Jayne Webb

Off to Peru in Two

September 3, 2021 No Comments 3 Mins Read

solo volunteering in Peru

Hello readers, or should I say ‘reader’? The blog is back!

South and Central America are open for travel and I leave on Saturday for 14 weeks of volunteering!

When I returned from my Midlife Crisis in Asia two years ago Husband hoped that I would just adopt the normal symptoms of a midlife crisis e.g., excessive Botox, inappropriately short skirts and fancying my son’s friends. However deep down we both knew that my desire to see the world and immerse myself in different cultures had been heightened not quelled by my trip.

So this is my itinerary:

Peru-Street dog rescue

Ecuador-Sea Turtle conservation

Galapagos Islands-Galapagos Tortoise conservation

Costa Rica-Rescue centre for trafficked wild animals

Belize-Coral reef conservation

Please Leave Me

November 3, 2020 4 Comments 4 Mins Read

Kids leaving home When I grew up it was accepted that at the age of 18 you would go off to further education and, on graduating, you would move into your own place, or you would start work at 18 and share a flat with some mates. This norm unfortunately isn’t normal anymore. Staggeringly the average age for leaving home is now 32, which means I could be well into my 60s before I have the proper opportunity to experience ’Empty Nest’ syndrome. Don’t get me wrong, I do love my children. I just might love them a bit more if they were not here all the time. As a mother you nurture your offspring. You run their childhood lives for them, you wipe away their tears and you wipe their noses. You guide them through toddler tantrums and hideous teenage tempers. By the age of 18 you have the…

Needled

August 18, 2020 2 Comments 3 Mins Read

Unhappy Birthday Last week I celebrated my 55th Birthday. I say ‘celebrated’ but ‘endured’ is a more accurate description of the event. I am now, with every passing day, moving nearer to 60 than 50. When I was in my 20’s I thought 30 was old, in my 40’s I thought 50 was old and now, in my 50s, I am trying to convince myself that 60 is NOT old. When my parents were in their 60s, I viewed them as well past their sell by date. My mother sported orthopaedic footwear and my father started to wear cardigans. I will not become them! I am going to age disgracefully. I will still have peroxide hair and wear skinny jeans when I am shuffling along with a Zimmer frame. Previous birthdays have been special family days with lots of cards and cake. This year I announced in advance that this…

Face Mask Fashion

July 30, 2020 2 Comments 3 Mins Read

New Normal

Ok so we really are getting into to the ‘New Normal’ now. The ‘Old Normal’ when people hugged and kissed each other, and held doors for each other, is long gone. We now live in a sterile anti-bacterial breathless society. Breathless because our faces are encased in masks, and breathless because you can’t actually breath for long with a face mask on.

Real Women don’t smell of Jo Malone anymore, they smell of hand sanitiser. ‘Fragrance De Sanitiser’ shows that you are an upright germ-free citizen. Likewise, avoiding as many people as you can on the street makes you a good person. This ‘New Normal’ is great for introverts and miserable Buggers, as it is now totally PC to cross the road to avoid human contact and walk with your head down.

A Good Hair Day

July 6, 2020 2 Comments 4 Mins Read

Hairstyles For Middle Age Women Lockdown has shown us what is really important in life and the first thing most women have said to me during this time is ‘Just look at my roots!’ We can cope with Gel-free nails and furry legs but middle age women cannot cope without a decent hairstyle. I have spent a lot of time studying female newsreaders and presenters over the past few months, and there has either been a lot of illegal hairdressing going on, or they are all married to top hair stylists. Yesterday was the best day of 2020 so far, and let’s face it there haven’t been many reasons to celebrate this year. Yesterday was HAIRDRESSER DAY. I don’t normally get out of bed before 10.00am on a Sunday if I can help it but, the thought of getting my lockdown roots eradicated, meant I was up and dressed by…

Testing Times

June 25, 2020 2 Comments 4 Mins Read

Blogs On Women I have thoroughly enjoyed writing my blogs on women, or should I say me, over the past few months. Nice to see I have a few readers, so I have decided to continue for a while! 2 Metre Rule Ok, so we are coming out of lockdown after 12 weeks of baking and gardening and we are all venturing out into the ‘New Normal.’ The problem is, I haven’t got the foggiest idea what that is. I did, but then Boris changed it. I have just about mastered the shaking hands with my elbows and waving like a toddler when I see my best mate, but it is all the other rules I am struggling with. The ‘2-metre rule’ is now a ‘2-metre or 1-metre plus rule’, when we can’t do a ‘2-metre rule.’ So, in a supermarket if someone is browsing the Pinot Grigio do I squeeze…

I’m Free!

June 4, 2020 4 Comments 4 Mins Read

As a child I actually loathed cheese, of any description. When I was growing up, all those years ago, you came home, had your meat and two veg and a slice of apple pie, if you were lucky, and that was it. Food intolerances and allergies hadn’t been invented then.

Cheese Allergy?

One day at school I was given a particularly large slice of hideous soggy cheese pie, which I refused to eat. By the time lunch was technically over, I was a solitary child at the dining table, with the demonic headmistress glaring at me and repeatedly saying ‘Jayne, you will finish that, we don’t waste food here.’