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  1. Shaken but not stirred

    December 27, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    Alright, last post for the day, I promise. I’m just overexcited at actually having something to write about and the time to do so.
    With 2011 looming, it’s almost time for the New Year’s Eve party. The theme this year is Cocktails.

    In a few days, i.e. once the party has been and gone, I will publish one of those handy ‘costume idea’ lists including pictures for y’all. But until then, I’m remaining tight lipped. Half the fun of costume parties is the mystery of what everyone goes as, and I can’t be giving any clues away on here of course…

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  2. Christmas dinner

    December 27, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    As we’re expecting our first child in March 2011, we thought we’d treat ourselves this Christmas Day to having dinner cooked by someone else. It’s probably the last chance we’ll get for another 20 years or so. We have a gorgeous old pub around the corner, ‘The Olde Swan’, complete with original land documents framed around the place as well as old pictures of Milton Keynes (yes, it has an actual history) and open fires galore. Anywho, Alex booked Christmas Lunch there last month so off we set through the snow for our noms.

    I say, through the snow – we had originally planned to walk. However, our cat Echo has a habit of thnking she’s a loyal dog when we walk anywhere and tends to follow us. Last time we tried to toddle to the pub we got within 50 metres and she refused to go any further, meaning we had to turn round and go back (within having even sniffed a bevvy) lest she get lost. So it was safer to take the car. Sorry environment!

    Anyway, long story short, brilliant dinner and great to have someone else deal with all the cooking/cleaning up. I had butternut squash veloute to start. Basically, very very thick home made soup. Nom. Then venison for the mains – I’ve not had venison in years! Finally, some sort of strawberry creme brulee thingy that was also delicious. And of course, it was all followed up with nibbles for the rest of the evening – Twiglets, After Eights, all those must haves :o)

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  3. Tis the season…

    December 27, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    …to catch up with people and eat lovely food.

    Yep, I’ve been rubbish at blogging of late. I have all the usual excuses – pick the one you prefer.

    On Christmas Eve, we chauffered our friends Dee and Richard for their wedding. A Christmassy spectaular, with ‘Sleigh Ride’ as part of the service and balloon model reindeer on all the tables. It was a brilliant day, fantastic to see everyone and special to have been able to contibute a favour rather than a traditional wedding gift.

    Speaking of favours and gifts, every reception attendee was met with a goody bag. Lovely Christmassy bits in them, but I won’t spoil the secrets within.

    Another great bit of fun for the tables was the introduction of a ‘pass the parcel’ only with instructions on who should open the next layer rather than relying on music, i.e. the person with the smallest shoe size, the person with the shortest hair etc. I think our table pretty much trampled over everyone’s attempts at doing the loudest animal noise.

    Also, the wedding contained probably the best first dance I have ever seen. You’ve watched the videos of people dancing down the aisle, people re-enacting Dirty Dancing, people slow dancing only to break into Mc Hammer’s ‘You Can’t Touch This’. Rich and Dee not only acted out clips from at least 30 songs, they’d managed to construct it so as to tell the story of how they met. Brilliant.

    Rich and Dee’s first dance

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  4. Who put the bump in the…

    September 30, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    Continuing with publishing my previously hidden blogs, here’s what I was thinking back on 18th July 2010.

    I had a nosy through the March 2011 expectant parents group photos today. Lots of positive pee sticks and bumps.

    I had a bump last week. It was there – I couldn’t do my jeans up without discomfort. This weekend, it’s pretty much back down to my normal tum, albeit one where I’ve made good us of an all you can eat buffet.

    Part of me wants a tummy to hide from people – not sure why. I think it would be a good confirmation that things are actually happening. The rest of me knows full well that there should be a decent sized tum along soon, and it’ll be there a while!

    So this weekend’s lesson is one of patience.

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  5. Pre-bump

    September 27, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    Continuing my transfer of blog posts from the Baby forums to my website, here’s what I was thinking on 17th July 2010.

    Yep, you guessed it – I’m still struggling to believe I’m pregnant.

    I have symptoms – I have that back back/hip things and a bit of Sciatica. Don’t worry, I’ll let my Osteopath know soon. I have a bloated tummy, but sometimes it’s bigger than others. I’m tired and generally in bed by 10pm (it’s always been about 12am as a standard), but other than that – who’s to know?

    So far we’ve told my sister, our bosses, my closest work colleague (who I sit next to and is 7 months pregnant) and a close friend. It feels silly telling more people. In some ways I’m busting to tell the world, in others; if I’m not sure if I really really am, how can I set up that expectation in others?

    Other than that, I have a blood test this Friday, my meeting with the midwife (team) on 11th August (the day after my birthday) and the first scan on 2nd September which seems an age away.

    For now, it’s a case of keeping an eye out for the bump!

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  6. Top Five for June

    June 30, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    Monthly, I analyze my website statistics thanks to Google Analytics. The most entertaining stat by far is the collection of keywords typed into search engines that have led people here to awakey.com. Below I answer the top five queries, followed by my award for the Most Random Keyword.

    awakey
    Yep, you found me. It’s a good little handle. I’ve had it for about 15 years now, so I’ve become quite attached to it, and it me.

    sequin top hat and tails gold
    You’re looking for Columbia stuff, right? There’s three things you can do.
    i) Get a bog standard one-size-fits-all jobbie from the interwebs.
    ii) Get a ‘Columbia In A Bag‘ – we like to see people have made the effort buy investing in a costume, but we like you more if you add to the costume, i.e. sew some proper ribbons on the shorts, reinforce the top etc.
    iii) Get As If By Magic to make you one.

    Columbia Rocky Horror pyjamas
    Do yourself a favour – don’t go mad on trying to get film accurate ones. If they’re blue and white stripe, or even blue and white in some sort of basic pattern, it’s absolutely fine! Besides, no-one will even notice once your nipple’s popped out.

    Rocky Horror costume guide
    You’re looking for one of two things.
    Either Ruth’s Anal Retentive Costume List, or the Student’s Guide to Rocky Horror Costumes. The latter, I created back when I was at university. Shamefully, not updated much past the girls, but the basic ideas of how to whip together your own costumes are there.

    Vyvyan Young Ones
    It continually entertains me that this search term brings people to my site regularly. This site has summed up the components of the outfit marvellously, but don’t forget the stars!

    And the award for Most Random Keyword for June is…
    9 1/2 toes

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  7. When things go bump in the night II

    June 21, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    I first became aware of the ghost at The Lodge when I was about 15. My parents were at the pub for the night and I was relaxing in the house’s original bath tub. The door was open so I would be able to hear my stereo in the next room (this is 1996, pre iPod), so I was looking out into the hall way. Completely alone in the house, I enjoyed my music as I snuggled in the hot water.

    Without warning, I saw her.
    Baring in mind my position in the bath, I couldn’t see past the waist so I have no way of telling what was going on for that part of the body. But from the top, I saw a figure glide past the doorway facing in my direction. It was black with what seemed like a secton of white on the top, a faceless head with hair pulled back off from it. I say head – it was a blur given the speed it moved. But I felt, given the shape of the torso, that it was a woman.

    That was me getting out of the bath, running downstairs to the telephone and calling my mother. “Mum, please come home, there’s someone in the house!” For all I knew, it was an intruder and was no longer alone. My mother, knowing the history of the house and what it was that had interrupted my bathing, convinced me otherwise and suggested I get back to my relaxing soak. Slightly jittery, I returned to the tub, sunk back down and tried to put it out of my head.

    No sooner had I relaxed, she was back. Once again, she glided past the door. I say glided – there were no footsteps heard nor bobbing motion seen. Purely moving swiftly past the doorway, again going from right to left, once more looking in my direction. I’d had enough – there was someone… or something… in the house with me and I no longer wished to be alone. I rang my mother and begged her to come home. She came straight away, it being odd that the ghost should manifest itself so frequently on one occasion.

    So, who was the vision in black?

    A story for another time…

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  8. My beloved Facebook and me

    June 5, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    I am taking a Facebook holiday.

    There’s been a lot of talk lately regarding the privacy of Facebook. I’ve been tempted to follow the suit of others by deleting my account, but I know I wouldn’t be able to go that far. I would miss the interaction, the photos and keeping up with the latest events. Equally, there are people who DM me through Facebook whose emails I do’?t have, so I would lose this communication line.
    While my Facebook account will remain active, I won’t be around so much.
    To a lesser extent, I’ll also be giving my Twitter feed a rest until everything’s out the way too.

    I am busy costuming “Our House” for the Griffin Players. It’s taken up an immense amount of my time – if I’m not working, I’m searching shops or surfing Ebay or (yes, it’s true) actually sewing to make theatre magic happen. I’ve found my emails are building up and my other projects suffering as a result, with my attentions turning to Facebook for relaxation in between crafting sessions. As an aside, it really is a cracking show. The Griffins sound amazing and I’m genuinely impressed at the rehearsals I get to. Definitely worth seeing, especially so if you like cheery musicals (we need them right now, right?)
    It’s on from 16th – 19th June at the Library Theatre in Luton. Friday/Saturday are nearly sold out, so phone the box office 07906 075455 for your tickets. And mine’s an orange and passionfruit J2O afterwards in the bar, thanks.

    Also, I’ve just started my new job! Well, I’ve been doing it as a temp for a couple of months. Having completed the interview process, it’s now official and comes with some extra responsibilities, so I’m finding myself working longer hours than normal. While 9am-6pm isn’t a patch on the old teaching hours of 7.30am-6.30pm, it’s tricky when I’m trying to do everything else at the same time!

    I feel for my poor websites – www.ehos.co.uk really needs to be updated with all the great stuff going on with their production of Little Shop Of Horrors; www.awakey.com – well, the first update that’s had in a while will be this one; As If By Magic could do with a scrub up and pictures of the divine things we’ve been making recently, plus I’d love to be more active on our Twitter account, www.twitter.com/aibmcostumes.

    Don’t worry – I have my Facebook set up so I will still receive your emails and messages, just to my inbox instead. But I may not know if you’re inviting me to an event (hey, occasionally, it happens) so give me a shout.

    * Extra props if you get the title reference

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  9. Knock Knock

    May 5, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    I work in one of the oldest parts of the council buildings in Bedford. There are photos (and paintings) of old Mayors lining the corridor walls and you can’t step without hearing creaky floorboard. So you’ll understand why, when in an empty room, without hearing any movement outside of said room, when* I heard the knocking coming from the corner, I became a little skittish.

    Following the speed of the beat of Flowers In The Window by Travis (sorry, it’s the only thing I could liken to the metronome), I heard;
    “knock-knock-knock…knock knock …knock-knock-knock.” Yes, the Morse code for SOS. Heard TWICE. Followed by sporadic knocks since. It’s been quiet for a few minutes now.

    If this message is posted successfully on the internet, you’ll know I survived.

    *Written at 2.45pm

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  10. When things go bump in the night

    April 14, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    The time has come (the Walrus said) to speak of spooky things. To give you a little history about me and my family, The Lodge has been the family house since about 1994. From then until about 2006, it contained my mum, me (popping home from uni for four years of it) and my dad. Since 2006, my sister has lived there with her three kids. Prior to this it was owned by an old lady about whom little is known, and before that it was part of the nun’s estate next door. Before that it was part of the land owned by the Earl of the town, and before that… goodness only knows. Either way, it’s an old house.

    When we first moved in it really looked like a bomb had hit it. It was dilapidated – children were afraid to knock there on Halloween for fear of what was inside. We had a camper van at the time so some of the residents had assumed we were squatters to begin with. My dad redid the entire place, adding a big extension on to the kitchen (was was pantry sized) and an extra room. It was proper old – we were ripping off the wallpaper and found an additional door into the kitchen, previously hidden. Nothing exciting, no portal to another world, just a door between the hallway and the kitchen, but the plaster that was coming away contained horse hair and everything. So everyone understands it’s an old house with lots of history, right? Right.

    Some more backstory now – since I remember, the house has been haunted. Yep, I’m cutting straight to the chase here – there are dozens of anecdotes I could share, and I probably will in time, but the important thing here is that when everyone’s gone out for the day, the house is not empty. When you think you’re alone, something happens to prove that you most definitely are not. Depending on who you are and what’s going on, the house will either be welcoming or looming.

    What we do know is that we have evidence of this ghostery. The form of that evidence… well, you’ll have to stay tuned for that.

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