red ambulance blankets.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A nurse talking to a patient about cupcake recipes as she puts a needle in his vein to take blood.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A man handcuffed to a trolley, escorted everywhere by two tall policemen with crackling radios.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Many, many people whose problems will be solved by going home, taking a paracetamol, and seeing their GP next week.</span></li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15279535588" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="The new (blue) hospital behind the old (now a listed building) #london #londonlove #rlh #whitechapel #nofilter by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="The new (blue) hospital behind the old (now a listed building) #london #londonlove #rlh #whitechapel #nofilter" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3936/15279535588_2cc659e526_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>The new, blue, hospital behind the old one</i></span></span><u><br /></u></td></tr>
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The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-28854038663024702302014-10-17T11:34:00.001+01:002014-10-17T11:34:02.934+01:00Run Report - motivation<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15369189437" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6795 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6795" height="800" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5601/15369189437_66eaf471df_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Motivational messages for runners in the Olympic Park</i></span></span><u><br /></u></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A friend sent me an email last week, asking if I would write about how I became a runner. I thought about her request a great deal - mainly while I was out running - and decided that the starting to run story was quite ordinary, but the more interesting issue has become how and why I continued to run. I feel very strongly that to call yourself 'A Runner' you don't have to be fast, or even improving, you just have to go running regularly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I started running because Olivia announced that she wanted to do a <a href="http://raceforlife.cancerresearchuk.org/index.html">Race for Life</a> and raise some money for <a href="http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/our-research">Cancer Research</a>. We did the very popular <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/get-running-with-couch-to-5k.aspx">NHS Couch to 5K programme</a> and at the end of the 9 weeks, <a href="http://philosophyoflists.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/race-for-life.html">we did our Race for Life in Cambridge</a> in July 2013.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">At this point Olivia stopped running regularly, but I carried on. The reason that I am still running fifteen months later is quite simply that I enjoy it. However, enjoying running is in itself a complex business - </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I enjoy running for so many, varied reasons. </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have made some wonderful friends through running - at <a href="http://www.parkrun.org.uk/hackney-marshes/">my local parkrun</a>, and now at <a href="http://www.joomla.eton-manor.com/">my running club</a>. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I relish being fit enough to run up the escalators on the tube.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love how all I need to do to stay fit is go out for a run for about 30 minutes three times a week. It doesn't require a great deal of time commitment.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I like having bare legs and wearing shorts.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love my post-run oat and banana milkshake.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love being outside.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I adore the euphoria that comes from running faster or further than I thought was possible. It doesn't happen very often, but it's all the sweeter for that.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I appreciate the time to myself.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I like how I can just run straight from my front door if I want to. Sometimes I drive out to the more remote parts of Epping Forest, or cycle over to the Olympic Park to run, but if I can't be bothered I can still run from my front door and enjoy being outside in the local parks.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I relish the rituals that come with running: setting the playlist on my iPod if I am running by myself, making sure my shoes are laced tightly, tying up my hair, walking to warm up, stretching afterwards (sometimes I forget to do this, I am so eager for a sit down and then a nice long bath).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love the energy it gives me.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love how easy it is. It is not easy to run fast, or run efficiently, but just changing into running kit, pulling on my shoes, and going for a run <b>is </b>easy. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The fact that I continue to go running even when I'm tired or not in the mood is why I feel happy calling myself a runner. Running has become a part of what I do now - like cooking, sewing or reading - and it became a part of what I do because I just went outside and ran. I enjoyed it, and so I kept on running.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15355482470" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Just ran my fastest 5k ever (27:36). Channeling my inner Jo Pavey. Yeehah! #running #pb #qeop by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Just ran my fastest 5k ever (27:36). Channeling my inner Jo Pavey. Yeehah! #running #pb #qeop" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3933/15355482470_7fcd4df89d_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>The euphoria (and astonishment) after finishing a 5k run with a new pb this week</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15531495876" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6350 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6350" height="800" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5601/15531495876_6c8ede6a44_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>My race number at a club event in September</i></span></span><u><br /></u></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15555216585" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6266 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6266" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3953/15555216585_8520650ecd_c.jpg" width="800" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Back home after a run - where's my milkshake?</i></span></span></td></tr>
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The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-11205089826451312732014-10-03T17:30:00.001+01:002014-10-03T17:30:09.730+01:00Seen on the bus<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Number W15 - Leyton to Hackney </span></b><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A extremely portly man, snoring so loudly that even the people wearing headphones could hear him</span>.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A teenage girl, taking her little brother to primary school, quietly reading out loud to him as he sits on her lap. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A tall man, with a rakish cut over one eyebrow, carrying a spade.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">An elegant lady with a bright pink scarf knotted jauntily around her throat, who sits very still with her eyes shut.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A mother with five swarming children all in primary school uniform who like to jump off the seats and swing from the poles.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A man with a pair of women's opaque black tights on his head.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A boy and his Dad trying to do maths homework together.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A rainbow of chattering teenagers, in the various brightly coloured blazers of Hackney's high schools and academies. At least two local schools require their pupils to wear vivid purple blazers and ties.</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15242838517" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Homework on the bus by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Homework on the bus" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3936/15242838517_33c608baea_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>Two heads are better than one - maths homework on the bus</i></span></span><u><br /></u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15245946771" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="The man in the seat in front of me was wearing a pair of women's opaque tights on his head #onlyinhackney #bus #London by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="The man in the seat in front of me was wearing a pair of women's opaque tights on his head #onlyinhackney #bus #London" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5578/15245946771_ae7c8ac523_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>Tights on head</i></span></span></td></tr>
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The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-69778777201221412372014-10-01T22:39:00.000+01:002014-10-01T22:39:03.479+01:00The new normal<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I am back at work; charging so very fast towards mid-December when I will qualify.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It is good to be working again, and to feel useful and skilled, but I'd forgotten how busy and chaotic everything can seem when I am working. I am trying to remember to use my commute as a way of easing in and out of the working day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">These past three weeks, I've been working in Hackney - very close to home. I commute by bus, which is far more frustrating and unreliable than taking the tube, but has more interesting views.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15348996565" title="Reflections. It was cold this morning. #london #reflections #window #hackney by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Reflections. It was cold this morning. #london #reflections #window #hackney" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3901/15348996565_d4a074b641_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15342196585" title="Welcome to Leyton #london #leyton #home #sky by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Welcome to Leyton #london #leyton #home #sky" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2944/15342196585_aaab03cd94_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15328468792" title="7:20am - walking to the bus stop. A perfect crisp, sunny autumn morning. #london #nofilter #sky by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="7:20am - walking to the bus stop. A perfect crisp, sunny autumn morning. #london #nofilter #sky" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3880/15328468792_804dfc82be_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15325341386" title="Seen from the bus: lovely houses along the canal at Hackney Marshes #hackney #london #sky by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Seen from the bus: lovely houses along the canal at Hackney Marshes #hackney #london #sky" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3850/15325341386_c67e037149_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15170797620" title="The bin man has lost his gloves #hackney #london #lost by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="The bin man has lost his gloves #hackney #london #lost" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2946/15170797620_28917963e8_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15212321519" title="A very elegant woman in a magnificent green pashmina, with the velodrome in the background. #onthebus #london #joysofcommuting by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="A very elegant woman in a magnificent green pashmina, with the velodrome in the background. #onthebus #london #joysofcommuting" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3850/15212321519_b4bd3b95b8_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15221784028" title="Oh bus, where art thou? #joysofcommuting #london #leyton #bus #sky by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Oh bus, where art thou? #joysofcommuting #london #leyton #bus #sky" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3931/15221784028_8b013d9779_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15408181572" title="Despite a ban on bikes on the buses, the kind bus driver picked up a cyclist who'd had an accident. She's okay - just a nasty gash to her leg - but the bike has a broken chain. Luckily Hackney has plenty of bike repair shops as well as a hospital. #joysof by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Despite a ban on bikes on the buses, the kind bus driver picked up a cyclist who'd had an accident. She's okay - just a nasty gash to her leg - but the bike has a broken chain. Luckily Hackney has plenty of bike repair shops as well as a hospital. #joysof" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2942/15408181572_37e3229f2d_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm tired, energised, busy, constantly carrying around a heavy bag of books and clothes, losing track of which day it is, spritzing hairspray on my up do, texting the children to remind them to do their chores, feeling full of purpose...and also starting to feel a little bit as though this is the new normal. And this is A Good Thing. </span><br />
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<br />The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-87297773886070452312014-09-05T11:07:00.001+01:002014-09-05T11:07:21.917+01:00Back to it<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">These days I don't feel as bereft as I used to when the children go back to school in September. The silence in the house is still deafening, and I miss their wild enthusiasms and crazy logic spinning through my day, but these days they really need to get stuck back into school by the time September comes around - and more importantly they want to get back to it too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Olivia has left primary school and is now at high school with Cam, which they are both very pleased about. I am delighted too because the days of the school run have finally come to an end. To celebrate, I have waved them off to school each morning this week still in my pyjamas - standing on the doorstep, with a cup of coffee in my hand, as I watch them walk up the road together. Utter luxury.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14939021079" title=""Cam, why are you so tall?" #backtoschool by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt=""Cam, why are you so tall?" #backtoschool" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3839/14939021079_d954dac79d_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In one more week I go back to work too. I'm really looking forward to it. I have just fourteen more weeks of placement, and then I will be qualified - so exciting. Yesterday, my parents-in-law sent me these tiny little nurse figurines to mark the final stage of my training. They are sitting by my desk, reminding me of everything that is still to come.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15134506841" title="A wonderful, surprise present from my lovely in-laws @turnedupto11 and @jmnewmalden - three perfect, tiny vintage nurse figurines. I love them. The Sister in the middle has a particularly realistic pose - her ward would be very well run! #nurses #figuri by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="A wonderful, surprise present from my lovely in-laws @turnedupto11 and @jmnewmalden - three perfect, tiny vintage nurse figurines. I love them. The Sister in the middle has a particularly realistic pose - her ward would be very well run! #nurses #figuri" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3838/15134506841_c640a9d603_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-11535910882041641552014-08-30T14:53:00.000+01:002014-08-31T20:13:59.126+01:0010 things<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Graham and I celebrated our third <a href="http://philosophyoflists.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/le-mariage.html">wedding </a>anniversary. We went camping again - and Olivia insisted on doing a photo shoot of us snuggling up on a bench together. She took close to 400 photos, just by holding the button down on my phone camera and telling us to smile. There was just one I liked. We took an anniversary selfie instead, which I am much happier with. Sorry, Olivia!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14858521090" title="...and a more formal, posed anniversary picture (by Livvy) #anniversary by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="...and a more formal, posed anniversary picture (by Livvy) #anniversary" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3856/14858521090_225822b51b_o.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15044719562" title="Anniversary selfie #anniversary by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Anniversary selfie #anniversary" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5565/15044719562_563b99bb74_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The children and I went to Brick Lane, ate pakoras in the sunshine as we wandered around, and came home with <a href="http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/brick-lane-beigel-bake">a huge bag of bagels</a> for the weekend.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14811751950" title="Eating pakoras, walking down Brick Lane in the sunshine #london #summer by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Eating pakoras, walking down Brick Lane in the sunshine #london #summer" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5591/14811751950_0c8bc93412_o.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15003737341" title="Clever me for buying such a huge bag when I was in Brick Lane yesterday #bagelsallweekend by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Clever me for buying such a huge bag when I was in Brick Lane yesterday #bagelsallweekend" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5570/15003737341_04bbcd4a41_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cam likes his bagels with kippers for breakfast. I like mine with avocado.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14819499327" title="A Brick Lane bagel, and a perfectly ripe avocado. The breakfast of champions (I hope - am off to parkrun shortly) #breakfast #avo #bagel #weekend by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="A Brick Lane bagel, and a perfectly ripe avocado. The breakfast of champions (I hope - am off to parkrun shortly) #breakfast #avo #bagel #weekend" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3859/14819499327_ac4db2af04_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I did my first parkrun in <a href="http://philosophyoflists.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/le-mariage.html">my new running club</a> t-shirt this morning. Rumours that I chose this club because I find the shade of blue on their shirt particularly pleasing, are entirely false.</span></li>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14894196088" title="My first run wearing my new running club t-shirt! Another fast-ish parkrun; my times are coming back down again #running #etonmanorac #parkrun by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="My first run wearing my new running club t-shirt! Another fast-ish parkrun; my times are coming back down again #running #etonmanorac #parkrun" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3894/14894196088_0305150cd4_o.jpg" /></a>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We have a new dishwasher. It is so quiet, it purrs. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Olivia sewed herself a top. This is the first time she has done any dressmaking, and I was so impressed with the results. She did everything herself, and all I did was explain some unfamiliar terms on the pattern. The pattern is the Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress/Top, in the age 12 size. It comes out quite short on her - she is a couple of months shy of turning 12, but is very tall. She is keen to make another, and add a few centimetres onto the length.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15082587905" title="IMG_5717 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5717" height="800" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5574/15082587905_6a074bbf87_c.jpg" width="600" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/15082214792" title="IMG_5721 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5721" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3837/15082214792_4f733dd543_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I did some dressmaking too, and made myself a new dress - another <a href="http://www.sewlisette.com/patterns/portfolio">Lisette Portfolio dress</a>. It has a seagull ribbon trim on the hem, which I bought in Whitby, and contrast fabric inside the pockets. It may be my most favourite dress I've ever made for myself - or it may just be that whatever I've made most recently is my favourite.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14848649028" title="New dress finished! Ready to go camping in the morning now. The pattern is the Lisette portfolio dress (Simplicity 2245) #dressmaking #sewing #dress #handmade #pattern by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="New dress finished! Ready to go camping in the morning now. The pattern is the Lisette portfolio dress (Simplicity 2245) #dressmaking #sewing #dress #handmade #pattern" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3851/14848649028_cf68acb6ce_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am keen to make more clothes while I am still on my long summer holiday. Perhaps the <a href="http://www.sewlisette.com/patterns/diplomat">Lisette Diplomat Dress</a>, which I have the pattern for, but have not yet made. Or maybe <a href="http://oliverands.com/liesl-and-co-patterns/OLV-LC005ES-D.html">this Everyday Skirt</a>?</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My sister and her two small girls came for a visit. The littlest cousin was completely unfazed by the two big teenagers thrusting their cameras at her every time she smiled, did something cute, or moved.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14895539669" title="Rosetta gets papped by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Rosetta gets papped" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3838/14895539669_72a43702a5_c.jpg" width="635" /></a></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I made 22 raspberry madeleines yesterday afternoon. There are only five left this afternoon.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14888378180" title="22 raspberry madeleines. Utterly delicious. Took me less than 5 mins to make and just 9 mins to bake. Very satisfying. #baking #cake #madeleines #raspberry by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="22 raspberry madeleines. Utterly delicious. Took me less than 5 mins to make and just 9 mins to bake. Very satisfying. #baking #cake #madeleines #raspberry" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3904/14888378180_96e48dd09c_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-1886187878405524392014-08-22T10:35:00.002+01:002014-08-22T10:35:17.037+01:00Run report - a running club<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14973968256" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_4813 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_4813" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3846/14973968256_9cf209b309_z.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Finishing an early morning run - red face clashing nicely with my orange t-shirt</i></span></span><u><br /></u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Joining a running club is something I've been mulling over for about six months. The running magazine I read (<a href="http://womensrunninguk.co.uk/">Women's Running</a> - do you read it? I am a big fan) frequently tells me that joining a running club would be: </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">good for my running, </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">good for my social life, and </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">not at all intimidating. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">To be honest, I've been a little sceptical about those last two points. The mere phrase 'running club' is pretty intimidating. But Graham is also a member of a local running club, as are many of my friends at <a href="http://www.parkrun.org.uk/hackney-marshes/">Hackney Marshes parkrun</a>, and they tell me the same thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">One of the major factors that put me off club running, was the commitment: I work full time, I work antisocial shift patterns, and I have plenty of other things I need to fit into my life. Was joining a running club trying to fit too much in? Would they expect me to be on committees and doing races every other weekend? Again, Graham and other running friends assured me not.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The running club closest to where we live is <a href="http://www.joomla.eton-manor.com/">Eton Manor Athletics Club</a> - a 101 year old club, with a permanent clubhouse in a large, picturesque park, just a ten minute walk away from our house. It has the added benefit of not being the same club that Graham belongs to - he is so much faster and fitter than me, and I didn't want to join somewhere where I might always be known as 'Graham's slower wife'! When I looked at Eton Manor AC's training schedule, I saw that they train on three evenings during the week, as well as organise weekend group runs - so even with my unpredictable shifts, I should surely be able to manage to go along once a week? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And still I dithered. I've been running for just over a year now, and yet I still feel like a bit of an imposter most of the time. Am I a <i>real </i>runner? Well, a real runner is just someone who runs regularly, so of course I am. I also worried that a running club would be be made up of super-fast young people, full of disdain for my 28 minute 5k time. This of course, was ridiculous. I know from going to parkrun every weekend, that running is actually an incredibly inclusive sport - where elite runners cheer on the beginners, beginners can run alongside people who've been running for decades, and everyone, aged from 7 to 87, is impressed with everyone else's time and effort. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Last night I decided to put aside my uncharacteristic nervousness and give club running a go. I went along to Eton Manor AC, for their weekly interval training session. Right from the minute I turned up, everybody was so very welcoming and friendly. They asked me about my running experiences, were impressed that I go to parkrun every Saturday, reassured me that the club was full of runners of many different abilities and speeds, and generally put me at my ease.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We ran in a big pack through the local parks to <a href="http://www.visitleevalley.org.uk/en/content/cms/nature/nature-reserve/walthamstow-marshes/">Walthamstow Marshes</a>, chatting as we ran. This was a very new experience for me as I generally do all my running by myself, listening to music on headphones. Surprisingly I found I could chat and run at the same time though. Once at the marshes, we found a straight, paved path and started interval training: two minutes running hard (the guide for 'hard' was at your fastest 10k pace, but as I don't run 10ks I tried to run at my hardest parkrun, 5k pace) followed by one minute walking or slow jogging (I walked - as did most people). The first two minutes felt like the longest two minutes I'd ever run - it seemed to go on forever! But after that I got used to it, and managed absolutely fine. The nice thing about interval training is that everybody gets to run at the pace which is 'hard' for them, and yet as we were running back and forth along the same straight piece of track, you always had somebody in your sights and felt very much a part of the club. We did this for 30 minutes, before jogging back together to the clubhouse for tea and biscuits and more chat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Someone told me at the end that we'd run 8k altogether - which is by far the furthest I have ever managed. I've only run further than 5k once or twice before. I couldn't believe what I had achieved - a longer distance than I had ever run before, and at a harder pace than I would ever do by myself. I was so pleased! This, ultimately, is why I will definitely be joining Eton Manor AC and incorporating a club run into my life once a week. I was on such a high when I finished. Running with a club will improve my running like nothing else, and push me to do more. But in a friendly, sociable and surprisingly uncompetetive environment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">What about you? Would you join a sports club? Do you have similar hang-ups to the ones I had, and wonder if they are only for super-fit, semi-professional athletes? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm really looking forward to the new developments in my running that I know being a club runner will bring. I'll let you know how I get on, once my achey legs have recovered and I've managed to get out of the bath.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14970089126" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="I am in great need of a muscle therapy bubble bath this evening. I went running with my local running club this evening and ran almost twice as far as I've ever run before! #running #legsdontworkanymore #intervaltraining #etonmanorac #london #bath #bubble by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="I am in great need of a muscle therapy bubble bath this evening. I went running with my local running club this evening and ran almost twice as far as I've ever run before! #running #legsdontworkanymore #intervaltraining #etonmanorac #london #bath #bubble" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5555/14970089126_531e005b7d_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>I really earned this muscle therapy bubble bath last night!</i></span></span><u><br /></u></td></tr>
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The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-13734922656060565372014-08-20T09:51:00.002+01:002014-08-20T09:53:47.572+01:00Books and sky<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We went to North Yorkshire for a week, and camped on the edge of Dalby Forest on the North York Moors. I realised that one of the most important reasons I love camping is because it forces me to slow down and do nothing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We went for long walks during the day, and in the late afternoon and evening I passed the time by reading (four and a half novels in five days - what a treat!) and gazing at the sky. </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14791100427" title="IMG_5250 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5250" height="600" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5564/14791100427_29e5d1cf0e_c.jpg" width="800" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14791106037" title="IMG_5222 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5222" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3906/14791106037_bf77b0953d_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14977652095" title="IMG_5217 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5217" height="316" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3853/14977652095_cc2ebfb151_c.jpg" width="800" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14977662025" title="IMG_5180 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5180" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3912/14977662025_d78ddd852b_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">That's it - books and sky. </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14791132327" title="IMG_5140 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5140" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3842/14791132327_07d412d201_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14974599481" title="IMG_5082 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5082" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3851/14974599481_ba4dce1ba3_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14954705726" title="IMG_5136 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5136" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3909/14954705726_001b46547a_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14894744045" title="Yorkshire sunset, seen from the tent doorway last night. This photo doesn't reveal how windy it is camping on the edge of the moors! #camping #yorkshire #sunset #summer by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Yorkshire sunset, seen from the tent doorway last night. This photo doesn't reveal how windy it is camping on the edge of the moors! #camping #yorkshire #sunset #summer" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3926/14894744045_e1b83180e0_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But honestly - what more do you need?</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14718358080" title="Forest walks through the tall trees of Dalby #summer #forest #walk by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Forest walks through the tall trees of Dalby #summer #forest #walk" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3912/14718358080_38a542e208_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14911597381" title="I ❤️ Yorkshire #summer #camping #sky #sunset by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="I ❤️ Yorkshire #summer #camping #sky #sunset" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5579/14911597381_0197cf68a4_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14977517762" title="IMG_5361 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5361" height="800" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5570/14977517762_1ed5af5ea3_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14977538152" title="IMG_5327 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5327" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3871/14977538152_7b6e83ed4a_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14791218810" title="IMG_5316 by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5316" height="800" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3856/14791218810_b1e9e4abbf_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-65612329408542219202014-08-08T08:46:00.001+01:002014-08-08T08:46:12.410+01:00The best breakfast<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I finally found a granola recipe that is quick and easy to make - no tedious removing from the oven to stir every five minutes - and which doesn't require me to hand over my entire month's food budget to Holland and Barrett in order to buy ingredients: <a href="http://agirlcalledjack.com/2014/01/09/peanut-butter-and-honey-granola-10p/">this recipe </a>- from the brilliant Jack Monroe. </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The recipe uses ingredients that I always have in the house: oats, peanut butter, honey and a little pat of butter. That's it. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It took me about 2 minutes to mix and then just 15 minutes to cook.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It made the whole house smell amazing while it baked.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cam did a quality control test once it was cooled, and I had to physically remove the spoon from his hand in order to stop him from eating the WHOLE BATCH.</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14834465556" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Untitled by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Untitled" height="630" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3878/14834465556_f2a4cc3acf_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Granola jars</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I had some for breakfast this morning with yogurt, banana and fridge jam. It was one of the nicest breakfasts I've had in months.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14670926707" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Untitled by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Untitled" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5553/14670926707_bae90663b7_b.jpg" width="613" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>A very fine breakfast</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The fridge jam is a cross between a sauce and a jam. It needs to be kept in the fridge, and is a lovely thing to have on hand as the basis for a fruity breakfast, a smoothie or a pudding. This one is made from half a punnet of blackcurrants - left over from an enthusiastic session at the PYO farm last week - a few shakes of caster sugar, and two tablespoons of water. I put everything in a pan, brought it to the boil, and left it to bubble for a few minutes before cooling and putting it in a clean jar. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14670937039" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Untitled by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Untitled" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5593/14670937039_82e6a6dea8_b.jpg" width="628" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Blackcurrant fridge jam</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It is nice and</span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> sharp, and a wonderful colour. You can make this from any fruit, but berries and stone fruits work particularly well. The key to making fridge jam is just to use a very small spoonful or two of water in your mixture. Proper jam uses much more sugar and no water; stewed fruit (or fruit compote) uses less sugar but more water - fridge jam falls somewhere in the middle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love blackcurrants so much - such an interesting, feisty fruit. This jar of them tastes like distilled summer. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span>The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-28532975638395382012014-08-06T11:00:00.001+01:002014-08-06T11:00:02.322+01:00Oncology experiences<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The longest placement of our course is for twelve weeks, towards the end of our third year. We can ask to be placed in a particular specialism, and the university and the hospitals it partners with try to accommodate our requests. I asked for oncology, and was given it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It was a tough placement. So much is expected of us by this stage in our course. Our mentors are assessing whether or not they are happy for us to join the register of nurses, and we are acutely aware that in a few weeks or months (if our mentors are satisfied with our abilities) we will be newly qualified and practising independently. We are trying to learn as much as possible while we still can, but also prove that we already know how to be safe and work as a graduate nurse. We have seen so much by this stage of our course (after a Saturday night shift in A&E I truly thought I'd seen everything) - but of course we haven't seen or experienced a fraction of what there is to see. People's bodies and minds still shock and surprise me. This placement was when I properly understood that I will never stop learning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And then there is oncology itself. Cancer is a very complex disease that evolves and changes over time. It can be cured and managed better than ever before - but not always. It affects everybody differently, and touches a person's family, friends and lifestyle too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In my first week on the ward, one of the Macmillan Nurse Specialists said that I must make sure to spend a morning with her in one of the outpatient clinics before the end of the placement. "You will get a very one-sided view of cancer by working on a ward," she told me. It wasn't until the penultimate week of my placement that I got a chance to take her up on her invitation and join her in the outpatient clinic. On the ward I cared for people who were very sick - either because their disease had progressed and they were close to end of life, or because the treatment they were receiving was making them extremely unwell, even though it may have been killing the cancer. However, in the clinic I met a much greater number of patients who were either living a completely full life with cancer and whose symptoms were completely under control, or whose cancer had been cured or removed - by the often harrowing treatment we gave on the ward - and who had been in remission for many years. Many of these people were the beneficiaries of the enormous amount of reasearch and experimentation that goes into oncology in this country. It was helpful to be reminded that the very unwell people I was nursing on the ward, were just a small proportion of the number of people affected by the disease.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I had so much to think about and a great deal to say while I was on placement on this ward, but was unable to express it - partly due to confidentiality, but also because there was just so much to process in my mind. I took even more photos than usual on my commutes, and tried to spend the time on the train really focusing on my nursing skills, and reflecting on my new life as a nurse. I didn't get enough sleep because the shift pattern on this ward was unusually relentless, and I didn't run for the same reason. To be able to give of yourself - as you need to do when you are a nurse, and in many other professions - you need to be able to look after yourself too. I ended the placement with a new determination to make more time for running, sleeping, reading magazines and baking cakes - all those good things which recharge my batteries and keep me content. </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14707313302" title="12:30pm - last week at Bart's so last week of St Paul's pictures. This one is for @runnergmcc who thinks I haven't taken enough! #stpauls #london #work #studentnurse by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="12:30pm - last week at Bart's so last week of St Paul's pictures. This one is for @runnergmcc who thinks I haven't taken enough! #stpauls #london #work #studentnurse" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2911/14707313302_4e70a9b9e9_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14686968813" title="6:55 - St Paul's looking particularly majestic this morning #stpauls #london #morning by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="6:55 - St Paul's looking particularly majestic this morning #stpauls #london #morning" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5505/14686968813_413c911634_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14712398724" title="6:45am - playing peepo with St Paul's #london #morning #stpauls #work by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="6:45am - playing peepo with St Paul's #london #morning #stpauls #work" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3925/14712398724_46a173146e_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14750808433" title="6:50am - looking up #stpauls #london by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="6:50am - looking up #stpauls #london" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2906/14750808433_d4c8eca798_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14740519042" title="12:10 - came in early to do some shopping before work, and found myself admiring this view of St Paul's from the back as I came up the escalators from New Change #stpauls #london #sky by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="12:10 - came in early to do some shopping before work, and found myself admiring this view of St Paul's from the back as I came up the escalators from New Change #stpauls #london #sky" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3880/14740519042_2d8cced629_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14560317667" title="6:50am - the top of the dome, above the top of the trees #stpauls #sky #london #morning by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="6:50am - the top of the dome, above the top of the trees #stpauls #sky #london #morning" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5574/14560317667_18c5ff5454_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14766624953" title="6:45 - coming up from underground #london #tube #morning #work by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="6:45 - coming up from underground #london #tube #morning #work" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3868/14766624953_666c994c7b_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Although I'm not going to be working in oncology when I qualify, I wonder if it might be something I return to at some point in my career. As well as being the toughest placement I've done, it was also one of the most satisfying. I had days where I came out of work on such a high because I knew I'd left patients feeling better at the end of the shift because of something I'd done. And quite simply, that's what it's all about.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14723766896" title="6:45am - steps like piano keys at St Paul's station #tube #london #work #commute by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="6:45am - steps like piano keys at St Paul's station #tube #london #work #commute" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5552/14723766896_cbbb1694a4_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span>The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-61007792897905985082014-07-13T12:44:00.000+01:002014-07-13T12:44:16.507+01:00A floral Japanese dress<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14324791639" title="A little bit of pinning and cutting this morning #dressmaking #dress #patterns #japanese by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="A little bit of pinning and cutting this morning #dressmaking #dress #patterns #japanese" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3846/14324791639_dc03e78474_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A couple of weeks ago, I made a second Japanese dress (<a href="http://philosophyoflists.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/10-things.html">here</a> is the first one, which turned out to be a tunic for reasons of public decency). This time I added 16cm to the length and graded the side seams so that it continued the full, swingy shape. This one is the perfect dress length for me - it falls a couple of centimetres above the knee.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14369720667" title="New Japanese dress - with added length and a velvet ribbon hem this time #dress #dressmaking #patterns #japanese #sewing by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="New Japanese dress - with added length and a velvet ribbon hem this time #dress #dressmaking #patterns #japanese #sewing" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2898/14369720667_2962958bdd_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14369573628" title="I particularly love the neckline on this dress - it has both pleats as darts, and fits beautifully #dress #dressmaking by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="I particularly love the neckline on this dress - it has both pleats as darts, and fits beautifully #dress #dressmaking" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5479/14369573628_bfc85d1428_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I bought the fabric from <a href="http://www.stitchfabrics.co.uk/about">Stitch</a> in Wanstead, which is a wonderful fabric shop specialising in dressmaking fabrics. The staff in this shop have so much knowledge, and are happy for fabric ditherers like me to prowl around the shop for hours before finally purchasing something. It is a cotton lawn, with a fine, light crispness which I love, and only cost me £8 a metre (I bought 3m to be cautious, but totally could have got away with 2.5m). This makes the dress incredibly good value.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I absolutely love how the dress turned out, and I wear it often (as I do the first tunic-length attempt, which looks great over jeans or leggings). The shape is full, but there are enough details to make it look stylish and not sack-like. The pleated bodice is particularly pleasing. This time I added a narrow velvet ribbon hem on the bottom, which is definitely my favourite way of finishing a hem on a dress, tunic or skirt (I learnt the technique many years ago, from <a href="http://oliverands.com/blog/2008/08/lazy-days-skirt-free-pattern.html">this free Oliver + S skirt pattern</a>). </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Both this dress, and also the first tunic version, have attracted so many flattering comments from random people on the train - and even two policewomen walking past me in the street. I love how both the style and the fabric are such a long way from anything you'd ever find in a shop. </span><br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14617219692" title="6:25am - Out to dinner after work tonight, so a dress and nice shoes are required. I might fall asleep with my head on the table by the end of the first course though, as I am so, so tired. #tired #work by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="6:25am - Out to dinner after work tonight, so a dress and nice shoes are required. I might fall asleep with my head on the table by the end of the first course though, as I am so, so tired. #tired #work" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2933/14617219692_cfff0f069a_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">For my birthday, my father gave me a second dress pattern book by Yoshiko Tsukiori (<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stylish-Dress-Book-Clothing-Everyday/dp/1780673043/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405250353&sr=1-3&keywords=stylish+dress+book">this one</a>), and I have spent a great deal of time happily immersing myself in the book, and deciding what I want to make next. This one, pictured below, is the most likely contender simply because of the delicious neckline. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14455078350" title="Considering what to sew next. Possibly this dress from the wonderful 'Clothing for Everyday Wear' by Yoshiko Tsukiori? Loving the neckline. #dressmaking #dress #patterns by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Considering what to sew next. Possibly this dress from the wonderful 'Clothing for Everyday Wear' by Yoshiko Tsukiori? Loving the neckline. #dressmaking #dress #patterns" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2914/14455078350_75b9f38b2d_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This stage of planning and thinking is possibly one of the most enjoyable parts of dressmaking for me. By the time I am ready to sew I have a very definite idea in my head of how the garment is going to turn out. Then I'm just so eager to get on with the sewing so that I can start wearing it. </span>The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-49369434968243881042014-06-25T09:45:00.003+01:002014-06-25T09:45:29.910+01:00Messy desk - a snapshot<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14503545325" title="A snapshot of my life on my messy desk by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="A snapshot of my life on my messy desk" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2903/14503545325_06b968af94_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On my messy desk this morning:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the milk bill</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a letter from Olivia's school about a summer picnic</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a free cup of coffee from Waitrose - thank you Waitrose</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">three unopened magazines</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">this week's <a href="http://rcnpublishing.com/journal/ns">Nursing Standard</a> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a leaflet about <a href="http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Cancertreatment/Treatmenttypes/Radiotherapy/Sideeffects/Pelvicsideeffects_men.aspx">pelvic radiotherapy in men</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">unexpected Amazon parcels, which I think may contain birthday presents</span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Big-Table-Busy-Kitchen-Recipes/dp/1782062874/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1403685543&sr=8-1"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a new cookbook</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Critical-Nursing-Transforming-Practice-Series/dp/0857256459/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403685695&sr=8-1&keywords=acute+and+critical+care+in+adult+nursing"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a textbook on acute and critical care nursing</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">my Kindle - I need to load it up with more things to read later; I've just finished <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosies-War-Englishwomans-Escape-Occupied-ebook/dp/B0051GDJWY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403685737&sr=8-1&keywords=rosie%27s+war">this book</a>, which was a good recommendation from my father</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">keys and glasses</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">fabric for another dress</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a freshly baked croissant in a paper bag (my breakfast, along with the coffee)</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It is my day off today. After I've tidied my desk I plan to sit in the garden and read the backlog of magazines and my new cookbook. </span>The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-9932150520918628272014-06-20T09:30:00.000+01:002014-06-20T09:30:00.594+01:0010 things<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The nice thing about getting <a href="http://philosophyoflists.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/a-new-identity.html">an exciting new job in ITU</a>, is that nothing really changes:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I made a new top. It was meant to be a dress, but I failed to adjust for the fact that I am much taller than most Japanese women.</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14217550098" title="Newly made Japanese sundress a roaring success, except.... by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Newly made Japanese sundress a roaring success, except...." height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5199/14217550098_a07d8afcc6_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14217533739" title="...it so short, it's rude. Unable to lean over or reach up without flashing my knickers. Forgot I am about 15cm taller than the average Japanese woman - it will have to be worn over skinny jeans. #sewing #patterns #dressmaking #dress #soshortitsrude #top by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="...it so short, it's rude. Unable to lean over or reach up without flashing my knickers. Forgot I am about 15cm taller than the average Japanese woman - it will have to be worn over skinny jeans. #sewing #patterns #dressmaking #dress #soshortitsrude #top " height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5548/14217533739_4a5f7bd9a6_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love it though, and have bought more fabric so I can make myself a dress version.</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14427208094" title="More dressmaking plans #dress #dressmaking #fabric #patterns #japanese by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="More dressmaking plans #dress #dressmaking #fabric #patterns #japanese" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5519/14427208094_0fbbf492d7_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I discovered that the best place to take a full legth photo of myself without balancing on the arm of a sofa or having to tidy an <i>entire </i>room first, is the changing room at work. </span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14220447038" title="Finally a picture of the whole of my new dress/top. The only full length mirror in my life is the one in the staff changing rooms at work. Fabric shopping this weekend for the next one I think! #dressmaking #dress #top by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Finally a picture of the whole of my new dress/top. The only full length mirror in my life is the one in the staff changing rooms at work. Fabric shopping this weekend for the next one I think! #dressmaking #dress #top" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2902/14220447038_76e26c4b32_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Basil is back in the kitchen - I run my hands through it when I stand at the sink.</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14266182238" title="Summer on the windowsill #summer #sunshine #herbs by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Summer on the windowsill #summer #sunshine #herbs" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3890/14266182238_9cdb298058_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I like these tiles at Aldgate station.</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14409582401" title="4pm - excellent tiles at Aldgate station #london #tube by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="4pm - excellent tiles at Aldgate station #london #tube" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2901/14409582401_013a251ac6_o.jpg" width="640" /></a><ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Graham is listening to James Brown and treating us all to funk.</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14365246832" title="Funkilicious! Husband playing along to James Brown's Get Up #saturdayfunk #jamesbrown #funk #practicekit by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Funkilicious! Husband playing along to James Brown's Get Up #saturdayfunk #jamesbrown #funk #practicekit" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5478/14365246832_04664bf57c_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have been running - but not enough. I miss it.</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14416881022" title="Volunteering, rather than running, at parkrun this morning. The person who got this token today ran it in 14:52 #wow #parkrun #hackneymarshes by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Volunteering, rather than running, at parkrun this morning. The person who got this token today ran it in 14:52 #wow #parkrun #hackneymarshes" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3844/14416881022_c6f90c7a5e_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I baked brioche rolls, and Graham made a tarte au citron. </span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14188824458" title="Brioche #baking #bread by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Brioche #baking #bread" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3876/14188824458_60e9130026_o.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14240725538" title="The most sublime tarte au citron that he's ever made - oof, SO GOOD! by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="The most sublime tarte au citron that he's ever made - oof, SO GOOD!" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3847/14240725538_1f2c1569b7_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The washing machine couldn't read the label that said the pillow was washable.</span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14470726813" title="This was meant to be a washable pillow, but the machine thought otherwise #domesticity by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="This was meant to be a washable pillow, but the machine thought otherwise #domesticity" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3902/14470726813_efc7c8ab5c_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When it's sunny, and I am not at work, I cycle over to the Olympic park with a quilt and sunbathe. </span></li>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14349822246" title="This little ladybird is sunbathing with me, on my quilt #sunshine #summer #ladybird #quilt #lazysunday #weekend #london by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="This little ladybird is sunbathing with me, on my quilt #sunshine #summer #ladybird #quilt #lazysunday #weekend #london" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3914/14349822246_0539001503_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</ul>
The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-92054679266863514142014-06-18T20:23:00.001+01:002014-06-18T20:23:30.876+01:00A new identity<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A few weeks ago I was offered my first nursing job - and last week, after much dithering, I accepted it. At the end of this year I will become a registered nurse, and then I will be working on the ITU at my local hospital. ITU stands for Intensive Therapy Unit and is what used to be known as Intensive Care - it is where the very sickest patients are cared for, and each patient gets one-to-one nursing care, 24 hours a day. I have so many emotions whirling around my head about this new job:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">pride - I've got a great job, in a specialism I desperately wanted to work in</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">fear - I'm going to be a qualified nurse, responsible for the care of very poorly patients</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">excitement - I'm going to be a qualified nurse, responsible for the care of very poorly patients</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">motivation - I need to revise all my knowledge of acute nursing care, and learn so much more</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">eagerness - I want to start now</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">sartorial disappointment - I will be wearing scrubs rather than a traditional nursing uniform</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">nervousness - can we put the brakes on, please? I've loved being back at University.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But mainly, with the knowledge that I have a good job waiting for me at the end of the year, I have relaxed and started to enjoy myself more. I have always enjoyed nursing and been certain that this was what I wanted to do, but there has also been an underlying tension - could I really do this? could I be good at this? what effect was my change in career having on the family? I was surprised to find that this tension disappeared when I finally sent the email to accept the job.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"Yes, I have a job in ITU," I tell people. I'm getting used to saying it. I have a new identity. In my head I say to myself <i>"I am an ITU nurse"</i> - trying it out for size - and it feels right.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14262550094" title="My upside-down watch tells me it's 4:55am. I am on my break, eating an apple, listening to the World Service, and knitting #nightshift #studentnurse by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="My upside-down watch tells me it's 4:55am. I am on my break, eating an apple, listening to the World Service, and knitting #nightshift #studentnurse" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3738/14262550094_a580c3d23e_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span>The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-16863024418682913172014-05-30T09:24:00.001+01:002014-05-30T09:24:11.826+01:00Commuting<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have the nicest commute at the moment. I work strange hours so I'm never travelling at peak times, which means the tubes are not too rammed<span style="color: #0000ee;">; m</span>ost of the time I can get a seat. I just have to travel six stops, and I can get from home to work in about half an hour. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The hospital is in the City - an area of London that I know very well because I worked there when I was an accountant for many years. I find myself taking out my phone and snapping pictures every day, because this part of London is just so photogenic.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/13960395899" title="9:15pm - leaving work. St. Paul's Cathedral and a hazy moon. #london #night #moon #nofilter #stpauls by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="9:15pm - leaving work. St. Paul's Cathedral and a hazy moon. #london #night #moon #nofilter #stpauls" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5471/13960395899_2be5b62c24_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14032918308" title="Early morning in the City #london #nofilter #sunshine by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Early morning in the City #london #nofilter #sunshine" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5562/14032918308_57bc43fc13_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14236579483" title="Heading home. Back in for an early shift tomorrow #london #tube #stpauls #tired by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Heading home. Back in for an early shift tomorrow #london #tube #stpauls #tired" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5575/14236579483_ed19b1bf1b_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14025600177" title="Majestic #stpauls #london #sunshine #blueskies #nofilter by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Majestic #stpauls #london #sunshine #blueskies #nofilter" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5564/14025600177_1645cae64f_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14073345370" title="7:40pm - the City is deserted at weekends. This is at St Paul's looking west towards the Old Bailey #london #weekend #nightshift by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="7:40pm - the City is deserted at weekends. This is at St Paul's looking west towards the Old Bailey #london #weekend #nightshift" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3814/14073345370_e67801f418_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14114028130" title="Taxis, taking people home. #work #london #spring #evening by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Taxis, taking people home. #work #london #spring #evening" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2905/14114028130_0c50225a57_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14216706403" title="6:45am - St Paul's and the police helicopter #London #morning by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="6:45am - St Paul's and the police helicopter #London #morning" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7447/14216706403_ec64ab5ca6_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-39810880629705455932014-05-14T10:30:00.000+01:002014-05-14T10:30:00.703+01:00A top in blue voile<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As well as the children's exams, I am also starting a new placement and embarking on the nerve wracking process of job hunting at the moment. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On a day off on Monday I decided the best thing I could do to create some calm and light relief in my week was to embark on some sewing. Inspired by all the beautiful clothes appearing in my Instagram feed for Me Made May (and especially those put up by <a href="http://instagram.com/lieslgibson">Liesl</a> and <a href="http://instagram.com/susanreesosborne">Suse</a>), I cut into my precious piece of Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks <a href="http://annamariahorner.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/all-voile.html">voile</a> and made myself another Lisette market dress tunic. I wear <a href="http://philosophyoflists.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/two-new-tops.html">both the ones I made earlier in the year</a> constantly; they look so good with trousers and a cardi or a scarf.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The voile is sumptuous - soft, drapey, feminine and luxurious. It is also surprisingly non-sweary to sew with. It feels as though it should slither all over my table, but it doesn't. Pleasingly I also found a length of narrow velvet ribbon which my grandmother had given me, in exactly the right shade of yellow to match the centre of the flowers on the fabric, so I hemmed the top with that.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A happy few hours sewing, and a luxurious-feeling new blue top. I just wish it was easier to find a place in my house to take full length photos of myself (and a clean mirror!).</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/14147234126" title="...and it's very hard to find a decent full length mirror in our house #top #sewing #handmade by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="...and it's very hard to find a decent full length mirror in our house #top #sewing #handmade" height="640" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2899/14147234126_8352196f44_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/13983748108" title="Meet my new favourite top. I finally used this beautiful fabric. #sewing #top #handmade #voile #productivedayoff by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Meet my new favourite top. I finally used this beautiful fabric. #sewing #top #handmade #voile #productivedayoff" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7358/13983748108_5aef15919d_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046181023746143524.post-72477960476622650242014-05-12T21:35:00.002+01:002014-05-12T21:57:10.675+01:00Exam food<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The children both have exams this week</span>. <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> Olivia has her Year 6 SATs - four consecutive mornings of maths and English exams - and Cam has his first two biology GCSE exams; his third exam is in a few weeks' time. They're taking it all in their stride, but I know that they're tired and tense too. This feels like the start of many, many years of exams-in-May as they each work their way through GCSEs, AS levels and A levels (and beyond).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/13956705758" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Tired teenager: school and GCSE revision taking their toll. #school #gcse #tired #window by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Tired teenager: school and GCSE revision taking their toll. #school #gcse #tired #window" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7363/13956705758_9204bd4a75_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>Cam, flopped on the sofa after a day at school and two hours of revision </i></span></span><u><br /></u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I expanded the family rule of <i>"When someone has a birthday, they choose what the family has for supper"</i>, to <i>"When someone has a birthday or does an exam, they choose what the family has for supper"</i>. Tonight we had Olivia's choice of beefburgers (nice, juicy quarterpounder steak burgers from Waitrose), oven chips, and rather specifically "carrots cut like coins, not sticks". Very nice. I don't often cook burgers so this felt like the treat it was meant to be. Much ketchup was applied.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cam's choice, which we are having on Friday, is lasagna, garlic bread and sweetcorn. I don't often make a lasagna as it feels like too much faff at the end of a long day, so again this will be a special treat</span>.<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> I love how both their choices are simple, slightly retro and not at all the sort of thing I normally cook.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My contribution has been to make them orange-scented buns for after school - I think they definitely deserve a sweet treat this week. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61419245@N00/13984354080" title="Orange buns for Cam and Olivia - they have GCSEs and SATs this week, poor loves #exams #treats #baking #buns by Nancy McCarthy, on Flickr"><img alt="Orange buns for Cam and Olivia - they have GCSEs and SATs this week, poor loves #exams #treats #baking #buns" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7309/13984354080_3c4b83b8c6_o.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Do you have any exam rituals in your house? Any pre- or post-exam food favourites? Personally I don't really care what I eat after an exam as long as I have a big breakfast involving oats and bananas for breakfast beforehand.</span>The List Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294796749818923293noreply@blogger.com5