Thursday, April 05, 2007
Apologies for not posting for such a while...
Lots been happening but too busy trying to revise to come here, plus BLogger have somehow made it infuriatingly complicated to sign in ....
So urm...I got burgled, which was pants, mainly because they came through the ceiling SAS stylee, and now I've a battle on my hands trying to get Lambeth council to fix it up to it's former glory.
It was unsettleing too, 'cos I always used to boast that we were invicible here, it would have to be Spiderman himself to get in this flat, but alas, this is so not true.
As the old squatters adage goes; there's always a way in...
After the burglary, and weirdly enough a gas leak that resulted in me having no cooking/heating for 2days, I thought feck it, I feel like an all night Squat party and happily Reclaim the Future event was on, and fate decided I should go somehow, because it was all so easy getting there and everything....
I was glad I did go because all the oldschool (with the exception of those now living out of London) were in attendence, and it was a proper gathering. Sadly though bad door management, despite the impressive sortedness of the buiilding, resulted in the party finishing very early. OK. So the cops did have a hand in it, getting all stupid outside, batons out, closing down the road for some hours...
I tried, and failed miserably, to advise on a sensible door policy. I found that all my powers had gone. And indeed those of my brethren.
Ah well, nobody knows us now...
I still proceeded to have a fun time chatting with all I encountered. It was a most friendly crowd. I couldn't help but feel bad afterwards though, that something bearing the "Reclaim" name, couldn't even manage to hold a proper squat party in a building these days...What hope for anything bolder, say outside or in the streets?
So now I'm busy revising for my LSBU science test in just two weeks time with my son, the walking text book. He tests me, but I know it has to be helping him, becuase he's revising for his GCSEs too, and it does bring us closer, which is really lovely.
Life is good, but for some stupid reason, I now ache to go to another squat party again soon.
Lots been happening but too busy trying to revise to come here, plus BLogger have somehow made it infuriatingly complicated to sign in ....
So urm...I got burgled, which was pants, mainly because they came through the ceiling SAS stylee, and now I've a battle on my hands trying to get Lambeth council to fix it up to it's former glory.
It was unsettleing too, 'cos I always used to boast that we were invicible here, it would have to be Spiderman himself to get in this flat, but alas, this is so not true.
As the old squatters adage goes; there's always a way in...
After the burglary, and weirdly enough a gas leak that resulted in me having no cooking/heating for 2days, I thought feck it, I feel like an all night Squat party and happily Reclaim the Future event was on, and fate decided I should go somehow, because it was all so easy getting there and everything....
I was glad I did go because all the oldschool (with the exception of those now living out of London) were in attendence, and it was a proper gathering. Sadly though bad door management, despite the impressive sortedness of the buiilding, resulted in the party finishing very early. OK. So the cops did have a hand in it, getting all stupid outside, batons out, closing down the road for some hours...
I tried, and failed miserably, to advise on a sensible door policy. I found that all my powers had gone. And indeed those of my brethren.
Ah well, nobody knows us now...
I still proceeded to have a fun time chatting with all I encountered. It was a most friendly crowd. I couldn't help but feel bad afterwards though, that something bearing the "Reclaim" name, couldn't even manage to hold a proper squat party in a building these days...What hope for anything bolder, say outside or in the streets?
So now I'm busy revising for my LSBU science test in just two weeks time with my son, the walking text book. He tests me, but I know it has to be helping him, becuase he's revising for his GCSEs too, and it does bring us closer, which is really lovely.
Life is good, but for some stupid reason, I now ache to go to another squat party again soon.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Arghhh!!!!!!!
my maths coursework is driving me crazy...or more honestly, giving me a permeating recurring headache, the like of which I haven't quite experienced before.
I asked my teenagers to help, as they'd both done similar (although slightly different), but was told that their teacher had told them exactly what to do, step by step. Oh,to be in high schoOl again....No such luck wiith my teacher, just the vaguest brief, and I'm left tearing my hair out.
Trays...fecking trays...
On a much happier note, it was Aces birthday yesterday. Hective let her have a party at his house and it was just perfect.
"It was a proper 'skins' party" agreed Ace and her mates...
I can still of course remember being that age myself, so it wasn't actually shocking, but at times a bit hair raising as Hective and I cleared up vomit, ejected local gatecrashers, confiscated obvious bottles of vodka, (being necked, without mixer) sent smokers out to the balcony, gave water to those who very muchappeared to be pilling, phoned the parents of those young ones who couldn't quite cope...It heaving and it was full-on.
But I'm smiling as I think about it. I've never actually seen so much enthusiastic snogging in the one place, or had so many grateful teenagers bother to come up and thank me for being so cool...
Well I was able to be cool because it wasn't my house. Dayglo sticks were burst open and everywhere and everyone was splattered in dayglo paint, holes were knocked into the walls from the moshing, carpets and houseplants were as you'd imagine...
It was a nu-rave extavaganza, but the music and strobes were turned off on the stroke of eleven.
My most shiney, fabulous daughter was extremely happy and even thanked me in front of all her friends for being so nice, which you don't get every day as the parent of a teenager.
my maths coursework is driving me crazy...or more honestly, giving me a permeating recurring headache, the like of which I haven't quite experienced before.
I asked my teenagers to help, as they'd both done similar (although slightly different), but was told that their teacher had told them exactly what to do, step by step. Oh,to be in high schoOl again....No such luck wiith my teacher, just the vaguest brief, and I'm left tearing my hair out.
Trays...fecking trays...
On a much happier note, it was Aces birthday yesterday. Hective let her have a party at his house and it was just perfect.
"It was a proper 'skins' party" agreed Ace and her mates...
I can still of course remember being that age myself, so it wasn't actually shocking, but at times a bit hair raising as Hective and I cleared up vomit, ejected local gatecrashers, confiscated obvious bottles of vodka, (being necked, without mixer) sent smokers out to the balcony, gave water to those who very much
But I'm smiling as I think about it. I've never actually seen so much enthusiastic snogging in the one place, or had so many grateful teenagers bother to come up and thank me for being so cool...
Well I was able to be cool because it wasn't my house. Dayglo sticks were burst open and everywhere and everyone was splattered in dayglo paint, holes were knocked into the walls from the moshing, carpets and houseplants were as you'd imagine...
It was a nu-rave extavaganza, but the music and strobes were turned off on the stroke of eleven.
My most shiney, fabulous daughter was extremely happy and even thanked me in front of all her friends for being so nice, which you don't get every day as the parent of a teenager.
Friday, March 09, 2007
well, my first exam in about 25 years went reasonably smoothly, I'm glad to report.
It was well weird though , the pre-exam nerves, no sleep, butterflies, sticky palms the lot, and of course what with it being Lambeth and all, the inevitable pre exam chaos with them not having enough tables and actually drilling the holes to fix up the clock 10mins after our exam was due to start...
It feels great to have it out of the way, like I've really broke the back of this maths. Of course it's algebra next module, so it's not exactly going to be plain sailing, but at least 40% is under my belt.
I think this has left a little space in my brain to start worrying how the feck am I going to manage financially next year. Things are not looking good. Yesterday I spent an hour on the phone to various government agencies, all with varying versions of 'you're gonna get nothing, you're on your own'
Arghhh!!! At one point I was told to phone some lone parent adviser, who actually siad they weren't able to give out advice, only information packs, some "adviser" eh?
Finally I followed the lead to the tax office, where I was told I might be able to claim tax credits for the kids... Lord knows how exactly this will work though...
Kind of scary times.
It was well weird though , the pre-exam nerves, no sleep, butterflies, sticky palms the lot, and of course what with it being Lambeth and all, the inevitable pre exam chaos with them not having enough tables and actually drilling the holes to fix up the clock 10mins after our exam was due to start...
It feels great to have it out of the way, like I've really broke the back of this maths. Of course it's algebra next module, so it's not exactly going to be plain sailing, but at least 40% is under my belt.
I think this has left a little space in my brain to start worrying how the feck am I going to manage financially next year. Things are not looking good. Yesterday I spent an hour on the phone to various government agencies, all with varying versions of 'you're gonna get nothing, you're on your own'
Arghhh!!! At one point I was told to phone some lone parent adviser, who actually siad they weren't able to give out advice, only information packs, some "adviser" eh?
Finally I followed the lead to the tax office, where I was told I might be able to claim tax credits for the kids... Lord knows how exactly this will work though...
Kind of scary times.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Well tomorrow, I have the first of my GCSE maths exams.
Wish me luck!
Wish me luck!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Hmmm...well went on the Stop the War march yesterday. Got very tired, didn't see many friends, got cross at the way the whole thing was orgainsed, felt frustrated...But the samba band were shit hot...
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Friday night, I took Ace and her two mates out to see two of her new favourite bands, 'The Forty Fives' and the wonderfully named 'Bono must Die'.
I enjoyed both bands, they had lots of energy. I liked the way both lead singers choose to wear their hoodies up. Seemed a good thing to me to identify themselves with, and from, the disaffected youth...The crowd were exuberant, and during 'Bono Must Die' a rather impressive stage invasion occurred which stopped the show for a few minutes, and I found myself quite endeared to the young crowd.Thursday, February 08, 2007
My life is now full of maths, science and of course childcare and all that goes with that.
I'm revising for my first Maths exam in three weeks, whilst at the same time begining to discover the world of Chemistry.
Such a lot to learn. After reaching the end of the biology book, which I found so interesting and relevent, I paused for a week frozen in fear, before I could embark on Chemistry. Just one day at a time though, or rather one page at a time. I can't remember it all, I just have to hope some of it stays in. Constantly hope I am doing enough, whilst at the same time never doing enough, of anything...
I'm revising for my first Maths exam in three weeks, whilst at the same time begining to discover the world of Chemistry.
Such a lot to learn. After reaching the end of the biology book, which I found so interesting and relevent, I paused for a week frozen in fear, before I could embark on Chemistry. Just one day at a time though, or rather one page at a time. I can't remember it all, I just have to hope some of it stays in. Constantly hope I am doing enough, whilst at the same time never doing enough, of anything...
