The squat slug

This afternoon, I went outside to the back yard to do some weed clearing for my mother; I had promised some garden work to her during my stay. While clearing near a strawberry bush, I encountered an enormous slug.

Now, this slug wasn't enormous in length - in fact, it was shorter than many of the slugs I've seen around here and in Northamptonshire. No, this slug was wide. It was at least an inch thick and couldn't have been much more than two inches in length. Never before can I recall seeing a slug with such short length in proportion to its width.

As for what I did to the slug, I left it alone. I moved away from that area of the yard so that the slug would not be disturbed any further.

US Mother's Day 2017

For the first time in three years, I was able to spend US Mother's Day with Mum. As with UK Mother's Day, my missing it the past two years has been down to her being in Northamptonshire and my being up here in Nottinghamshire. Now that she and my brother are up here, we can spend it together again.

As for what we did, we walked to the Rushcliffe Country Park in Ruddington and back and later had dinner together.

Not so many pictures, as of late

Since late September, I've barely posted any photographs here - 23, to be exact. Back in the day, photgraphic posts were common on Air Nice-to-Livelands but now they're as rare as hen's teeth. There are three main causes for this:

1. Starting university is the obvious one. I have less time to sort through photographs.

2. I photograph less than I used to. In both Northamptonshire and here in Nottinghamshire I'd photographed so much that my pictures were becoming repetitive.

3. The WiFi in my accommodation can be slow and thus, uploading pictures can take a while.

This doesn't mean pictures posts won't be seen here again (I still have a big blog party post to unveil) - it just means they're nowhere near as common as they used to be. For now, frequent picture posts are not a priority.

Groceries in Clifton

Clifton has five grocery stores (at least five that I've seen, anyway): A Tesco, a Co-op, a Morrisons, an Iceland and an independent outlet called Mace. While I have shopped at all three of these stores, I primarily purchase my groceries from the Morrisons, followed by a Tesco in the Victoria Centre in the city centre, which in turn is followed by the Tesco here. The Tesco here is a small one at a fuel station whereas the one in the Victoria Centre is the size of a usual large supermarket.

While the Co-op was the first store I went to when I first visited Clifton in September 2015, I rarely go there, as the Co-op tends to have higher prices than the others (although not quite so high as Sainsbury's). I've been to Iceland twice and the Mace store once; Iceland's prices vary whereas the Mace store is located on a side street that I rarely walk down.

By contrast, in the town in Northamptonshire that we used to live in, it had three Co-ops: A large one, a medium-sized and a small. I tended to use all three on a mostly equal basis. There was a general store of sorts but I never went there.

As for my mother, she doesn't shop at any of these outlets: She receives weekly home deliveries from Tesco, which is practical for her and my brother.

Ready for the 2016 election

I'm at my mother and brother's house for the evening and night because my brother and I arranged in advance that we would spend the United States election night following the results as they come in. This was what we did for the 2012 election except that on that occasion, we were both living in Northamptonshire under the same roof. Now, we are living in Nottinghamshire in separate occasions but we still wanted to spend election night following it together.

They're up here now

As of this afternoon, my mother and brother became residents of the Nottingham area. They were running behind somewhat but they left Northamptonshire after midday, were here by the middle of the afternoon and have spent the rest of the day unpacking, which will be a tricky job but also possibly a tedious one, given that they're both used to seeing boxes all over the place.

This morning, they were living 45-50 miles from me. Now, they only live about half a mile from my accommodation. I'll give them some help over the next couple of days (after my classes) and then I'll have an assignment to complete for next Friday.

Final pre-move weekend

This is the last weekend that my mother and brother will spend living in Northamptonshire. At this time in a week, both of them will be up here in the Nottingham area. Their expected moving date is next Thursday and Mum has said she will text when they've both arrived. My intention is go and see them as they move in and help where I can.

My starting college was the beginning of a new era in my family. Losing Dad was the start of another new era and now, beginning next week, another era in such a short space of time will form.

Another Nottingham move

I will soon be joined up here in the Nottingham area by family moving to the region. Who? My mother and brother. In under two weeks' time, they will both be living up here after living in Northamptonshire since July 2011.

The move will be major for them. It's the first they've done since Dad died nearly two years ago. Mum and my brother became ready to both move and move on since early on this year. Now, they have a place here, ready to move into once they've moved out down there.

Nottingham will be mostly unfamiliar to them both but they will have me up here; while I am in student accommodation and am busy at university, my local knowledge will prove useful in helping them complete the transition.

Didn't do the walk

When I went to Nottingham two days ago, it was the first day since the first day I've been back in Northamptonshire that I didn't walk to the neighbouring town. It was late when I returned and I was tired; however, after I departed the bus that evening my brother and I went for a short walk and both yesterday and today, I walked in some extra areas to help make up for that gap.

Still, the four-week period prior to that day is the longest continuous stretch of me walking to the neighbouring town and back.

Certificate pick-up

I travelled up to Nottingham this morning via train to collect from my grandparents' house the certificate from my second college course to prove that I passed Access to Higher Education; in addition to a certificate, the envelope also came with a list of my grades. While I already knew my grades, for how Access works, we receive a grade about two weeks after we hand in an assignment, a list of them to hand is extremely useful.

My grandparents and I spent some time together before I then headed back to Northamptonshire. On my bus from theirs back to Nottingham, I went to the outside of Central, with the intention of having a look at the place again before I left; however, I noticed three of the librarians exit the building and so I went over to say hello to them; they were pleased at my award and congratulated me for it. One of them and I chatted for about forty minutes before I had to return to the train station to ensure I was back before the buses local to my mother's house stopped running for the day.

Collecting my certificate, seeing my grandparents and talking to Central's librarians for a bit? Definitely an enjoyable day.

Under the heat

Over this summer, my aim is to walk at least 10-15 miles per week; since I returned to Northamptonshire, I have already walked about 12 miles in total. Despite my weight gain, I can still complete five-mile (and uphill) walks around here without being exhausted; however, what is hampering me is the current extreme heat here. My brother estimated that it's about 85 degrees Fahrenheit during the hottest part of the day - and bear in mind most houses don't have air conditioning.

On the bright side, the more intense walk means that my exercise is that bit harder, which in turn helps me to lose weight that bit faster.

Summer break 2016

As of this afternoon, I am back in Northamptonshire for the summer break. I will be back in Nottingham full time again in September to start university but for this summer, I will be helping Mum and my brother pack up the house for a move while at the same time sorting out what I need for university. I should receive my diploma for Access within the coming weeks; I already have my results, I just need the diploma - it's not like my GCSEs in which I was waiting for months to receive them.

Lindsay Lohan and Philip Hollobone

Lindsay Lohan has been invited by Philip Hollobone, the MP for Kettering, to come to Northamptonshire:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-36682401

As results were coming in for the recent referendum, Lohan wrote a tweet that was taken as dissing Kettering. She has since apologised and appears to have accepted Hollobone's invitation. It should be interesting if Lohan does attend the event she's been invited to - it's not far from where my mother and brother live.

The final half-term

I am back in Northamptonshire today for the third and final half-term break of my course. I'll be back in Nottingham next weekend for when the last part of my sixth and final term at college begins.

Easter break 2016

I am back in Northamptonshire for the Easter break. Rather than go down on a Saturday as per usual, my grandfather and I instead decided to come here on Good Friday. This Easter break, as with the last, is two weeks in length. I'll be back at college at the start of the second third of April.

Second course second term half-term (2)

I am now in Northamptonshire for the half-term break. True to what I said yesterday about exercise, I went for a walk - a walk that was about five miles in length; shorter than my Hucknall walk last weekend but longer than most other walks I've taken recently. The uphill nature of the walk concerned me, as I expected to be exhausted due to my lack of recent significant exercise but I traversed the hills without tiring.

Second course second term half-term

The first half of my second course's second term ended today; as such, it is now the half-term break and tomorrow I'm going down to see my mother and brother in Northamptonshire for the week. I have two assignments to finish and a lot of exercise to catch up on; if the weather is good, I'll walk five miles a day. I'm writing about the walking here so that I stick to that promise!

Northamptonshire December 2015

So, for the Christmas break I'm back at my family's home in Northamptonshire. I'll be back in Nottinghamshire on the second or third day of 2016, as my next college term begins in the first full week of that year.

Second course, first half-term

The first half-term break of the course has begun; as such, I am at the family home in Northamptonshire for the week. College resumes on the 2nd of November.

Not a long post because there isn't much to say - it's rained for most of today so other than packing/unpacking belongings and travelling in a car, I've haven't exactly done much today!

Nottingham return September 2015

I'm back. My grandparents came down to Northamptonshire in the early afternoon and took me back up to Nottingham in the early evening. There's not a lot to say for now other than that my course starts in less than two days and that I watched, with my grandmother, the opening show to 2015's season of Strictly Come Dancing.

If I'm not too busy tomorrow and if the weather's good, I'll see if I can go for a long walk.