“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” – Nelson Mandela

Well, this week has certainly been an interesting one, hasn’t it? I can’t remember anything quite like it! First we had the Liberals and Labour getting into bed, then the Liberals and the Conservatives. All settled now, and let me say I think we’ve got the best mix possible: strong principles and liberal sensibilities. It’s like Hebden Bridge!

Over the weekend I was again glued to the television screen, remote in one hand, the other on the laptop keypad. I was playing online bingo all weekend, I had such a lot of fun. I had a ’system’ too – every time things seemed to be going Labour’s way, I start losing. Is that a system? Well, it worked for me!

The cats are so much more relaxed these days. Oregano, especially. I think he’s found his lying-down-spot – right under the window when it’s sunny, and sometimes when it’s not! Rosemary is still quite undecided as to where her favourite spot it, but most mornings I wake up to find her at the foot of my bed.

I’ve received some more orders this week! Just for two locals – I can’t really reveal their identities but they know who they are! And so do Oregano and Rosie judging by the way they look for attention from them every time they enter the house. Honestly, I’m glad my cats are cats and not children as I really don’t think I’d be able to keep up with them. Draining!

“Every few seconds it changes – up an eighth, down an eighth -it’s like playing a slot machine. I lose $20 million, I gain $20 million.” – Ted Turner

“Truth is not determined by majority vote.” – Doug Gwyn

Well it’s certainly been an exciting 24 hours! I spent last night glued to the box watching the coverage of the election. It was quite overwhelming really, and a tad confusing. Luckily I had a bottle of wine and a game of online bingo to take the edge off!

I suppose the election is a little like a bingo board. You have all these numbers in front of you, and you keep crossing off areas until you have enough to stand up and declare yourself the winner. I wonder if the ‘house’ people shout is actually the House of Commons??

Apparently some people were unable to vote last night. I didn’t have a problem. I had all day so I took my time and went down to Hebden Church (our polling station) and put my ‘x’ in a box.

I voted for… none of your business!

The polling official at the station was named Ross. He was a young man of around 24 (I remember that age! haha). I was surprised to see someone so young with an interest in politics, but then I realised that the world is changing. Not in a bad way! I mean, look at Rick Clegg and Cameron – both young men. Gordon Brown isn’t so youthful though – he certainly didn’t come across as someone I’d vote for in the television debates – at least not facially.

So now we have a hanging parliament, and it seems the only thing that isn’t changing is my luck playing online bingo. There’s probably more chance of me standing and becoming prime minister than there is for all my numbers to be pulled out of the hat.

Except for number 13 of course… just my luck

“Bingo, that’s a goodie!” – Paul Bryant

With that in mind, I present to you…

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of Jen Stark. Her 34-year mission to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and civilizations. To boldly go (with her cat) where no man has gone before.

I want to go into space. Ever since I was a little girl, looking up at the night’s sky from my bedroom window, I’ve dreamed of journeying into the black. To quote the nummy Karl Urban as Dr. Bones McCoy, “Space is dark and dangerous”. But I want to go.

And now, I finally can. The news that Richard Branson’s fleet of commercial spaceships is moving towards trial testing made me giddy all over. Apparently the project, codenamed (not very originally) Virgin Galactic is moving up a gear; test flights are set for next year and the first tourist-laden shuttle is to scream past the upper limits of the atmosphere in 2012.

With a little luck, I could be in space in two years. All I need now is a rocket-sized payload of money.

Naturally, my first instinct was to go out and buy a lottery ticket. Alas, my Saturday night entertainment did not involve running around my living room while clutching a winning ticket. Still, I did manage to win £10 on the internet in a game of free bingo later in the evening and I guess every little counts. Plus, I have £20 in my purse from last week’s excursion to the bingo hall. Maybe I should get a special ’space fund’ jar

Still, I did make a few cost-cutting measures this week and young Felicity didn’t seem to mind the switch from Whiskas to Tesco own-brand cat food. I’m sure that £0.76 saving will eventually add up. I’ll be sailing among the stars before you know it.

After months of speculation, Barack Obama finally came out and set a budget for NASA. What it means is that the world’s biggest space agency will hand over some space launches to commercial companies, spend more on space technology and – yes – cancel plans to revisit the moon.

Now it may not surprise you to learn that I wasn’t exactly high on NASA’s shortlist for landing on the moon. I’m a woman, for starters! But I must say that I’ve always loved staring at our nearest neighbour. There’s something magical about the moon, with its enormous craters and endless valleys. My favourite time of the month is during a full moon when you can see Earth’s only satellite in all its glory.

I’ve got a few friends in Manchester who enjoy a spot of stargazing too. It just so happens that we were talking about this very subject the other day in the Trafford Centre (only once the important business of shopping was over, mind!). They all felt much the same, that it’s been way too long since the last moon landing. Can you believe it’s nearly four decades since we last set foot on another world?

To be honest, our little stargazing gang doesn’t get to meet up as often as I’d like anymore. Everyone seems to be settling down, getting married and having kids, which sadly doesn’t leave much time for all-day shopping splurges!

Nowadays, the best we can usually manage is a natter every now and then in our local bingo club or while playing online bingo. It’s great to catch up with old friends on the chat forums, and we all still live in hope that one of us will win the jackpot sooner or later.

Who knows, maybe next time you hear from me, I’ll be rolling in money! Although what’s probably more likely is that I’ll still be rolling along as normal, gawping at the full moon with my good old Skymax Synscan 127.

It’s taken around 26 months, but our nearest neighbour will be at perfect opposition to the sun on January 29, at which point it will be the brightest object in the evening sky except for Sirius. If you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of Mars, be advised that it will rise in the evening and appear overhead at around midnight, which should be a good time to get a clear view if you can stay up.

Down from the heavens and back to events on terra firma, I’ve been using time which I would normally have spent watching the sky to enjoy some new hobbies (as you’ll know from my last few posts) and also to catch up with some friends.

First port of call was the cinema, where we watched Avatar. It’s great, especially in 3D, and I wholly recommend you go and see it (as you can tell I’m going to apply for Jonathon Ross’s job on The Film Programme when it becomes vacant). My friends and I also went back to the bingo club we visited before Christmas. Apparently bingo Manchester has been a bit quiet of late because of all the snow and bad weather but we were among those who braved a less treacherous night and actually went to a club.

As it goes, it was worth the visit, I won £10. Which is not bad considering the amount of fun we had. Considerably less fun was trying to get home afterwards – getting a taxi during the cold snap was a nightmare.

I also took the opportunity to speak to my friends about my potential move to Hebden Bridge. I’m starting to think that I might be having second thoughts, not just because of the potentially slower broadband but also because I think I’d miss town and my friends if I moved over there. I will have to continue mulling it over, but I don’t think anything will happen before summer at the earliest.