Eyebrow Tattoos & On-line Dating

Afternoon lovelies.  Yesterday, I said that I’d give you an update on my eyebrow tattoos and online dating.  So here goes:

Eyebrow Tattoos - Revisted

As you know, before Christmas I went down to Milton Keynes to have my eyebrows tattooed by celebrity eyebrow queen to the stars, Nilam Patel at her wonderful spa, Dermaspa (http://nilam-patel.com/).  It’s such a lovely Salon/Spa, all the staff are wonderful and friendly and really make you feel at home and pampered.  Well, approximately 6 weeks after you have your initial tattoo, you need a booster (as often the skin can heal a little unevenly) ... yesterday, was the booster/top up.

Before my appointment with Nilam, I had a wonderful ‘Wave’ facial with one of the fab Dermaspa therapists; Shell (what a lovely lady ... we had a good old giggle!).  The Wave facial was created by the doctor that carries out the aesthetics at the Spa ... the therapist covers your face in a gel liquid and then rubs over your skin with what looks like a mini heated curling wand (please don’t try this at home with your hair gel and curling tongs ladies ... this is advanced stuff!), the heat produced by the wand stimulates the collagen in the skin so that it re-generates ... my skin looks amazing today ... especially my neck and it apparently will continue to get better over the next few weeks!  Fab!

After that, I had a half hour wait  for my appointment with Nilam (where I caught up on some emails and stuff) while the anaesthetic cream that had been applied to my brows to numb them ready for the tattooing, did its job.  I think I told you before that Nilam is a lovely lady, very funny and bright with a fabulous sense of humour ... we get on so well!  When she called me in, before she did anything, we had another consultation and agreed that I could stand my brows being a bit bigger.  So she drew the outline of what she thought my brows should look like (the first time you have them done, she does them smaller than she intends the finished ones to look because people sometimes freak out because initially, they look REALLY black - BIG Scouse Brows - however, a couple of weeks after the scab has dropped off and they’ve settled down, they look fabulous!).  We agreed the shape she'd done was perfect, she fired up the tattoo gun and got going.  I can't say it doesn't hurt ... even with the numbing cream on, it still does.  However, it hurts more when the cream wears off ... Ouch! (Well worth it though, however, I am looking a bit like Max Wall at the moment! lol)

I think I may have said previously that HD Brows is Nilam’s brand of eyebrow shaping (http://www.hd-brows.co.uk/) which involves a combination of waxing, plucking, threading, dying to get the most amazing brow shape (God I love this stuff ... I love EVERYTHING beauty ... I’m just fascinated by it!) I was telling her again how interested I was and was asking her loads of questions, when she said, “You should come on the course!” ... “Ooooooooooooo, I’d love that!” I said.  We talked about me doing the HD Brow training even if I don’t use it as a business opportunity, she said that if I’m interested in it, I should do the course then I could do HD Brows  for my friends and family! ... I can hear the phone ringing already!!!  Apparently, lots of people do the training even if they aren’t looking at doing it as a business eg Katie Price!)  I think it would be an amazing thing to learn (quite a change from the usual courses/self development I do!) so I’ll definitely give it some thought.  I’m a great believer in self development and continually advocate learning new skills.  So I’ll keep you informed on that one!

Luckily the drive there and back was pretty good ... in fact, I think it was one of the best journeys I’ve done down South, so I definitely can’t grumble.  I left the house at 10.30 am and was back home and dinner on at 7.00 pm ... perfect!

OK, so, next ...

On-line Dating - Third Time Lucky!

I told you that I was having one last-ditch attempt at the on-line dating game (my membership is due to run out on the dating site I’m on and I’m definitely not renewing).  So, this morning, I’ve shifted through the 20 emails I’ve received over the last few days and had a quick shufty at my ‘winks’ and I’m sorry to say, that out of the 20 mails, I’ve only responded to one!  Not a very good conversion rate (if we’re talking marketing terms)!  I’ll let you know what happens with that one, but I thought I’d copy and paste (exactly as I received them) some of the more, erm ... funnier/stranger mails I've had (you seem to have enjoyed reading them when I've posted them previously!):

“I'm Paul I have my own bis 2 and it takes A lot of time and I wod like 2 get 2 no u x” (A good command of the English language is always a winner ... NOT! ... DELETE!)

“What are you doing on this site!!!!” (Well, I thought that would have been obvious! - DELETE!)

“Mmmmmm!” (I replied to this guy saying “What do you expect me to say to that?”  His reply, “Hello” ... I didn’t write back ... DELETE!)

“Nice!” (This was another from Mr Mmmmmmm ... DELETE!)

“were u from bbe and what u looking for hunny xxxx” (Another literary genius ... DELETE!)

A few minutes later, another from the same guy ... who happens to be a Boxer by the way ... obviously had a few too many knocks around the head!

“and by the way ur very good looking thought ad say xxx” (DELETE!)

“how about it then?” (*Sigh* ‘how about what?’ – DELETE!)

“Miaooooooooooooo....” (*Speechless*! – DELETE!)

“I’ve got an itch ... will you scratch it for me” (Er, no, but I’ll get Mr Miaoooooooo to scratch if for you! – DELETE!)

 “I’ve got a big one ...” (Have you really? *yawn* – DELETE and BLACKLIST)

There were also quite a number of messages and winks from men in their 60’s/70's (I definitely seem to be popular with the OAP crowd!) or men with no picture ... don’t like that, I always think there’s an ulterior motive when there’s no picture ie THEY’RE MARRIED!  I’ve also done a quick search and found a couple of blokes who looked interesting and have taken the bold move to mailing them (I’m not bothering with the ‘Wink’ thing ... I think it’s a bit lazy and a cop out!) 

Well lovelies, that’s it for now ... must go and do some work, then it’s off to the gym.  I had some chocolate yesterday (left over from Christmas) and I can’t bear the thought of any of that weight creeping back on.  So until next time ... be fabulous you lovely people.

Lots of love

Jx

PS Приветствуйте назад моим прекрасным российским читателям... Я тосковал без Вас!

Singles Holidays Explained

I’m going to do a bit of an interim post here ... I haven’t had a chance to look at my internet dating messages and I’ll be out for most of the day (as I’ve said, I’m having my eyebrow tattoo top up in Milton Keynes!) so I thought I’d use the opportunity to clear up some confusion around Singles Holidays.

Glynn my lovely friend (without whom there would no longer be a blog), asked me to explain what a ‘Singles Holiday’ entailed.  I wrongly presumed that everyone knew, but I've had quite a few questions about it from various people and someone else asked me today too, so I thought I’d better clear things up.  I can’t believe that there are so many misconceptions! It seems that a lot of people think they’re knocking shops!  OK, so here goes...

1.   Singles holidays are holidays designed specifically for single people (so that you don’t have to go on holiday completely on your own)

2.    There are typically no single supplements and are usually quite easy going

3.   They are mixed holidays with both male and female singles

4.   The purpose (for me anyway) is NOT to meet/flirt/date someone I meet on a singles holiday (although, that does happen with other people) but to have a nice holiday with like minded people.

5.   Age ranges can vary massively (unless you go with a tour operator who puts age limits on their holidays eg Solos) and can be anything from early 30’s to 70’s.

I think it’s a massive misconception of singles holidays that people only go on them to meet/flirt/date someone ... if you book yourself on one with the specific goal of meeting your ideal partner (or for that matter, even meeting someone to have a flirt with, if you know what I mean) I think you’ll be sorely disappointed.  If you read my holiday blogs (this latest one and the previous one I did in June ‘11), you’ll know that men are very few and far between on singles holidays (this holiday there was only one man, Alvin and around 14 women over the 2 weeks and the last was about the same, one man to about 20 women) so you get my point.  However, I do have to say that from what I’ve heard (although I’ve definitely not experienced this myself) the European singles holidays have a bit more of that flirty stuff going on ... they tend to be cheaper than the Caribbean or long haul holidays, so tend to have a lot more people (men and women) on them, therefore, the possibilities of meeting someone are way higher - we're talking up to 50 people on a European holiday as opposed to anything between 5 and 20 for a long haul.

So what do I like about singles holidays?  Well, I’d be happy going on holiday completely on my own, however, I know I’d be fine in the day (I like to spend my days on holiday predominantly on my own as I’m usually exhausted by the time I go away and need the peace), but would get a bit lonely having dinner on my own every night.  For me, the good things about these holidays are:

1.   You tend to meet like minded people 

2.   You have someone to have dinner with (like I say, I’m fine in the day, however, like to have someone to have dinner and a chat with)

3.   No-one cares what you do eg if you want to go to bed early ... go to bed early, if you don’t want to have dinner ... don’t have dinner.  No-one really cares or pressurises you.  You can completely please yourself without upsetting anyone ... Can you say the same when you go away?!

4.   You meet some fabulous people.  I’ve got some real ‘forever friends’ that I’d never have met if not for singles holidays (that’s you, Justine, Cordelia, Tanya and Mary ... love you guys!)

That said, there are, so I'm told, some people who do go away looking for, hmmmm how can I put it nicely, love?!  If that's you and you’re a woman seeking a man (although I've not done it myself, these are just my observations from doing quite a few of these holidays and from speaking to others) if you are looking to flirt/date/meet someone on a singles holiday, these are my top tips:

1.   Don’t get your hopes up!  Women far outweigh the men on EVERY singles holiday I’ve been on or heard of and by many to one usually and if you are lucky enough to have a half decent man on the holiday, then the competition with other women is fierce!  (Oh, who could be bothered?! *Shudder*)

2.   Don’t go long haul – try the more busier European BEACH holidays – I say ‘beach’ holidays, because you get very different people on the walking/activities/touring type holidays than you do on the beach ones

3.   Try the weekend breaks.  Lots of tour operators that do singles holidays also do weekend breaks at UK hotels ... I’ve never been to any myself as I really don’t fancy it (not my style at all) ... I hear that they’re real cattle markets.  I’ve also heard that some women don’t even book a room because they know that they’ll pull ... Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww self respect ladies ... self respect!)

4.   Don’t be choosy

5.   Be desperate – you’d have to be to compete with other woman for a man you wouldn’t look twice at when you’re at home!  (Is that harsh?  Don’t care!)

However, if you’re a bloke and at least half decent looking ... fill ya boots!  I have heard some stories when I’ve been talking to other holiday makers who’ve been on those European holidays (although it must also happen on long haul, although I can't remember witnessing it) ... one told me of a guy who was (how can I put it delicately) erm, ‘having initmate relations’ with 4 different women at the same time and they all found out about each other on the last day!  In fact, I’ve heard quite a few stories like that.

However, maybe I’m being a little bit too harsh ... Justine did tell me about a couple she knew that met while they were away and are still together, but she also told me some other stuff that I don’t want to repeat here without her permission!

I must hasten to add, that not all the European beach holidays are like that ... Like I said earlier, it’s just a bit more likely due to the increased numbers on them.  However, I must point out that where it does happen, people are generally pretty discrete about it and you sometimes don’t find out that anything’s gone on until the end of the holiday.  So don't let this put you off such a holiday!

So, who are the main Singles Holiday tour operators?  Here you go:

Solos - They are the biggest operator and have the most varied range of holidays.  They also have age ranges for some holidays.  Their Representatives stay with you for the whole holiday (which personally I don’t like – I’ve met some really weird ones ... one in particular - a very nasty, cocky little man called Gary - really ruined one of my holidays, but that’s a story for another day) –  As a result, I won’t EVER travel with them again.

Solitair - I haven’t tried them, they don’t go to that many places and haven’t had any holidays that I fancied at the times I’ve been looking to go, although I’ve had good reports about them.

Friendship Travel – My favourites by a long way.  I think they’re excellent, their customer service is fantastic and you aren’t governed by what the Rep wants to do when you’re there.  The Reps pretty much leave you alone but are there when you need them.  The only criticism is that they don’t have a massive choice and they can be quite expensive (although there’s an argument for doing a few holidays really well ... which is what they do, rather than pile ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap)

Just You – I’ve used a couple of times eg when I did America’s Gold Coast and a Nile Cruise, however, they mainly do touring type holidays which do tend to attract an older crowd.

Of course there are many more operators who cater for singles, it’s just that those are the main ones.  As for the price, well, they say that you don’t pay a singles' premium, but of course you do, it’s just built into the overall price.

Singles holidays are what you want them to be – if you want to have a ‘relationship’ with someone and there’s someone on your holiday that fits the bill, great, but I wouldn’t go away expecting it, you could be sorely disappointed.  I do remember when I went on a singles holiday to Antigua – there were a few more men than usual on that holiday and one of the blokes told me that on the first night, one of the other men asked him, “When does it all kick off then?” He said, “What do you mean?”  The other guy said, “When does everyone, you know, pair up?” “What the hell are you on about?  I think you’ve got the wrong idea mate!”  The guy had come away expecting sex, sex and more sex!  He was thinking it would be more like an 18-30’s holiday. Poor guy ... he spent the whole holiday VERY disappointed and I wouldn't doubt, a bit frustrated!

Well, hopefully I’ve cleared some stuff up there.  Oh and in case you’re wondering, considering the amount of holidays I’ve been on, have I ever met anyone I found even remotely attractive?  Not a one!  And would I ever expect to? Nope!  And do I book holidays in the hope of meeting someone special? Never!  If it happened, well that would be nice but totally unexpected.

So that’s it on singles holidays lovelies.  Any questions on this or anything else, either leave me a comment below or mail me and I’ll try and answer!  If you’re thinking of going on a singles holiday ... my advice ... DO IT!  You won’t regret it and you’ll meet some fantastic people to boot.  What’s the alternative, stay at home and watch everyone else go away, or worse still, wait until someone asks you to go away or tag along with another couple ... no thank you!

Hopefully, I’ll post tomorrow with news of my new tattoos and internet dating update.  Until then, as always, be fabulous you lovely people!

Lots of love

Jx

Champagne Saturday and Round 3 of Internet Dating

Well, I had a lovely day yesterday.  Had my hair done in the morning, then caught a taxi and hopped on a train (yes lovelies, I did public transport!) to meet my fab friend, Justine, for a well overdue ‘Champagne Saturday’ (have I ever mentioned that I LOVE champagne? lol).  I would have liked to get to Manchester a bit earlier and do a bit of pre-champagne shopping, but my hair appointment ran over a bit and actually, when I think about it, I don't know if you remember, but I did that once and nearly left a Louis Vuitton makeup bag purchase in each place we went, post champagne, obviously.  In fact I seem to remember Justine tying the bag to my wrist when I went for the train in case I left it there too!  Still, I got their 10 minutes early and managed to buy some lovely Bobby Brown makeup and I was still right on time to meet Justine.

We went to our usual haunt, Harvey Nichols, however, I got distracted by some fabulous Miu Miu mules (which were massively reduced in the sale) on the way up to the bar on the top floor and when we finally got up there, our usual spec at the bar was gone and a very oddly dressed woman and her partner who were on the escalators in behind us (before I got distracted) had bagged the our spot.  Sorry Justine (don’t think she was impressed!).  Anyway, it was only a couple of minutes and a space cleared and we ordered our champers.

After we'd finished the bottle, we went over to 'The Living Room' for something to eat (I hadn't had a chance to eat anything before then cos I was so busy) - I know I've been dieting, but I decided to blow it all and have a burger and chips (although I can't say they are massive portions there so I'm not feeling too upset with myself).  Justine had the chicken burger ... all very lovely.  Oh, and let's not forget that we had another huge glass of wine each.  Yum.

I can’t say that I have anything much else to report, we haven't seen each other for months, so had loads to catch up on and the whole afternoon went very smoothly actually ... makes a nice change (but isn’t much help for my blog!).  All in all, a very lovely way to spend a Saturday, although I do have to say that the journey home was worse than going ... the train was filthy ... ewwwwwwwwwww what is the matter with people ... can’t they clean up after themselves, it’s disgusting!  It’s like travelling with The Great Unwashed! (Yuck – to my lovely readers who use public transport a lot ... obviously I don't mean you! lol).

Anyway, moving on ... remember back in November, I said that I was giving up the internet dating thing cos my nerves couldn’t hack it, well my 6 month membership of my current on-line dating agency ends on 21^st of this month, so I thought I’d give it one last ditch attempt and see what turns up.  It seems, the key to getting your profile read is to log on for 10 minutes, then log off, log on for 10 minutes then log off, that way, you’re always at the top of the ‘Who’s on line’ section ... I tried it last night when I got in and got 40 views, 20 winks and 10 messages!  I think that’s pretty good going, however, the quality of all of that is something else entirely.  Haven't checked any of them yet ... I'll do that later and let you know what I get.

I have checked the site from time to time since I decided to have a break and have had the odd view/message/wink, but you really do have to be on the site quite frequently to get anywhere.  However, I did happen to log in on Friday and one guy had contacted me.  The emails went something like this (it’s not totally accurate cos I deleted his sorry ass):

Him    “Can you send me some more up to date pictures please, because your age doesn’t match your pictures and I don’t like being taken for a ride” 

Me     “They are recent” (short and to the point I thought)

Him    “Well, from your profile you sound too good to be true and I don’t believe that those pictures are recent.  Can we meet up so that I can see for myself, I live near Birmingham and I’m prepared to meet you half way?”

Me     [DELETE and BLACKLIST]

That little incident nearly put me off, but Justine and I were talking dating again and all about how it’s a numbers game yada yada yada, so I thought I’d give it another go, even if it’s only for a week.  You see, I do have a slight issue here in that I haven’t got Mehreen kicking my backside into doing it ... so left to do it under my own steam, who knows what’ll happen – oh and in case you’re wondering, Mehreen and I aren’t working together now, so I don’t have her daily input (miss her loads though, she talks a lot of sense does Mehreen!).  Well, if nothing else, it’ll give you guys a giggle (hits on my blog shoot up when I talk about dating, so you obviously find it amusing, so if nothing else, so it’s worth it just for that!) I’ll keep you informed!

Oh and I nearly forgot ... remember last year when I had my eyebrows tattoo’d and they cancelled my top up appointment, well it’s re-scheduled for tomorrow.  Again, I’ll let you know how I get on tomorrow.

Well lovelies, my dad is due round for a little visit in a bit and then it’s off to the gym for me (I have to work off yesterday’s champers and burger ... boooooo) and I may pop to the cinema this afternoon ... after all, I do have my unlimited film pass!  Hopefully, tomorrow, I’ll have to dating stuff and eyebrow gossip for your amusement, so stay tuned.  Until then, as always, be fabulous you wonderful people!!

Lots of love

Jx

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The Christmas Holiday – Part 8

Not getting fed up yet?   Well, I am!  So this is definitely the last holiday blog ... although there is still so much to tell you ... but I’ve gotta move on!  I'm just got back from having my hair done and now I’m off to Manchester to meet my lovely friend Justine for a well overdue “Champagne Saturday” so hopefully I’ll have something new to tell you about tomorrow!  So, here we go, The Finale! ....

New Year’s Eve was a bit of a non event.  Fiona and I decided that it was probably better to stay in with everyone else with it being NYE and we didn’t think there’d be many places open anyway.  We had our ‘buffet’ meal which ended about 9.30 pm, after which I was bored to tears.  I kid you not ... I just couldn’t bear to sit there listening to the moaning any more.  I decided to slope off and watch a film on TNT that I wanted to see (well, you know I love films!).  I had a quick word in Fiona’s ear and said I wasn’t making a fuss, but I was going to my room ... I may be back for the fireworks, but not to worry if I didn’t.

Needless to say, as soon as my head hit the pillow, like every night since I got there, I was out like a light.  I was only woken by the sound of the fireworks in the bay at 12.00 ... I didn’t bother getting up though.  Does that make me boring?  Don’t care.  I’m not a fan of NYE even when I’m spending it with people I love, so I definitely wasn’t bothered about spending it with strangers.  Once the fireworks had stopped I promptly fell back to sleep ... that is, until 1.00 pm which I was rudely awakened by the Fairy Elephant in the room above me ... OMG, I could have killed her! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

New Years day night I’ve told you about ... Fiona and I went to Gary Rhodes restaurant.  On the Monday, four of us had booked to go on a catamaran boat trip.  I love boat trips, love love love and also love snorkelling (I’m good at it too .... like a bloody mermaid I am! Lmao).  We had a lovely day with some really nice people.  It was so relaxing ... I felt like I was in that Duran Duran video from the 80s!  In fact, that obviously had to be the song of the trip and was sung many times!  Sailing is also a fantastic way to top up your tan ... especially a couple of days before you go home.

That evening Fiona and I went to dinner at ‘The Victory Bar’ in the Harbour at St Georges.  We had a lovely night ... lots of cocktails, massive pizzas (I don’t usually do pizza ... too many carbs, but these looked and tasted amazing!) and it was very chilled and relaxed.  A really lovely place.  Highly recommended.

The next night, our last night, with everyone else still constantly moaning and bickering, Fiona and I decided to go out again.  Tina, one of the other ladies, wanted to go out with us too ... that was a bit of a wrong move on our part.  A lot of places were closed and we really struggled find anywhere open, so we ended up back at The Victory.  It really could have been a fantastic night; however, Tina did not stop talking about herself ... not for a minute. I’ve never, ever heard anyone talking about themselves so much.  I felt punch drunk by the end of the evening!  She had a strong London accent which was half an octave higher than most peoples and ended up really grating.  Had Fiona and I been on our own, with it being our last night, we probably would have stayed much longer, but neither of us could bear it any longer and made the excuse that we were tired and needed to get an early night in readiness for the long journey home.  Phew!  Such a shame.

The next day, we managed a morning in the sun and were picked up to go to the airport at 1.45pm.  After check in at the airport, I heard my name over the tannoy and headed off to security ... they’d seen something in my bag and they wanted to check it.  For a second, a million things went through my mind (I’ve had my bags checked once before at Manchester and I found that experience totally horrific ... nearly 2 hours of misery ... that’s another story – I think having your bag searched is stressful in itself, even if you’ve done nothing wrong, I find it doubly hard when you’re on your own) ... it ended up fine though, of course!  I think its Catholic guilt thing ... I feel guilty (and look guilty) even when I’ve done nothing wrong, I’ve also got an over creative imagination and think that someone could have somehow got into my case and planted something there! 

Anyway, when we boarded the plane, we were delayed an hour.  Then we had a 15 minute flight to Tobago, had to disembark there and then had a further 2 hour wait before getting back on the plane for our 9 hour flight home!   I had a lovely 9 year old girl sitting next to me.  I’m pretty good at sleeping on a night flight, but I woke up after a couple of hours to find her lying on me with one of her feet in my Ugg (and I still had them on!) ... quite cute really.

Once we landed at 8.00 am, I had a 3 hour wait until my flight to Manchester, which was one of the worst flights I’ve ever had.  I don’t know if you remember, but it was unbelievable windy after New Year (the only flight I’ve had which was worse was when I was in South Africa once and we were on a tiny 10 seater plane and were thrown around like being a roller coaster) I was sitting at the back of the plane hanging on to the seat arms for grim death whilst having to listen to one of the Air Stewardesses throwing up!  Doesn’t give you much hope when the Stewards are chucking up ... shows you how bad it was, that coupled with an obviously very nervous passenger at the front of the plane who screamed (and I mean screamed) every time we hit a particularly bad air pocket!

Phew! There’s always gotta be something hasn’t there ... always!  When I got out of the terminal my wonderful life saver taxi driver was waiting for me.  Luckily the drive home was uneventful and  I was deposited home safe and sound for 1.00 pm.

Since then, I’ve ordered a new suitcases (lovely leopard print ones – no surprise there then) and am just arranging dates etc for my next holiday (I’m going back to St Lucia ... so much less hassle!).  One of the girls I was there with last year, Tanya, is going around the same time so it'll be wonderful to see her again plus it’s so much easier going away or meeting with people you know!  Hopefully, that’ll be sorted this weekend and I’ll have something else to look forward to.

My new luggage!

One thing I haven’t mentioned, which is a top tip, half way through my holiday, I discovered that if I turn data roaming off on my phone and just keep Wi-Fi on, I could still get the internet and therefore, Facebook without my account being charged ie totally free!  Being able to talk to my friends especially Debi, Michelle and Glynn through Facebook meant so much to me.  It wasn’t the easiest holiday I’ve ever had, but even if they don’t realise it, their kind words and support meant so much ... so to them, and all my other friends and family who sent me messages, I thank you ... I love you guys, you mean the world to me.

Well lovelies that’s it for today, I’m off for some bubbles.  Until tomorrow, have fun and be fabulous, you lovely people!

Lots of love

Jx

The Christmas Holiday – Part 7

Well, what a busy day yesterday turned out to be ... I went to the gym and did 2 hours ... that’s TWO hours people! (I'm having trouble walking again today ... getting down the stairs was a bloody killer this morning!)  And did a bit of shopping (bought a second pair of Easytone gym leggings from Reebok ... amazing ladies ... amazing!  Make your bum seem nice and taught!, even if it's not ... just like magic they are ... magic!) and I watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with Daniel Craig.  Given that I’m on a health kick I decided to walk to the cinema.  Yes, you read that right, WALK, which actually, sounds more impressive than it is ... it’s only 10 minutes from where I live, but hey, that’s an extra 20 minutes walking = about 120 calories so that’s not to be sniffed at!

When I got my ticket I was sooooo tempted to have my usual Peanut M&Ms and Hot Dog, but again, I resisted (how good am I?  I’m feeling so self righteous at the moment!) and just stuck to an extra large diet coke.  The film was excellent, really good, however, a word of warning ... if you’ve seen the original, it’s pretty much exactly the same, just without the subtitles.  (They remade ‘Let me in’ - remake called ‘Let the right one in’ - that was the same, an unnecessary remake, exactly the same just without the subtitles.) Worth seeing all the same, however, word of warning, it is very graphic and nasty in places ... if you’re squeamish, it isn’t for you.   Shame that they have to do that really, just cos a film is in another language, but I guess they have to do that for the same reason as some towns aren’t showing The Artist.  Gonna leave it there.... again, I don’t want to offend anyone, cos I have quite strong views on that stuff! 

When I got home I made the most enormous warm chicken salad with barbecue seasoning cooked with coconut oil ... getting a bit sick of chicken salad now ... don’t know how longer I’ll be able to do it for, but I’m determined not to turn to the old M&S 'Fuller for Longer' ready meals!

Anyway, back to the story...

The second week (yep, I’ve only covered the first week so far ... told you there was lots!), Sue, Jean and Cordelia had gone and were replaced by a few others ... I know it’s shameful, but I can’t even remember their names ... I didn’t really speak to them much, the only ones I did were:

·        Theresa – a short, squat, rather butch woman who had the room above mine.  She was loud, leery and really quite aggressive.  She woke me up each morning stomping around her room.  Bang bang bang scrape, something dropped ... bang bang bang back across the room, scrape bang, toilet flush ... bang bang bang, scrape – anyway, you get the idea.  I had various names for her including   Fairy Elephant, Lightfoot and Sugarplum.  Is that mean?  You tell me after you've been woken up every morning for a week by someone stomping around above you!

Now she liked a drink and stock piled them each evening during ‘happy hour’ (two for the price of one).  We would usually meet around 7.15 pm for a drink before dinner, she, however, was always at the bar for about 6.30.  I could see her from my room.  This was until towards the end of the week when she found out that ‘happy hour’ was only applicable to local drinks and she’d been drinking cocktails containing Curacao! Pmsl ... She looked like a bulldog chewing a wasp when she found that one out!  One night when Fiona and I were going out for dinner, we saw her at the manager’s cocktail party (which involved free cocktails for the duration of the party) way before anyone else and was already stockpiling!  So funny!

·        Tina – who seemed reasonably normal until Fiona and I invited her out for dinner one night (I’ll tell you about that later) and she never stopped talking about herself all night ... unbelievable ... me, me, me, that’ll be me, me me me, I love me I do and a bit more me then!  Flamin’ nightmare!

As for the others, I think there were 4 of them, I really can’t remember ... is that bad?  I don’t really care! After the first week, I was keeping myself to myself, just couldn’t bear the thought of someone unburdening themselves to me again, luckily, they pretty much left me alone too.  Although I did share my place around the pool with Fiona and Theresa (and I had to endure Theresa’s ill fitting bikini’s ... ewwwwwww had a bit of vomit at the back of my throat then at the thought of it ... it was not a pretty sight!) there weren’t any repeats of week one.  Of the original group, that left Molly, Alvin, Cordelia (however, she was leaving the next day) and me.

Well, what a load of moaning minis ... OMG, did they moan ... about EVERYTHING.  It was painful ... I won’t go into detail about their moans her cos I can’t bear to re-live it, but suffice to say it was about service, food availability, food delivery times, the rooms, the drinks, what was ‘all inclusive’ and what wasn’t etc etc etc ... in fact just about every thing you could moan about, they did.  My answer to this was to pretty much stay as far away from them as much as I could.  They might have been really nice ladies, however, as I said in my first post about the holiday, my main aim was to re-gain my positivity and balance (lost during the last few months) and I wasn’t going to do that around so much complaining and negativity.

During the first night at dinner when they were complaining, I said “The alternative, if you don’t like it here is to go out for dinner; we did it a few times last week and pretty much every night when I came last year”.  Well, you’d have thought I’d suggested some heinous crime!  The response, “Why should we go out when we’ve paid all inclusive”, “I can’t afford to go out, I haven’t brought any money with me” (this from a woman who already had her next 2 Caribbean holidays booked).  Why the hell would you go on holiday and not take money with you?  Also, even if you are all inclusive, don’t you want to go out and see a bit of the island/place you’re staying in, especially if you’re travelling for 9 hours to get there!?  That’s all a bit weird to me.

Anyway, I did get what they were saying ie “Why should we go out when we’ve paid for our meals”.  However, when the alternative is to stay in and moan/not enjoy yourself, knowing it wasn’t going to change no matter how much complaining you do to the hotel or the rep ... Well, I’d rather cut my losses, go out and at least enjoy the rest of my holiday and not let it get to me, rather than get wound up every dinner time and complain constantly.  Granted, you shouldn’t have to, but I’d rather enjoy my holiday thank you very much.

Other than that night and New Years Eve I think Fiona and I went out every night for dinner.  It was quite amusing the next morning at breakfast after each night out, hearing them moaning about their meal from the night before, this was EVERY morning without exception!  I really don’t get that ... as I always say, "If you’re not happy, do something about it!"  So you can see now why I chose not to spend much time with these new people ... negativity oooozed out of every pore and I can tell you that it wasn’t just at breakfast they moaning ... they moaned none stop (at least each time I did come into contact with them!).

We did all go out for dinner one night ... back to the Aquarium.  They didn’t moan about the food or service then ... although they weren’t too chuffed with the bill!!!  I had the same as I had last time ... warm bread with garlic/herb butter, seafood salad and an enormous lobster with garlic butter (and I’m wondering why I put 6lbs on! Lmao).

So, where did Fiona and I go out for dinner?  Well, New Years Day, we’d pretty much had enough of the hotel so we decided to go out.  I asked the receptionist, Stacey, to try and book us in a couple of places but they were closed with it being NY Day.  I asked her where she would recommend and she said she’d try and get us in Calabash.  I asked her if it was good ... she said it was VERY good.  “Great” says me, “That’s good enough for me”.  She booked us in and said that our ‘complimentary’ taxi would pick us up at 7.00 pm (early, I know, but that’s how it is in the Caribbean).  “Complimentary?” I said, “Complimentary, yes” she said.  “Oooooh”, I thought, “this is looking good!”

Taxi picked us up at exactly 7.00 pm and took us to the restaurant ... when we got there; it was only Gary Rhodes restaurant!  Oooooooo and how lovely it was ... absolutely beautiful!  Bloody loved it!  A lovely bit of 5* luxury ... I was in heaven!  We had a couple of rather yummy cocktails in the lounge before being taken to our table.  We had the customary warm, homemade bread with garlic/herb butter and I ordered a shrimp (prawn) starter which was to die for and again, the lobster (fabulous!) for my main.  We also had a bottle of bubbles ... although not champers ... I looked at the price of a bottle of Veuve Clicquot (a rather lovely little champers that I have quite often at home.  It’s usually around £30 in supermarkets, cheaper if you buy a box) they wanted $160 that’s £103 for a £30 bottle of bubbles!!!  Bloody cheek!  All followed by the best cup of black coffee I’d had since I’d been on the island.  After we’d finished, we went outside and waited for our complimentary taxi back to the hotel.  All in all a rather lovely night!

Gary Rhodes Restaurant - view from the bar area ... beautiful!

My gorgeous shimp starter

The most amazing lobster - not a shell in sight!

The next morning at breakfast when asked where we’d been the night before, you could cut the atmosphere a knife!  It seems that they’d had more problems at dinner ... no surprise there then and some where more than a little bit upset that we hadn’t asked them to join us!  For goodness sake, you can’t flamin’ win! Lol 

I’ll tell you about our other nights out; including the lovely Tina and her “I love me, who do you love?” obsession in my next post ... so stay tuned folks!  Off to the gym for yoga now to see if I can stretch some of the pain out of my aching muscles!  Until then, be fabulous you lovely people.

Lots of love

Jx

The Christmas Holiday - Part 6

Busy day, so I'm positing early ... gym first (yes, again!) then I'm off to watch The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ... blimey, it's all go here! Back to the story ...

One evening, sorry can’t remember which; we went to a place for dinner called ‘The Dodgy Dock’ ... dodgy by name dodgy by nature.  Now, we went there a couple of times for dinner last year and it was lovely (was being the operative word).  The restaurant is built out on to the marina was really rather lovely.  However, what a difference a year makes.  Although the food was good, the surroundings had seriously deteriorated and what used to be a reasonably chic restaurant had turned in to a pile it high, knock it out cheap.  A bit disappointing really ... still not as bad as BBs though!

We got a newbie the next day, who came on her own on the Tuesday after Christmas, Fiona ... she was another ‘normal’ person and I’m glad to say that Fiona and I got on really well and as Cordelia was due to go home the next day, I was glad to have someone else on the same wavelength. Cordelia, Molly, Fiona and me all decided to go into the town the next day to go to the supermarket and get a few supplies as well as visiting the local touristy Spice Market. 

Good job we’d decided to do something other than sunbath, because it was clear that it was going to be quite a dull day weather-wise.  We hopped into a cab and trundled off.  Did our supermarket stuff then trotted off to the market which was quite a walk along a really beautiful beach called Grande Anse ... really white beach with the most amazing blue sea.  However, just as we got to the beach, the heavens opened and we dived into what looked like a very uninspiring beach bar.  How wrong can you be!  It was fab inside the food looked amazing.  We all ordered soft drinks and settled in to ride out the storm.  In case you’re interested the name of the bar, Umbrellas.

The rain lasted for about an hour, then started to clear, so we made our way again towards the market.  When we got there, Fiona and I whistled around the market (it’s really small and neither of us bought anything ... I know, I know ... bit of a shocker!) and sat waiting for the other two.  I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m not good shopping with others.  I’m a really quick shopper and hate waiting round, especially if they can’t make their minds up. 

We were both getting a bit bored, so I had a really inspired idea ... “Fancy a rum punch?” I asked Fiona ... blimey, her feet didn’t touch the ground!  We told the others what we were doing and where we were going (back to Umbrellas) and off we went ... walking a whole lot quicker than we had on the way there.  When we were three quarters of the way there, the heavens opened.  Caribbean rain isn’t like our rain.  It’s like turning a bucket upside down ... it was torrential.  Luckily, Fiona had an umbrella (how organised) and we made quick work of getting back to Umbrellas.

We decided to order a rum punch each and wait for the other two before ordering lunch.  We finished those drinks and ordered more.  By 2pm, the other two hadn’t materialised and as we had two large rum punches floating around our decidedly empty stomachs and had been watching the most amazing looking food being delivered to the tables around us for over an hour, we were ravenous.  I said, “Let’s give them til 2.15pm, then we’ll order”.  Within 5 minutes, they’d arrived, together with their purchases and we all ordered the most fantastic food ... Oh and Fiona and I had another rum punch!  Yay!  Molly’s face was a picture and I really didn’t care by then!

I had sweet potato fries and a fish sandwich ... I’ve never had sweet potato fries before ... OMG ... they were to die for.  Cordelia and Fiona decided that they wanted desert ... Chocolate Brownie desert.  I’ve never seen a desert so big ... and it was meant for one, I think? (I’ve put a picture below so that you can see what I’m talking about!).  When it came, Cordelia came up with the quote of the holiday:

“Another ripple in the buttock of life!”

Pmsl, I don’t know if it was the rum punch or what, but I found that totally hysterical!  I can’t really remember much about getting the taxi back to the hotel, but do remember that when we got there, the new people had arrived.  Can’t imagine what they must have thought ... Fiona and I were at bit worse for wear at this point ... afternoon drinking does that to you I find!  However, it didn’t stop us from ordering another rum punch from our less than friendly barman.  Can’t really remember much about the rest of that day/night.  However, I do recall having a steaming hangover when I woke up the next day.  However, it soon subsided after breakfast and I was out again in the sun at 9.00 am. 

Well, it’s that time again lovelies ... I really must get to that gym!  Tomorrow I’ll tell you about our trip to Gary Rhodes restaurant, amongst other things - got some fab pictures too.  It was fabulous!

Until then, be fabulous!

Lots of love.

Jx

The Christmas Holiday – Part 5

Well, I’ve had a lovely day today.  When I finally woke up (unfortunately, as I’m not formally working at the mo -just loads of marketing stuff - I haven’t really bothered to adjust my body clock from my hols – the bad thing about that is that my jet lag will probably kick in when I go back to work ... nice!) I decided to go into Liverpool, do a bit of retail therapy and watch The Artist.  The film wasn’t on in my local town ... that should tell you quite a bit about my local town!  Anyway, I don’t want to offend anyone so I’ll move on ... 

I bought a fab top/dress type thing from Jigsaw and a pair of fab, flat sparkly rhinestoned sandals for my next hols.  The Film ... well, that was completely amazing, I absolutely loved it.  Very different and I’m sure it will be up for many Oscars and if it’s not, then it’s a travesty.  The film is in black and white and silent, in order for that to work in this day and age, the story has to be fabulous ... and it was.  The only thing that really annoyed me (and this is a mahoooosive pet hate of mine) was that towards the end, in order to really bring dramatic tension to the scene, it was completely silent (the film has a continuous music score all the way through that helped to tell the story, so when it was completely silent, it spoke tonnes) however, what do you think happened just at the most dramatic part of the film?  Yep, you guessed it; an old dear’s phone (who happened to be sitting behind me) went off!  OMG, I could have throttled her (as could everyone else in the theatre judging by the jeers!).  Stupid old bat.  I gave the loudest ‘tut’ I could muster and turned round giving her the most disgusted stare I could muster!  Oh and I only had a diet coke ... no peanut M&Ms and not hot dog!  Aren’t I good!

On the way home, I decided to drop into the gym ... yes, you read that right ... I went to the gym!  I’ve lost 3lbs of the 6lbs that I’ve recently put on over my hols and I’ve not even been back a week yet.  So as I’m on a roll, I thought I’d better go with it!  As it happens, it was lovely cos I bumped into a few people I haven’t seen for a while and had a good catch up.  So all in all, a rather lovely day!

Anyway, enough of all that.  Back to the holiday ... Christmas Eve, we decided to go out for dinner ... twice in two days!!! Molly and Sue had been for a walk into the local town, St Georges, during the day and found a place they said looked wonderful for dinner.  So that night, off we all trooped.  When we got there, I was a bit disappointed (that’s a bit of an understatement, but I’m trying desperately not to over dramatise) the place was a bit of a dive and that was looking at it at night.  Molly and Sue had seen it in the daylight!  We obviously have different standards.  They’d described it as ‘lovely little place’ ... more like ‘horrible little hovel’! Hmmm maybe that’s harsh ... then again ...

It’s really quite small with bar to the left and tables which opened up on the marina, ‘nice’ you would have thought except this was obviously the family’s living room as well as the restaurant as there was an old battered green leather couch and chair in one corner with a baby cot complete with sleeping baby (which woke up at intervals and screamed the placed down – lovely). Molly found it quaint, I found it disturbing!).  The floor was old lino and the walls had been written on by numerous patrons over the years (I’ve seen this done before and it can look really cool ... this didn’t, it just looked like it was done to avoid having to paint).

The food ... worst I had on the island (I’d have preferred to stay at the hotel) ... the cost ... more than the Aquarium.  I’d been warned earlier in the day some people around the pool that they can rip you off and to cheque your bill carefully as they were well known for it.  Rip off indeedy doody!  The name of the place, for your reference, BB’s.  DON’T GO ... it’s awful. 

The one good thing about the place was the rum punch which was quite strong, but yummy and when it came round to ordering desert (I don’t eat desert) I decided to order another.  I think that so far I’ve omitted the fact that I was the only one who drank out of the group.  Never, ever before have I been the one on a singles holiday that drinks the most.  Never!  Now, bearing in mind that I’d only had 2 drinks ... just the 2 and they weren’t massively strong, when I ordered the third, Molly piped up, “Aren’t you loud when you’ve had a drink”!!!! 'Loud’ when I’ve had a drink’!!!!!!  OMG, I’d only had 2 and was fully with it – let’s face it guys, you know when you’re drunk and when you’re not ... I absolutely wasn’t. 

Well, I don't know what hit me (maybe I was more drunk than I thought) but I was bloody furious ... FURIOUS ... This woman, who’d already inflicted all her considerable issues on me is now telling me, on my holiday, that I’m ‘loud’ when I’ve had a drink!!!!  Now I don’t often get angry, but hell, I was angry! Here’s me, come away for a chill, to relax, enjoy the sun/sea and have a few drinks and I’m being criticised after having 2 drinks!  I thought, “Blimey, if you think that’s drunk and loud, you don’t ever wanna experience some of my mates when they’ve had a drink, or me, for that fact when I actually am drunk!”  

She did get to see what loud and leery really was with the group that came in the second week ... they made me look like a nun and her nose was well and truly put out of joint! In retrospect maybe I overreacted a bit, but that was really the last thing I needed to hear, especially from her.  Talk about putting a downer on the evening and prompt removal of the warm glow that rum punch tends to give you!

Christmas day was lovely and I was determined not to let anything else upset me.  Christmas is weird in the Caribbean, apart from a few decorations and the odd tree, you really wouldn’t know it is  Christmas.  Spending Christmas day on the beach is wonderful though ... I really can’t tell you just how fabulous it is!  There’s no hassle, no complaining, no moaning, no arguing (are you getting a view of my Christmas’s before I made the decision to always go away?!) no disappointment over presents, just peace (as long as you manage to steer clear of Molly!).  Bliss!

The meal in the evening was mediocre ... a buffet Christmas meal, Caribbean style.  There was turkey (in a sauce), oh and carrots (they love carrots ... the food of the Devil ewwwwww!) that’s where the similarities to a UK Christmas dinner ended.  I didn’t mind though.  However, I did wake in the night with excruciating stomach cramps (I won’t go into the details!) – I’ve travelled loads over the years and this hotel is the only place I’ve ever had a really dickey tummy (I had it a few times in fact, both this year and last year ... I won’t be going back!).  The entertainment was a bit lame too, so I had another early night ... and I honestly didn’t mind that either!

Well lovelies, that’s it for another day ... still got loads more ... I did warn you that there’d be lots of it ... tomorrow I'll tell you about the quote of the holiday ... “Another ripple in the buttock of life!”

Until tomorrow – be fabulous, lovely people.

Lots of Love

Jx