Monkee

It’s been a bit of an emotional day for me... but in a good way.

Just over three years ago I was made redundant. It was extremely upsetting because I’d only been in the job a couple of months having got out of another job that had literally driven me into the ground. But I didn’t realise at the time that it was the best thing to ever happen to me. I got an interim job in a pub and met the best people and made great friends.

It was almost a year later when I finally got a job that ticked all the boxes for me - it was closer to home, doing a bit of everything I enjoyed, and it was doing something that’s actually meaningful. I started working for a local children’s hospice. 

It was a bit daunting as I’d never worked in the charity sector and I thought a hospice was somewhere grim and full of death. I was totally wrong on that last part. It’s the complete opposite. It’s so full of joy and life and laughs. Not once have I woken up in the morning and not wanted to go to work.

Over the last two years we’ve been building a purpose-built hospice specifically for children. There isn’t one in North London. There are hospices that cater for children but they also care for adults too. The staff moved into the building in July and it is absolutely incredible. And seeing the joy on parents’ faces watching their children is just amazing.

Today we had the grand opening. It was opened by Sadiq Khan, Hugo Lloris and Jenna Schillaci. It was just a brilliant day. So many families were there and all the children got to play in the inclusive playground. There’s a wheelchair accessible swing, roundabout, see-saw and even a trampoline for wheelchairs. It meant ALL the children including brothers and sisters could actually play on the same things at the same time as each other.

It’s been a lot of hard work to get here and there’s more work to do to hire more staff and open more facilities but I love my job. I’ve been a bit emotional this evening looking at all the photos I’ve taken today and we were featured on both BBC London and ITV London news.

This is a long post but I just wanted to share my feelings. There are actually jobs out there that you can really love doing.

Also, if you feel like supporting, please give us a follow on social media - we’re Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I’m the digital marketing manager so you’ll be boosting my targets if you do ❤️ Thanks for reading.

I loved the last series of The Circle. At first, I was like “What the hell is this?! Who the fuck are these people?! I hate them all!! I have to Sky+ it...” Looking forward to watching the new series and seeing how they up the ante.

I have had the most amazing (and surreal) day... Every year since Band of Brothers was filmed the US-based actors have an annual BBQ at Michael Cudlitz’s house in LA. Well, the UK-based actors have finally caught up and I got invited to go! Had an absolutely incredible day and I’m exhausted. Just thought I’d share these two pics though before I go to sleep.

Just booked to go to Disneyland Paris in February staying at the Cheyenne. Not stayed in a Disney hotel before. Wanted to do the Eurostar too but it doesn’t coincide with the days we wanted to go so it looks like we’re driving instead. I’ve been before but I can’t wait for this trip already!

Do they do Magic Bands there yet?

3 hours ago, Chest Rockwell said:

I remember the Boston bombing being one of the first breaking news stories of that magnitude that I was following live as it unfolded in the age of social media, Reddit and of course on here with neil as our man on the ground. Seemed like such a dramatically different way to experience something like that than just having to rely on 'proper' news.

The first major [mass killing/terrorism] event that happened on live rolling 24-hour news was Columbine. I was in my first year of uni in Liverpool and was glued to it. As I was studying journalism at the time, I used Columbine/Marilyn Manson as part of my dissertation into the mainstream media blaming alternative culture for deviant behaviour. Sky News sent me some of their footage when I was in my 3rd year so I could use it as a reference and I visited the Kerrang archives as well. I also used other case studies such as the West Memphis 3, the Judas Priest court case, and a few others thrown in, but this was the first to happen in the ‘internet’ age.

When 9/11 happened I was sitting in the doctor’s office waiting to have jabs before going travelling for a year. I remember watching on the TV in the waiting room and staring in disbelief.

When the 7/7 bombings happened in London I was late for work because I was trying to enter a Radio 1 competition to win tickets to the British Grand Prix. When I got to the station (Holloway Road on the Piccadilly Line) they were just closing it and people were evacuating. I managed to get a seat on the first bus that came along - I worked in Leicester Square at the time - and was sat near the driver. I could hear his radio say that there’d been a power surge at King’s Cross and signal failure. I had to phone signal so I just about managed to text my boss to tell him I was going to be late after several attempts.

I got off the bus outside the Shaftesbury Theatre and was walking towards Seven Dials in Covent Garden when I heard a bang. As I’m from Wales I’m used to the noise of coal lorries driving past. They have a gate on the back that bangs with a metal sound when they go over a bump. That’s what the noise was like and I remember turning around and thinking how odd it was for a coal lorry-type vehicle to be in the centre of London. When I got into work my office phone was ringing. I picked it up and it was mum mum sounding frantic. She asked me where I’d been and I laughed saying I’d had to get the bus and then she told me there had been a bombing on the tube and that a bus had just exploded near Euston. That’s when I realised that was the noise I’d heard.

Work got cancelled later and I had to walk home. This was before I had Google Maps and had no idea where I was going. It took me about 4 hours. It’s probably just one of those “what if” things but if I hadn’t have been late leaving then I might have been on that Piccadilly Line train at King’s Cross.

And I still got horrible flashbacks when I heard that metal-on-metal sound like a coal lorry.

On 9/8/2019 at 5:44 PM, Mr_Danger said:

For me, it'll always be the dodgy fair in Salou. Like the waterparks over there the real thrill is in trying to second guess what will and will not fly with the Spanish health and safety police. For added bonus points i was only a nipper yet they still let me walk away with a bottle of Schnapps I won on the ring toss.

Oh my god, I LOVED the fair in Salou! You brought back memories with this one. I used to love the ‘pull a string, get a prize’ stall. I think I probably won a few bottles on that too. And the woman who ran it was always chewing a massive ball of gum. My dad reckons it was the same piece of gum every time we went and we went there more than 10 times in the late 80s/early 90s. 

They also had that bouncy ride that was called the Kangaroo or something. Seen a few inappropriately dressed women come off that wishing they’d worn [better] bras.

1 hour ago, PunkStep said:

That makes a lot more sense, I presumed it was for adults!

It’s technically for ‘children’ up to the age of 18 who are supported by us so it’s for all ages, abilities and cognitive recognition. We just got to test it out first! We even have a fully-accessible outdoor playground featuring a swing, see-saw, roundabout and trampoline that can accommodate wheelchairs.

1 hour ago, PunkStep said:

Where do you work? Google?!

I work for a children’s hospice. We have a soft play room that has slides, a ball pool and a trampoline as well as a multi-sensory room that has a vibrating water bed, musical walls, bubble machines and a bouncy cube that talks to you.

We had a soft play room installed at work yesterday which includes a ball pool!

I was at the RAF Museum today in Hendon and the LadBaby family were there. Really wanted to say hello but didn’t want to disturb them. Bit of a crap “Celeb” spot but I really like that family and have a bit of a girl crush on the mum.

On 8/1/2019 at 7:20 PM, Lord-Mountevans said:

My other point was that if you call it "Anusol" you might as well call it "Rectum Relief" or "Anal Agony"? Why not call it something a little less crude or obviously "arse related". Any decent product should not necessarily have a link to its use, within its name

Vagisil and Vagisan are the same with naming. I’ve never heard of anything more horrific than Vagisan MoistCream. For fuck sake, Karen, if you were any more dry you’d be a fire hazard!

Brilliant contribution to the thread there. Thanks for your in-depth input and analysis.

I will definitely do it at some point but maybe not for a couple of years yet. I was originally planning on doing it next year if it was open earlier but (a) it’s not and (b) not sure I could sell a kidney that quickly.

Jesus Christ, that’s expensive even for Disney prices! How the hell do they think families will be able to afford that?! It’s making my eyes water just thinking about it.

I didn’t realise until this week that Ed Kemper is Hazel from The Umbrella Academy.

Watched Mindhunter 2 last week. I liked it but didn’t think it was as good as the first season. The guy who played Manson was great, Berkowitz was scarily accurate and Kemper was brilliant just like S1. I didn’t think this season was as dark though and I felt like the Atlanta Child Murders case was dragged out but then tied up in one episode. 

I’m hoping Netflix/Prime eventually do something on the Golden State Killer based on Michelle McNamara’s book but I’m guessing they’ll wait until the court case is over.

My mum and me at the rugby in Cardiff on Saturday. We’d just sung the national anthem which she always gets emotional at so I was making fun of her.

That sounds absolutely horrendous! It reminds me of when I went on (in?) The Mummy at Universal Studios LA. Didn’t realise it was a haunted house-style and I almost had a breakdown half way through. It was never ending and one of the worst experiences of my life.

Ep. 34, around 11min40 in - is that you screaming in the American Horror Story house? That just sounded like hell.

I was wondering how they’re going to do Us too. I haven’t seen then film but having watched the trailer and read the synopsis there doesn’t seem to be any stand-our obvious imagery associated with it so it’ll be interesting to see what HNN does with it. I thought the Killer Klowns looked good last year too. I love how they go all out but it still wouldn’t make me go.

I saw earlier that Rob Zombie is bringing his House of 1,000 Corpses to HHN this year. I wish I liked that sort of stuff but you’d never get me to go to anything like that. I love watching the reveal videos for what Universal has planned but, the last time I was in Florida in October, I was SO glad to leave the park before it went dark. Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween is probably my limit!

37 minutes ago, scratchdj said:

I’m 40 soon, my wife is 43 and we don’t have kids. I feel like we’re far too old to have come all the way to Universal Orlando and queue for the Harry Potter, E.T and Spiderman rides.

This. Definitely this. I’m 40 next year, so is my best mate and there’s a month between us. So we’ve decided we’re going to Disneyland Paris for a blow-out in February. She’s not usually one for enforced fun but I’ve already told her we’re getting the ears and everything. I’d get us matching T-shirts as well if it wasn’t February and we’ll probably have 15 layers on.

I always feel weird going to Florida with just the two of us. I’m sure most people think we’re a couple too. We have way more fun on the rides than the kids. In the queues to pass the time we always play Heads Up and the kids around us end up joining in.

I sometimes feel to be old to be doing cosplay as well. Like I’m playing dress up and should get over it.

I bought my Xbox One to play Fortnite against my nephews. They make fun of how rubbish I am but I prefer playing stuff like Kefflings. People in work think I’m weird when I start talking about gaming. We just got a teen cinema/gaming room for the kids at work and when it came to setting up the Wii/PlayStation/Xbox my manager just pointed at me and said I’d do it but if I go missing during the day for more than 30mins then that’s the first place people are to look for me.

There are lots of things I do that make me feel like I’m too old to be doing it... but I then think “Fuck it” - if I’m enjoying myself then who gives a toss.

A few posts here and yet no-one’s even attempted to give @Undefeated Steak an example of why someone may identify as non-binary. I’m not an expert but it could be for various reasons. One example could be that someone doesn’t feel right as either wholly male or female, they may feel more comfortable being androgynous/ambiguous because either neither gender feels right or that the identify with both at once.

Another reason for being non-binary may be more of a political/sociological choice in not wanting to conform to the accepted versions of either male or female. This would be more along the lines of the example above of a couple raising their child non-binary. There are a lot of norms and values associated with being male or female - how you’re expected to behave, traits, characteristics, how you look/dress. For example, if you don’t want Aunty Betty to keep buying pink sparkly dresses because ‘little girls are meant to be pretty’ and telling off a little boy for crying because ‘boys don’t cry’ then you avoid your child being obviously male or obviously female. It’s all about breaking gender stereotypes.

These are two examples of why someone might identify as non-binary. They’re not definitive and everyone will have their own reasons but I hope that gives you some idea of the thought process behind it.

I’ve just finished watching The Boys on Amazon Prime and, while I thought it was really building into an explosive finale that made me want more, I’m just left with “Is that it?!” Anyone seen it?

Also, a bit late to the game but I’ve just started Preacher. Only on episode 2 at the moment but it seems pretty good.

I made a scrapbook type thing for ‘What you did in the summer holidays’ when I was in school. It was all about my trip to Florida and I wrote it like a tourism guide. I found it not so long ago and it contained these gems...