Alison Angier Diary

I am a little to fed so to speak!!  The blooming hard disk broke last week on my computer and I have not been able to retrieve anything from the old one.  David thought he had done a back up recently, but it turned out to be 3 months ago.  BIG SIGH!!

I am not a whizz on the PC so don’t really have a clue where to start.  I have lost all of my contacts for email, work files, Nokia photos, which I had put on.  I have to re install Card Factory and many other things.  I am gutted!!

Not really in the mood to write anymore.  Have to go and start adding things back on I suppose.  I will have to ask David for help with many things.

A VERY FED UP PERSON I AM.

I know it has been simply ages since I last wrote on here.  I just don’t know where the time is going.  It is hard to believe it is almost the end of September.  I have noticed the Halloween stuff creeping its way into the shops over the last couple of weeks.  Not to mention some Christmas goodies that appeard in Tesco at the beginning of the Autumn term.

Kids are back in school and I am back in work.  It felt a bit strange after the summer break, which flew by of course, to be back in the throws of work.  I am still enjoying it very much and it was so nice to see all of the children again.  One year group moving up and another starting for the very first time.  It has all gone well and the little ones are beginning to settle down in school and all the others are getting used to their new classrooms and new teachers.

We are currently planning our Christmas Fayre as well as trying to re-schedule our sponsored walk which we had to postpone after Fridays rain.  I really hope that we will be able to go ahead in the next couple of weeks with that.  It’s all go for us on the committee but we all enjoy it when things go well.  We have added some new stalls and moved things around a bit so hopefully it will be as successful as last year.  Lots of wrapping of gifts is being done and also activities for the children to take part in has been sorted.  Our time is never our own when we have big events lined up.

James is still playing football and really enjoying it.  He plays in the garden at every opportunity as well as every Monday when he goes training.  I also have taken him to a few football matches to Watch Colchester play.  He loves going but the standing for all that time is a bit tiring for him.  I usually end up picking him up for a while.  He did get to take part in a penalty shootout during half time when they played at home to Derby a couple of weeks ago.  He absolutely loved it and was so pleased when he scored.  Not to mention how proud I felt when standing at the edge of the pitch watching along with 6000 other fans.  It was great!!

Tiffany now belongs to a group of advanced vocals at school.  She was badgered into going along by one of her friends and was shocked when the teacher signed her up.  Now she has lots of songs to learn as they do concerts.  She is inundated with course work but is managing it quite well.  We still believe that she needs to socialise as well as work as all work is not good.  She is getting good grades in her course work and we are very pleased with her.  It will be me going to school with her next summer to get her results.  I will then know how nerve racking it has been for some of my friends who had to do that this summer.  Whatever she gets I am sure we will be very proud and know that she has done her best.  You will have to keep reading to find out next year how she gets on.

David’s parents have been over and visited us and it was lovely to see them as always.  They had been on a cruise to Norway which looked absolutely wonderful.  Some of the photos were breathtaking and they had a wonderful time there.  Even though they live in a hot climate in Spain, it is nice to see them get away and have a holiday themselves.

Well I think that is all I have to tell you at the moment.  I will as always say I will try to write more often, but this time will add depending on how busy I am.  Bye for now.

Well it seems a long time ago already that we flew off to Spain for our summer holiday.  All the excitement and the early morning flight long gone.

We flew to Valencia this time instead of Alicante.  It was a nice change but must admit I do not think much of Ryanair flights.  There was not really any leg room on the plane and you were all very closely seated.  It was nice being early morning as you got more out of your holiday.   We were met by David’s parents once we had collected our luggage.

We went for lunch before returning to their home to relax and enjoy our holiday.  Once their we unpacked quickly so that we could start relaxing and the children could get in the pool.  James was a little nervous at first, but once he realised he was ok, there was no stopping him.  He lived in the pool, only coming out to be fed.  Tiffany spent almost as much time in the pool as James did.

We went out for lovely meals and visited the market that we enjoy walking round.  We decided that this year we wanted a relaxing time, so spent quite alot of time just reading and lounging around whilst the kids were in the pool.  We did go to the beach one day and it was entertaining as the wind blew the brolly inside out and dad struggled to control it.  David videod it and it was very funny to watch.  We couldn’t stop laughing and in the end we decided to give up the brolly and binned it.

We went for a day in Valencia to visit Oceanagraffica, ( I think that’s how it is spelt).  It was really good and the fish were amazing.  It is definately worth a visit.  Mum has written loads about it on her blog so I won’t put pictures on as you can see them on hers.

We visited a little bay which was lovely and David, the kids and dad all went out on a kayac and thoroughly enoyed it.  Mum and I enjoyed watching them trying to control it.  We did smile a few times as they were not able to keep in sinc all of the time.

Both Tiff and James learned improvements in their swimming.  David helped with pool lights and ballastrade lights as well as sorting out new memory for mum’s computer.  It was a lovely holiday with lovely weather.

We did have a fantastic storm one night and I was amazed at the lightening.  I had never seen anything like it!  I sat and watched it for quite sometime when everyone else was in bed.  The next morning though, you would never have known that it had happened as everywhere was bone dry again.

We would just like to say to mum and dad again, a big thank you for their wonderful hospitality and for having us to stay in their lovely home.

What a brilliant day everyone had!! Scorching hot sunshine all day long!!

Well it was a busy time for us all on the morning of July 1st. We arrived at school at 9am to help other members of the friends committee and their partners to set up stalls ready for the opening. It was very hard work and very hot!! We were all rushing around and constantly clock watching to make sure we had plenty of time. Two members of the kitchen staff were already busy hotting up oil ready for cooking chips, and refreshments were set up in the dining hall so that people could come out of the sun if the wanted to.

Excitement was growing as the time was coming closer, and I was keeping an eye out for the Captain of Colchester United, Karl Duguid to arrive ready to open our fayre for us. All the children were briliantly behaved while us adults buisied ourselves with the preparations. There were three great bouncy castles, hook a duck, raffles, face painting, beauty, second hand goods, darts game, treasure hunt, assault course and many more attractions for people to enjoy.

James enjoying one of the bouncy castles.

I greeted Karl in the car park, and it was great to see him as I hadn’t seen him since one of our family celebrations. He brought his dad along too for a bit of support. It was quite a nervous thing for him to do, and for me too.

Me doing my embarrassing speech.

People started to arrive at the gates, and the atmosphere was fun. Mrs Jasper our head mistress told me to introduce Karl to everyone, and I was very embarrassed as there was quite a lot of people there waiting to go in. Karl was grinning at me and I felt very silly at having to do a speech but it was fun. Then it was my turn to grin at karl while he cut the bunting that we had strung across the gates. It was his turn to look a bit embarrassed and I laughed.

Karl opening the Fayre.

Once the gates were open, crowds of children started coming and asking for Karls autograph. I think he was surprised at how many people asked and lots of adults wanted to chat to him. We wandered around and he had a go at the penalty shoot out game. It was getting hotter and hotter as the afternoon wore on. Despite having sun cream on, we still were finding we were getting burnt.

James posing with Karl and enjoying every minute of it. He got his hat and his shirt signed.

Me with Karl before he opened the Fayre and things got busy.

The BBQ was a great success and many people wanted food and drinks. As fast as Tiffany could fill up the fridges with drinks, people were buying them. We found it very difficult to keep them cold. The chips sold out very quickly and we were very pleased. The stalls all did well, especially the second hand goods. We had the privilege of having the SGR Colchester Black Thunder with us for an hour or so.

SGR Black Thunder.

There was dancing in the arena, and some of the students involved were our year 6 some of whom I could recognise. The assault course was very popular as was the beauty. Tattoos were very popular with the children, and many had their hair red and white. There are just so many different things I could mention. Must say though that my car did look rather good with all of those balls in it.

My prize possesion.

The advertising was brilliant this year, and we feel may have contributed to the success of the fayre. Karl stayed far longer than anyone could have expected and that was very much appreciated by all. The whole event was a huge success and we are very pleased. We rushed around clearing away at the end so that we could all get home for the football.

We had some lovely comments from people who had attended our fayre. The turn out had been huge and we were amazed at how many people came. A GREAT SUCCESS!! WELL DONE and THANK YOU to everyone who helped before the day, on the day and afterwards.

Well it was actually a couple of weeks ago now.  I have been rather busy with life so have only just got the opportunity to sit down and write something on my blog!

Tiff looked beautiful in her dress!  She is not really into dresses, and didn’t believe how pretty she was.

 It was a lovely sunny day, so photos outside were a good opportunity.

 Tiffany, Chloe and Sarah all looking stunning.

All of the kids looked fantastic, and some of them left in Limo’s.  They all looked so grown up and it was quite scary!

 Tiffany and some of her friends.

 Angela, Danni, Tiff and some of their friends.

 Tiffany and Danni looking lovely.

 Tiff, Amy and another friend.  Sorry not good with remembering all of their names.

As you can see, all the students looked so different form their normal clothes.

The venue was at Mersea youth club.  They had a thoroughly good time and arrived back at the school at 12.30am.  Thankfully the coach arrived on time as all of us parents were standing around yawning as we were all certainly ready for our beds.

Well not a lot really.  After the Race for Life I have been going running with a group of ladies at Colchester Harriers running club.  It is good fun and I really enjoy it.  It makes you feel so good afterwards.

You think at the time how tired you are and wonder if you can actually carry on, but as there are others in the group, it keeps you motivated to push yourself.  It is much harder when running alone, as it is easier to give up and stop as there is no one to spur you on.

I have torn some tendons in my right knee so I found out on Tuesday.  That came about after a fall in karate some weeks ago.  I didn’t realise at the time that I had damaged my knee.  I carried on running and it was getting more painful everytime and even after karate it was aching quite a bit.

After a 5 mile run in the rain last week, I decided it was time to go to the docs to see what the problem was.  I was referred to Physio Direct, which I had never heard of before.  I was stunned to find out that they ask loads of questions over the phone and then ask you if you think it is a major trauma or a minor one!!  How on earth would I know that??  Then they send you exercises in the post because it is a 10 to 12 week wait to see a physio on the NHS!!  Can you really afford to wait that long with a sports injury?

David was not happy about it so we decided to go private and pay for treatment.  I was seen last Wednesday and he was surprised at the fact that I had still been going to karate and also running the distances that I had.  I must admit that on Wednesday morning I found it very difficult to walk down the stairs as my knee was so stiff and painful.

I must also admit that I was surprised that I had actually torn tendons from my fall.  Obviously running and still doing karate had made things worse, so I have been told not to run for 2 weeks and limit my karate.  I can go cycling for 20 minutes at least 5 times a week, and I have different exercises to do as often as I can to strengthen my knee and help repair the tendons.  I have to go to the physio again on Tuesday to see how things are going.  I don’t know how many sessions I will have to go to, but as long as it feels better than it does right now, I don’t care.

I am still going to work and it aches afterwards, but at least it keeps me busy and I enjoy my job.  I will let you know how things are going in a future entry.

Hi I have just finished collecting all of my sponsorship money from the Race for Life and was so pleased that all those who sponsored me helped me to raise a massive £400!!! 

I was hoping to raise around £200, but this has been an amazing amount that I would never have expected to raise. 

I want to say a massive “Thank you” to all those who sponsored me this year, without you all I would never have raised that sum of money, I am thrilled. THANK YOU!!

What a fantastic feeling it was to cross the finish line on Sunday!  The atmosphere was brilliant and all the cheers and encouragement from people lining the route was absolutely amazing!  I am so glad that I took part in it!

First we had a warm up with an aerobic instructor, and she really got everyone in the mood.  The weather was not brilliant, but ideal for running.  It was cloudy and damp and a bit on the chilly side.  Just how I wanted it to be!  SGR Colchester were there providing music and encouragement.  The photographers were all over the place and you could feel the excitement from people.

The sad part was reading what people had written on the backs of their shirts.  Even young children had lost parents to cancer.  It was sad to read but made you more determined to run and take part. 

I was really nervous, but have no real idea why.  It was the first time I had been involved in anything like it, but, so pleased to be there.  It was difficult at times to run at a good pace as there were gates to go through and the narrow path along the river was quite tight to pass those that were walking.  There were over 2000 women taking part, from very young children to older women.  It was fascinating to be involved in something so big.  We had to go round the park twice and then to the finish line. 

I felt so proud as I made a sprint for the finish line.  I crossed the line and jumped into the air.  My time was brilliant and I reached my goal.  I completed the course in 29 minutes!  It bought tears to my eyes but made me feel brilliant!  I managed to run all the way in spite of having a knee injury from Karate.  It was strapped up for support and never bothered me once during the race.  David and my parents came and found me and were all really proud.  I was watching out for Tiffany as I didn’t know how far behind me she was.  I went back to the finish line and waited.  When I saw her I ran back out and grabbed her hand, she looked exhausted so I helped her get to the finish line and then gave her a big hug.  She completed the course in 44 minutes!

I was so proud of her as running is not her best thing, but she really made a big effort.  Well done Tiffany!  Mummy is very proud of you!!

Well done to everyone who took part!  It’s a fantastic way of getting together and raising money for a very worth while cause.  I will definitely be doing it again next year.  I will continue to run three times a week and hopefully next year I can improve on my time.

Well what a busy weekend we had!!  Saturday was an intense karate lesson in preparation of our grading on Sunday.  Our legs were like jelly at the end of the lesson and we were all very hot and bothered.  We decided to just chill in the afternoon and then go for pizza for a treat for dinner.

Sunday was grading day.  James graded first with the under 12’s at 2pm so we had to make sure we were there by 1:30pm so we could all book in and pay.  He was one of the youngest children there and he tried very hard and was rewarded with his orange belt.  Then it was our turn!!

James went off to play with other children outside the sports hall and we prepared to sweat and tremble with pain.  It was fun but hard work.  Getting into Sumo stance and staying there was very hard and trying not to think about the burning in your legs was very hard.  We had to keep up with the Sensei’s count and other sensei’s were wandering around between the lines helping us all perfect our blocks and punches and stances.  When we were doing our kicks, if a sensei got in the way they got kicked.  You would always say sorry and they would return a nod and a smile.

After an hour and a half of sweating and dying of thirst we were awarded our orange belts too.  We were all very pleased and the others from our club who were also grading clapped and cheered as we did for them.  We all hugged afterwards and our sensei congratulated us all.

Now we will go to our club on Saturday morning sporting our new orange belts!  Now we have to work towards our green belt in a few months time.

This year I have entered the Tesco Race For Life for Cancer Research.  It takes place in Lower Castle Park  in Colchester on Sunday the 21st of May at 11am.

It is the first time that I have managed to get a place, and Tiffany is joining in too.  I have been training for the last few months three times a week.  I found it very hard in the beginning as I hadn’t run much since I was at school.  I did go to the gym for sometime, but don’t class the use of a treadmill as proper running.

I have been managing to run the 5km in just under 30 minutes.  I am very pleased with my progress and am doing really well with sponsorship.  My plan was to raise £200, but I have now gone beyond that, and think it is now around £330.  David has still yet to sponsor me, but he will be the last person to.

I am getting really excited about the race now.  It is only two weeks away now and the excitement is a mixture of nerves and the wanting to do well.  I want to complete the race in under 30 minutes as it will be a goal that I have set myself.  I hope the weather will be damp as I run better.  I don’t mind a bit of rain, I just don’t want it to be too hot.

I will write more about it when I have completed the race, and I will let you all know how much money I raise.  Wish me luck!! Bye for now.