Mamma Mia, can I go again? My my, it was bloomin' brilliant!

Regular readers - I'm hoping there are some! - will perhaps remember me saying that I was way behind with my cinematic viewing and had only just managed to watch Mamma Mia.

That was a couple of years ago now, and since then I've watched it at least once more as it seems to be a regular fixture on the ITV2 schedule, not that I'm complaining.

I adore Abba's music, I love Pierce Brosnan, so a film which combines the two is up there with my all time faves - yes, before you ask, I can even get over Pierce's singing, although only just.  I'm also looking forward to the sequel, due out this summer.

So when I heard that the stage show was coming to the Royal & Derngate in Northampton I was a little bit excited, to say the least.

And then when a friend of mine organised a coach trip to gather us all up and safely transport us half way across the county and deposit us at the Derngate's door, I signed up straight away.  Many thanks again to Julie for sorting out the tickets and the bus.

I was so glad I did go - it was a fantastic night.  The production was amazing, the quality of the singing and dancing was superb, and it was a fabulous show all round.

But the best part for me?  When the entire theatre got up and sang and danced along with the cast at the end of the production in a spontaneous show of feel-good lack of self-consciousness.

The atmosphere was brilliant, and everybody was having a good time and belting out Dancing Queen and Waterloo at the tops of their voices.

I may or may not have been singing in tune, I haven't a clue and I don't really care.  I adhere to the rule of dance like nobody's watching and sing like nobody's listening - although perhaps I need to reconsider the last one when attending weddings and funerals!

Plume Plotter

I'd never heard of Plume Plotter until a couple of weeks ago.  Then towards the start of January, I started noticing Facebook posts people had shared about the emissions from the proposed waste plants in Shelton Road and Gretton Brook Road, Corby.

From what I can see, what Plume Plotter do is look at the wind direction and speed every day, and then calculate from the size of the stack at the waste plants potentially how far the emissions will go.  They also mark on their maps what schools fall within that area, and the residential areas affected.  Take a look yourself at www.plumeplotter.com

I'm sure the developers of said plants will argue that the emissions are actually dependent on so many other factors and variables etc and try to blind us with science.

But would you rather listen to a voluntary organisation who puts this information out there to warn residents about the risks involved, or to the developers who are only interested in making profits?

The front page of the Corby Telegraph on Thursday 18th January made sobering reading.  Campaigners claim that the combined emissions from both of these plants would increase the Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) levels equivalent to an extra 8000 diesel cars driving continuously at 30mph - and that's before you factor in the fumes created by the lorries bringing waste to these plants.

The Plume Plotter spokesman said:  "Should people be concerned?  That's hard to answer.  The point of Plume Plotter is to show where the pollution is likely to fall so that people can decide for themselves.  Personally, I wouldn't want to live near one of the incinerators."

Neither do I, which is why I, and others like me, have been campaigning against them for nearly five years.

Northamptonshire County Council didn't appear to listen to the valid concerns of residents of Corby and its surrounding villages, and granted planning permission for these facilities to be built.

With the current situation at County Hall, perhaps it's time for these decisions to be looked at too?

Unwanted text messages

I think it's safe to say that had I received the Hawaii text message about an inbound ballistic missile, my digestive system would have reacted quite violently.

I can only imagine how frightening it must have been to hear your phone 'beep' and then read a message advising you to seek shelter immediately as a nuclear missile was heading your way.

Thankfully in this instance it was a false alarm, but it did get me wondering if we have a similar system in this country? 

What about people who don't have mobile phones - yes, there are still some, I happen to know a few - will they be blissfully unaware of the imminent crisis and just carry on regardless?

In a way, that's perhaps the best way to handle these sort of situations, as I'm pretty sure there's not much you can do if a ballistic missile is indeed due to arrive shortly, other than gather your nearest and dearest and tell them that you love them.

Often though in these emergency scenarios people are instructed to head indoors and keep doors and windows shut.

Now I can't answer for you, but I'm fairly sure that when my house was built it wasn't designed to withstand a nuclear missile or its fallout,  and I sincerely hope never to find out.

But it also made me think, where's the best place to take shelter once in your home?  In Hawaii, I believe some people sat in their baths.

The cupboard-under-the-stairs (aka the pantry) was an option for me.  However I was fearful of being knocked unconscious by a falling tin of beans or similar, and then realised the dog - who would of course be with me - would eat the entire contents of said cupboard in the interim and I'd later be discovered with an extremely poorly Labrador, which nobody wants to deal with.

Perhaps I'll stick to hiding under the dining room table or behind the sofa - most people's preferred childhood location when confronted with the prospect of The Daleks in Dr Who, etc.

January, sponsored by Lemsip, Benylin etc

Ah, January my icy friend.  Yes, we're still wading through seemingly the longest month, but in reality it's just 31 days.  Feels very different to those balmy August ones though, doesn't it?

If months were sponsored, like TV programmes on commercial channels, I think brand names like Lemsip, Benylin, Night Nurse, Beechams etc should have first dibs on January.

Do you know anyone who hasn't yet succumbed to the dreaded Christmas/New Year/most-of-January lurgy?

So many people have been felled by this bug, including those who've had the flu jab I'm told.  But don't let that put you off having the flu vaccination if you're in one of the at-risk groups who are recommended to have it - better safe than sorry, and proper flu, Australian or otherwise, is no joke.

They say you can tell the difference between if you've got flu rather than a horrendous cold by doing the '£50 note test' - please note, this is not a real medical test; I have no medical knowledge other than a First Aid course.

Imagine there's a £50 note just outside your house, in the garden - if you've got proper flu, you won't care and won't be bothered going out to fetch it in, whereas if you can be bothered to go and get it, you've just got a bad cold.

Having said this, my husband is adamant he would go and get the money even if he had to crawl on his hands and knees - I may just test this out next time he claims he's got flu!  I wonder if it works with lower denomination notes too, as I don't think I've ever had a £50 note.

I'm really trying hard to be more positive about the winter months, and January in particular though.  I'll sign off with an inspiring quote @RuralRootsPR shared on Twitter, something her Granny had said:

"Darling, did you know I'm an octogenarian?  And when you're an octogenarian you have to live for every day, so I'm going to learn to love January and February as much as April and May."

Graham's stairs

It was all I could do to prevent my televisual viewing over the festive season turning into a blubfest.

Daughter was determined to watch Marley & Me - the Jennifer Anniston movie featuring a yellow Labrador - but I refused.  I knew how it would end.  It would end with me sobbing loudly, as every film featuring a dog has, ever since I first watched Lassie films from the age of about four.

I watched the animated film Up again.  I was bawling shortly after it started - the whole essence of married life, love and loss is taken and encompassed in that first ten minutes.  Then there was Grandpa's Great Escape on New Year's Day, very moving and yet more tears from me.

Bizarrely, even adverts had me getting emotional - has anyone else seen the one featuring Graham, an elderly man, repeatedly going up the stairs in his house, in various precarious scenarios? 

I first saw it on Christmas Day - I held my breath as he nearly tripped over the vacuum cleaner hose and cable, then there was a narrow escape when his cat sat on the stairs causing a further potential trip hazard.

Then we saw him balancing a tea tray, loads of washing, a huge box of DIY tools, all while he negotiated the 'stairs of doom' and the landing filled with more hazards.

Was this an advert for stair lifts I thought at one stage, care homes, or even accident prevention?

Then suddenly Graham was no more, and I felt sad, but the house instead had a young couple and a baby who headed straight for the stairs - 'I hope they've got a good stair-gate' was my first thought.

What had became of Graham, did those pesky stairs finally lead to his untimely demise?  No, sigh of relief all round, he and his wife moved to a bungalow they'd found on Rightmove, who were responsible for this tear-jerking advert.  I was very relieved it had a happy ending - I just wish I could get the theme tune out of my head!

First Aid

I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again - it's really important that everybody has some knowledge of basic first aid.

Still etched in my memory is the night my then boyfriend (now my husband) and I were enjoying a quiet drink in a village country pub.

A group of people at a nearby table were enjoying a meal when one of the ladies started choking on her steak and chips.

Nobody knew what to do.  It was frightening, she started to panic, as did her companions, the young waitress, the chap behind the bar, everyone was standing there watching her face change colour as she struggled for breath.

The barman brought her a glass of water - I nearly shouted 'What good is that? She can't breathe!' but stopped myself because he was only doing what most British people do in a crisis, fetch a glass of water or brew up a cup of tea.

I did say to try slapping her back, as I had memories of my mother doing this when my brother was choking on his dinner once.

As she continued to splutter, cough and change to a disturbing colour of puce, after what seemed like an eternity the steak eventually dislodged itself and flew across the table, her face changed back to a rosy pink, she sipped on the glass of water and apologised profusely to the entire pub.  She and her group continued with their meals while everyone else went back to their drinks.

It was at that point I vowed I'd get some first aid training because I never wanted to feel that useless again.  I genuinely thought I was going to see somebody die before my eyes because nobody - including me - knew what to do.

I did do a first aid course, although thankfully I've only had to use the knowledge gained on a few occasions.

If you're looking for a New Year's resolution, how about learning first aid?  You never know when you might need it and what a difference it could make.