So many clever people

The last few days have seen some of the cleverest and brightest at London’s Southbank, demonstrating their design talents. Students from Brunel University have spent four days proudly displaying part of their coursework.

How do I know about this? My youngest step son, Alec, was one such student. As part of his degree in Product Design, he had to design and produce something inexpensive, durable, sustainable and useful. There was no doubt much more to it than that but the last time we spoke he used ‘paradigm’ in a sentence and we weren’t even talking about Dr. Who. His dad and I tried to look as though we knew what he was talking about but I don’t think we fooled him for a minute.

Back to the clever students: my step son came up with designing eating and drinking products (he had my full attention at this point) for those with hand disabilities such as arthritis. The utensils are made from cork optimising its natural qualities, but the mixture of cork and other materials he designed himself. He broke four blenders in the process.

What was great about the array of projects by students on display was seeing ideas from prevention of HIV from mother to child in breastfeeding to a stress reducing asthma device for children.

The photograph here of Alec’s work doesn’t do it justice, due to my photography and in no way to his project. 

Thirty years on, still laughing at the same things.

Thirty years ago this September, I started secondary school. Last night I had the great pleasure of meeting up with five of my best friends for a meal. We began our days at our girls' school in total ignorance of each other but left good friends. This friendship has grown and grown over the years.
There are usually seven of us but one of our number moved to Devon and sadly wasn't able to make it this time. There's a lot of miles between Devon and North Kent and while she usually makes the journey, it is a long way to go for steak and chips.
Over the last 30 years we've been through the usual together - difficult teenage times of first boyfriends (now we often laugh about them), breaking up with those boyfriends (we cried together at the time but now it's hilarious - I shook one's hand. Who does that?), holding each other's hair back when we were violently ill through drinking too much Thunderbird on the bus on the way to the school disco. The usual.
Last night we covered a number of topics and as good friends do, they were fully supportive of my writing, interested in my novel, all wanting to know if they were in it and are eager to read it when it comes out. I had previously told them that Myriad Editions have given me a two book contract and have my mates' full support.
Are my friends in any way concerned that all this will go to my head? Not in the least. They're all prepared to   bring me back to earth. Never any fear of getting too carried away with myself. Will we all still be friends in thirty years' time? You can count on that. They know too much...

Webbed feet and coincidences

Really what are the chances that four years ago, I would start work in an office and the person sitting at the next desk would become a great and trusted friend? In fairness, the bookies wouldn't probably give the best of odds on that one. What would the odds be however, on that person becoming a friend and months later sharing with you that they like you, have webbed feet? I feel that the likelihood of such an event happening is rarer than Halley's Comet.
I'm open to being wrong about this but it's not something you bring up upon introduction to someone new in your life. "Hello, I'm Lisa. Mind if I sit here? By the way, I have webbed toes."
"Really, me too. Which toes? You're kidding me. The same as mine!"
It's not likely is it?
What's prompted me to share this with you is the rain we've been having. I didn't know whether to walk home from work or hop.
Got home and watched the X-Men. I'm not quite in their league but a girl can dream.