Eclipse released tonight at 00.00 - Excitement in pictures

SLING WATCH: DAY 22

SLING WATCH: DAY 22

It don't mean a thing if you aint got that sling

I was told last week that I'm definitely in this stifling polyester monstrosity for 6 weeks, so as of tomorrow that's another 3 weeks in total to go. 

With the very unlikely gorgeous weather we've been having it has a been strain. The sun and slings just simply don't mix, you know a bit like chilli and chocolate...

Sun v Sling dilemmas

1. Constant warmth - whatever you wear and whatever you do, you are guaranteed to feel the heat (unless you stand directly in front of a fan). Sweat is now your closest companion, and let's face it, who want's sweat as a friend?! My sling is black too :( it absorbs heat TO O well.

2. Sling tan - I love to top up my tan, I'm more the au natural type than tanning beds or St Tropez and this glorious sun presents me with a serious tan line problem. From the picture above you can see the obvious concern, a thick untanned section on your chest area and lower arm. So I have been slightly cheating and getting my arm out (*hopes physio doesn't read blog) whilst sunbathing.

3. It's fugly - This black material contraption ruins any attempt I make at looking decent on a summers days. It joyfully envelops my pretty summer dresses, distracts from white and light coloured tops and kills my chances of looking smart. So now I'm sticking to black tops and shorts... eurggh.

Rant over, thanks for even attempting to read my 'sorry for myself' blog posts surrounding the phenomenon that is 'SLING WATCH'.

Love, S(linged)SGS xoxo

Why I'm switching off the World Cup and turning on Wimbledon

Pimms over pints

On one hand I'm a girly girl, love my products, hair, blah.. on the other I enjoy watching the brutality of a rugby game - the intensity, competition, passion, big tackles and spectacular breaks. I enjoy watching many sports and enjoy competitive elite competitions and seeing athletes at their physical peak achieve things I could only ever dream of.


So why am I not enjoying the World Cup?


I just find watching 22 men kicking a ball around a field in shiny shirts and too long shorts beyond boring. It's not just the game itself that doesn't fire my synapses into an electric frenzy it's the politics off the field, the players wages, morals and the 'hype' surrounding what they call 'the beautiful game'.


So sadly this World Cup is not making me feel anything in particular, luckily the brave Knight in shiny armour come to salvage my retinas is Wimbledon.

I adore tennis, pip-pip, and I can still remember the feeling of elation when I had my first electric blue Wilson racket at 10 years old. My bestie and I joined a tennis club in the summer and we played every other day and developed horrible tan lines but we loved learning how to hit the ball on the forehand and the backhand and even managed a weak, girly serve after 3 weeks.


I really wish I'd stuck at it, as far as I remember school resumed and we just want to back to playing hockey and netball outdoors and badminton when it rained, tennis sadly, was off the menu. 


Wimbledon is just great, the best male and female tennis players in the world compete in a tournament full of history and prestige. The surroundings in Wimbledon are just beautiful, the courts green and lush and the backdrop is the London skyline.. just beautiful. Sure there are plenty of toffs and rather rich people but we still see the normals on 'Henman Hill' and it's a sport everyone can engage in.


I am an Andy Murray supporter and I want him to do well because you can see how much he has developed as a player, what worries is me is that the media always turn Wimbledon into a frenzy of getting a 'British Champion' because as we all know the last fella to win at Wimbledon was Fred Perry in 1936. 1936?!.... jeez... that's ages ago but we fail to remember is that Murray is still relatively young, still developing, getting experience and is up against people who appear to have born with a racket in their hand eg. Federer and Nadal. Lay off the lad and let him enjoy his tennis, we can fist pump in support and shout his name, but just don't expect victory as a given.

I heart <3 tennis

Lastly I love tennis because it's a game, minus doubles, that because it's an individual sport relies on the player being able to motivate themselves and pick themselves up from bad play. Time and time again matches have been won and lost because you can see a player either mentally and physically crumble or literally gather strength from somewhere to get out of the funk and win the match.


So, COME ON MURRAY..... be great if you won, but let's get to to the 1/4s first yeh?


Love, SSGS xoxo

SLING WATCH: DAY 15

I'm a freakin' one armed bandit

Day 15 and the sling remains, we had a falling out on day 11 and I wore a blue one, but after a 'girl to girl' chat* we've reunited as it faithfully supports my right arm

So what's new in the sling world? Well, got told today it is to stay on for another 2 weeks so 6 in total. I was hoping it was 4 weeks but the surgery I've had means it has to be 6... eurghhh.

The good news you ask?

My dressing has come off my wound... hell yes! It's ripped half my tan off but it's finally off, the very thing that caused people to gawp at me in the street. The wound itself was glued, yes glued I tell you :) so the scar after some intense bio oil and moisturiser sessions might actually look a little less Frankenstein than I thought.

Positive Sling Fact #1:

The sling is a fantastic aid for shop lifting, just pop purchases under the arm and then claim any wrong doing on the cocktail of painkillers.

I am of course joking, and still on medication.....hahahahahahaha......

Love, SGS xoxo.

*clearly the sling is female - rubs me up the wrong way, constant, belligerent, likes to wear all black.

SLING WATCH: DAY 10

One arm is better than none - or so they say

So here I am, day 10, still in a sling and bodysuit, about to join the circus and delusional from medication...

The past couple days I've been out and about, well walking around Neath town centre anyway, to keep me active and sane (despite CoCodomol trying to turn me in to the Mad Hatters Wife) and I've noticed some prejudice when it comes to sling wearers. Good and bad.

The good:

* I got to enter the wrong side of the self check-out in Morrisons, I got a mock telling off from the staff then an 'Awww' as I'm asked to regale my story of the sling 1-0

* I got offered a seat on a packed bus but  gave it away to an elderly lady who got on at the next stop (Mother Teresa, move over) 2-0

* People swerve to avoid me on the high street like I am some kind of plague victim which allows me greater room to navigate  3-0

The bad:

* I get stared at frequently, with a mixture of sympathy, disgust, pity and confusion  3-1

* Aisles are not my friend, one lady in Marks and Spencers in a mad dash attempt to get at the tinned minced beef almost took my sling off in one swoop... luckily my awareness of danger has increased so I literally jumped out the way 3-2

* You become a magnet to those annoying 'Accident Claims' people - one of them made a direct line to talk to me today, luckily I had shades on and pretended to be Spanish.'Paella? Si Si nay comprende' 3-3

* The repetition of the questions, 'How did you do that love?' being common... Am starting to concoct ridiculous stories as answers - 'Shark attack in Bali, Alligator wrestling in Oz and Possum attack' being my favourite 4-3

I conclude, wearing a sling SUCKS but I've got a long way to go... until next time.

Love, S(linged)SGS xoxo

Life after Glee... 3 easy steps to cope with your loss.

I shed an inevitable tear at the Glee finale last night and have since been pondering my show choir-less Monday nights. I suspect that I'm not alone in my despair at the loss of Glee (for now anyway) the finale on E4 pulled in 1.5million viewers and clogged my news feed on Facebook with Glee appreciation. 

So if like me you are a Gleek, then I have 3 ideas to fill the 9pm-10pm void on Monday nights.

1.Set up your own Glee club 

This requires immense dedication and friends who can sing. If you have stereotype friends all the better - Neurotic (Rachel), Gay with impeccable fashion sense (Kurt), Bada$$ (Puck), Black Bootylicious Diva (Mercedes), Pregnant (Finn), Bitch (Santana), Loose (Britney), Boy growing into a man (Quinn), Disabled (Artie) and Asian with attitude (Tina).

Encouraged are are frenemies, arguments, betrayals, inter group relations and a pregnancy.... more to sing about see?!

2. Utilise your inner Sue Sylvester

Dig out those Adidas tracksuits (you've got the trousers, admit it) and channel your inner Sue and wreak havoc on unsuspecting people with curly hair - Mr Schue. Yep that's right, grab a whistle and a megaphone and let todays curly haired men know 'How Sue C's it'.

Comments like the ones below are encouraged:

"I spent large segments of each day picturing you choking on food, and I recently contacted an exotic animal dealer because I had a very satisfying dream that I once shoved your face into one of those pink-inflamed monkey butts".

"Your hair looks like a briar patch. I keep expecting racist, animated Disney characters to pop up and start singing about living on the bayou".

3. During 9pm-10pm only live your life through the medium of song

Every phone call you receive, every conversation and every movement can be recorded using song... think of the possibilities, there could be different themed weeks - just like Glee :)

Lady GaGa - a friend rings and you answer (to the music of Telephone) 

"Hello, hello Amy you called I can hear you speak, sorry I did not text you back I'm kinda busy, k-k-kinda busy, sorry I did not text you back I'm kinda busy"

Pixie Lott - you are on the toilet (to Mamma Do) 

"Coz, I'm stuck on the loo (uh-oh-uh-oh) don't know if its number 1 or 2 (uh-oh-uh-oh) I really hope I don't poo (uh-oh-uh-oh) that's not what I wanna do"

These should keep us going for at least 10 mins :) if not I suggest watching re-runs on Youtube.

Love, SSGS xoxo.

One armed and TBH not at all dangerous

SLING WATCH - DAY 6

Check the slinged, one armed, leotard wearing fashionista above..... hell yes that's me!!! Erm ok, so no, it's not!


My time management skills massively let me down before I had an operation so I forgot to say after shoulder surgery I would be left one armed in a sling, recovering and trying to utilise my left arm for everything... sfgerhehbr <-------- even typing.


My posts from now on will be brief but sweet and as I can only hope that I will end up that GaGa-esque in my sling I type miserably in my baggy PJ top and shorts with hair so tangled a family of mice may have inhabited it overnight... and oh the painkillers, after a few of those I make the Mad Hatter look a decently sane chap.


4 more weeks in this cotton contraption.... roll on!


"MAM, CAN YOU PUT MY DEODORANT ON MY GOOD ARM PIT?"


Oh, the glamour...


Love, S(linged)SGS  xoxo.

Oh My GaGa - Sneak peek of 'Alejandro'

Counting down the days until 'Alejandro'

Lady GaGa's new video for 'Alejandro' is almost upon us and 'O.M.GAGA' I am excited..... 'Alejandro' is taken from GaGa's extended 'The Fame Monster' album and damn tootin' it's a good un.

There is a short preview already on YouTube and features GaGa in a Vogue-esque setting. Black and white ambience, male dancers, a tailored waiscoat style playsuit, slicked back, short hair and plenty of attitude... oh a scary ghost mask, look closely at the end.



As per every Lady GaGa video since the precedent for 'Bad Romance' was set I am hoping for coffins, blood, corpses (of the smoking variety), bondage tape, product placement, outfits, masks, and needless heavy petting - JOY.

"I know that you are young, and I know that you may love me... but I just can't be with you like this anymore.... Alejandro"

ahem, Love, SGS xoxo