Mersey woman about town

Yarnbombing at the Threshold Festival

cath — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 07:43:55 +0000

Over the past three weeks I’ve been busy knitting bumblebees, leaves and piece of tree trunk for an installation at the Threshold Festival in Liverpool.

I belong to a knitting & craft group The Twisted Stitchers, part of the Iron Maidens Women’s Institute. We’ve all been grafting, and knitting/crocheting like dervishes.

This is my contribution:

We met up yesterday to put the installation up, outside the Elevator Bar & Venue on Jamaica Street, it took us three hours to sort everything but we’re pretty proud of it:

Sarah (back), moi, Lou and Jeannie from The Twisted Stitchers…and our Threshold Festival installation!

If you’re going to the Threshold Festival this weekend, check out our ‘tree’ and let me know what you think!

@cathbore

HUMBLE PIE: My new blog site www.cathbore.com is experiencing Justin Bieber technical problems this weekend, this is why I’m back here with old faithful – for one (or two) days only…

Fun and frolicks over on my new website

cath — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 21:09:34 +0000

Don’t forget, I have a new website now, this one is now *archived* and will lay here un-updated for…ever.

Shoot on over to www.cathbore.com, you can sign up and subscribe anew, should you wish to. I hope you do.

Cath

Goodbye, farewell, la la la la de da-ha!

cath — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:56:20 +0000

This blog is being archived from today, in other words I’ve waved it goodbye and moved up to big school aka known as my new site.

This means you won’t get notifications of any more posts, news and other ramblings by me unless you sign up at www.cathbore.com.

The old content has been transferred over there too.

I hope you choose to re-subscribe, see you at www.cathbore.com!

Cath
x

@cathbore

A funny little town

cath — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 18:59:29 +0000

Birkenhead is a funny little place. Not posh and swanky like Chester, or sharp and keen like Liverpool, the town exists well apart from both.

It’s known for the band Half Man Half Biscuit and little else, not bothering to brag very often it was home to war poet Wilfred Owen during his tragically short life, although really it should.

That’s not to say Birkenhead doesn’t have some very charming quirks indeed, but you have to root about for them.

That’s where I come in! Here we go…

I’ve put this pub sign on here before, but it’s well worth another run. Surely a classic:

And this one’s lovely too, in its own way:

Did you know that Birkenhead is one of the fashion capitals of the world?

This freaks me out every time I pass on the bus, then I burst into giggles at how hilariously camp it is:

(PS I can confirm this is NOT a real man. I hope not, anyway. He hasn’t moved for months.)

As I say, Birkenhead is a very different type of town.

@cathbore

The gentlemanly gentleman

cath — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:43:20 +0000

Cary Grant. THE gentleman of all gentlemans

Andy told me a story yesterday that someone told him about The Troggs. Apparently back in the 1960s Reg Presley and the lads would regularly shock their peers not by throwing groupies out of hotel windows and having sex with televisions, but because as well brought up young men, they stood up whenever a lady entered or left a room.

How charming, I thought. You wouldn’t get that now. Then I thought on.

Actually, you do.

I was in the pharmacy in our local Superdrug last week waiting for a prescription (there really wouldn’t be any other reason to be standing in a chemist, would there?) when an elderly man offered me his seat.

When I say elderly, this isn’t in jest. He was well into his nineties I reckon.

Anyway I kept saying no, and he kept insisting. In the end I accepted, mortified and fuming.

Mortified because he was an old man and I’m a (relatively) fit young woman. Oh, and my feminist principles were morally affronted.

How dare he patronise me in such a way! I’m perfectly capable of standing up for ten minutes! Did the campaign women’s rights never happen? Germaine Greer burned her bra for nowt! What is he saying, women can’t drive?!

Then I looked over at the man, he was standing proud with his shoulders shoved back and his chest out. A gentle smile curved his mouth.

Oh shut up Cath, I thought. He’s only offered you a bloody seat, this gentlemanly gentleman and actually, I could get used to this.

I wish there were more like him about.

@cathbore

Supermarket angst

cath — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:12:19 +0000

We’ve been trying to expand the variety of what we have for breakfast of late, I’m a big fan of boiled egg with toast (soldiers on a weekend, just to jazz proceedings up a bit) but it gets a bit samey.

So last week I got some wholewheat museli from Sainsburys (£2.49 or thereabouts). It was very nice, but didn’t seem to have much in the way of fruit in it.

During a very quick shop in Asda yesterday I grabbed a bag of Wholewheat Luxury Muesli (£2), assuming it wouldn’t be any different.

In fact, I couldn’t be more wrong. It was packed with fruit – Sultanas, Raisins, Apricots , Banana, Dates, Toasted Coconut, Sunflower Seeds, Brazil Nuts, Roasted Hazelnut. Extremely good, I really didn’t expect this!

It’s from a supermarket, for flip’s sake.

I’ve been spending a lot of time slagging off the big supermarkets this week. I’m weary of seeing sad faced and poorly paid shop assistants on the till, telling me ‘sorry for the wait’, and asking ‘Do you need any help with your packing?’ and so forth.

If I can’t find something in store and ask a member of staff I try to persuade them that no, I really don’t need to be taken to where they keep the cat food these days, they only need to point and I’ll do the rest. I have eyes, albeit short sighted ones.

I feel bad for them, these shop assistants who I believe simply don’t get paid enough to trot out the same stock phrases to every customer and look enthusiastic while they do it, asking me if I need help with anything else and instructing me to have a nice day.

Hence the speedy shop in Asda yesterday with its bright lights and white, white, whiteness.
But I’m glad I picked up the muesli. It was good. Very.

I think I’ll stick with a speedy shop there in future, there might be something to it…

Bitterness rating: 4 out of 5

@cathbore

I’m going for tea with Judy Finnigan!

cath — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:03:40 +0000

Back in October I entered a competition on the Tesco Books Blog. The competition was to celebrate Eloise, the debut novel by Judy Finnigan. The prize? To go to tea with the great lady.

I didn’t hear anything so assumed someone else got lucky. OK, I admit, I grumbled a bit but got over it.

Then today out of the blue an email appeared in my inbox asking if I was still interested in the prize as I’d been chosen as a winner!

I loved This Morning, watched it throughout my student years when Judy and Richard hosted it, adored the tea time show on Channel 4 too – and the associated book club.

So I’m a happy Cath today, and can’t wait to go to tea with Judy!

Bitterness rating: 0 out of 5.

@cathbore

Broken, a collection of my short stories, is out now on Amazon for Kindle here

Eating out. My philosophy

cath — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:34:18 +0000

Whenever I eat out, I want the dish to be better than how I’d make it at home or else I may as well save my pennies.

I don’t eat in town because I’m hungry or need to wolf something on the run, as I can always make butties and take them with me.

I like sitting down at a table, enjoying my surroundings and company, and relishing every mouthful. I think of eating out as special.

If I go somewhere and don’t enjoy the food I feel ripped off and rather bitter, if we’re being honest.

After a make up workshop on Sunday I met Andy for some food, and fancied a veggie roast. We ended up in The Shipping Forecast (on Slater Street, Liverpool) as I’ve had a veggie burger in there before now and it was very tasty indeed.

Sweet potato, cashew nut and Cheddar cheese veggie roast from The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool

The veggie sweet potato, cashew and cheddar roast itself was good enough, not quite firm enough in the middle for me but went down well. The mashed spuds were smooth, a little too much so. I suspected they weren’t real spuds; they had a packet-y texture to them.

The roasted potatoes hit the spot though, they had the skins on. Very nice.

The veggies were good too, apart from the parsnips which I prefer to be crispier, and the garden peas. They were like pellets! Throw one across the room and they’d take someone’s eye out.

Nice gravy and a big Yorkshire pud too, but I’m not convinced what I got was worth the price of the whole dinner, £8.95.

I could get some ace top quality ingredients for the £17.90 we spent for our two dinners, and make something incredible at home.

So that’s what I’ll be doing next week.

Bitterness rating: 3 out of 5

@cathbore

The window

cath — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 12:44:05 +0000

Andy and I went to Birkenhead Central library today. It’s a grand old building with a glorious tribute to the Birkenhead Institute’s World War 1 dead, including poet Wilfred Owen, in the form of a beautiful stained glass window.

It’s very humbling to stand there, dwarfed by this mighty window, and by other dedications in the form of sculpture:

Humbling indeed, and it’s good for us to feel humble on occasion, especially me who has far too much to say for herself a lot of the time.

@cathbore

The truth hurts

cath — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:39:42 +0000

I’ve talked before about over-sharing on social media.

In general I’m not too fussed hearing about people’s bowel movements, sex life (or lack thereof), dieting, detoxing (those last two are a BIG no-no), and medical conditions involving seepage.

There’s something to be said for the good old fashioned stiff upper lip. Put the kettle on, turn up the wireless and crack on with things, I say.

I’m even more determined I’m right after seeing this chronic over-share:

‘Bottom’ right, if you’ve missed it.

@cathbore