SPIDER!!!!

This morning I woke up to a rather nasty surprise. Well, actually it was the kids outside that woke me up (the little buggers), so I opened the curtain to see how many of them were making the dreadful noise, then decided I didn't care and closed the curtain again. Imagine my surprise to see a great big spider there. For a second I thought - "How did my joke spider get up there" but then I remembered it doesnt cling to curtains, and besides, my joke spider was smaller, with a bigger body. I realised it was a real spider and sat there in awe - it was huuuge - allow me to show you what it looked like:


So, naturally, after registering that this was a real spider and a big one at that, I got out of the bed and stood on the ladder; taking a look from more of a distance, then I called Dad into the room to take a look.
We both agreed that it was a pretty impressive spider. He captured it and took it outside, and I went back up to my room, and checked my clothes so that I wouln't find any more surprises.

It looks like a small version of the American 'Brown Recluse' but it can't be, purely because they just aren't found in Britain. I thought it may be a wolf spider as I've heard they can be found in Britain, but I've heard of them having a huge leg span, so I'm not really sure and besides, the markings are all wrong. Didn't look like a house spider - body and legs weren't quite right, and it wasn't a garden spider - they are black/brown and yellow, small and quite hairy. This was just brown and not very hairy. I really am quite bewildered as to what this spider could be. I'd love to know, because this was one impressive spider, although admittedly pretty scary when you see it right next to your leg!

Well, I'm not sleeping in my bed tonight if I'm gonna wake up next to that again tomorrow morning!


EDIT: I think it probably was a House Spider, this is what a house spider looks like:

(Note - this is Not the spider on the curtain, merely an idea of what the spider looks like!)
Notice the similarities between that and the brown recluse:


Still - Imagine that house spider on your bed! Uuugghh!

End of an era...

Yesterday morning I had rather a shock. I woke up a little earlier that usual, went into the bathroom and saw my cat looking rather still, so I bent down to see what was wrong with her. Rigor mortis - she was dead. We all knew it was coming - she was getting really thin, refusing to eat, and just generally very ill. Presumably she died just before I woke up, because mum and Lizzy leave at 8:00, and dad wakes up at that sort of time. I found her at around 9:00 (Woke up at about 8:30/8:45) and was the first one to find her like that.
What's strange though, is that I have been unable to cry about it - and not because I didn't love her. I loved her a lot, I was incredibly close to her. I can't cry because I just feel numb, like a piece of my soul has gone or something. Maybe it's because we were so close that I can't cry, or maybe it's because I found her dead and accepted that she is gone. Maybe my mind just doesn't work like other people's. I don't know, it's all too confusing.
Also, I seem to have lost all my rhythm and ability to play the guitar, which is annoying. I'm sure it'll come back to me though (It had better do!).

Just got back...

from Cambridge. I got back at about 10:00 last night, so I went to bed a little earlier than usual and woke up at sunrise (far too early).

It was great fun - I stayed at my Auntie Suzie's house for the first 3 days. Now, normally people tend to sleep inside the house when they go to visit, but my parents, being a little odd, decided we would sleep in a tent in the garden. The second day there (Thursday), we went punting on the River Cam. Dad got the pole stuck in the water 3 times. I, however, did not lose the pole once. Parents said I was a natural at it! Half way through the journey, I switched punts from my mum and dad's punt to my aunt and uncle's punt , which was a little scary - I didn't want to fall in the water! Thankfully, I didn't, and neither did my dad (he was punting on the other punt). The colleges looked stunning from the river! I took some photos of them, and I'm gonna paint pictures from the photos for my art project, which ought to look good.
On Friday, we all went for a drink at one of the nearby pubs, then we went back and all the adults got rat-arsed. It was rather amusing watching them 'Dad dance' to most of the songs on 'Tusk'.
On Saturday, we went for a walk around the centre of Cambridge, which was very pretty. It was quite a hot day too! I'd love to get into Cambridge University, but it's looking unlikely. I doubt that I'm good enough to get in. Straight A*s don't even guarantee you a place. Besides, it's very expensive to go there. So, I think I'll stick with Bristol University. Anyway, after our long walk around Cambridge, we packed all the stuff in the car and left Auntie Suzie's house, and went to my Uncle John's house in Hertfordshire/Essex. We didn't sleep in the tent that night, so it was definitely good to finally be sleeping in a proper bed.
On Sunday I was taken to a car boot sale with John and Elaine, and managed to pick up a couple of videos and books quite cheaply. Pulp Fiction for 20p! I'm just wondering what the catch is.
After the car boot sale, we went for a drink with some old friends of my parents - Penny and Vernon. Apparently, the last time I saw them was when I was 2 or 3. So, we all caught up, and then Mum, Dad, John and Elaine went back to the house for a barbeque. Elaine's son Adrian and his fiance Ronata joined us. The barbeque started off pretty well, but we started getting invaded by wasps, which was a little unnerving. They got everywhere. I accidentally punched one - I'm surprised my hand wasn't stung. Other than that, it was fun - the food was very tasty. I think that was the only barbeque I've had this year and it's August! Shameful! So, after the barbeque, all the old gits (Uncle and Dad) went to sleep for a bit. After dad had rested, we all got our stuff together, said our goodbyes and went home. I think the journey lasted about 3 hours, which is pretty quick, considering that it took about 5 hours to get up there.

When we got home, the first thing we did was check on the cat. What we saw was pretty alarming - our already skinny cat had gone from thin to skeletal. Lizzy was in tears. I think the whole family have agreed that she's on her last legs now, which is pretty sad, cause I'm quite close to her (the cat, not Lizzy).

On a lighter note - I have photos! Ahhh! Holiday pictures! :-)


Enjoy!

New microphone!

And a recording of me playing the guitar rally badly for you!
Here ya go!

Roxanne - Sting

Brutal murder of a very good song - sorry! Oh, and sorry, but it's huge, cause it's a wav. I don't have an mp3 encoder as of yet.