Another year draws near to the end, for me It's been a rollercoaster year, but I have new challenges to look forward to 2008, you never know it might be my best year yet!!!!.
To all fellow JLanders all the best in the comming year, for you and your loved ones. I'll be raising a glass to those who are sadly no longer with us.
Good luck and best wishes to all and see you next year!
Love
Yasmin
xxxx
Hope you all has a lovely Christmas! wish I could say the same, those of you who read my journal knowthat I had planned to go to France for the festive holidays.
Firstly lets start on Saturday when i wnet o the travel office to book my ticket for the coach trip to Stanstead Airport, I was told that I could only buy tickets on the bus no problem£16, i also enquired about the bus times and was told normal service on Monday, I double checked this at the actual bus stop and again online later 8.35am it's just over and hour so would give me plenty of time to check in..hmmmm.
Monday morning bright and early walking towards the bus station with fifteen minutes to spare before my journey the bus passes me at 8.20am with only one person on board, hot footing it to the station i find that they are operating on Saturday hours and the bus times are fifteen minutes earlier, next bus at 9.20am, again i made enquires and was told that this is correct although there were no notices informing customers of time changes, the next stop was to far away for me to catch up, so all I could do was wait......, i did ask at a couple of the local cab firms but as it was Christmas Eve they were charging double so would have been £80 ($160).
Finally the bus leaves at 9.26 we get to the next stop and the driver has a malfunction we are delayed by some 30 minutes, eventuall we get underway make all the other 5 stops and arrive at the airport at 10.45, i race to the check in desk they are still there when I hand over my papers they say I'm too late i quickly explain and they still wouldn't check me in, I didn't even have bags what i had with me i could have taken on the plane. i have to say the rudest staff I've come across in a long time.
I wait 15 minutes in the customer service line finally get nto explain again what has happenend and was treated to a tirade I had missed my flight and there was nothing they could do, when i questioned the "girl" she was incredibly rude and unhelpful throwing my papers across the counter at me and said she didn't have to help me and it wasnt her fault, when her supervisor intervened on my behalf she explained the only other flight they have going to France was to Marseille at 4pm on stand by for and additional £50, ok that would have been ok but once I got to Marseille it was a 3 hour train journey if Icould get a train ticket to Carcasonne, managing to get hold of my friend at the other end thankfully having worked for the airline he was able to double check for me, and we find that they closed the check in gate 10 minutes early also the plane was delayed at the airport by 40 minutes.
I will be able to re-claim my money back from the coach company as it was their fault that I was delayed so not out of pocket however i didn't go to France so therefore spent Christmas at home by myself..
I have written a letter to Ryanair about the staff etc but Christmas has been ruined this year, I really needed to have this break it's been an up and down year.
Just on catching up on my alerts today i was sad to hear about Kim and Lahoma's battles with cancer have been lost, which has put things back into perspective with me, although I was not a reader of either journals on a regular basis my prayers are with their families. I up loaded this from You tube in theirs and all the others that jland has lost this past year.
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Yasmin
xx
I just wanted to take the opportunity to wish all fellow Jlanders a Merry Christmas, and that you have a special day with your loved ones, and of course raise a glass to those no longer with us.
Lets101 Quizzes - Fun Quiz
It's my Birthday today, so another year bites the dust..lol, I've had a quiet day usually I end up working but as I'm no longer running a pub It's a luxury to have the day off.
Did'nt really do much went out for an early lunch with a couple of girfriends to a local pub, and had a walk around the shops, we came back here and had a bottle of wine and chatted for a while, very low key thats the thing with December Birthdays, everybody is busy planning for Christmas, got some nice cards and e-mails so all in all I'm a happy bunny. One of the things I always miss on my day is Mums Birthday cake I had one every year 37 in all, lol.
Also another nice surprise one of my old school friends got in touch today we haven't seen each other for over twenty years, and we have made plans to meet up in the New Year,i'm quite excited about it and it will be fun to catch up.
Still studying hard, and almost finshed the first part of my course, it's been tough and sometimes I'm still not so sure about such a big career change, gets a bit harder as you get older but hey I'm having a go and I'm sure it will all work out...lol.
Anyway thats all for today
Take care
I just love this song for me it describes all that is good about Christmas, It was also my mothers favourite song, she particularly liked because my brother and myself are December babies.
The Christmas Tree was first brought into England by Prince Albert husband of Queen Victoria, in 1841, for his wife and family this was decorated with candles and fruit, this soon became a popular addition to households across England.
First footing another tradition, which means that the first person to enters your house lets Christmas in, there are variations of this tradition based mainly on New Year.
Although Christmas pudding had been around for quite some time well from the 14th Century, it was a porridge type concoction made with boiled beef and mutton with raisons prunes and wine added for flavour these were usually made weeks in advance, each member of the household had to come and stir the pudding and make a wish, it was during the 1600's the the recipe changed adding eggs and breadcrumbs, a silver coin was added along with a ring button and thimble, the finders of these items, hopefully with teeth intact would have great wealth(coin) marry within the year(ring) or end up old maids or batchelors (thimble and button). When I was a kid there was always a sixpence added.
As well as studying when I take breaks I watch movies, but only the classics from the Golden Era Of Hollywood. This week I've watched:
"Hello I'm Mrs Norman Maine. Great Stuff, I also have the Janet Gaynor and the Barbra Striesand versions.
Yasmin
The news this week has been interesting to say the least.
Last Saturday Jon Darwin walked into a London police station, claiming that he was a missing person! everybody including his two sons and 91 year old father were greatly surprised as they thought he had drowned some five years previously.
It appears that John had gone out in his canoe, and never returned, although the canoe was was found some months later.
For some reason his wife was issued with a death certificate a year after his disappearance, although no body was recovered an unusal fact since it takes seven years for someone to be declared dead.
His wife duly claimed on his life insurance, and I suppose she grieved with her sons.
His wife six weeks ago sold their seven bedroomed house and left for Panama with no forwarding addresss. When contacted she seemed surprised that her husband had turned up dead, although there is an extradition treaty with Panama there were no plans to bring her back immediatley.
It now transpires that there was a photo taken of the two of them in Panama last year, also the police seemed to be on to them as they were investigating claims of financial dealings of the couple.
Also where his wife worked a colleague overheard her talking to her husband on the phone this added to the susupicions that all was not ok.
It now appears that Mrs Darwin was aware that her husband was /is alive, she is comming back from Panama, her main concern that her "boys" would never forgive her, they feel that they are victims of their parents scam. John Darwin has been arrested and is currently being questioned. My own view is how dispicable these people are to allow their own children to think that one of them was dead anyone who has lost a loved one understands the grief and pain that is suffered I hope they throw the book at them.
A couple of ther examples of faked deaths:
John Stonehouse MP faked his own death in 1974 leaving his clothes on a Miami Beach, he was dscovered a month later in Austrailia with his mistress and ex-secetary shelia Buckley, he did this to escape buisness and finacial difficulties he served seven years, upon realease he did charity work and died of a heart attack in 1988.
Lord Lucan(Lucky)
After an attack on his wife and murder of the family nanny Sandra Rivett he disappeared, he has been declared dead but no death certificate issued his son is still unable to inherit the title and land. It has been long suspected that he was helped to leave the country by friends who believed him innocent, he was in fact held responsible for Sandras Rivettes death. although there have been hundreds of sightings of Lord Lucan no one has ever got to the bottom of this mystery.
Yasmin
xx
