Life, love and Liebster

Do you see things or people as you drive along and form over time a story about them. Wondering about who they are or what do?

I do.

Before I injured my knee, while doing the school run I used to muse about the late middle-aged auburn haired lady, who wore slightly too short trousers that flapped around her ankles as she strode towards her lift. Her hair, short and curled, used to not alter be it rain or shine - a definite advert for firm hold hair spray. She, in all weathers wore a coat, belted tightly around her skinny waist while under her arm her shoulder bag would be equally firmly gripped by a slender hand. She always had a look of grim determination - was her job stressful or did she relish each hour she was there? We would see her determinedly walk towards her destination as we went to school and once I had dropped off the boys, I would some times see her standing, neck outstretched as she tried to spot her lift.  I only saw the waited for lift once or twice and he was young and trendy with slick-black surfboard hair in his fast and shiny modern car.  I don't think they were an item otherwise she would have glowed and smiled on her walk to work, her scowl and set shoulders make me think that it was a lift of convenience - not of love!

Where is she now? I don't know, since returning after an absence of 6 months from not doing the school run, she no longer pounds the pavements in her solid determined gait.

There is a young man, overweight with (here I hate to use the word but it is so descriptive) a ginger straggly beard and un-fashionably tatty hair. He would casually wander towards the 6th form college in his left wing activist T-shirts stretched across his belly and his over-sized jeans hanging low and pendulous off his backside. Some days he wore black rimmed specs, not as a statement of fashion more of a need to see. He always struck me as a solitary figure as he plodded up the pavement,  pretty girls chatted in pairs always over took him and lads guffawing at a private joke lolloped passed him along to the senior school.

As we would sit in the traffic, inching slowly towards the busy roundabout, there was an elderly gent in his gabardine trench coat and flat cap. Clenched tightly between his yellowing dentures he had a wooden bowl pipe - an odd sight these days. He has a shuffling gait that must have worn his shoe soles thread bare. He would shamble along in his own little world - school pupils and mothers with pushchairs would stream passed him as he puffed on his pipe. Then, crossing the road by the roundabout he would disappear into the allotments. I don't seem him any more - is was very elderly and you wonder.......


There is a plump  girl, probably 17 or 18 who over the last two years has been trying to find an identity. Chameleon like she has changed colour and appearance in her bid to find herself. When I first noticed her she was sporting a vivid purple peplem coat, brittle bleached Marian Monroe blonde hair and vinyl skull covered messenger bag. You might wonder why I would remember such details - well she wore the same coat, legally blonde curls and shiny bag for weeks and weeks.
For a while she wore a floral wrap around type dress and honey blonde hair, her appearance belonged to an older generation, that didn't last long.
Her next guise was a Florence and the machine type flaming red-head. The coat was black and she had vinyl  pillar box red lace up biker boots. Her features never changed much, a chubby baby faced girl with pale skin and unsure eyes. She also seemed a loner, walking separately from pretty slim girls who appeared stuck together like giggly glue and boys who were interested in following these bright young things.

Her most recent transformation is the most interesting. Long locks are now dark and rat-tailed. She wears Che Guevara T shirts and torn dirty jeans with heavy biker boots.

And holds hands with the straggly red bearded young man - and they both smile.

I have been lucky enough to receive another award  - thanks you very much Jacqueline (Super Gran)  for thinking of me :)

The Liebster Award is a blog award that apparently originated in Germany, originally to showcase bloggers with less than 200 followers. Once receiving the award the recipient must pass it on to five more blogs of note which is a wonderful way to introducing bloggers to some of your own favourite blogs.

The Leibster Convention says that:......

1. You must thank your award presenter on your blog and link back to them.
2. Copy and paste the award icon into your blog.
3. Present the award to 5 blogs with less than 200 followers that you love.
4. Leave a comment on their blog to let them know
5. Have faith that these award winners with spread the blog love!

So here goes ; 

• See Liz at Home - she always has such beautiful things and photos
• marie's making - I love the things she makes, her tutorials and Ralph who comes to visit.
• Grateful for Crochet - an antipodean look at crochet with lots of pictures of sky! Which, at the moment in soggy Britain is a much desired thing.....
• There are many more blogs I follow but so many don't have their followers listed so for now, here are three to go and visit and say hello.

Well, that was a lot to say, there is more, like blowing bubbles for the kitten whilst parked in the car outside the vets or having a belly laugh and getting my happy batteries recharged with a dear friend when we met for lunch yesterday - but hey - you've got things to do and I've got the carpet to vacuum - boy do we live life in the fast lane!!!