Sue - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Hello! I'm a Clinical Scientist with the National Blood Service(that's in England by the way).
I have one dog, one cat, two horses, two daughters, two grandchildren and just the one husband!
I HAVE TWO LOVELY GRANDSONS!!
Freddie Ray and Scott Thomas
I now have TWO lovely grandsons, Scott Thomas was born in June 2007 weighing 6lbs 15ozs and Freddie Ray was born in August 2007 weighing 9lbs 6ozs

Recently I have traced my family history, which so far dates back to 1751 and covers England, Scotland and Ireland. An interesting cocktail. It was humbling and very educational finding out about the kinds of lives my forebears led. I come from a long line of very poor and disadvantaged people who stoically suffered hardships that most of us cannot even begin to imagine today. Life was hard and most of them died young, often of illnesses that we have conquered altogether today. I am happy that my grandchildren are coming into a very different world and that hopefully they will have full access to healthcare, housing and education.
I don't eat meat or fish, so I guess that makes me a 'vegetarian', but I don't mind what others eat. For me it is a personal choice and here in Britain today we are very fortunate to be able to make choices like that about our lifestyle.
In 1999 I did a solo charity walk from Land's End to John O'Groats for the National Blood Service and Leukaemia Research. This was my biggest project to date and I got to meet Ian Botham along the way. I even got a kiss from him too! It was really tough and scary walking all alone, with my tent and all my belongings stowed in a baby's pushchair and sometimes I felt like giving up, but at the same time perversely, I really enjoyed the freedom of life out on the open road, not knowing where I would lay my head next. A bit of an adventure for me, aged 51! I was very glad to have done it then, before I got way too old and stiff to walk all that way! I have just begun writing it all up on my new website so if you want to check it out just click HERE to read all about it. The site is still under construction, but I am getting there - very slowly!
I am currently planning one last adventure, Land's End to John O'Groats on a pensioner's bus pass!! Should be a blast!
I have made a record.....
No, it wasn't a commercial record. I had a 'Studio Experience' day and I recorded five songs, made a CD and also a DVD of the day. It was an interesting experience for me, but I don't think I'll be auditioning for the X-Factor any time soon! Singing in tune is much more of a problem for me these days than it used to be when I was younger. Back then I used to always sing in choirs wherever I went and I even had a bit of a dabble in semi-professional solo work, but these days I sound decidedly 'off-key', I wonder why that is...yet another of the 'joys of aging' no doubt!
If you want to hear a song from the recording click HERE for a taster.Nevertheless, even if I do have trouble staying in tune myself these days, I am interested in all kinds of music, particularly acoustic guitar, which is my passion.

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My Interests

Music, my iPod, my lovely family, my grandchildren, caravans, particularly my caravan on the south coast, the sea, the countryside, my grandchildren, horses, pets and animals, my grandchildren, the internet, creative writing, my grandchildren, pen-pal correspondence, geneaolgy... oh, and did I mention my grandchildren?

My little Piece of Heaven
My Caravan(aahh...home, sweet home)

Two Little Girls Had Two Little Boys!

I'd like to meet:

Any nice people with an interest in life; music, dogs, horses, caravans, the open road, genealogy, Irish/Scottish heritage, grandchildren, old times, vegetarianism, the internet, in fact anything at all...so don't be shy...I don't bite, just contact me!!

Here's a photo of me with my Suffolk Punch mare Claret

Here's a photo of me at work

Here's a picture of Peter showing our beautiful Connemara mare Connie . She won 'Best Veteran in Show' that day, aged 35. (Peter was a bit older!)

Here's Michelle taking 28-year-old Connie round the Windsor Sponsored Ride

Below is a video of my little long-haired Jack Russell, Roly, fetching his frisbee from the sea. Isn't he just sooo cute!!!

Music:

I have wide-ranging tastes in music, from Alice Cooper to The Consort of Musicke! I love anything Celtic and I particularly enjoy acoustic guitar. I am a bit of an 'Old Folkie' at heart.

..

Movies:

.. Music and Lyrics, The Star Trek Movies, Muriel's Wedding, Monster House, Short Circuit, The Carry-On Films, Batteries Not Included, The Harry Potter Films, The Village, A Good Year.

Television:

..The Choir, Extreme Dreams, A Year in Tibet,
Science Fiction series:- Doctor Who, Star Trek, Earth Final Conflict.
Old British comedy series :- 'Are You Being Served', 'Morecambe and Wise', 'Hi-De-Hi', 'On the Buses', 'The Likely Lads', 'Porridge', 'Man About The House', George and Mildred', 'Doctor in the House'.
The Biography Channel.... and Big Brother!

Books:

..I'm always reading something and it would take too long to mention them all. I have read a lot of Buddhist literature, most notably Thich Nhat Hanh, Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Sumedho, Sangharakshita, Ayya Khema, Alan Watts. My all time favourite fiction book is Anne of Green Gables which my Mum bought for me when I was six and I have read many, many times. I also loved all of the Arthur Ransome books and I still read them now and again! I also particularly enjoy autobiographies such as 'Night Song of the Last Tram' by Robert Douglas which details the author's Glasgow childhood, growing up just around the corner from my Mum, but a few years later. I enjoy biographies of people in the music business too.

Heroes:

..My 'Old Man' Peter

My Dad Thomas

Ma Wee Mammy Sadie

My Grandad Jack Greenall

My Grandma McCormick
(Born Sarah Smith)

My Grandma Greenall (Born Jane Houghton)

My Blog

Health

Another blog!! I am now convinced that nobody reads these things except my friend Mo! Thanks Mo for your interest and feedback, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it Well, I got one of the g...
Posted by Sue on Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:52:00 PST

The Choir

Like many here in the UK on Friday nights, I have been following avidly the fortunes of the boys from the Lancaster School in Leicester, under the directorship of the dynamic young Gareth Malone, ...
Posted by Sue on Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:41:00 PST

Memory of the Month

Hi, time to post a new blog (does anyone actually read these things?). Normally around this time of year I get a bit 'down', but his year I still feel OK, so I think it must be being a ...
Posted by Sue on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:26:00 PST

Christmas

Bring it on!!! I am looking forward to it so much more this year as we now have the two lovely grandsons! The only thing is that at 4 months and 6 months the two lads are still far too small...
Posted by Sue on Sat, 01 Dec 2007 02:25:00 PST

Advances in Technology

I have recently bought myself a nice new laptop computer to take down to the caravan with me. Now I can access the internet on it on the move, simply by plugging in a ti...
Posted by Sue on Sun, 11 Nov 2007 09:11:00 PST

Innocent until proven guilty??

Hi,I have unfortunately been laid-up this week with a malfunction of the lumbar area (bad back). Since I never turn the TV on during the day, I have been spending (or wasting) an inordi...
Posted by Sue on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 04:20:00 PST

Clostridium Difficile

Just a quickie, I have been interested to hear of the recent publicity over the growing rate of fatalities from this particular 'superbug' Clostridium Difficile, as it killed my o...
Posted by Sue on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:13:00 PST

Quo vadis?????

Hi! This week sees my 59th birthday. I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. Another year older and another year closer to retirement. I have been thinking a lot about retirement this week ...
Posted by Sue on Sat, 29 Sep 2007 03:14:00 PST

Being a Grandma (2)

Hi Freddie Ray is now 10 days old and Scott Thomas is 9 weeks old and I am settling into the role of Grandma at last. All the things that I was told about the advantages of being a grandparent are abs...
Posted by Sue on Sun, 02 Sep 2007 02:08:00 PST

Hes Here!

At last the second of my two grandchildren has arrived safely into this world and for the first time in about a year I can now relax and stop worrying for a short while! I hadn't realised just ho...
Posted by Sue on Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:07:00 PST