What a difference six days make

Des Walton has created a scrapbook of Jimmy Forsyth press cuttings. At 89, he is still very much involved in the history of Jimmy on Tyneside. He loaned me a brilliant video No Fancy Shades which shows how Jimmy wandered around the Elswick, Scotswood area from 1954 taking photos with a box Brownie camera.

On Wednesday son G moved into his new home with girlfriend E,ahhhhhhhhhh. However, I woke up on numerous occasions on Wed night, on my way to the bathroom glancing in the direction of the empty room. Must admit, It did feel strange not to have him at home. I`d developed a habit of looking at the foot of the stairs where he always kicked his shoes off, then I knew he was in safe. On Thursday on our way home from work, a call from G on the mobile

"Dad, can you call around with your lawn mower?"

On Friday we turned the corner of our back street and I said to D

"Isn`t it strange that his car isn`t there?"

BUT, when I entered the house with a couple of shopping bags, there was G lounging on the sofa watching an episode of Friends.

Me "What are you doing here?"

G. "E is having a girls night in with a pizza and some wine so she dropped me off here so that I can go to the pub with the lads.......oh, you`ve been shopping, have you got any of that chocolate with the nuts in?"

Spent Sunday arranging ourselves around the place to utilise all of the extra wardrobe, cupboard, bathroom cabinet space and I`ve also noticed how clean the bathroom is staying. It`s only six days in from him leaving and already I`ve noticed how little there is in the washing basket. This is going to be great.

I Love the Orange advert, those funny little animated things are hilarious, one doing the moonwalk and a spring legged being. Also love the Old Speckled Hen ads, that bloke dressed as a moose dancing with his hooves mincing around is a hoot.

Went out today at 8.30 with two heavy bags and an umbrella raised as it was belting down. Halfway through the day, a thought popped into my head "I can`t remember struggling to lock the back door, did I lock the back door, I don`t think I did because the Clematis is growing wildly around the door and I can`t recall swiffing it aside?"

All the way home, I imagined our stuff being strewn all over the place, not being able to claim on the insurance and being nagged to death, but most of all, I worried that Chico would have been taken. I need not have worried, I had locked the door, but I think it may be time to start writing little notes or talking to myself before I leave the house "Have you turned off the....locked the......... etc.

Also thought that I was rich the other day, found a 20p piece without the date on, I`d heard of folks claiming up to £70,000 on ebay, but it was a new coin, there`s a kind of smooth half with no markings, but the date is on the other side. Shucks.

Watching Sky Arts,Helen Chadwick had created the Piss Flowers, she and her partner literally made piss holes in the snow (as kids, we used this phrase to describe someone with piggy eyes)She created the deep hole and her partner made a sprinkling corolla. Plaster was poured inside. The works were displayed on daisy shaped plinths. Some of her other efforts included melting tons of chocolate buttons into a huge vat with a fountain in the middle. They were mixing it up with a spade, there were 25 kilos in per hour. I think it had something to do with making mud pies as a child.

Well, now there are no children left in our house, we have become empty nesters........so the next question has got to be "When will we become grandparents?" Somehow I think it will be quite a while before this happens, but that`s ok, I`m going to be busy busy when I leave work at the end of this month.