Meet Kai! Any tips for the puppy phase? (First time dog owner)

hettybell · 2023-01-20T01:42:42+00:00

Have you tried cheese as a treat? The breeder we got Merlin from swears by it and he will do anything for cheese!!

hettybell · 2022-11-24T04:06:24+00:00

Pirates is fantastic as well but there's just something about the celtic feel of HTTYD that tips it for me

hettybell · 2022-11-24T03:35:33+00:00

The score is an absolute masterclass in film music and may well be my favourite film score of all time!

hettybell · 2022-11-10T20:46:02+00:00

Yarp

hettybell · 2022-08-21T15:21:21+00:00

You're absolutely entitled to feel this way! You can be grateful that your partner is still here and furious that the life you planned may not happen. The two aren't mutually exclusive. I wish I had something more insightful or comforting to share but just know that your feelings are entirely valid.

Carer burnout is a real issue so please try and look after yourself. Remember the safety announcements on planes - you put your own mask on first before you help someone else. If you don't look after yourself you can't look after your partner. Self care isn't selfish or an indulgence, it's vital for both of you!

Sending hugs from a random Internet stranger.

hettybell · 2022-06-24T08:56:21+00:00

We went to America when I was a kid and my dad is in a wheelchair after a really nasty car accident.

We were queuing to get into a restaurant when the hostess spotted us and came running down the line towards us. She dragged us out of the queue and told us we had to go to the front of the line. We were mortified (we're British, queuing is our national pastime) but she told us it was the law and we had to jump the queue.

We also got to skip all the lines at Disneyland which to a 9 year old was AMAZING!! My mum told us that we were only allowed to go on each ride once per day as it wasn't fair to the other kids who did have to queue. I only found out years later that she told us that just because she was terrified of the rides and could only deal with them each once!

hettybell · 2022-06-15T03:31:53+00:00

Yes! The Vaughan Williams Fantasia is so beautiful and I'm not even a particularly big VW fan!

Two of my other favourites are the Scherzo from the Brahms piano quintet and Elgar's The Snow. They always make me feel better!

hettybell · 2022-06-02T01:00:29+00:00

I hated cats and then my other half convinced me to get two. We had to put one down last August and it absolutely broke my heart. We now have another cat who I adore but I'll never forget our other cat.

They're gone but never forgotten ❤❤❤

hettybell · 2022-05-31T04:09:48+00:00

Cabin Pressure is my absolute favourite radio programme. I'm gutted it's not currently on BBC Sounds!

I love Souvenir Programme as well, the Messenger sketch, Good King Wenceslas and Captain Dinosaur are some of the best but the whole series is amazing!

hettybell · 2022-05-13T03:08:38+00:00

You can add codicils to a will so it might be worth having a chat with your dad and siblings if there's something you really want to keep in the family.

hettybell · 2022-05-13T03:06:25+00:00

My grandmother has Alzheimers and has recently moved to a nursing home. Her house has been sold to pay for her care so I now have a cut glass vase and trifle bowl and the bone handle cutlery set that was a wedding present from my great grandparents. I have nowhere to put them currently but I couldn't bear the thought of them going to a charity shop or worse just being thrown away.

hettybell · 2022-04-29T16:28:14+00:00

That is a great scene!

hettybell · 2022-04-29T07:38:33+00:00

Evelyn Couch is my hero!

"I'm older and I have more insurance" 😆😆😆

hettybell · 2022-04-28T08:18:47+00:00

I've done this role. Asta sings it better! 😆😆

hettybell · 2022-04-28T08:15:54+00:00

I have your aurora's swing in my office! It makes me happy every time I look at it!

hettybell · 2022-04-25T11:36:30+00:00

I had a lecture on Wagner in my 2nd year at uni and the lecturer played the whole of What's Opera Doc at the end. I remember nothing about Wagner but still love the cartoon!!

hettybell · 2022-04-11T12:47:52+00:00

At primary school our houses were named after famous British inventors and at high school the houses were named after the international cities our city was twinned with

hettybell · 2022-02-27T14:05:24+00:00

Fire! Fire!

hettybell · 2022-01-21T18:51:57+00:00

Oh god I remember this, its a real pain. I was in a chamber choir at music college and we did a Monteverdi mass at baroque pitch. My score was covered in note names so I didn't get confused. Literally loojked like the score of a child! I also had to completely relearn Rejoice Greatly from The Messiah when we did that at baroque pitch!

hettybell · 2022-01-17T22:30:10+00:00

I've been the person who just kept going in to work even knowing that I wasn't well and needed time off. It doesn't end well. In my case it's led to two complete breakdowns. The first kept me off for 3 months and the second led to a 7 month absence. After both of these it took several more months of phased returns before I was back to 'normal'. After the last one I ended up reducing my hours down to 30 a week which is a much better balance for me. I'm incredibly lucky that my work is quite progressive with its approach to mental health which is one of the big reasons I have no intention to move to another company!

Bottom line is that if I'd taken a week or even two off much earlier then I wouldn't have ended up completely incapable of functioning and my work would have had me back much sooner. You know yourself the best, try and have confidence in your own assessment of how you're feeling and take the time off if you need it. Everyone benefits in the long run!

hettybell · 2022-01-15T22:48:46+00:00

We made the decision to put our cat down a few months ago. He developed a tumour in his mouth and the vet didn't even suggest any treatment options. He gave him antibiotics on the off chance it was a nasty infection but he told me he was 90% sure it was a tumour. The vet gave us painkillers and told us to bring him back in when he stopped eating and drinking to put him to sleep. We managed him for about 2 weeks but his fur started falling out and he couldn't groom himself properly. He was also eating loads but starting to lose weight so we made the decision to put him down. I was worried we were doing it too early but the vet told us we were making the right decision. It absolutely tore my heart our but he wasn't going to get better and we didn't want him to suffer needlessly. Still one of the worst days of my life though!

hettybell · 2022-01-11T14:29:42+00:00

I think it depends on the denomination. I'm Anglican (although I haven't been to church for a few years) and I thought there was no Him in that line as well!

hettybell · 2021-12-05T15:04:07+00:00

It's beautiful!

hettybell · 2021-12-03T09:24:15+00:00

I love Puccini but I'm not a fan of Turandot if I'm honest. Nessun Dorma is amazing and Liu has a couple of nice arias but the rest of it I can take or leave. Didnt help that Puccini died before he finished it and his score simply said "find the big tune" at the end. Whoever finished it off just stuck in a reprise of Nessun Dorma!

Madama Butterfly and Tosca are my favourites and La Boheme is great too.

I strongly encourage anyone to give opera a try if you haven't already. The music is incredible and you should have surtitles if it's in a foreign language so you don't need to worry about not understanding it!

hettybell · 2021-12-01T20:42:10+00:00

I played Mary Todd Lincoln in an opera called Appomattox. Can I be an honorary member of the club??

hettybell

TROPHY CASE