7 July 2013

When it's family, they're a mirror of the worst and best in you

Just in case you missed it, someone won Wimbledon.

I mean, they didn't win the place. The Wombles would go mad, being sold off and privatised. They just won a game of tennis.

I won't tell you who, just in case. But anyway, you probably heard John whooping about it.


So...Friday night. I got to Nicky's, and we drove over to Danny's. I don't know what we thought we'd do. I honestly...no, I just don't know. But I hoped we'd be able to talk. Like adults.

But no, felt like I was ten again, holding Danny while he bit me and tried to knee me in the bollocks and Nicky was crying and...nothing was ever going to change.



Like I said in John's comments, the thing I'm most...well, totally bloody livid about, to be honest, is that in an attempt to 'sweeten' Mum up he's been taking her booze, and cigarettes, I'd guess, but I don't know. And then he pulls these sob stories about not being able to see his kids because he's got no car and his ex won't let him - and it's just...it's all of his own making! But he doesn't accept that. He just thinks he didn't get the advantages we did. Although I've no bloody idea what he thinks they were.

Ah, anyway, thinking about it just makes me angry again. We got good things sorted too. Danny won't be getting the house without our say-so, as well as Mum's. That's probably about it, though.

The police down there will treat Mum's address as a priority. They've offered her a panic alarm and said they can get Danny an ASBO, but only if she wants to follow that route. And, right now, she won't. So...


Anyway, enough. Yesterday we went swimming, which was lovely. Today was allotment and tennis and then the park and ice cream. It was great - and hot! Especially when you're running around after a Sherlock and some dogs :)


I found this. It's rap. Not normally a genre I sample, but this came recommended.

87 comments:

John H. D. Watson said...

The Wombles would go mad

And that would be terrifying.

That video is...really lovely.

Greg Lestrade said...

It would! They're big. And slightly scary.

Isn't it? Why can't more people be nice like that? Why is there so much misogynistic, homophobic crap?

John H. D. Watson said...

I was traumatised by a man dressed as a Womble when I was small. True story.

I really don't know.

REReader said...

Wombles?

Yeah, not a rap fan, but that's pretty great.

pandabob said...

The Wombles would go mad

that made me laugh!!

I'm glad you got something sorted on Friday night even if it wasn't everything :-)

My heart screams bullies and abusers should never get anything ever but my head is sort of understanding of why you might decide he should get the house in the end.

I'm glad you've had a good weekend with your boys and that you've made the most of the sun :-)

Greg Lestrade said...

The Wombles of Wimbledon Common, RR.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCf_PpDUTdA

Danger - dare I ask how? I mean...I wasn't really a fan, myself, if I'm honest. By the time they were on the TV I didn't watch much of it. Whereas I imagine you were just the right age ;)

John H. D. Watson said...

I don't remember much, really, apart from running away and crying. I had the same reaction to people dressed as Santa. I was very young.

Greg Lestrade said...

I shall check you're not still terrified of old men with white beards before I grow mine then ;)

Loads of kids TV is either slightly terrifying or, when you look back on it, just a bit too weird.

REReader said...

A man-sized one of those things would not be a comforting thing, to say the least... O_O

(Of course, according to my mom, I had a very similar reaction to seeing Bozo the Clown in person. But in my defense, we had a black-and-white TV, and who know he'd look like THAT!?!

John H. D. Watson said...

I'm pretty sure it's weirder now, too.

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah, I'm kind of glad Sherlock isn't into any of it. I've witnessed enough police officers trying to explain things like Pokamon or whatever to each other in an attempt to be able to bond with their kids - all completely baffling.

pandabob said...

kids TV now is full of spoilt brats and/or magical powers. its no wonder kids are getting weirder ;-)

REReader said...

I miss Rocky and Bullwinkle. You knew where you were with Fractured Fairy Tales!

Greg Lestrade said...

I quite liked the Magic Roundabout.

The scariest things were the public information films.

Lonely Water...need I say more.

John H. D. Watson said...

Terrifying.

Greg Lestrade said...

Yup.

And all the nuclear ones! 'Protect and Survive'...as if lying in a ditch with your jumper over your head will protect you from a nuclear attack! Well...maybe one of your jumpers ;)

John H. D. Watson said...

My jumpers are pretty tough, it's true.

REReader said...

Eep!

I prefer Mr. Peabody and Sherman. ;)

Greg Lestrade said...

I'm fairly sure one of your really thick jumpers could protect against nuclear fall out.

Obviously you should do what the films told us, and 'brush yourself off' before entering a building 'in case you have fall-out dust on your clothing'....

John H. D. Watson said...

Or they'd mutate into some huge, boneless, sentient sheep.

Greg Lestrade said...

...that is kind of terrifying.

When are you working again? All this hot weather will mean lots of lovely drunks suffering from heat stroke and alcohol poisoning...

John H. D. Watson said...

Thursday, day shift. You make it sound so appealing, I can't wait... ;)

Greg Lestrade said...

Well, it's that or idiots who think that a complete stranger wearing fewer clothes in the heatwave may as well be a written invite for some sort of sexual assault, and all the misery that involves.

Often you'll get a double whammy of both at once - drunk and an arsehole.

And just occasionally you get drunken arsehole now nursing broken nose/injured testicles or something, because the person they tried it on with was prepared or shocked enough to instinctively have a go back.

John H. D. Watson said...

That was more or less what happened with the hot sauce.

Greg Lestrade said...

Really? huh.

Want to go to bed. But it's too hot.

John H. D. Watson said...

We'd better give it a try. Getting late.

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah. I shall wrap myself in just a sheet and pant on you like the dogs do - big moist hot breaths all over you ;)

Greg Lestrade said...

it's too hot for my preferred recipe for sleep.

(Take one DI, wrap in duvet/sheet as appropriate, apply to the back of one Doctor liberally, leave to simmer....)

I shall be grumpy in the morning.

REReader said...

A 15-minute lukewarm bath or shower will cool you off a lot, and the cool should last long enough for you to fall asleep (although not wrapped around another heat source, sorry!).

Greg Lestrade said...

It's not that hot - except for the doc. We need a bigger bed. Except I really prefer to be wrapped around him. Can't have everything, can you.

REReader said...

As Steven Wright says, if you had everything, where would you put it? :)

Readaholic said...

Hey L, I just saw this article about fingerprints and wanted to know if the statistics matched up to your experiences.

http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2013/july/new-fluorescent-fingerprint-tag-aims-to-increase-ids-from-2018hidden2019-fingerprints-on-bullets-and-knives

I wonder how long it takes for a new technique to trickle down to the police?

rsf said...

The video in the entry is charming. The Wombles are... well, I've seen odder things made for children, but they are pretty strange. The library has some films like Crystal Tipps and Alastair, or the Mole series that we still occasionally show to small people. (Who like them. When you're new, so is everything else.)

Good luck with the heat. I'm trying to figure out how to get cool enough to sleep without actually hauling an ice pack into bed with me.

Small Hobbit said...

Hey L - cue for that old joke "Sometimes I wake up grumpy; and sometimes I leave him to sleep."

And now to join the rest of the UK population moaning "it was too hot to sleep last night".

Greg Lestrade said...

I was leapt on by Sherlock and demands for ice cream at about 5am.

John was quite grumpy :)

rsf said...

Mmm. Ice cream for breakfast. Sounds perfect.

Anonymous said...

I may or may not have put ice cream on my waffles on several occasions...

-Ella

Greg Lestrade said...

Shhh, he'll think he should be entitled to it! He was refused ice cream this morning. Had to settle for yoghurt.

REReader said...

Yogurt is a good breakfast, especially with some wheat germ or the like sprinkled on it. (When my family has "ice cream", it's almost always frozen yogurt anyway.)

Greg Lestrade said...

You and the boys feeling ok Danger?

Hope you are, and enjoying the sunshine.

John H. D. Watson said...

Yeah, pretty good. How are you doing?

Greg Lestrade said...

Hot - like everyone!

I just got a bit of stomach ache. Had it on and off. Just wanted to check you guys were ok.

REReader said...

Feel better, L.

Sherlock, how much longer are you in school, and are you having a show at the end of year again (which may or may not require costuming)?

John H. D. Watson said...

It's just you, I'm afraid. I hope it's not too bad and that you start feeling better soon.

I might make dinner tonight :( you didn't have anything planned?

John H. D. Watson said...

that unhappy face was supposed to be an " if"... I hope it's not prophetic.

Greg Lestrade said...

Ha! I hope so too!

I don't have anything planned. Buy don't worry much about feeding me. Eating makes it worse.

John H. D. Watson said...

Sorry to hear that, love. I'll make it something gentle and you can decide when you see it.

Sherlock said...

We went to the allotment and Reg gave us strawberries and I ate one and they're nice and we had to give some to Mrs Hudson but we kept some for you too if you're sick though I'll eat them

Greg Lestrade said...

So...you have just generously offered to eat my strawberries?

I'll see how I feel.

Whatever John's creating smells nice.

REReader said...

I'm sure it's just that Sherlock doesn't want them to go to waste. :)

I hope you're feeling better now you're home, L.

Sherlock said...

I'm going to make Eton mess except Mycroft doesn't like Eton so maybe we'll call it something else and I'm going to smash up the meringues and Mycroft can do the cream and it'll be nice

REReader said...

I had to look up "Eton mess"; it sounds yummy (whatever you call it :))! You're getting to be quite the chef, Sherlock.

Greg Lestrade said...

We're having strawberries, cream and meringue-dust. Sherlock didn't 'gently crumble', he pulverised out of existence.

REReader said...

You can't fault his enthusiasm! (I'm sure he'll get closer to "crumble" next time. :))

Sherlock said...

It's fun smashing them and it tastes the same anyway sort of

Anonymous said...

I think I need to go hunting on the internet, because to me, meringue is a goopy egg thing that goes on pie, not something that can be crumbled.

John H. D. Watson said...

If you put bloops of it on a baking sheet and bake them, they get hard and sort of biscuit like. (non technical explanation)

Anonymous said...

Also, why can I log in and comment on Firefox, but not in Chrome? You would think a google browser and a google blog could talk to each other without trouble...

Anonymous said...

Ahh! I have had those. *tries to remember if they were called meringues or something else*

Also "bloop" sounds entirely like a technical term. ;)

Greg Lestrade said...

Ella - there is no telling which bits of technology will refuse to talk to each other, vs. which bits will conspire behind your back when you didn't even know they knew each other.

REReader said...

It's fun smashing them

Yeah!

(And of course the taste wouldn't be much different, only the texture would be. I'm sure it's yummy anyway!)

We usually make meringue cookies for Passover, because they don't use any flour. Very light and sweet!

Anonymous said...

It's fun smashing them

Don't interpret this as an open invitation, but I gotta say, sometimes it's just fun to smash things generally, isn't it? (You should of course ask John and Lestrade for specific permission before you smash)

Nicky said...

You okay, Orio? Haven't given yourself a stomach ulcer, have you?

I sorted things out today. Went to see Mum. I wouldn't recommend calling her for a bit, she thinks we're meddling too much.

Mycroft, I hope you're having a nice start to the holidays.

pandabob said...

I'm glad you got things sorted Nicky and I hope your mum comes round soon :-)

did dinner make you feel better Greg?

Greg Lestrade said...

...I have to watch what I say, given John cooked!

Err...no. I'm fine, then I eat...and I'm not fine for a bit. Then I'm fine again! So not eating seems to be the cure. Although obviously not brilliant... I ate some toast earlier, and that seemed ok though... so I guess I'll just stick to plain things.

Sherlock did indeed eat my eton mess. I rescued a few strawberries out of it. They were very nice.

REReader said...

Just wanted to say, Nicky--it's a lot on your plate, and I know it's hard, and you handle it with enviable grace.

pandabob said...

a short term cure is still a good cure for the time being :-)

I'm glad Sherlock enjoyed your pudding.

Anonymous said...

Resisting the urge to diagnose, especially when you have a doctor there :), but I hope you're soon better

Lancs. Anon

Greg Lestrade said...

Don't think so, Nicks. Probably something I ate, or just a bug. Don't worry, John is already giving me looks and taking my temperature by stealth (which isn't at all stealthy, because he really only goes for a kiss on my forehead when he's temp-taking. It's not exactly an erogenous zone...)

Thanks for seeing Mum. I'll call you tomorrow. And you call me, any time, if you need anything - even just a chat, okay?

Olli said...

Pregnant, obviously.

(sorry! sorry! I deleted it five times, it just keeps hopping back into the comments box. Geez, feel better, and I promise I'll shut up.)

Greg Lestrade said...

I hope John, being a doctor, would have noticed if I had the wherewithall to get up the duff. But you never know, the boys might be experimenting on me...

Greg Lestrade said...

Danger, boys, I got Thursday off :)

pandabob said...

yay a day off!

I hope you're feeling better today than you did yesterday Greg or if not that you've found something to help :-)

John H. D. Watson said...

Excellent :) I'll try not to get called in while we're in the middle of something...probably best to avoid swimming.

Greg Lestrade said...

Yes!

But at least I can do the school run if needed. And Mycroft and I can spend the day together, unless I cramp his style too much ;)

Anonymous said...

Well...that depends on the location of the flip flops, doesn't it? ;)

-ella

Greg Lestrade said...

Ha! It does. But he's a nice young man. He'll put up with me :) (or go and do something interesting without me)

We did say we'd have a session on the guitars, without our favourite critic around...

Greg Lestrade said...

Be a little late home. Some bastard just made me chase him. In this weather. Got to book him in and hand over before I'm home.

John H. D. Watson said...

Highly inconsiderate of him.

Greg Lestrade said...

Glad to say I caught him! My shirt looks like I've entered a wet t shirt comp though. And piercing a are a bit too obvious for my liking.

Anonymous said...

I tried to ride my to work through the heat here. 16 miles...I'm sweating in a most unladylike fashion. (I made it 12 and got on the bus. Still a little out of shape from my crash.)

-ella

Greg Lestrade said...

Don't think I could ride that far without having crashed, Ella - let alone with!

My run earlier was thankfully short, because he was in far worse shape than me! But still waaay too hot.

Greg Lestrade said...

Watching the Piper Alpha programme...it's just... unbelievable people survived.

REReader said...

I had to look that up, but once I did I remembered it--terrifying.

How's the stomach today (especially considering the extra exercise you ended up getting)?

Greg Lestrade said...

Sorry, was watching the end. They had some survivors, talking about their experiences.

Stomach is...yeah, a bit better I think. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Don't think I could ride that far without having crashed, Ella - let alone with!

It's amazing what you can get used to when you don't have a car and public transportation doesn't go where you need it to. ;)

-ella

Unknown said...

oh my, can Danny get run in for Elder abuse? or is that what the ASBO would be for? what a mess he is. Seems to me the "advantage" you and Nicky have is that you grew up and took responsibility for yourselves...
*love* the video, had to blow my nose after. :)
So, I find that I am, consistently, deeply moved by other people getting married, whether they are friends of mine, or you blokes, or random people on the internet (like those lovely photos from first-day equal marriage, etc). I just love it. At the same time, I"m well shut of my own, and can't imagine ever going near that again myself. Is that weird?
Wombles: adorable! :D thanks!

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