Don't you just hate it when sometime in the past you've had this fabulous idea, but never got around to doing anything about it, and then sometime later, somebody else has had the same idea (though not quite as good), and they have actually done something about it and then it ends up looking like it was their idea in the first place when you know it really wasn't and now they are cashing in on the whole thing and it's all just seriously wrong I'm telling you. (wow, what a sentence!)

Anyway, this is what happened to me today. Here I was having a cuppa with my lovely husband and looking through a "shabby chic" style book when there it was! I turned the page and staring me in the face was this thing that Nev and I have always said we would like to do somewhere along the track. Somebody else has taken our vision and put a lot of time, effort, energy and money into turning it into theirs. How wrong is that?! (Get your own ideas you copiers, you. )

We have often said that we would like to buy a lovely piece of land somewhere (green and lush obviously) and buy some old railway carriages, join them in a circle and turn each one into a seperate room - bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and dining etc. The inner circle would be some kind of lovely courtyard/entertaining area and around the outside of the carriages would be lovely herb and cottage gardens. We would then deck it all out to look all old fashioned but with all the mod cons etc. We have talked about this in great length, so much so that we knew what colours we would use for the decor and what kind of herbs would be in the garden.

And here it all was, laid out in glossy colour, with the owners looking all smug and "haven't we had a great idea and aren't you peeved you didn't think of it first" kind of look on their faces that I wanted to wipe off for them with an evil, cackling laugh. These people, and just because they had the drive and vision, (completely over rated) have cashed in on our brilliant idea. Just because they got off their backsides and actually did something with their dreams instead of lying in a hammock, drinking red wine and dreaming about it (nothing wrong with that) have beaten us to the punch line and frankly, I'm a bit put out.

Hmmm.....think I'll go and make a few Molotov cocktails - just for kicks.