so its time for Charby's end of year awards and review!
*Trumpets and drumroll*

Well, its mostly been a year to forget in this household, what with Dad's will he/won't he saga.
It started fairly brightly enough with the graduation, chance of a job working with fish and more driving tests but the first of what would be many, many rejections arrived and I decided to stop the driving till the New Year and life drifted into a dull routine of daytime telly and occasional trips to the job centre.
I also lessened my blogging activities, mainly due to the fact I had nothing to write about other than the day to day tales of the characters from Neighbours!
There was a few highlights mainly the adventure of meeting a real life Blogger in the lovely Flash, and a mild flirtation with the TY'U, who once he got over the shock of realising that I was female, proved to be a good fun person.
But surely the main event of 2005 had to have come recently in the arrival of my job! Wahey!
And now onto my awards!!!

Sporting Achievement of the year? Well there was the relegation of Palace, the Ashes win, but my moment of the year had to be the shock win at Chelsea, if only we'd been able to carry it on to not lose by 3 goals in 15 minutes against Blackburn!

Disappointment of the year? The fish job rejection, not only would I have been loaded it'd have been a quality job to do.

Person of the year? In "real life" it has to be E, survivior of many a daytime pub crawl, fellow adventurer on away game travels and all round top person.
In "Virtual land" It has to be you guys, you've participated in my little games of winning the prizes after reaching certain "landmarks", you've been here to listen, to give little words of sympathy and comfort and a giggle when things haven't looked too bright and you're all spiffing people! (and one day I may get round to adding Alecya and her plastic castle to my blog list!)

Now I'm glad the formalities are over and done, its time for me to sit around and wait for this god-awful year to go!

So how was your xmases?

Mines been a bit interesting and with the help of an email from Spins I decided to come and tell you all about it and let you know that I'm not dead, although the cold might be killing me off slowly!!
On my last post on the Friday before xmas I said about Dad going into hospital and the very bad atmosphere around here.
Dad continued to remain very bad tempered and had several rows with Mum about how she was "stopping him see his family" and "coming between him and his brother" which Mum would never ever do, none of us would do considering the way we feel about them!
After Mum did her storming out the hospital on the Friday act. Dad was also slightly confused about matters, as he begged the nurses not to let him out of the hospital claiming that Mum would beat him!
So Xmas eve I was very glad to shoot off to work for a couple of hours to avoid the atmosphere, which was very strained and icy.
Xmas day (which is a day that always, always depresses me) came and Mum wanted a lot of pictures of us, seeing as its more than obvious that this is Dad's last xmas, but The Brat hates having his photo taken, and pulled faces at the camera and stuck his finger up, (he too was in a mood over not being a big fan of xmas and likes to let all of us know that he hates the day.)
So Dad called him a "rude, inconsiderate, arrogant bastard as this was his last xmas" So The Brat stormed off upstairs and remained there as much as possible over the day.
I was angry at The Brat for not understanding and not putting aside his selfishness for one day and told him so and got told to fuck off for it, so I wasn't happy with him either!
So there was already two rows and an even worse atmosphere in the house and all this before presents got opened!
Then my Dad's brother came to collect Dad to take him to his mother to see his sisters as he volunteered and Mum gratefully accepted, still determined to have nothing to do with them and their hyprocisty (sp?)
After all, we all know that they only want Dad to say sorry to them for no reason that he needs to and they wont make the move to apologise for the way they've treated him over the last 4 years!
Anyway, that's all over and done with now and the next time I expect we'll ever hear from them is the funeral and then they'll never bother to get in touch again.
Dad came back from there in the foulest mood possible and I still don't know what went on there and we went off to Nanny and Granddad's (My Mother's family)
Dad was really tired there and his tiredness made him come out with some really rude comments which luckily I don't think anyone took any notice off.
Came home and he demanded to go out, I've said before how awkward I find that as I'm not always strong enough to pull the wheelchair out of ruts and I've said it to The Brat, but do you think he volunteered to go out? Course he didn't he went upstairs and played his video games.
Sometimes he makes me so mad, I spend a lot of time running about after Dad as well as helping Mum with the housework and going to work himself, Brat will only do something if asked directly and if there's someone else to do it he'll get them to do it.
Anyway Mum reckons its cos he cant deal with being around Dad and his illness, I maintain that its sheer fucking laziness as I have a lifetime of covering up for him and doing his household chores in an effort to keep the peace.
Came back from Dad's work and Mum had already hit the happy juice while cooking the turkey and we finally got round to unwrapping presents, there was very little festive cheer in the day and as soon as it was over I bolted upstairs to play online for a bit and to watch telly to be away from that atmosphere.
Everyone went to bed at 8 and I sat up drinking myself stupid in an effort to forget such an awful day.

HAPPY XMAS PEOPLE!

"So this is Christmas and what have you done?"

Arrgh! I fucking hate that song, its so depressing to remind me that I've done sod-all this year!

So here we go! The last couple of days Dad has been in hospital with another blood transfusion, they reckon he's suffering from slight jaundice which is possibly a sign that his livers packing up.
*sighs*

And the pair of them have spent the last couple of days in rows or tears, which isn't leading to a happy household!
Dad has decided he needs his family, which is fair enough really, except Mum can't forgive them for treating us like strangers, for helping to kill Granddad *Disclaimer, this is her opinion, not truth*
For ignoring us for the previous four- five years that Dad has been ill and this last year that we've known he's on the way out.
And now Dad wants to be friends with them and they dont want to feel guilty, except we all know that they won't do anything to help, not to provide help like Mum's family have done, to give time and a ear to listen too, they want to feel good about themselves and once he dies we will never hear from them again.
Mum refuses to be even in the same room as them, she feels it will be hypocritical to pretend to be friendly with them and we all know what she's like when her minds made up!
She's already pissed cos G gave Dad's hospital number to his Mum and she gave it too all his sisters who then rang all hours of the night he was in hospital, which pissed Mothership off cos he's supposed to be resting.
And when she came round and found R there she stormed out, which upset Dad.
So its been a fun household here!
Plus I have to work Xmas Eve (Grr!) and I've been asked to write a small speech for the funeral, cheery stuff for Xmas huh?

Never Mind!

HAVE A GREAT XMAS WHEREEVER YOU ARE AND WHAT EVER YOU DO!

Today was a totally different day from Monday!
Firstly its delivery day! Which means its busy, busy all day what with unpacking and restocking the shelves and chucking away the out of date stuff along with serving the public.
I was halfway through my 5 hour shift and starting to look forward to the idea of going home when a rabble of noisy voices drifted my way and five or six elderly gentlemen strolled into the shop, some of them had santa hats on and one had a strand of tinsel round his neck like a scarf.
They stopped by my taster display of crystallised ginger and eyed it suspiciously.
Finally egged on by Tinsel, one of the Santa-hats tried a piece.
"Ooh." He proclaimed. Obviously a good sign as they all then tried a piece and wandered over to me.
"Where's your Viagra hidden luvvy?"
Of cource I went into hysterical giggling, which further encouraged Tinsel who had by now discovered the kick to the ginger and was pulling some rather interesting faces, talking loudly about their viagra they trotted off to the dried fruit aisle and then returned with some packs of fruit,
I was looking for the aromatheraphy oils that have to be hidden behind the till and Tinsel asked if thats where his viagra was hidden and then told me he and his little gang were off to the pub with their fruit and nuts.
"Cos its Christmas sweetheart, and if you cant get pissed on Christmas then you might as well be dead."
One of the Santa-hats then invited me along to join them and as they made their way out of the shop Tinsel Said out loud.
"I think we've pulled there lads!"
What great people! They've left me with a smile on my face all day and then when I got home I found my Christmas card from Spins!
Thank you!!!!!!!!!

The Radio crackles into life!

"Oh my god!" An excitable and panicky sounding young man's voice comes over. "We need assistance urgantly in [insert shop name]. We have about 14 kids in here just ransacking the place."
Silence. Followed by a garbled message about how the police are on their way.
"Has anyone got too [Insert name of my heath food shop] yet? There was a report of a disturbance there?"
"This is [insert name of E's shop]. This is the security guard. We dealt with the situation."

A little later that day.
"Holy crap they've got a Quad bike of all things, please can someone call 999?"
They were right you know, a few minutes later I saw 5 kids riding the powerful machine down the middle of the street, terrorising the little old Grannies doing their Xmas Shopping.

Welcome to Woolwich when the schools are out!
Woolwich, I remember being slightly ok, a little shabby but with decent stores, as I grew older to go to their on my own with OF, it was starting to go downhill, with many poundshops opening.
Nowadays its probably 90% full of Poundshops with a few clothes shops, mostly doing the buy 5 for £2.99 kinda deal, a few other shops, the first Macdonalds in the country, as it proudly advertises, my shop and E's shop.
At the far end is the Lesiure Centre where The Brat works and at the other end is a fading market that has been there since a charter granted by James I in the 17th Century as the banner says.
Its full of chinese people selling dodgey pirated DVDs and many other not very nice people.
The kinda place where at night, you hide all sign of phones or wallets and walk briskly hoping not to be noticed.

Today was the First day of the Christmas holidays and was bustling mainly with kids, laughing and larking about.
Until a middle-aged Sikh or Hindu man came into our shop followed by 7 little shits declearing.
"We're gonna knife you man."
The Big Boss Lady exclaimed to me. "They've got a broken bottle" and rushed to confront them.
I'm still not sure about why they'd started on him, but from what I could make out he had brought a dodgey DVD from the Chinese who had laughed at him when he'd come back complaining that it was shit when the kids started picking on him.
They followed him down the road, barging him and calling abuse until he came into our shop, we chased the kids out who stood outside the shop laughing at him and then telling him that as soon as he came out they were gonna kill him.
E went round to get her security guard and some of the kids started making runs into our shop, stealing packets of dried fruit and running out with them.
Another came in and stood at the doorway refusing to move and called his mates in, as the security guard came they all came rushing into the shop brandishing the broken bottle, we slammed the door shut and tried to hold it shut as they kicked at it, yanked the handle and the three kids already in the shop tried to push us out of the way and yank the door open, there was too many for just four of us to deal with and we had to let them go out.
The kids hung around for a bit and then made their way down towards the other shop and then decided to trash the place.

Nice place Woolwich! Really looking forward to the next few kid-full weeks!

I've just been to see Chronicles of Narnia!
(Why isn't there a nice bus that runs from my house to the Cinema in Greenwich? I have to go right out of my way to go to Woolwich to come back again!)
I loved the books as children, and who else had to watch the tv series in school with the moth-eaten Aslan? And if I remember rightly, the leader of the Wolf Police, walked on hind legs?
I wonder if this means they are planning on doing the series with the rest of the books?
Why didn't they start with The Magican's Nephew which is the first in the series?
Best bit I think though was the little girl a few rows along who was absolutely entranced by the film and at the moment when Aslan is seemingly dead on the stone table, leapt to her feet urging him to get up and was clapping and laughing at all of it.
Remember when you were that excited by a trip to the cinema?

Anyone else faced with having a sibling that everyone remembers but don't know you?
A lot of people make the mistake that my brother is an only child, especially the new people that have been met while I was at uni which is kinda fair enough I guess.
When I was in primary school, I existed for several years with only the teachers that had taught me knowing who I am.
When my brother made the move from his special needs school to mine it took him three short months to be known by everyone.
Teachers, cleaners, pupils and parents.
Those who were in his class and had day to day contact with him, to those in the infants school, who were separate from the juniors, everyone knew my brother.
I suppose a lot can be put down to his problems, so thats why the staff knew him.
But its not great when people turn and realise suddenly that I was there too.
Today in Sainsburys we met a girl that I had known very well in Primary, and her parents were friends with mine.
Their first comment was "Oh you're The Brat's Mum!"
Then a catch up with Dad and all his problems and all the while I packed Mum bags and then paid for her, while the talk turned back to The Brat and how he was.
They talked about the girl that I had been friends with and Mum made the comment that she was about the same age as me.
"Oh you had another child? Oh yes, she was younger than The Brat? She must have came into the school when we left?"
"No she's 22, older and standing here."
"Oh yes, so The Brat's working in Woolwich?"

Fucking hell! Am I really that forgettable? And am I really petty to still be frustrated and annoyed by people assuming that The Brat is the only child?

I've got all my Xmas shopping done!! Wahoo! *Does victory dance around the coffee table*

I took Dad down to the standard today, its exhausting pushing that wheelchair down to there! All the roads are uneven and you really have to make an effort not to let him go careering off into the road!
You can't even go in a straight line cos you have to avoid the bumps so it takes twice as long as it should to walk down there.
I'm not too sure he'll be that keen to let me take him out again, as I refused to move out of the way of people standing in my way and if they didnt hear me when I asked them to move I drove straight at them. Idiots.
The slopes going down into the road are a pain in the arse too, the ones by the Royal Oak especially, they're surprisingly steep and then rise again really sharply which makes it hard to push along the road as I got caught in the rut, twice I nearly tipped him out, so I'm not sure he'll let me take him out again!

So now that I now have a full weeks' work behind me. (Off now till Monday! - Wahhoo!)
What do I think of it?
Its nice enough, I think I've mastered the till, although I spent little time on it today, I proudly demonstrated twice how to ring up reduced prices, and got in and out of the staff-only area with no difficulties.
Wednesday seems to be the busiest day out of the three so far as its delivery day, with hundreds of dairy-free milk cartons coming in, packets of fruit and nuts and pills! Oh its a druggies paradise is they got hold of those crates!
I had to be up at 7 - while it was still dark! Its been ages since that's happened!
I liked that as I was busy all day, where as the other two days have involved a huge portion of just standing around and the time drags, however the other two ladies have been really nice and chatty which makes it a bit easier.
I'm learning to trust the till a bit too, I still panic when I look at how much change I need to give out as it seems wrong and I should be giving more and today we ran out of nearly all the change which nearly made my brain shut down in sheer terror as I tried frantically to work how to get 98p's worth of change with only 10's and 5p's.
I do like it though, its the kind of thing I could do happily for a while without getting too bored with it, or being too flustered and rushed of my feet.

Today I learnt the following important lessons.

1 - Where the Sugar-free jams and chocolates are kept.
2 - How to do reduced pricing on the till - hardly any mistakes today! I'm getting better!
3 - The code to get access to the staff only bit.
4 - Possibly the most important part - how to get the clock up on the till, telling me how much longer until I get to go home.

Baby steps people, baby steps!

Working on a till is fairly scary stuff.
Not only do they have an enter key in the wrong place, so that when I press what is enter on a standard keyboard I get it wrong.
But I think I've got the hang of it, as long as I don't make a mistake - which has been fairly often - cos then I don't know how to fix it!
Customers appear to be strange people too, Woolwich has a lot of immigrant people living in it which terrifies me especially those with poor english or strong accents!
They also get huffy when they ask for something and I have to explain that I don't know how to do it, or where to find stuff yet.
And then throw a strop when you ask them for the correct change after trying to pay with a £20 note for something that costs £1.99, when you dont have enough change in the till, but they have the right money anyway. Bastard Cunts.
Anyway, I have to go back tomorrow so we'll see how that goes!!
I also got to see some of the nicer side of Woolwich after a guy came bursting out of M&S with packets of mince pies under his coat with a shop lady in hot pursuit, more braver than I'd be I think!

First day at work tomorrow!

I'm pissing shitting myself! Its like the first day at school, only worse!!

A particularly shit day (why does rejection, no matter what the form, always hurt so much?) brightened up momentarily as I escaped home to toddle down to The Valley.
I wasn't expecting a thriller or too much, Sunderland's losing streak is only a bit worse than ours and I was discussing the chances of them ending their losing streak against us - Come on you all thought it too!
Not too sure on the tatics of removing what I thought to be our best players on the day with Hughes and Bartlett though!
Still a win's a win and it's always nice to see Super Clive!
Full report here!
And another goal for Bent!

I forgot to add the little comment that the Job Centre lady said to me as I left today.

The thing with me is that I'm a terrible giggler, I giggle at everything happy or sad, especially if I get nervous and if I'm angry it only takes a little funny face to get me giggling, which isn't always a good thing, as it doesnt show how angry I am and prevents me from making quick comebacks.

Anyway, I was talking to the Job Centre Lady and she were talking about the carer's allowance and then I was telling her about the job and she asked me if I'd ever worked in a shop before and I shook my head.
"Wow" She remarked. "They must have been desperate to take you on."

Fucking Bitch!

Today I went to the job centre for hopefully the last ever time!
Last time for sitting in that queue, full of other spongers! Yippie!
Instead of being stingy about the money that they give out they were practically begging me to take it! Mad aint it?!
Anyway, they paid for me to have a new pair of trousers for work and then tried to give me money for bus fares.
And then a cheque for £25.
I am no longer offically Dole Scum!

So my news?

I am now employed for the Christmas period and possibly beyond (If I suit) in [insert name of Well Known High-Street Heath Food Place here]!
So not even related in the faintest to my degree and its only 15 hours a week so crappy wages but still!
I am no longer a scrounging scumbag!
I go for training on Monday, which is scaring the shit out of me, in case I can't learn to manage the till or to push the herbal things on to people, and I have tests to do to learn what they all do!
See! It's a shit thing but I'm very excited!
Plus the woman knows all about Dad so thats all a bonus and being only 15 hours a week means I still get to spend lots of time at home helping Mum to care for him.
Yahoo!

Spins I've been getting "You're shit" vibes from everyone as long as I can remember but never mind.
I went out Xmas shopping with me Nanny today (the alzhiemers one) She held up a pair of size 16 trousers.
"Oooh [insert real name] These should just fit you, they might be a bit tight."
Suspicious by the size of them I look at them closer.
"Nanny! They're size 16!! I'm size 8! They're massive! I could fit into one trouserleg!"

Talk about an ego boost!

*Claps hands and bounces*
I CANT wait to tell you guys my news.
But we gotta wait and be patient and as always my lack of "go-me" vibes is pulling me down, I'm gonna fuck this up, I know I am. It might be a simple thing but my God I'm having panic attacks about it already. I'm not gonna be able to cope, I know I'm not and I'm gonna get laughed and and hassled and shate apon.
I wish I wasn't doing this, and you're all gonna laugh when you see what it is I'm getting all worked up and scared about.
I wish I had more get up and go about me and was able to ignore the "you're shit" vibes that everyone gives to me always.
Shitty hell!!! Hurry up with the end of the week already!

Considering all that's been in the papers locally about safety at level crossings, lets have a round of applause for the couple, who having noted that the gates were down at the crossing at Charlton with the warning bells going, STILL decided to walk - not run - across the track and not bother going across the bridge and the instant they had crossed safely to the other side a train shot by heading towards Woolwich.

If you've come this way to read my review (And I don't know why you would) of today's game and read about how we snatched defeat from the jaws of... erm... defeat.
You'd be best going elsewhere, cos I'm gonna pretend that us losing 5-2 never happened.
And if any of you dare to question exactly how many games we've lost in a row now, I'm gonna hunt you down and batter you to death with a wet lettuce leaf.
Incidently Weenie, did you notice Darren Bent has started scoring now you've transferred him out your dream team?
And we got Wednesday away in the FA cup! MH was very overexcited and after I told the Brat that A had a box there, he's excited too about us sitting in the box, when I haven't even asked him!

Ahem, moving on now, is it good news that comes in threes or bad?
Cos by the end of this week coming up, I hope to be able to tell you Good News #2 (remembering that Dad's arm getting better is #1.)

.......... No I've still not managed to explain how a team can be 2-0 up and coasting and then in the last 15 minutes throw it away to lose 2-3.

Not sitting in the very back of the Upper North again though! Far too high and scary!

Ohh there was a bit of excitement in Woolwich yesterday as I made my way down to sign on. They were filming! Yes! In Woolwich if you can believe it! Something called "Children of Man".
They'd built a Shanty Town and had torched a car, although it was hard to tell what bit was the filming and what bit is "normal" Woolwich!

And Good news! Remember the last time there was good news? Me neither! But lookie right here and there is!

Dad's arms, had stopped working, one was due to the cancer killing the nerves that made it work, the other just mysteriously stopped and they couldnt even put it down to the cancer, but it stopped completely, and we've been feeding and drinking him, and Mother has been doing some of the more unpleasant tasks.

But this week, the right arm, the one that mysteriously stopped has started working again! Only slightly, though, he can grasp things, and lift very light things, like a tissue to wipe his nose.
He's now developed to such a point where he can eat biscuits on his own and almost a whole packet of crisps (the not eating thing is another story, they're trying to stabilise his weight at 7 stone)
But from not being able to move or grasp anything, this is a massive improvement. Ok he misses what he's aiming for 7 times out of 10 but still!!!

I went to the "classic" between Villa and Charlton today, all the way up to Brummieland being taunted by some Spurs fans, actually they were alright apart from a bit of teasing.
Met The Sheep at Brum station and he instantly terrified E by hugging her, then meeting STF, who snuck up behind me just as I was complaining that I was late and poking me in the ribs and then spinning me round in a hug before telling me off for losing weight, being the super-organised person he was, he didnt have a coat.
So we went shopping for him, bear in mind, that I had three layers on under my thick winter coat. So God only knows what he was thinking!
The usual antics ensued, the mocking of the Mighty 'dicks as he calls us, his joy at discovering "Charlton Two" (E - I'm known only to that group as Charlton, as I'm the only Charlton fan they know)
The bullying of me, which resulted in me slapping STF and then accidently (Of course! hehehe) poking him in the eye.
The game itself was crap, we were rubbish, the atmosphere was awful, so we wont dwell on that any more than possible!I wanted Romm! Fucking hell even Chrissy Powell was out running the Villa defence and he's 90 and using a zimmer frame!
Back To Brum, where STF tried to convince us to come back to Derby, before sending us on our way with lots of hugs.
I'd also like to take my chance to express my hate towards Muriel, the dippy bint who realised as we left Milton Keynes station, that she wanted to get off there and then pulled the emergancy alarm and then tried to hit the train bloke who tried to explain that the train couldnt go in reverse.

Happy Thanksgiving to you American readers!

STF" You're going to Villa at the weekend?"
Me" Uh-huh, Can't wait, The Sheeps coming along too, he's never been to a match before so we're bound to lose."
STF" You hopping across to see us after?"
Me"Sorry"

Next day.

STF" Right if you're not coming to see me, I'm coming to see you. I've got tickets to sit in the Villa end, what time are you getting into Brum?"
Me" What?!"

How odd! The Idea of E meeting The Sheep was strange enough, now she's gonna have to cope with meeting STF as well! Talk about two worlds colliding!

In other news, guess who's gonna go see Harry Potter again this weekend?!

Oh Dear....

"Charlton are to attempt to ban Manchester United fans from The Valley after a female member of staff was sexually assaulted and a steward was injured when trouble erupted for the third time in four seasons during Saturday's 3-1 defeat.
A male United fan was arrested and charged with sexual assault on Saturday afternoon, and spent the weekend in police custody - one of six away fans arrested.
The female member of staff had been helping disabled fans in the away end and was in the area to the rear of the stand when the assault occurred"

The Prawn Sandwich Brigade have caused a bit of trouble in the last few seasons, they keep breaking the gates at the bottom of the stand, I saw and RVN didnt help when he went leaping over there to celebrate with the travelling fans, even though you're not supposed to and a couple of fans leapt over the barrier and ran to him and all the others crushed forwards to get to him.

Full Story here

HARRY POTTER FUCKING ROCKS!
Its my favourite one so far, it was a very simplified version of the book, but better than 1 and 2 which I didnt really rate.
More than makes up for the debacle at the football.
I saw those Man U bastards break the gate again!

Actually you know what I hate most about football? The Weather! For the first two home games I'm dying of sunstroke and then the next two, its alright to go in just shirt and maybe thin fleecy but then its fucking freezing all the way through till March at least.
I dont mind cold weather as long as I'm wrapped up warm and somehow, the only part of me that seems to suffer from the cold is my knees.
And they suffer for ages after the rest of me warms back up when I get home, even now they are still aching from the cold! I hope this isnt an indication of me suffering for the rest of the season!

Charlton V Man U today! Very exciting stuff!
Plus later tonight I'm going to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! I can't wait! So excited!!

There was a riot in my school when I was 15.
It never (to the best of my knowledge) made the news or even reported in the local papers.
Enough people that I have told this story too have looked at me with a more than healthy look of disbelief and its fair enough, its a wonder that no one actually got hurt.
I started to doubt what happened too! And wondered if it was one of those fantastic dreams that you are not sure looking back if they are real or fake.

My school was pretty ordinary, I've spoken before about how much I hated it and was hated by pretty much everyone in there.
But in my GCSE years I found a small group of friends and was kinda happy to go into school.

My school was heavily in debt and as far as I can recall (remember that I'm going back 7 years here!) they decided that the best way to save some money was to get rid off all the teachers that had been there years and were actually established and respected and replaced with cheaper ones fresh out of uni and ready to start a lifetime of being took advantage of and mocked.
Of course there may have been other reasons why these teachers were chucked and a lot of crap ones kept.
A lot of kids and other people were up in arms about this. Me? I couldn't care less.
Anyway, one day a Thursday I remember cos I had drama, history and then PSRE.
A girl. T. popped her head through our door just before the pips went to send us off to the first lesson of the day.
"We're on strike."
Wahoo!
To be fair this was a false start, a few wandered round the corridors aimlessly, I had a brief discussion with GT and the other lads I was hanging with at the time and we made our way slowly to our first lessons, many kids where missing and many turned up late. Our drama teacher couldn't really care less I guess and there was rumours of things being planned in the school library.
The second lesson. History passed in the boring dull way it always did and then we had break and then all hell broke loose.
PSRE was a deadly dull compulsary subject even though we didnt have to take the GCSE if we didnt want to, in which we were supposed to learn about being tolerant to disabled people, religious types, etc, to avoid taking drugs and how to put condoms on bizarre white things that even now I can't describe and we watched Priest which gained legendary status in our school by having gay sex scenes, although our teacher refused to let us watch that part so I can't really comment if it was just a gay kiss or something that had been blown up out of all proportion.
Anyway I took this class with A and we spent most of our time playing noughts and crosses and writing letters to his girlfriend.
He was always trying to encourage me to bunk off and go hang out in the caff at the park, but I being the goody-goody that I was always refused convinced I'd get caught.
There were several cries of Strike! and this time no one went to classes.
Instead there was a mass rush to the main hall, where we made our way to stand aimlessly, I saw E's sister there and said hello and they were as puzzled as us.
Our Head of house came in then and bellowed at us to get back to classes and from then on it was pandemonium and everyone for themselves, running down one corridor, only to find a teacher there and then doubling back on themselves, crowding and crushing.
Forty or fifty kids running one way and then back the way they came and I was seriously worried for the safety of the little first years.
Running up and down staircases, yelling and shouting. I became seperated from all my friends and the only thing to do, to prevent ourselves from being crushed as I was caught in the crowd was to go with it, just running one way along the library corridor, towards the main staircase, only to find a big burly teacher there and then getting jostled and shoved and running backwards at one point until I could turn around and go with the crowd.
For nearly an hour 2,000 pupils ran riot over the school, yelling, shouting, running back and forth, hearing rumours that we should go one place, only to find a teacher there and to turn and dart back the way we came, and I found myself in the corridor where I normally had PSRE looking aimlessly for my Brat or a friend to figure out what my next action would be as all I wanted to do, was avoid getting caught, either by a teacher or by the crowd again.
I saw the crowd head one way, and then turn and run again, like a stampeding herd, followed grimly by a few dedicated teachers.
I was then caught by my PSRE teacher and herded into a classroom, where we ate Cadburys Roses and watched "4 Weddings and A funeral" until order was relatively restored.
A was one of the last caught in that hour of madness and came bursting into the classroom, telling us eagerly about how our House Head had cornered him against a wall and screamed at him and how he had wiggled free and then deciding to go and have a fag in library only to find the door locked and bolted with the librarians in and a few scared looking first-years inside.

It started up again half-heartedly during the rest of the day, but never to the same effect as that mad hour.
We came home bursting of the stories and laughing about the adventure only to have them dismissed by Mothership and Dad as over-exaggerated madness.
So that's our riot, and it just reinforced my belief that I never wanted to go into teaching!

A big whole bunch of randomness for you guys today!!

Thanks for the sympathy (And the bad jokes!!) It did make me giggle and normal service is kinda resumed until the next time!

As seen on El Tel's site, here's a list of the teams who's grounds I've visited on my football travels!

Arsenal.
Aston Villa.
Bolton.
Charlton.
Chelsea.
Fulham.
Man U.
Portsmouth
Derby
Leicester (both Filbert Street and The Walkers ground)
Norwich.
Sheff U.
Sheff Wednesday.
Chesterfield.
Doncaster.
Gillingham.
Notts Forest - Where I fell in the Trent in front of a bunch of Forest supporters and was soaking wet for the whole game!
Port Vale.
Rotherham.
Grimsby.
Stockport.

Plus, Wembley, Cardiff's Millennium stadium, and non-league Welling and York City.

Not a bad list huh?

I was also going to write about my NANOWRIMO efforts and about the riot in my school but that list has gone on for far longer than I actually thought it would, so you can look forward to hearing about them tomorrow and onwards!

Sick and fucking tired.

I'm sick of everything.
Nothings fun anymore and I feel like I hate everybody and everything.
Its all too much hassle, eating, sleeping, filling in these countless job applications when I'll only get rejected. Sitting in line in the job centre to be filled in with the rest of the spongers and scum. I'm sick of the fact that whenever my friends ask me what I've been up too I have nothing to say or no exciting stories to tell anyone.
I'm sick of the fact I've not had a good giggle in a long time or been carefree for ages. I'm sick that I feel guilty about even popping out for the afternoon.
I'm sick of the fact that all I want to do is sit in bed all day huddled under my duvet.
I fucking hate this and I'm sick of blogging boring, depressing shit.
Fuck it all.

Alex asked:

What is the best piece of advice that you have ever been given, and yet still ignored it...

I've been trying for a few days to think of what my reply to this would be.
I'm not very good with advice, some people go out looking for advice and act on it. I don't ask for it often, if ever and often when people have given me advice different to what I think, its made me all the more determined to go out and do the opposite of it anyway.
Or I don't tell people what I get up to or have planned until I've carried it out and then am left wondering why the hell it all went wrong.
The WORST piece of advice I've been given is from my Mothership and was "Don't go to uni, you won't like it and you won't cope. If you must go, apply locally and come home at nights"
Of course I ignored her and it was the best thing I've ever done.
I can think of several good pieces of advice like "Don't go with him" (meaning the BB) which I ignored and I'm glad I did.
I got told never to smoke so of course I had to have that one puff that then put me off for life!
I've been told to avoid drugs, and I have turned down the offer of weed but those don't really count do they?!
These are all good but surely not the best advice ever? There must be something more or have I just let a sheltered little life?

What about you guys? Whats the best advice you've ever been given and ignored or worst you've been given and ignored and do you regret it?

I went to bed reasonably early last night, after spending a busy day sanding, wiping and undercoating downstairs and then watching the England game trying as always to spot STF.
At 3am when I was in a half doze, the phone rings and I fall out of bed in an effort to answer it before the rest of my house is woken.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!"
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!"

"Hullo STF."
He's clearly drunk and giggles down the phone to me and I'm so homesick for Derby and nights out and drunken fun.
"Are you still in Geneva?"
Through a rambled discussion over his soggy pizza and how he lost his match ticket stub in a bin and had to go through the bin to rescue it I find out that he rated Young, hadn't thought much of Konchesky, tried to chat up a french lady, despite only knowing "Do you know the way to the train station?" in French. And he demands that I come see him next weekend and get some Real Swiss Chocolate and when he found out Charlton have Man U he decided that he was coming down to see it and that I would be taking him to the Charlton away fixtures at White Hart Lane, Stamford Bridge and Highbury."
"Yes but STF where are you NOW?"
"I'm in Derby! Keep up! I've been leaving messages on everyone's answerphone, you're the only one who's picked the phone up!
Guess what? I fucked up getting back and I had to leave early! Only the second time ever I've had to leave early and we were 2-1 down with 87 minutes gone and then I get back to England and I find out we won! And I went out partying and everyone knew the score but me! And I had the fucking programme and ticket in my pocket. Did I tell you I dropped it in the bin?"

After ten minutes of rambling he dropped the phone down the stairs, told me his pizza was cold again and that he was now going to watch the highlights on telly and I try and get back to sleep.

Oops! Ok Spins here's the answer to that missing question:

"If you could do anything career-wise, regardless of family obligation or skill, what would you do?"
I'd be a marine biologist, working in the most amazing coral reefs and studying shark behaviour, and be damn rich doing it, or alternately I'd be the next David Attenborough, jetting round the world filming different animals for telly. All my life all I've ever wanted to do was work with animals and I was never smart enough at school to get the grades needed for vet school. I had the choice of going to Edinburgh to study Marine and Freshwater Biology, but I was struck by a terrifying thought of "what if I end up hating fish?"
So Zoology seemed like a nice way of getting a degree and not having to face the trauma of having to focus on one specific branch and I dont regret making that choice.
One day I'd like to go on and do a masters, perhaps in Marine Biology or Wildlife Conservation, but I want to do some living and saving(!) before I go back to studying. I need the break!

On to EL TEL's questions!!!

What would be the line-up (3 bands/performers) of your dream gig?
This is actually really hard! I like music as does everyone but I'm not fanatical about it like some people (wink, wink Flash!) In fact I only own three albums. I dont own a CD player, Mp3 or Ipod player and one of those albums is Flash's! So who would be in my dream gig?

Well We'll have to say Flash, just so I can leap around like a crazy person boasting of how I knew him before he became famous!
The next group I guess would have to be Queen. I'm working on the idea that I could invite who-ever I want for my dream gig and my Mum has always been a massive Queen fan and I think I've heard them everyday of my life whilst living at home and she missed her chance of going to a concert after falling and breaking some ribs the day of the show so I'd pick them and take her along for the ride.
Who else would I pick? Well I suppose I could be mocked for this but I'd like to see The Beatles or Paul Maccartney doing their greatest hits and some Wings songs, laugh all you like but who doesnt sing along with them when they come on the radio?
So I think that'd be my three performers, with special mentions to Green Day and The Killers.

What football fixture would you most like to see?

Charlton in the FA cup final/ Champions League final obviously! (Providing we won of course!!!)
International fixtures I'd like to see is an England game, I'm not fussy which, but if I could choose any I suppose I'd like to see them play Scotland, Germany or Argentina, just because I imagine the atomosphere to be great.
I'd also like to go to a match at the Nou Camp, I went there on a tour with school and the stadium was awesome empty so I 'd like to see a match there.
As for here, well I've been to Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford and Highbury. I still want to make the trips to Anfield and St James Park so those are fixtures I'd like to make one day.

If you had to move to a different town/city etc, where would you choose, and why?

I'm not too fussy really, I'd like to live in Cornwall at some point, but I'd live anywhere, I get bored and restless when I'm in the same place too long, so I'd like a career where I can move about a bit, but I'd live in any city that met these three requirements.
1 - Not too remote. I'm too much of a townie to live like The Twins or CL does
2 - Not too townie and built up, I've had enough of that here. Maybe surburby though.
3 - Where I could make it home for football easily enough.

And finally, what's the most useful thing that you learned whilst studying?

Leaving essays to the night/two days before before is a big nono!

Wow! Some real hard questions here!

Spinsterwitch: Tell me about the most memorable person in your life (who you no longer actively see or know)?
This is really quite difficult as I'm quite loyal in my friendships and all of them are people that I've know for many years. But once I decide to drop that person I do so without any thought or concern and don't look back to them.
Had you asked me this the year I went to uni I would have said OF having not seen or heard from her in nearly two years. She's obviously one of the first people I remember in my life outside of my family and my family are all reasonably close due to the football.
What about Primary school? Well I was a fairly solitary child, happy to play on my own, I had a few girlfriends, but by the last year they grew interested in boys, and clothes and music and other stuff I had no interest in so I walked away from that group and have rarely thought about them since, I could name names but not remember faces in that group.
There was a group of three or four lads that I played with. "The birdy game" Some crazy variant of chase and I remember them very clearly although I was never as close with them as I was my girlfriends and I've thought about them a few times over the years and could contact one of them via Friends Reunited but I'm always put off actually getting in touch in case my memories are tainted by him being an idiot.
They were kind, funny and yet somehow on the outskirts of the class, not quite in with the group and thats one of my overridding memories, of them being slightly alone from everyone else and running around in the playground, trying to catch them and "chop their wings off" while they squawked, laughed and avoided me, being the slow person that I was.
They were more fun to play with and be silly with than the other boys who refused to let me play their games or the girls who sat in groups and talked rubbish.
As for secondary school? Well I keep in touch with those that I wanted to and most of them I want to forget about.
There's a PE teacher WW who I got on very well with and we'd go riding with her and her daughter, who was about eleven years younger than us. She moved to New Zealand about seven or eight years ago and we keep in touch via the odd email and one day soon I hope to go out there and see her and her daughter.

So perhaps the most memorable people in my life that I'm no longer in touch with and wish I was are that group of four lads, all slight outcasts in their own way and who accepted me.

Most memorable person that I've no wish to get in contact with? Well you'd need a list as long as my arm to list the bullies from school, but perhaps the earliest of these was a boy who we'll just know as a dickmunch, he frequently treated me like I was inferior to him and would draw on me and on my clothes and hurt me without getting in too much trouble from the teacher.
Still I kicked him hard in the balls one day and that's enough revenge for me.

Tomorrow we'll answer El Tel's question(s)!

If anyone else thinks there is anything you want to ask? A story you want to find out about? Anything YOU think I should write about? Go mad and I'll try and do my best.

Sigh.
I like the idea of putting something down here everyday, but its hard to think up new ways or new variations of "I woke up. I played online, I watched Telly, I went to bed."
So what can I write about?
Well tomorrow I'm getting tickets for Villa (taking The Sheep! Should be interesting him meeting E!!!)

So here we go, I'll turn it over to you guys, is there anything you want to ask? A story you want to find out about? Anything YOU think I should write about?
Go mad and I'll try and do my best.

So the story of me getting shot.
Its a lot more dramatic than it actually was I'm afraid, so you might be disappointed.

About this time two years ago, I was living in my Derby house with MH and CL. It was a Tuesday night, I had been curled up on my favourite chair watching Man U on the Telly when The Hunter phoned me.
Now The Hunter does exactly what his name suggests. Sees a bunny rabbit BANG BANG! See's a squirrel BANG BANG! Sees a crow/pigeon. BANG BANG. Gun Nut.
I don't actually like this idea but I'm a townie so don't like sticking my nose into and saying this is wrong in my idea, cos what do I know about country life? And to be fair he does eat the rabbits and pigeons he shoots. And grey squirrels shouldnt be in this country anyway and crows are pests.

So anyway, I'm watching Telly downstairs, MH is upstairs tidying or whatever and CL is out with UDOBF.
So The Hunter rings me. "Whatcha up to? I'm bored?"
I said I was just watching football and he could come round and hang out if he liked. So I go up and take my contacts out and put my glasses back on and go back to watching my game.
The doorbell rings so I bounce up and go to let him in, he's bent down doing his shoelaces up, then I see a guy in dark get up emerge from behind CL's car.

The guy comes running up to the house firing, The Hunter darts for cover and I panic and try to slam the door shut while ducking behind it.
Several sharp pains in my stomach and then I can't see anything out of one eye, its blurry. I try and slam the door shut and the bloke shoves his foot into it.
I kicked him in the shin and try to slam it shut somemore.
The Hunter is laughing now and pushes the door open and I stare out at this guy blankly.
MH came running to the hallway at the sound of the shots and then retreated again.
Blankly I say Hello to his mate, still kinda dazed about what has happened in the space of thirty seconds.
Apparently the pair of them are pissed and gone on the rampage with a BB gun, I've been shot several times across the stomach and once in the face, that I assume is a rebound from something, its cracked my glasses.
If I hadn't had gone to put them on, I'd have been hit in the eye and God knows what. Blinded for all I know.
Have any of you been shot by a BB gun? Or for that matter gone Paintballing, I reccomend paintballing if you don't mind getting covered in bruises.
But the bruises from this. I don't know how to describe them, several red bumps across my stomach, sticking up, they were sore and painful for a few days before turning to interestingly coloured bruises that took several days to disappear and it cost me £70 to get new glasses.

I told you it was more exciting that what actually happened. But lately I've been thinking about it lots and what would have happened if I was blinded. Would my eye have exploded in a ball of gunk or would I have one of those blood bruises in it? Or have I just seen too many violent movies? Its a scary thought nonetheless

Pinched from Spins as I'm bored!

Name someone with the same birthday as you? Halle Berry apparently!

Where was your first kiss? The back room of Our Beloved Friary. I can point out the sofa where it happened behind the pool tables. I recieved a whoop too from my audience too!

Have you ever seriously vandalized someone's property? Apart from breaking my brothers Mr Frosty maker when I threw it down the stairs at him? No

Have you ever sang in front of a large group of people? Probably in one of those dreadful school play things they make you do to your bored parents in primary school, never solo though, my voice is dreadful!

What's the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Eyes and smile, they have to have a kind face.

What really turns you on? Sense of humour

What do you order at Starbuck's? Hot Chocolate!

What is your biggest mistake? I dont think I have one

Have you ever hurt yourself on purpose? no.

Say something totally random about yourself I keep having nightmares about the time I got shot lately.

Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity? Actually since posting that last pic on here that I did for GT, the one of me in the pink dress (bastard) I've shown it to STF and JF who said I looked like a ginger Sarah Michelle Gellar(?) and Herminone Granger from HP (I don't see either of those myself)

Do you still watch kiddy movies or TV shows? I love my Classic Disney movies and Harry Potter films and some kiddy TV shows are quite good, as well as the "retro" ones like Dangermouse, Thundercats and Trap Door.

Did you have braces? Oh God yes, fixed ones for two years and in some bizarre way I had coloured braces too, and did my nails to match, sometimes they were red and white (Charlton obviously!) or Green and Orange or Green and Red if it was near Christmas time, possibly one of the dodgiest decisions I've ever made there, and removeable ones for two years too that I was still supposed to wear till I was 22 but I lost them in the cinema (don't ask how!) and I never went back for new ones. I'll never forget the pain after they were tightened.

Are you comfortable with your height? Most of the people I hang with are a fair bit taller than me so I feel a little uncomfortable about it, but I'm of average height or a little under.

What is the most romantic thing someone has ever done for you?
Made me breakfast in bed, but then I'm not sure that counts as I kicked him in the back repeatedly until he gave in, someone did offer to buy me flowers once but I turned them down. So I don't think anyones done anything romantic for me!

When do you know it's love? I don't. I'm still deeply cynical about it.

Do you speak any other languages? Smattering of German, a couple of words of Spanish and I can say "Winnie the Pooh and the Forest of Blue Dreams" in French, as I'm sure you'll agree thats a useful thing to say.

Have you ever been to a tanning salon? Don't be daft

What magazines do you read? The ones that come in the paper.

Have you ever ridden in a limo? Yup

Has anyone you were really close to passed away? I'm working on it! But my Granddad, Great Granddad and a man I knew from the stables.

Do you watch MTV? Sometimes late at night, when they sign the songs, its quite funny.

What's something that really annoys you? Arrogance.

What's something you really like? ICE CREAM!

Do you like Michael Jackson? Some of the older stuff.

Can you dance? Yup, when drunk and very badly too!

What's the latest you have ever stayed up? I'm an ex-student! Every student has pulled an all nighter at some point or another!

Have you ever been rushed to the ER by ambulance? No but MH was in our last night in Derby and my dream was always to ride in an ambulance so I demanded that I got taken along for the ride.

Do you read these whe someone fills them out? Yup.

Firstly. Flash - Scunthorpe?!
I've been to Bognor Regis, to the Butlins and it snowed. However I did get to see Black Lace and sing Agadoo!
I'm not really an Ibiza type person so nope and Amsterdam! Don't even let them see that suggestion! Its bad enough taking care of them pissed without being stoned out of their head too! Although apparently they have a museum of gay pornography so they might like that!
El Tel - I'd actually like to go to Hull, I want to see The Deep. MH went to look at a uni there for her Masters and I was going to go to on a day trip out but stupid uni got in the way.

But here's the choices.
Goa, New York or Las Vegas.

Each one clearly very appealing in their own way. And I really want to be going where-ever they finally decide on going, but nothings ever that simple for me. I can't see Dad being here at the end of this month, let alone February next year but if by some miracle he is, I won't want to go away, I feel guilty enough as it is when I go out for the day and its stopped me going to Derby for the odd weekend as I feel bad at leaving them, but I have to leave the house sometimes.
I want to go and I want to say, yup sign me up now but then I don't want to have to let them down later in the line.
Plus there's the matter of his birthday being on the same day as my Mothership and I can't let her down too and I need to fit things in around my football.
And he wants to get everything planned and organised by the end of this month.
What's a girl to do?

Guess where STF wants to go for his birthday in Feb?
Go on!
Of course he's the kinda person to pull these things off but I'm not, so I'm keeping fingers crossed that nothing comes to screw me over.
Knowing my luck I'll still be in the same position I am now and unable to go anywhere but its a nice thing to dream about.

Here's a thought that The Sheep has just put to me.

The lads that I collect are all non-threatening. They are all teddies, there are a couple I wouldn't like to fall out with, N, LF, BB and J although they've always been sweet with me but the rest of my motley collection are softies.
He reckons as I'm a girl with classically 'masculine' traits, I find myself drawn to associate with men who have 'feminine traits' and vice versa, like we're all looking for the traits we're lacking in in each other.
I never really thought about it that way.
What do you guys think? Do you think its just random or do you think there's some sorta deep psychological reason behind the people we choose to have as friends?
Its far too deep a thought for me to have before bedtime, that's for sure!

"Bollocks." I thought to myself. "It's 2pm on the first day of this NanoWriMo and I still haven't got a fucking clue what I'm going to write about."
(My potty mouth extends to my mind too, although I daren't swear out loud.)
I'd had a few ideas, one I may return too, another a horror/thriller story, but I like to plan the main details of my stories before I sit and write them and this I realised last night borrowed heavily on "The Shining" so I dumped that idea.
So I was stuck.
I was clearing out the spare room, which had piles of junk from the attic in it, piles of old teddies, board games, my train set and Care Bears and books.
I have a huge collection of Enid Blyton, descended from my Mother and Aunty. I was never really into them, prefering the more exciting things like "The Hardy Boys" and "Three Investigators."
I particularly had the two school series, "Malory Towers" and "The Twins at St Claire's." I wasn't too into them, compared to books about murders and mysteries, tales of midnight feasts and lacrosse matches weren't exactly thrilling!
I flicked through them idily and remembered a few characters that had stuck out, Bill the tomboy, I'm not totally sure but I think she was the one really into her horses, and I can't remember the characters in those books, but I still remember the name of all her horses!!
And Carlotta, the gypsy/circus girl.
I remembered her cos she stood out from the middle-class girls with their boring lives, she was exotic, different, banned from living the lifestyle she wanted and forced to conform to the boring, greyness of the other schoolgirls and although by the third or forth book she was like the others, that idea stayed with me.
What if I was in that situation? Taken away from all I loved and forced to live with a family I didn't know and told to keep quiet about her background?

Two hours later, with the seeds of inspiration starting to grow in my head, I sat down in front of the computer and typed this:

"She sat in the dark shadows partially hidden by a tent, there were no nerves or any sign of emotion on her face, but the horse that she was sitting on showed her nerves.
There’s was a new act and one that had so far gone down a treat with audiences. The horse shifted its weight and jangled its bit, twitching its tail.
“Steady Sunny.” She smoothed, fixing a piece of mane that had been mussed up.
The horse was a beautiful palomino, part Arab, golden body, silver mane and tail and eye catching white markings on the legs and face.
She was dressed in a cowboy outfit of bright green and white, contrasting perfectly with the colour of the horse. She heard the applause as the act before her finished and the curtains parted suddenly and she was momentarily blinded by the light."

I'm not sure where I'm going to go with this, I have no little plans for my characters in my head, but I've managed to scrape 2,000 words out of it so far.
I don't know what kinda story it's going to turn out like or even if it'll make the word requirement but its gonna be fun finding out!

So here's my Halloweeny ghosty story.

About two years ago, I went on holiday to Bridlington, with the LF, J and MH. The place where we stayed was a Bed and breakfast and we were on the top (4th) floor, overlooking a row of smaller houses, perhaps about three stories high.
Anyway, the house was being converted to a B&B and many of the rooms were still empty and we had the 4th floor to ourselves and the 3rd was empty, which was a good thing considering the noise we made!
It was a fairly nice place, I didn't see anything wrong with it, apart from the quietness, I'm too used to all my city hustle and bustle I guess!
One night I was watching The Terminator2 in the Living room, after we came home from a night out, the LF was talking lovingly to a keg of Stella that was in the kitchen and MH and J were having one of their silent and at this stage fairly frequent arguments in their bedroom and I was all alone and surprisingly sober in the living room.
Now picture a large white painted room, with a sofa against the wall where the door opened and facing the fireplace and the mirror, the TV was in front of the window, and the wall facing the window was plain white, not even a picture rail or a dado rail.
I'd just watched the part of the film where John Connor's foster parents are killed and I noticed something and glanced up and away from the TV to the window.
There was someone standing there reflected in the window, in an stone archway.
Now remember that it couldn't have been the TV, and the houses opposite where too small for it too be someone over the road.
What the hell was it?
I glanced over to the facing wall, as expected it was a plain white wall, I glanced over at the mirror, I don't even know why, I was just expecting something to be there, nothing.
At the window again and then at the wall. In the space of 30 seconds or so.
I looked over at the window and then the figure walked off, arms swinging, past the stone arch.
I leapt to my feet and went to the window, nothing, I felt really uneasy and went to find LF in the kitchen.
Was it a ghost? I don't know, Like I say I looked for any reasonable explanation and it wasnt even like the tv could be reflecting it, it was the wrong kinda film.
I can't tell you what they were wearing, if it was a he or a she although I have the feeling it was female.

That happened fairly early on in our holiday and I said nothing about it to anyone, I dont know why, I just didnt.
Anyway the other spooky thing, while we were staying there was odd.
The living room also doubled as mine and the LF's bedroom, one night we were laying in bed, just starting to drift off to sleep, when he spoke to me.
"is your arm moving?"
I was on my side, arms tucked under the duvet and shook my head.
"nope."
Silence again for a bit and then he suddenly sat bolt upright, looking at either end of the bed.
"what is it?" I asked, he shook his head. "Nothing, lie down, go to sleep."
I sulked and lay back down, shortly after he lay back down too.
After the holiday we were talking about our holiday back in York, MH remarked that she hadn't liked to stay in one room on her own as she felt it was creepy and I remembered LF's strange behavour and asked him as he looked odd.
"There were shapes at the end of our bed, two of them, white shapes."
He believes very strongly in things like that and believes he sees things, I don't know whether he does or don't or what.
So there you go. Was there figures at the end of our bed? I don't know, I believe that there was from his reaction.
What did I see? I dont know, I just know that it wasn't anything I expected it to be.

What do you guys think??!!

Its halloween! I love halloween, I love scary movies!
Lets play the Salem game!
In honour of the occasion, I'd like you - yes you that lurker in the corner there! To tell me your ghost stories, has anything creepy, unexplainable happened to you?
Do you believe in ghosts? Tell us all about it!
Go on! Go wild! And if nothing ghosty has happened to you, tell me your favourite horror movie, horror urban legend! Best Halloween costume!
Come on people, lets get in the spirit of this thing, I'll be very disappointed if no one plays!

Was today predictable or what?
Ah well next home game is Man U - No problems there!
Todays got me worried, we looked incapable of winning, is that cos we were knackered after our midweek antics or are we too reliant on Bent?
I like to think its cos we were knackered. Its a nice excuse anyway!

Our reward for beating - yes Jose beating, as in you lost! - Chelski is a home draw against Blackburn, I wanted a home draw and definately wanted to avoid Arse, United, Pal-arse and Millwall but not sure if that'd be a nice game or not.

Grrr of the day goes to the Woolwich Job centre.
Who last week told me I had a meeting today, and sent me a letter during the week about coming to a "new deal" meeting next week also.
So yawning muchly I make my way to Woolwich, I await half hour AFTER MY APPOINTMENT WAS SCHEDULED to get my turn at the desk and then get sent to another desk, where I wait another 10 minutes to be told by a man who clearly couldn't believe I was so thick that the New Deal meeting cancelled out this one and I need not have bothered, although there was nothing on the letter, either letter(!) about this.
Bastards.

I'm in total shock!
My voice is hoarse and croaky, my hands hurt and I'm still shaking!

SHALALALALALA WE SENT THE CHELSEA OUT!

We were goddamn fucking awesome. I think I'm entitled to be a little biased, but my fucking shit!
We out sang and at times out played the Chelski, John Terry was their man of the match, saving them several times.
And we lost El Kark! I swear I have no fingernails left for Saturday!
Surprised to see Powelly last the entire game and injury time, was almost expecting to see an oxygen tank be wheeled onto the pitch for him!
And Penalties after all that! I felt sick - and it was nothing to do with the cunt next to me throwing up in the first half and then passing out, dribbling till penalties!
I was so sure that with their class, they'd outplay us and Curbs has just said that he had to bully players into taking penalties!
Me and E were laughing before hand about Chrissy taking one and remembering the penalty he took against Welling one year!
At I'm not ashamed to admit I could hardly bear to look when Hughes took his!

THAT'S WHY WE'RE SECOND! THAT'S WHY WE'RE SECOND!

A proper match review can be found on here Better than I could do!
Fingers crossed for a home draw please!!!!!!!!

Updated with pretty pictures! If ever there was a blog entry deserving of them its this one!

Random thoughts for the day!

Spins - Beware the butterfly! Sunshine Will know what I'm talking about!

I'm going to Chelski tonight! I've never been before as paying forty quid is well outta my bracket, but they're only 20 quid tonight so yay!

Probably alienating all you Americans out there but my fucking god, how annoying is Frank? I want to smack his silly head in! Stupid advert makes me want to take up drugs just to have that kid come to me so I can dangle him out the window by his ankles until he promises to behave!

Ok I give in, better put this insommnia to good use! I'm signing up for this NaNoWriMo thingymajig and let's see what happens or will it be another one of those things I fail at!

Its like being back at uni, here I sit with a tub of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice-cream, several bottles of alcohol, solitaire ready to bring up on screen when I get bored and a job application to fill in, ready to be emailed tomorrow. (S0 no different really from the essays I ujsed to write the day before!)
I think I'm fully prepared to witter on about shit I have no idea about!
Yippie!
Now do you think "hire me you bastards or I'll firebomb your office" do as my opening statement on my covering letter?

Just come back from a party at OF's, (owner of the gorgeous and now famous Dotty!) funny having to go all the way to West Sussex to see them now instead of climbing over a fence or the more recent two minute walk round the corner.
Its the sorta place that they should have had from the beginning what with their animal collection that they always had. Now they have enough land to have a small-holding and three acres of woodland around them. Indeed OF was talking of getting a pig, she's wanted one for ages!
Dad coped surprisingly well, last weeks emergancy rush to hospital seems to have sorted him out for the time being and he's almost back to being his old chirpy self.
I miss not living next door to them, I hardly know anyone my age in this street and E is a few miles away in Plumstead.
Different to having your best friend on the other side of a fence and always bouncing in and out of each others houses and sleepovers every weekend.
I still think of her as my best friend although we can go weeks or months without seeing each other and only the odd MSN conversation or text.
She's the sister I never had as a child and her family are like extended versions of mine and I'm closer to them than I am my own uncles who I see every week.
Let's hope it lasts at least another 18 years of friendship! Hurrah!

I'm not gloating or anything. Honest!!

From C.U.A.S.

Predictions - Oct 05
1. Charby - 26 points
2. Ben - 22 points
3. El Tel - 21 points
4. Mike - 20 points
5. Rufus Fan - 18 points
6. Flash - 17 points
7. Lord B - 17 points
8. Swiss - 17 points
9. Weenie - 17 points
10. Alex - 15 points
11. Dom - 0 points
12. Tricky - 0 points

Predictions Total
1. Charby - 99 points
2. El Tel - 81 points
3. Swiss - 78 points
4. Alex - 76 points
5. Rufus Fan - 76 points
6. Weenie - 76 points
7. Mike - 72 points
8. Ben - 69 points
9. Lord B - 69 points
10. Dom - 59 points
11. Flash - 56 points
12. Tricky - 35 points

Is it wrong that I made Mothership wheel me round B&Q and Dad walk?

I didn't think so either!

I've FINALLY got the rest of THOSE pictures through from GT.

Obviously I'm not showing any more off that what has been seen and if you missed them tough!
But I do like this one. This gives away my internet anonymity more than any other that I've posted so its a 24 hour jobby I'm afraid.

GONE!

Baah. I hate London.
I managed - miracles of miracles to get to St Pancras on my new route and to take MH to where she wanted to go.
And then the morning was my own!
So what did I do with it?
I started by strolling down Oxford Street. How I hate the crowds getting in my way and my fucking god, there was tourists taking pictures of fucking Debinhams! Do you not have shopes in other countrys?
I can imagine it now.
"Oooh Look Doris, this is one of those London things. A shop"
"Oooh Mavis. Did you go in?!"
"No I wasn't sure of the protocol in these places, but I have a nice picture of the shop window.!"
I mean honestly what the fuck do you want a picture of a shop window for? And a busker? And a tube carriage?
Freaky fucks.
So I walked all the way down Oxford Street and then went into HMV where I sat reading a book on Bill Hicks for two hours (Ha! Take that fuckfaces! I READ a book in HMV instead of browsing for DVD's or CD's.!)~
How I hate fucking tourists, they toddle along at .5 centimetres an hour an walk 5 abreast so its impossible to overtake and you have to slow down for them and then they stop suddenly and you collide into the back of them when they stop to answer their mobiles or look a maps or take 90 degree turns into shops and then have the cheek to tut at you when you cant stop in tim and collide into them.
I then found MH and we went to Pizza Hut in Leicester Square for tea, (again I got us there without getting lost - I'm great me!)
And then I found our way to the pub me and Flash Found our way to outside of Euston on our adventure and we stat and srank.
And that's why speellling is a little poopoo.
Hurrah for being on the nice side of Lopndon!

Grr. MH is coming to London tomorrow to go to a churchy thing, and I'm an added bonus! Somehow I've agreed to escort her across London in the morning and find something to do while she does her Churchy thing in the morning and then hang out with her.
She's not got any idea how to get across London, where this place actually is, or how to get there, which is where I've been roped in.
So I've been looking up new ways of getting to St Pancras to meet her (just my luck to have the Northern Line down!) and then to get her across to WC1, kick my heels around for several hours (it won't be worth coming home again) unless I find something exciting to look at or visit and then repick her up and take her back home.
I feel that somehow I've been conned into organising all this for her. Sigh.

See J! Good things come to those who wait! I was going to write about the football but then The Brat pinched the computer off of me!

Didn't you shout at the TV when they brought Crouch the BFG on? It was a kinda pointless game we knew what, so why didnt they play Bent who's scoring trillions of goals for fun? Grr to it all, I'd have started with him anyway rather than Teacher's Pet Owen. Still it was a bit more interesting than the snoozefest at the weekend.
I think Luke had another solid game though and definately must have cemented a place for the World Cup.
Report here! I am still expecting another report from STF who is doing/falling for the Geneva scheme so he can go to Germany and follow England about how Gary Nev's spot if safe, I wonder if for this friendly he'll make the effort and play Bent or the shock - call up Murphy?

Oh and welcome J as a new commentator! Hope you return!

'm very sorry to use this medium to contact you,but owing to the urgency that i have be in touch with you.
I am one of the top aides of a governor in south-south Nigeria,for security reasons i will mention the name to you in the course of our discussion.
He has instructed me to ask you for help which will be of benefit to you,as i know you will be ready to help.Recently in our country the present adminstration has decided to fight corruption to the last and our president have decided to focus his searchlight on we the governors from the south -south Nigeria,because we produce the crude oil which sustain the Nigerian economy.
Two state governors are already victims,first the governor of plateau state Chief.Joshua Dariye,he was caught in London and jump bail.Presently he can not travel out of the country as he is wanted.
Most recently the governor of Bayelsa state,Chief Dr.Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was caught in London with huge sum of money.He has been charged to court and remand in prison custody in london.
For you to believe,kindly ask Nigeria embassy in your country for comfirmation or British embassy in your country.
Based on this my boss who is one the serving governor has asked me to approach you for assistance as we will not want to travel out of the country ,also any member of his family to travel.You will be rewarded handsomely if you will help out.
He has some funds in some foreign countries,so he will like you to front for him.And collect the funds on his behalf for save keeping and investment pending the completion of his tenure as governor.
So if you are willing to help,kindly contact me,giving your own contact details.In order for me to contact you with the full details.Here is the email address you are to reply to johnamori@ummah.org.
Note if you are not going to help,do not respond to this mail.
John Amori.
Special assistant.

I'M GOING TO BE RICH!!! WHOOOO!

Wheelchair on Friday!!! Yay! I figure I can steal it to play on without him knowing and keep it until the novalty value wears off and I can go back to walking.

Remember Puppy Dotty who came to visit last month?
Look at her now! She's huge!

I sometimes wonder how much I should write about Dad on here.
As much as we joke and laugh about it, it does rule our life, but I never like that. I don't like the fact that no-one can leave the house now and leave him home alone and that our lives seem ruled by methadone hallucinations and medicines and diets.

So I don't try to talk about it unless I have too. But then I worry that cos I don't write or talk about how he is getting worse, that I'll come across as unfeeling or uncaring. But I don't like to talk about it, Actually I don't care about talking about it, I'll tell total strangers about how he's about to kick the bucket, or I'll just fob them off with "he's fine ta." But I can't and dislike talking about HOW I feel about it, despite everyone prodding and poking and demanding "That I just open up dammit!"

So how is Dad lately? He's bad, very bad. He spent most of the week a fortnight ago in hospital and none of us were sure if he was coming out again.
He spends a lot of time either asleep or doped up on methadone, telling me about how he "fell" out of the window in the attic.
He's lost total use of his left arm, as the tumour has pressed too much on the nerves. The thought now is to give him something that will totally kill the nerve and take away even the little use of the arm that he has.
Dad was thinking about that. But now the other arm is going. A few times now he's dropped things out of his hand because the grip has gone and he's spilt medicine and tea.
Wednesday he spilt his cup of tea on the brand-new cream carpet, which really upset him and he started to get weepy.
Thursday I had to feed him his medicine and his cup of tea and that embarrasses him as much as it does when I have to help him dress sometimes.
(We brought him a babies beaker - you know with the lids! - I don't think he was that impressed!)
The Brat especially is finding this hard, he can hardly bear to be in the same room as him or look at him. He escapes from it all by work and sleeping, but I don't have that.

He's dying now, We're no longer in denial and pretending that tomorrow he will wake up and there will be a miracle. He's dying and it depresses him and he spends a lot of time in thought or the rest of the time he's so drugged up he don't know what he's doing.
Although things carry on as normal and we laugh and joke and try and act like everythings good. But it's not.
It's a matter of trying to make the most of everything, and remembering that he was well once and was told over a year ago that at best he had nine months to go and waiting for the ineviatable really.

(Spins - Your prize will be in the post early next week sometime! I just need to get it wrapped!)

Question:

If you asked someone if they've missed you and they reply with:

"There has been a trout-shaped hole in my life lately."

Is that a good thing, or do you twat them for taking the piss?

I twatted him. I think it was the right decision.

Oooh My Dad's getting a wheelchair!

No stairlift though, which disappoints me, I was looking forward to bezzing up and down on one of those.

After all the hype 5,000 never got in touch, which is probably Flashy-washy-wishy-pishy?
(Stop now I hear my brain telling me so I will.)
We never fully celebrated this occasion and I demand that R makes a special one-off comment to mark this event cos we all miss him!
Anyway. To the prizes. Flash never gave his address before Monday so he's forfeit the prize and according to the rules of the game it then goes to number 4,999 which I think we decided goes to Spinsterwitch.
Hurrah! for Spins! There really is a prize so if you want to claim it drop us a line.

Flash - There is still the honour of being my 5,000th visitor, which is something that you can put on your blog! (bear with me I'm dosed up to the eyeballs on lemsip and I think it's doing stranger things than usual to my brain) There is also the invite to help me celebrate my new ill-gotten yellowcard (of which I had to put up with the sleazing of a strange guy to get - but it was worth it) one Saturday perhaps the 22nd of this month? Lemmie know?!

The next fantastic prize will be going at 15,000 page views!

Oh God guys!
Remember my photos that I had done with GT (as if any of you have forgotten)
I hadn't put them all on to a CD and wiped them from the computer, and then when the computer died, I couldnt turn it on so took it too a shop to get repaired, thinking that my files would be wiped.
Only I've just found the files on a back-up folder and specifically nude photos!!!
What if the Computer People found them and saw them?
What if they all had a wank over them in their workroom?
What if they all copied the files for private use?
What if they all end up on Google Images?

*Goes into nervous breakdown*

Erk.
Every year its the same thing, not always this early though.
Every year for a week I wake up with a dry, sore throat and a bunged up throat.
Always when the central heating goes on.
Its quite painful really, and what makes it worse is that its the same whenever I go anywhere else to stay with central heating.
It always takes me a week to acclimatise to the lack of humidity (Its the only thing I can put it down to) in the house.
Luckily I'm pretty healthy otherwise!

Oooh Addicks on Soccer am!

Ok, at time of writing I see 5,003 on my counter.

And according to the Site Meter counter number 4,999 was reached by an IP address in California, specifically San Francisco. (Spinsterwitch?)

5,000 was reached by....
...........
...........
.........

*Drumroll please*
........


Ridgemont in Milton Keynes in England.

An Address In Reading PA was 5,001 so I'm guessing that was you Sunshine.
Hyde - According to the Site-referrer you were actually 4,998, if you were the New York address
I'm not sure whether there was a hitch on keeping up with the hits that came by or what but the winner seems to be Milton Keynes!

If you guys wanna check it out I think you can all access it by clicking the counter at the bottom.

And Congratulations to Milton Keynes. If you want to claim the prize can you drop me an email by Monday? If not then according to the rules of the game, it'll roll over to the next nearest which is 4,999.

Bastards.
I went to bed at 3am ready for my New Deal appointment, of which I'm not happy at 10.30. In order to get to Woolwich I need to get on the 178 (A very, very good bus as its direct) or the 386 (A good bus if you need to time waste before you get to Woolwich as it goes all round the back-streets and takes a good 10 - 20 minutes longer that the 178)
(I digress)
Anyway, this means I leave my house an hour before I need to be there and I wake up 8am, still rather pissed off about Nanny being here.
At 8.45 they ring and cancel my appointment - Wow cheers for that fuckfaces.
So I go shopping with Nanny and Mum instead.
After the brief argument over needing to wear a seatbelt, we arrive at Asda, she gets distracted by a baby.
Every few minutes she stops and looks at the stuff in a trolley.
"is this ours?"
"No Nan, look this one five millimetres away is ours."
"Oh yeah."
Every bit of food we look at and add to our trolley, she tries to add and we try and convince her otherwise.
"Ooh I dunno whether to get that or not."
Cue 10 minutes of patient waiting while she thinks, it always ends the same way.
"Oooh I'll get it, hopefully he'll be home tonight."
"No Nanny, he's in all weekend remember?"
"Is he?"
"Yes."
Its exhausting.
When we got home it was "Has he rung?"
"G rang remember?"
"Oh yes."
"So has he rung yet?"
"G rang for him, remember?"
For the 2oth time she tried something different.
"Ooh I'd have thought G or Granddad have rung by now."

And shock, horror we've got her again tonight EVEN THOUGH Uncle I is picking her up from the hospital, why can't he stay with her in HER house, where she feels safe and secure and most importantly won't get lost?
Cos he's a selfish cunt that's why.

4,968!!!

Must.........stay awake to see the big 5,000 can't miss it like I did last time there was a competition!

I am so extremely pissed off.
Granddad went in today for his pacemaker fitting and somehow we've ended up with Nanny moving in.
Don't get me wrong, I love my Nanny but bloody hell, we've got Dad - who lets face it is dying, and Mum who desperately needs an operation but has postponed it for 6 months at least and now we have Nanny living with us, is a sandwich short of a picnic. (Alzheimers) and who is exhausting.
Aunt G has L and T, Uncle's M and D have no one. Why can't they stop with her over night? Why when it comes to them are we the ones that everyone expects to run around after Nanny and Granddad?
Incidently, its a shame what that illness does to a person, my Nanny's 5'0" in her socks and I remember her being scared of nothing, barging into a crowd of pissed-up 20-somethings to break up a fight, a real old battleaxe as my Dad described her.
Now she's afraid of her own shadow. Its sad to see the change in her.

Come on, come on! So close but yet so far!!!!

You know you have those "where were you when...." moments?
My Mothership can tell me that when she heard that Elvis was dead, she was in the dentist getting a filling.
When Princess Diana died, I was on a riding holiday in Kent, and even then I knew that telly for the next week or so would be as boring as hell with all that on, I didn't predict everyone turning into pathetic jelly though.
One day in September I was sitting on the arm of the settee singing along to "Forever Autumn" One of my favourite songs incidently, waiting for my Dad and Brat to come home and idly flicking through the tv channels.
I glanced over at the telly and saw a plane fly into a tower and I laughed at the special effects on that film, and then realised that I was watching a BBC news special.
Another one of those days (although not as world-shattering!) was when the earthquake struck Dudley in the West Midlands.

I had only just moved into my Derby house a few weeks earlier, and had been talking to MH on my bed as was our habit, putting her disasterous love life to rights and nattering about nothing and everything.
I put my radio on to sleep, so I could listen to it for an hour or so before going to bed, and it had just finished when I heard a low growl. It reminded me of hearing the HGV's that drive up and down our street early morning sometimes.
But it grew too powerful for that and then our entire house shook briefly. I felt my bed go and grasped the edges, feeling like something in The Exorcist.
Then as quickly as it came it passed, and then I heard the growl again and it shook the house again, lasting longer this time.
And I saw the wardrobe across me move.
I don't remember being scared, more startled, I think this one was the aftershock, I've heard that they can be worse than the actual quake itself.
I sat bolt upright in bed, still clinging onto my bed, I wanted to turn the light on but was worried too while we were shaking so.
Actually the first thought in my head was "earthquake!" and then I dismissed it, earthquakes in England - Hahahha!
All this in a few seconds and as suddenly as it started it finished and I leapt out of bed, grabbing my glasses and running into the hallway, more adrenalised than scared.
MH came flying out of her room, no glasses, no dressing gown.
"What the hell was that?"
"I dont know!"
"It was a bomb! I'm sure of it"
"Don't be daft, I remember when they bombed the Docklands, it felt totally different."
"Well then its that petrol garage, at the end of the road, somethings gone wrong and it's blown up!"
(Always over-dramatic is MH)
I went back into my room and leaned out the window.
"I dont think so."
She followed me in. "I was so scared, I turned my light on I didn't know what it was."
"I didn't in case the electric went funny and exploded."
She sat on my bed.
"what was it? "
"Earthquake. Or aliens landing." I suggested picking the two most random suggestions out of my head.
We sat on my bed for a few moments marvelling that T who lived downstairs at the time had slept through it and wondering what it could be before going back to sleep.
I put my radio back on and listened to what ever was on at the time, I suspect it may have been some crap boyband.
Then the radio fizzled and jumped, and a mans voice came clearly out of the radio.
"I'm watching you."
And thats what scared me, I leapt out, ran to the window to check there was no one in the garden and then turned the radio off and dived under my duvet and didnt come out till morning.

What was that voice? I have no idea. I have a few suspicions though.
I'm also impressed that my memory is so clear from a night that happened a few years ago now.

Over at LavaLady's site I found this:
A list of frequently challenged books, I'm not sure why they are like this. I've always been encouraged to read anything and everything and although I can understand people kicking off if there kids were given Sex by Madonna perhaps I dont get it - Where's Waldo? I'm assuming thats the same as Where's Wally here.
Anyway here's the list of them and those that I've read are bolded.


Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

I can't understand the reasoning behind some of those.