Tonight Matthew, We're going to be Queen.

Friday is always a tough day because everyone is really tired at the end of the week. yesterday was a particularly tough day as one of my colleagues got a new job, one got a promotion, I was offered the opportunity to run another STEM fair and someone was really rude to another of my colleages. Lots of emotions. A full range.

More emotions are afoot as 3 people I work with are on contracts which end in July, We have one position available next year so they've all applied for the job (Naturally). The interviews will be on Thursday. It'll be a tough week.

Anyway, To celebrate, commiserate and let our hair down we had a guitar hero party on Friday night. Jenni and I drank allll the gin and did awful singing. 

It was brilliant.

And we had bangers and mash for tea courtesy of Traff and Ben and Jerries Ice cream for afters.

Winner.

This is us, doing our own version of Queens "Bohemian rhapsody".  Karl is being freddy mercury wearing the stick on moustache that has been in the toaster. 

The Solar Eclipse

We got to see the solar eclipse today! It was a teeny bit cloudy and my photos really don't do the event any kind of justice!

Loads of my friends got much better photos- I think a pin hole camera was the way forward. lesson learned.

STEM fair Success

Today was amazing- A massive thank you tot everyone who helped out with making the day a success!
:D
We hold the world record for the largest number of pop rockets set off at the same time, Lots of local businesses gave up their time to run activities and I was kept well tea'd up all day.

This is me, being highly commended at the end of the day, as the students who attended the event went home.

It felt very much like the day was over in a flash! Certainly worth all the stress and prep.

Approval event- Maths with QTS

Today was the approval event at the university for the Maths and QTS course I've written the dissertation unit for.

It turns out that an approval event is actually very intense, Not working properly in academia I did not truly appreciated how the meeting would work.  I think we did a good job of answering questions about the course and the panel seemed satisfied with our answers.

Now we await the results with very crossed fingers!

We rewarded ourselves with a maccy D's for after as we thought we'd earned one.

I am really honoured to have been involved in this project. I've loved having the opportunity and the creative freedom to write a unit for this new university course and it's been so interesting to follow the progress from the initial meetings where the proposals were given to the end product with students enrolled and ready to go from September!
I'm excited to see how this progresses and very pleased to have been of service.

Visitors

On Monday evening I had surprise visitors! Dan and Sah were down to see Dan's family so the popped in to see me before they had their dinner.
It was really lovely to see them and to catch up- Alice has really grown up loads and has lots of new words- She still loves no-legs though.
I'm not totally sure that the feeling is mutual...

I very much enjoyed my update from Cardiff- I can't wait to see everyone again in May!
I bet she has full sentences by then! xx

Segways!

Centre Parcs for Dad's 60th Birthday & Mothers day

Upon arrival John, my mum and my dad were waving at us from the balcony like crazy people! We unloaded the car and I played my Dad at pool- and WON!
I never win at pool- admittedly he potted the back but that isn't the point! He won the next game and practically cleared the table before I'd potted anything. John and Traff played him next and also lost.

I was really impressed with the accommodation- it's pretty much brand new as the park hasn't even been open 18 months yet. I love the big tree prints on the wall and the open spaces and wooden floors. please may I live here?
I especailly loved the chalk boards, massive kitchen games room and sauna!

When ray finally arrived Mum made dinner for us all- we had chilli from the hairy bikers cook book and tortilla baskets- made by baking tortillas in a mould. This is a new discovery on my mothers part and she'd never made them before so we were pleased they came out ok!

Whilst dinner was in the oevn my mum sent my dad out on a fools errand to collect something from the car that wasn't in the car in the first place- this gave us time to decorate all the space and embarrass him ready for his birthday tea- look! the bunting had pride of place!

Dad came back just in time to help Traff serve up dinner.

And there was birthday cake for afters with fireworks, not candles- for future note, they're probably not for indoor use and one really is plenty!

After dinner we had drinkies and watched the comic relief coverage on the TV- wearing our red noses!

Tis was the sun rising through the trees behind the log cabin on Saturday morning- it's so pretty! I was up really early on saturday- I think I was still running on work time!

We had a cooked breakfast all together- which was a bit of a mission- after cleaning and tidying up from cooking we had a few games of pool to let our food go down before we headed out to the swimming pool.

We were ready to go swimming, and my parents went out for a morning stroll to take in all the views and find the spa for the afternoon. They said they'd meet us in the water.
Unknown to us we arrived as the pool opened- it was already pretty busy but we did manage to go round the rapids a few times just the 4 of us before anyone else managed to find them- and we had a go on quite a few slides before it got really busy (Just as my parents joined us!) my dad loves slides- we could have left him there all day!

After swimming we went for lunch in Cafe Rouge- my top tip for centre parcs would be to avoid major meal times- eat a bit late lunch, save money by eating on the lunch menu and completely avoid all the exhausted families with very hungry small children!
I love the croc monsieur from cafe rouge! It's awesome. It's also massive- you might not beleive me but I genuinely didn't have rom for a whole pudding- I had an earl grey and a mini lemon tart. tooooo fullllll.

Traff did the best in the pudding stakes- this is the baked cherry tart and it looks too good. I wished I had had enough room to eat Traffs pudding too.

After dinner Mum, Ray and I went for a walk- this is our chalet as we walked past it- I couldn't get over the size of the accommodation, it's just like a really fancy eco house with a sauna in the garden. I'll move in now please!
The whole park is hidden by the trees, you can't see it from the road at all- we almost drive past it- and it keeps the noise right down.
It does feel like being in sweden on in the alps or somewhere continental and much more exciting than Bedfordshire.

After our walk we went to the spa for all our yummy spa treatments, Ray had a Madagascan mud body scrub and masage, my mum had a float treatment, my dad had a mens massage and facial (Which he loved far too much!) and John had a swedish massage. Traff and I had a couples massage which was a bit of a joke on rays part, because we don't usually do anything couply and we never do massagy spa type stuff.
It started off really well and was really good, all relaxing music and shoulder massage. Then my massage therapist said that she needed to step outside for a scond- I assumed that she'd run out of something. the next thing we know theres a massive thump and people come running and then more people came running and lots of commotion- Fair play to the massage therapist working on traff- she looked a bit rattled but carried on all the same- very pro. Then the manager came in to speak to me and said that the therapist had fainted and offered to rebook the session for the following day, and asked the lady doing traffs back to do mine too- so I got a 10 minute back massage and he got 40 minutes back and legs.
After the massage we used the spa and sauna rooms for a bit. Traff farted in the sauna and it stank. I escaped from him and had a relax with ray in one of the sensory rooms.

After the spa we went to the sports bar for cocktails and they sell bite sized deep friend macaroi cheese. I'm in love!

We headed back through the park in the dark to the chalet for gin cocktails. I went to bed about 10pm because I was super exhausted!
Eveyone else made it to 1am.

Traff and I got up super eraly on Sunday as Ray assured us that the pool opened at 7am- we were up, dressed and ready to go at 8am- only to find it' didn't open till 10!

We went to the shops instead and got pain au chocolait and paper to make my  mum a new mothers day card- I wrote one but I don't know where it went!

I Think it fell out of the hole in my back pack.

:(

We had bacon sandwiches and patries for breakfast (Which traff and I ate in our swimming things!) and then went swimming at 10 am when the pool opened- we got on all the slides before the queues!

Awesome.

After swimming we went for a segway experience. I've decided that I like segways! I can't understand why you can't ride them on normal roads! they go faster than mobility scooters.

In the afternoon Traff and I went bac to Aqua Sana for our reschedules massage- we had the bliss dual massage and it was AMAZING.

Traffs a complete massage convert now. he's very keen to go for another spa weekend. about now.

We had dinner in Strada- I had another "speck" pizza like in sicily but without pears this time. I think it was better with pears!

Maybe next time I can add them as an extra!

Solar Eclipse, Friday 20th Match

And here are the times it will be visible in different parts of the UK:

What's the best way to view it?

You should never look directly at the Sun with the naked eye, even if it is largely obscured.

Don’t be tempted, either, to wear just sunglasses or welder’s glasses, no matter how strong the UV protection. However, there are numerous ways to view the eclipse without going blind in the process:

Eclipse glasses: There are many available online, on sites such as Amazon and eBay, and they typically cost less than £10. Whether they are safe is another matter, and even if you are wearing them, do exercise caution, and perhaps still refrain from looking directly at the sun. 

It is best to consult a telescope or camera shop, which should have stocked up with suitable glasses.

Camera: It is only possible to use a camera safely if you have a solar filter mounted or have securely attached a solar filter sheet to the front of the lens. 

Sheets are available for about £20 at online stores such as Amazon, and should also be available at camera shops.

Colander: No, that’s not a misprint. If you hold an ordinary kitchen colander up to the Sun and cast the colander’s shadow onto a light surface, such as a white piece of card held about 20 in away, you will notice that the holes project an image of the Sun complete with a corresponding chunk taken out of it by the Moon. 

This is a fun and safe way to watch the eclipse without having to look directly at the Sun.

Bucket of water: This is perhaps the simplest method — fill a bucket with water and look at the Sun’s reflection on the surface. To make it appear more dramatic, line the bucket with a black bin liner.

Binoculars or telescope: Though you should never use binoculars or a telescope for looking at the Sun, you can still use them to watch an eclipse. After setting them up on a stand or tripod, point them towards the Sun — without looking through — until the light from the Sun is cast directly down their length and out through the eyepiece.

Then, place a piece of white card or paper behind the eyepiece, and an image of the Sun will appear. To bring it into focus, use the ring on your binoculars or telescope, or adjust the distance of the card.

Basic pinhole projector: Take two pieces of plain white paper or card and, with a drawing pin or similar, make a neat round hole in the middle of one sheet. When the eclipse is taking place, hold the paper with the hole in it towards the Sun and project the light onto the second sheet by holding it behind the first.

You will see that an inverted image of the partially eclipsed Sun will appear. To make the image bigger, move the second sheet farther away.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2994195/Next-Friday-morning-Britain-turn-day-night-time-century-great-eclipse.html#ixzz3ULhV4NPf
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

+4

Eletroplating

Copper electrode and a copper coin to plate!
:)
very successful.

Dry ice experiments

It turns out that what you can do with dry ice is actually quite limited- We did the normal stuff-
Dry Ice and water to make fog:

Dry ice and Sodium hydroxide to carry out a neutralisation reaction:

Dry ice used to inflate rubber gloves/balloons as it sublimes:

We also put it into film canisters to make rockets, and mixed it with washing up liquid to make detergent bubbles with fog in.

I did try and make use of my cloud chamber (The instructions are on here from about 3 years ago) It used to work really well but the gaffa tape has lots it's stickiness= no vapour = no cosmic radiation viewing.

Rosettes and Dry ice

Today I got 2 massive parcels- One I was delighted to receive and one I was rather confused by:

I was really very pleased to receive the rosettes for the STEM fair today- they look awesome and they're so bright and cheery!
:D
I took them all out of the box and lined them up to take this photo- it was the very best moment of my day!

The confusing parcel was a massive delivery of dry ice which was supposed to turn up next wednesday- due to the error we've been allowed to keep it so I'll be looking for some cool stuff to do with it tomorrow.

Home made photo bunting!

Birthdays

I'm very pleased with myself this evening! I've moonpigged a birthday card for my dad's birthday next weekend and I think it's genius.

I know this seems a bit old-hat now but my father thinks that moon pig is hilarious. I made him a card a few years ago and I don't think he's ever been more amused. 

The next step is photograph bunting of all my fathers finest moments. I cannot wait to see his reaction! My mum keeps sending me photos to use- this will be a brilliant group effort. I just have to remember to take pins to put it up with otherwise the effect will be slightly lost.

http://www.asda-photo.co.uk/product-info/370-classic-personalised-bunting

I've been trying really had this year to be better at remembering peoples birthdays (Yes, that includes family and I know that's bad). I've written them all onto the planner and everything, in pink highlighter so that I can see at a glance any upcoming birthdays. very important birthdays even have a reminder the month before in the "notes" section. Even will all this I imagine I'm probably still going to get this a bit wrong.

It feels like every year goes faster and faster- I can't believe it's already March- What happened to January and February?!

It's no wonder I can't remember what the date is, I'm struggling enough with the bigger measurements of time.

Is this what it feels like to get old?!

My favourite holiday photos

these 2 photos are from our Sicilian holiday (Don't get excited, I haven't been away again already!) I have no idea why I didn't include them in my original post as they're probably my 2 favourite photos!

I love this photo as it's me and 2 of my besties- even if it does look like Hayley and I aren't speaking to Jay. 

It's very unlikely I'll ever get Jay, Sah, Hayley, Kirstie, Trist and Ray together in the same room so there isn't too much hope of an all bestie photo- 2/6  will have to do!

I really like this photo of me, although I suspect I may be pulling a face... it's difficult to tell under those massive sunglasses. Ah well, I look like I'm having a nice time.

House guests and Si Puo Danzare

My sister came to stay on Friday night- She was working up in London and as I haven't seen her in ages I was excited about catching up with her.
We just spent the night chatting rubbish and gossiping- It turns out that my father has taken up cookery with a fair bit of success now that Ray has introduced him to the hairy bikers cook book, and he's trying to be a bit more healthy, Much to my mothers delight.
I'm excited to experience his new healthy cooking. His speciality used to be pie and chips- as long as the pie and the chips both came out of the freezer and just went into the oven.

On Saturday we went into town- Ray wanted some summery clothes for her holidays and we needed to get some bits and bobs for my Dad's upcoming 60th Birthday.
We got balloons, badges and bunting.
More bunting!
My mum sent us a message asking us tp buy "Party Ra's" this turned out to be a typo of "Party table cloth" (I don't even know, so don't ask) but the illusive party Ra  instruction kept us rather busy.

Confusion cleared up, we went to TK Maxx for summery stuff. Ray ended up buying a back pack and flip flops (Although she did get strappy tops and skirts in primark so we did win!) I ended up buying 2 pairs of shorts- one from the ladies section (Which remind me of knocker bockers) and one from the mens section which have a pattern of fishing lures on them. Delightful.

I sent this picture of them to Jay and he just replied "Oh god".
I think that means he'd like to borrow them.
:D
I like mens shorts much better than the ones in the women's section- if I wanted to run around with my bum out, surely it'd be more effective to just wear nothing? Besides, I'm almost 30 I'm far too old for showing that much flesh (Besides, it'll only upset the bystanders).

We did all our shopping and managed to get back to the flat for 11:30 when Helen arrived. We had a catch up and some lunch, the headed off to our dance class and to meet Tats.
We infiltrated the Bedford Early Dance and Music Society- I went to one of their sessions in September which was regency dancing so we thought we'd give renaissance italian dancing a go.
http://www.dhds.org.uk/bedm/
I'm not a very good dancer but I did enjoy the challenge and it was quite good fun. It was much slower and less formal than the regency dancing so it was easier to pick up.
the session ran 2-6pm and by the end of the 4 hours I had some unusual aches.

This was the style of dancing we learned today- all feet, no arms!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7cediL_X18

We walked from the community centre to the white horse- as in my infinite wisdom I'd forgotten that it was miles away (Actual miles, not literal ones).
Traff and Karl had to wait almost 45 minutes for us to arrive but it was worth it- they had a man chat and got some beers in so they couldn't really complain.
We really earned our fried dinners and yummy puddings (The white horse is my favourite pub because it sells an amazing burger and the pudding menu is awesome)
Post pub we all went back to the flat and chilled out to some smashing pumpkins.
I think that counts as a successful weekend.

The weather was gorgeous, if we'd known we would probably have gone paddle boarding instead of dancing- fingers crossed for a sunny evening soon so that we can get back out on the water!