31 May 2009

Spray It Again

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Here is an appeal on behalf of mums of young children to the makers of spray-tan booths.
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Please make a booth where your child steps into it and steps out
one-nano-second later covered in factor 50 sun-cream that lasts all day, even if they go swimming.
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Because I don't think I can cope with another summer of squiggling, squirming, shrieking and whingeing when the sun-cream comes out.
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29 May 2009

Shame's A Great Motivator

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Hmmm.
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Fearful that I may have sent prospective customers running for the hills in horror after posting that picture of my workroom, I took a couple of hours out this afternoon to clear it up.
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It probably looked like a complete pig-sty bigger mess than it actually was, so it really didn't take me long to get it straightened up.
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Halfway through

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Honestly, it's true!

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Believe it or not, I do actually have a place for everything.
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It's just that I'm not so great at putting things back in their place.
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It took a couple of these
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(only mine were in a china cup)
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.And some singing along to them

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To get it looking like this.

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So you can all come back now ... the scary room has gone ... for now ...
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What Half Term Brings ...

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I can't stop long, just long enough to let you know that this half-term week, I have been as busy as a
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Doing lots of this
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Which means my workroom now looks like this
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(yikes - I can't believe I'm showing you that!)
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So much so, that the dining-room table now looks like this (even at tea-time)
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And because it's half-term, I've been watching more of this than is healthy
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And I now know the soundtrack to this off by heart
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I've also been watching lots of this
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And hope these guys win because they make me laugh
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I haven't been doing enough of this

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Or this

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Which means I'm looking a bit like this

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But I have at least stuck to eating this
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Don't forget there's still time for you to enter this
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Where you could win 3 of these
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And as for next week, I shall be employing these guys to tidy my pit workroom
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And that, as they say, is that

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22 May 2009

Tagged To The Power Of Eight

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Amanda over at Kitschycoo has tagged me, and as I'm running low on blog-inspiration, I thought I'd give it a go ...
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8 Things I am looking Forward to ...
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1. My holiday with boy*jelly and Granny*jelly at the end of July
2. My order for heat 'n' bond being delivered because I've ground to a halt without it
3. Being thinner, which is connected to the next one;
4. It getting easier at the gym, because it's completely exhausting me at the moment
5. Going to see Michael Macintyre, Bill Bailey and Tim Minchin performing on various dates
6. Going to see Take That in Cardiff next month!
7. My first craft fair of the year in Lacock in August, because last year it was really busy (apparently)
8. The next episode of Dr Who so I can spend 45 minutes leering at watching David Tennant (cue gratuitous photo)
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8 Things I Did Yesterday ...
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1. Slept in because it's Mr Jelly's turn to take boy*jelly to school this week
2. Waited for my heat 'n' bond to arrive with the postman. It didn't.
3. Spoke to a stockist about an order that Royal Fail Mail were late delivering.
4. Faffed about with my blog trying to work out why it wouldn't open properly.
5. Removed my "follower" widget from my blog because that's what was stopping my blog from opening properly
6. Made a beaded watch for a customer order
7. Had a very long sleep in the afternoon whilst boy*jelly watched Spongebob (told you the gym was exhausting me)
8. Laughed myself silly at "The Inbetweeners"
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8 Things I Wish I Could Do ...
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1. Tidy up after myself
2. Sketch / draw / paint
3. Sing in tune
4. Fit into a size 12 pair of jeans
5. Be more patient
6. Be better at time management
7. Be more disciplined
8. Whistle really loudly with my fingers in my mouth
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8 Shows I Watch ...
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1. Everybody Loves Raymond
2. Q.I (We're going to a recording in June - we'll be in the audience, hence the whistling reference above)
3. The Inbetweeners
4. Dr Who (oh, cue another gratuitous photo)
5. Ashes To Ashes
6. How Not To Decorate
7. Gok's Fashion Fix
8. Anything on Discovery Health & Leisure, including DIY S.O.S / House Doctor / 10 Years Younger / John & Kate Plus Eight
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So now I have to tag 8 other people, and I choose :
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Ethel and Edna because I think she's forgotten she's got a blog ...
Busy Lizzie because I accused her of being Australian recently, even though she's a Kiwi.
Kathi D at I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus because I love her blog and need to know more about her
Cathy at Menopausal Musing for the same reasons as Kathi D above
Mrs Jelly Belly well with a name like that ....
Kathryn at Our Shabby Cottage, because she has the same taste in colours as me ... pink!
Katy at I'm A Ginger Monkey - because she gave me tons of advice about having a tattoo
Laurie at 23 Beechill because I know one of her "looking forward to" will have something to do with Archibald learning how to heel ...
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Here's the rules, just in case you want to follow them:
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1. Mention the name of the person who tagged you.
2. Do the lists of 8.
3. Tag 8 bloggers of your choice.
4. Let them know that they have been tagged!
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21 May 2009

Dolls Of Hope

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Remember a little while ago I told you about the charity project they were running over on Craft Hope
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(see my original post here)
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Well Granny*Jelly has done herself proud and whizzed up this pair of dolls on her knitting needles.
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She's given the boy doll the Nicaraguan football team colours to wear.
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They're so cute.

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I wish I could sell her knitted toys for her as she loves making them, but the legalities of selling handmade toys are so restrictive it's more hassle than it's worth.
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I hope this pair of dolls make some children very happy.
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Well done Granny*Jelly!

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xx
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20 May 2009

Ooh I Say!

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Some of you may have realised after 300 posts that I have quite a good sense of humour and enjoy a giggle.
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I frequently get sent funny emails by family members as well as ex-colleagues.
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I quite often deliberate about whether to post them on this blog, but always err on the side of caution ... after all, I do sometimes promote products for children on here.
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So now I've created a blog to post them to.
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I won't update it as regularly as this one, but if you like smutty jokes, then pop along and become a follower.
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I promise never to post anything blasphemous or racist, but you might find the odd picture of nakedness on there ...
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300 Posts? Eggscellent!

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In just over a year, I've made 300 blog posts!
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And in time-honoured tradition, I'm having a give-away...
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I had no idea what to choose, and then in the supermarket the other day I saw something that would cost me 300 pence so I decided to give away ...
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5 boxes each containing 3 Cadbury's Creme Eggs.
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I read quite a few American blogs and it would seem they are a bit of a rarity in the States.
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And then I realised they're quite hard to find in this country too after Easter.
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So when I saw they were on offer I had to get them.
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To be in with a chance to win this eggs-cellent prize, just leave a comment on this post.
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I'll get the random number generator to pick 5 names next Sunday - 31st May.
I'll probably put some other scrummy stuff in the parcels too ....
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Giveaway is open to everybody, no matter where in the world - enter as many times as you like.
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15 May 2009

The Seventies Called ...

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Have you been watching this?
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. Gok's Fashion Fix
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Of course you have! Us girls love Gok and his down-to-earth realisation that 98% of the female population have curves, boobs (or 'bangers') and saggy bits, but with his help, we can still look as trendy as any stick insect on the catwalk.
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I love the way he creates a capsule wardrobe with a few key pieces.
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I love the way he makes a woman feel confident with her body.
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BUT.
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There's one part of the show where I feel they could do more in the way of "reality".
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I'm talking about the designer vs high-street section where Gok pits his savvy know-how against a designer who has access to designer couture.
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For those of you who aren't familiar with the show, they have a cat-walk in the middle of a shopping centre and each week the two designers have a "theme" to make 4 different outfits, Gok uses clothes from High Street shops and she only uses designer labels.
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The crowd don't know which designer styled which outfit and have to vote on the ones they like the best.
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Invariably, Gok's high-street style wins each week.
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But where is the stylist using clothes from charity shops, jumble sales and car-boot sales?
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We all know that spending £3,058 on clothes is for the very-rich, but much as I'd love to be able to spend £263 on one outfit, I can't possible justify it.
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There is as much choice to be found in charity shops, jumblies and even supermarkets at a fraction of the cost.
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So I'd like to put myself forward for the next season of Fashion Fix as the thrifty-stylist and only have a budget of £20 per outfit.
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It might take me a bit longer to find the complete outfit, but I'd have fun trying!
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Oh. And one more thing to leave you with.
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I think I know where she got her inspiration for her own outfit from this week .....
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. Brix Smith-Start, Designer on "Fashion Fix"..
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. Sybil Fawlty, wife to Basil on "Fawlty Towers".
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The resemblance is uncanny!
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14 May 2009

Embroidery Machine ... I Banish Thee!

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Anybody who follows me on Twitter will already have an idea that me and my embroidery machine are not on the best of terms.
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I remember the excitement I had when it first arrived
(click here to see the start of our relationship)
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I took it slowly to start with, but as time went on, I realised the relationship was breaking down and it wasn't me, it was definitely it's fault.
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So then I would snarl.
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It would just snarl the thread.
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I'd try and placate it with some lovingly and carefully administered stabiliser.
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It just chewed up the fabric.
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And today I needed to get an order made and finished and out in the post.
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This is all I wanted it to do :
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Embroider a name for me.
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After the obligitary swearing, faffing and general stropiness, my frustration turned to anger and it's now sat sulking on a top-shelf in my workroom.
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I'm not speaking to it until it promises it can behave.
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But I had to come up with an alternative.
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I decided to use felt for the lettering ...
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Personalised Camper Van Picture
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And you know what?
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I actually think this version looks better.
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So yah, boo, pttt, to you embroidery machine!
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13 May 2009

Tat Will Do Nicely

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It's official.
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I've only gone and done it.
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After years of indecision.
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I finally took the plunge.
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I made the appointment.
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I endured the weird "ice-burn" type pain.
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I've moisturised daily.
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I've flashed it to anyone I meet, whether they're interested or not.
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Except you dear Blog reader.
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It's your turn to see it.
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Are you ready?
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Here it is ...
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My tattoo !
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Yes, it's a shabby-chic rose!
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Can't think where I got my inspiration from!
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And for those of you who haven't had one, and have been thinking about it but can't stand pain ... it's really not that bad.
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Imagine how it feels when you hold some ice next to your skin - you can take it for so long and then it starts to hurt in a burning type of way. Well that's what it felt like, but just as I started to think I couldn't take it any more, she lifted the tattoo-gun and moved to a different bit of skin.
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It took about 50 minutes and felt like sunburn for a few days afterwards - tender when it was touched, but not agony.
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If you've been thinking about having one ... go for it!
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11 May 2009

Lucky Number, Er, Six ... Honest

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And the winner of one of my button necklaces is my Aussie blogging friend busylizzie whose favourite post was this one, about the time when boy*jelly wrote his list of rules.
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I've pinched her picture from her blog:
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"G'day mate.
Hmmm, if only I had a nice button necklace to wear, it would complete my look and then I'd look fair dinkum when I throw another shrimp on the barbie this arvo ..."
and other stereotypical mutterings.
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(I did use one of those web random number generator thingies, but instead of taking a screen-grab of the results, I opened up my blog and started writing this post - that'll be my jellybrain in action!)
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So, Lizzie, let me know your choice of colours, or you can choose from one that's already available in my folksy shop.
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Well, well ... one of my button necklaces is going down under!
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(Do they think we're "up over" I wonder?)
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10 May 2009

Robin's Bath Time

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."I wonder if there's anywhere round here I can get a bath?"
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. "Maybe I can get a better view from that spade over there?""
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"Eat your heart out Beatrix Potter"
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"Okay, just check no-one's looking"
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"Check the temperature"
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"Deep breath ..."
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."Mother always said it's important to clean behind the ears ..."
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"What was that? I'm sure I heard a noise?"

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"I must be hearing things - perhaps it's water in the ears?"
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."Bugger! I forgot to bring a towel"
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