As I write this I feel I cannot really be held accountable for the content – not after 3 glasses of champagne and a roaring log fire; it is my birthday after all and the champers was a thank you present, it’s not as if it’s a regular purchase in our weekly household shop. Looking back it hasn’t been a bad late 40 something birthday with the impending onset of senility made more bearable by my Teens who are still at the age to make birthdays a jolly affair and not worry about the wrinkles.
So off we all went this lunchtime to the recently opened Wheelbirks Farm Ice Cream Parlour, along with Teen2’s boyfriend from university, where I completely forgot all the extra pounds I have piled on since ops 3 & 4 because my diet will definitely start tomorrow. The farm takes great pride in their prize winning herd and even the tables are named after their cows.
We sat at Nell’s table where I enjoyed the most melt-in-the mouth beef goulash followed by a chocolate sundae and it was thumbs all round from the rest of the party who enjoyed soup, paninis and sandwiches. The only problem was having to choose from the mouthwatering flavours of ice-cream flavours which is made from milk from their own dairy herd of Jersey cows. In the end they plumped for lemon sorbet, blueberry muffin, panacotta. It was a lovely leisurely celebration in a beautiful setting overlooking an orchard and it certainly made a rainy day appear much brighter.
Afterwards we went across the farmyard to look at the adorable Jersey calves and I really hoped that I hadn’t just eaten one of their parents, delicious though it tasted.
The champagne is also a celebration for completing my DigitalCity fellowship at Teesside University 2 days ago, I feel I have reached a watershed moment; the most digitally illiterate person emerging with confidence and much more digital awareness. It’s been an up and down ride but I feel that overall it’s been a positive experience and although I am still I am frustratingly still without a website for my spoken word content, I hope that the time spent learning and becoming more digitally aware will be a good foundation stone to build on.
I am also feeling very pleased because I have just had a short play accepted for a readthrough at The Live Theatre in Newcastle. I am hoping to develop the story into a series of short monologues for either stage or audio production. Perhaps it’s that time of life when I can write knowledgeably about the trials and tribulations and intimate thoughts of a middle aged woman. So I am feeling excited but at the same time nervous to hear actors read it through and wonder what other people might think about it.
