Monday 19 October 2009

bless their cowardly heart

I've just received a comment on an old blog which indicates that my son and I are mean. The subject matter was around laughing about a rather wide woman who blocked the aisle at our local supermarket and yes, it probably was mean of me to say stuff but it seems strange to tell me I was wrong by 'name calling' my son and very wrong indeed to do so anonymously.
I am who I am and I'm certainly not perfect in any way but I say what I say openly

Thursday 15 October 2009

A syndrome, no less!

you may remember last year that I told you my son had been diagnosed with a heart condition called long Q-T syndrome.
Well, the news is that I have found out today that I have it too. It is a hereditary condition and we now have to find out whether it started with me or whether one of my parents has it.
My main concern is for my children as the condition can cause sudden death, they will be tested but it takes a while for the results to come through.
The hospital have given me a long list of drugs i should avoid (I've had quite a few lol) and advised against strenuous exercise (you've got to laugh, I've been a runner for years).
At least now Jack has someone else in the family who he can relate to.

Monday 21 September 2009

running?

Having once again managed to finish the great north run I am in a state of great stiffness but feeling pleased with myself.
People often ask me how I achieve such commendable style and speed in my running (well, ok they don't but they could if they wanted to).
It's all down to a lifetime of living life on the edge and never having a moment to spare. I don't actually run at all, what i do is fall continually and constantly manage to get a leg out in time to save me from complete collapse.
But seriously, The run (and others like it) at a great social occasion and I always meet and chat with some great and inspirational characters from the teams running for a massive charity to the individual running to give themselves an achievement or to show the world that they are not beaten.
It was never truer that it isn't about winning, it's about taking part.

Saturday 12 September 2009

give a little whistle

Just the other day, whilst enjoying some very un-British sun, I got wolf whistled!
The whistler then shouted that I had nice legs lol.
Now, OK. this was all a joke, probably a dare but it made me feel good.
No big deal to many of my friends because I'm sure they are frequently desired but (and this is how genuinely sad I am)I haven't been wolf whistled since 1996 (it was October on Headingley Lane in Leeds at about 16:30 for some reason I don't recall the day).
I felt good for two reasons.
1. in the pretend area of my brain someone noticed and liked what they saw
2. By parading around in my shorts I brought a little fun into someones day.

I thanked the young lady and proceeded with my day a happier person (see it takes very little to make me happy)

Friday 4 September 2009

Big brother wants me to relax

I suppose I always thought the government was a bit faceless but I'm now starting to think big brother is indeed watching me and that my benign big brother is concerned about me overdoing it in the work department.

I have spent the last year or so trying to do as much over time as possible in order to pay the bills and buy important stuff (like food and clothes) for the kids.
Unfortunately my hard work has pushed my earnings over the qualification bar for tax credits (a government payment to people on a low income) and, I now find that our household income is £12 A YEAR over the maximum income for two of the girls to get full Educational maintainance allowance (paid to young people 16 -19 who stay in education if the household income is low). The net result then of our hard work is:
Approx gain in income = £1200
Approx loss in income = £5400

The message from Big brother is clear

'don't work to hard, take it easy, we will look after you'

so thank you big brother!

oh, just one problem, we have to get through this year without the government help and make sure our income is low because the benefits ar ebased on the previous tax year

Thursday 3 September 2009

Stalkers?

those who know me will confirm that stalking is a thing close to my cold, amphibian heart.
I leapt at the chance to use this facebook application http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fapps.facebook.com%2Fstalkercheck%2F&h=30724749cf8123699d1370ef92c78c7f which tells me who my biggest stalkers are, I'm not sure it's entirely accurate because it works from interactions and excludes page views (you know when you sit for hours just staring at someone's profile picture) and it doesn't include private messages (100 a day just to say I think you're wonderful). It also enables me to see who is 'stalking' my friends but as it needs their permission to access their data I believe that even less.

Anyway,due to the above, I'm not sure it's really about stalking but I do think it gives some indication of who actually interacts with me and it also shows (and I intend no disrespect to Geri who has held the #1 spot on my list for a while) who has to much time on their hands to hang around on facebook

Wednesday 2 September 2009

tell me more

You may (or may not) have noticed that I have a feed from Twitter in my side bar. If you have noticed this then you will also have noticed that some of the tweets make very little sense. I am putting a link to this post below the tweet feed so that people can come straight here if they want to know more about any of my tweets or ask me questions.

Tuesday 1 September 2009

lasting love

at the library we give out a free paper called the Mature Times aimed at our slightly older customers.
Here is a copy of an appeal from the latest edition from a Mrs Kathleen Adcock (nee Ainsworth)

"During the war I fell in love with a young man called Stanley Wild and he fell in love with me. He asked me to marry him and I said 'yes' with all my heart. But then his letters to me stopped. I discovered that my grandmother, with whom I lived, had kept them. She didn't want me to move to London away from her. It broke my heart.

I lost touch with him - and ever since I have carried a burden. I wanted to explain to him what happened. I am now in my early 80's and he would be several years older than me. But I do so want to tell him 'sorry' can any readers help me? [a picture is inserted in the article but i can't show it here].
I know he was in the royal engineers and lived just south of the river in London".

I felt that this story deserved a wide readership and who knows, someone might know something so please link to this so that lots of people see it and if you do know something e-mail admin@maturetimes.co.uk

Thursday 20 August 2009

As I was saying to *enter celebrity name* just this morning

I recently started twittering and was intrigued by being able to follow one's favourite celebrity and see what they are up to. It's sort of legalised stalking.
Being conscious of the amount of time I already spend on line and not wanting to be deluged by updates I never actually started following many people but a few days ago i tried it and, because a friend was already following her, I began to follow Lily Allen, the singer (joining the other 1.2 million) who I do actually enjoy listening to.
So now I can say things like 'I told Lily (Allen) what I thought of her new song' or '......well, as I said to Lily this morning.......'
Looking through people who replied to one of her tweets this morning 12,500 people viewed it in the first hour with various comments (some friendly, some weird, some pointless)but what struck me was the easy familiarity of people, almost as though all these people really are friends with Ms Allen.I wondered how many actually 'believe' they have her as a friend. I have no way of knowing what it feels like to be a celebrity but I'm not sure if I would want this constant attention, some? yes and perhaps lots at first but it really is a bit creepy and I think I will continue to admire her from afar

and for those of you who value grammar

I read yesterday about a man who is protesting about falling standards in grammar by painting apostrophes on the signs at the end of his street there-by changing St Johns Close into St John's Close.
This is all well and good and I do applaud his stand but I hope he has fully considered and researched the issue before acting as his alteration raises some important questions. There are several St Johns and it may be that they own the close collectively in which case that apostrophe is in the wrong place. If, indeed, the close does belong to only one of the many St Johns can ownership be proven? and do the residents need to check their deeds and perhaps pay any rent arrears which may have accrued?

Finally, I wonder how long it will be before someone writes underneath .........but he's not here yet.

Tuesday 18 August 2009

The English abroad (part 1 of a few)

Being english we are aware that we speak the same language as all the gods etc. We also possess the only worthwhile culture. As to culinary knowledge and expertise? well England has it all. Consider, if you will the following tale.

On arrival in Brittany (France) some of our party drove to the nearest town and bought supplies. Amongst those supplies were about 6 1 litre bottles of Lait Ribot. Elementary french class lait = milk, great!

First bottle is opened, added to tea and curdles, second bottle is opened and declared 'off' bottles 3,4,5 and six follow. I look carefully at the labelling and see that it says something about fermente but am out voted and sent back to the shop where my friend and I tell the young lady repeatedly that the milk is bad, IT'S BAD, le lait est mal etc. She refunds the money for the 6 opened bottles and we buy some sterilized milk.

I tried to research lait ribot but only found a brief mention in a cookery book about drinking it with crepes.
It was only when I got home and googled that I found that this regional delicacy is a fermented milk which is traditionally drunk with crepes.

You lack commitment

I am very disappointed in my friends.
as you know we arrived back in England this morning after an absence of 2 weeks. The kids and I shuffled off to the shops to get in some milk, bread etc. As we walked past a parade of shops my son was mobbed, yes MOBBED by a brace of young ladies hugging him and declaring how much they had missed him.

I'm back too (hint hint)

You people really should show more enthusiasm ;-)

Monday 17 August 2009

I have returned

Have just got back from France and, no doubt, there will be tales to tell but, for now, bear with me (or in the case of some people bare with me, because I have a lot of catching up to do.
I will work my way through everything as fast as I can, which isn't very fast.

I have missed you folks

xxx

Thursday 23 July 2009

A transport of delight

I would like to thank my local bus company ARRIVA (Yorkshire) for their foresight and consideration, it's not often a large, public service company is able to see 'outside the box'
ARRIVA have done me the great service of cutting the number of buses from the nearest major town to my home from 3 services to 1 service. This has also meant a reduction in the frequency of buses.
So, why am I thanking them?
When I finish work I now have a choice of positive, life enhancing options. I can wait 55 minutes for the next bus which means I have 55 minutes of time with which to play. I could read (provided the wind and rain don't destroy my book) or I could write more poetry (possibly around the theme of standing alone at a bus stop getting cold). I could even meditate and achieve a much enhanced karmic level.
If I don't wish to take the 55 minutes option i can wait a mere 25 minutes and catch a bus which goes in my general direction. Taking this option will enable me to walk a couple of miles and enhance my general and cardio-vascular fitness.

Sunday 19 July 2009

a great man

Tomorrow I will be attending the funeral of my uncle Jack. He died about two years ago but, in accordance with his wishes, his body was used for medical research and the donor programme.
Within hours of his death his cornea had given someone their sight, he would've loved that.
Having cared for his wife, who was crippled with arthritis until 1979 he then dedicated the rest of his life to helping those in need. He was a well known and popular figure around the area (not least because he seemed to be related to every second person)and his diet of cheese was the bane of many a restaurant. He was virtually t-total and no-one ever said his refusal to drink made him less of a man (correction, no one ever said that twice).
Fiercely loyal to his family and a great friend he was the epitome of a true Yorkshire man.
We held a celebration of his full and wonderful life at the time of his death so tomorrow will be a quiet(ish) cremation and his ashes will be split into three; some to be scattered at Myddelton Lodge in Ilkley which was a retreat centre and a place he dearly loved; some to be scattered on the rose garden where his beloved Vera's ashes were scattered and the final ashes to be scattered in Lourdes where he made pilgrimage and worked for the benefit of his fellow pilgrims every year until he died.

Saturday 18 July 2009

fate's hand

Yesterday I had the choice of doing my own route on the mobile library or covering a route I've never done before which I knew would be a challenge but would involve a lot of frustration due to the disorganisation of that particular van.
I took the challenge and, by lunch time, I was tearing my hair out.
I arrived at the last stop just wishing the day was over.Suddenly i heard a voice say my name and , looking up, I saw a face from the past. A very dear friend with whom I had lost touch. We had a good hour's chat (between serving customers) and I have got her number. I'm a happy toad now

Monday 13 July 2009

Yay! we're rich!

I just have to share this with everyone. I'M RICH, I'm wealthy, I'm minted.........
at least that's what the government say.

We have been receiving tax benefits for a while because our household income was low but the good news is that last year we became wealthy so our tax benefit has dropped by £100 per week. We have never had surplus money and we still have 5 children to cater for but hey......

The irony is that if Jacqueline gave up her part time job we would get the benefit again and the amount of benefit is more than she earns so figure that out.

Mmmmmmm, that felt nice

I attended a party with my partner last Saturday. The party was to celebrate the 40th birthday of an old friend of her's and his wife. Most of the people there new each other and I had been sort of dreading the event and being 'out on a limb'.
Those who know me will know that , beneath the bluster, I am a shy, socially inadequate person, some people think I'm rude but I'm just not good in social situations.
I'm here to say that I really enjoyed the party, yes there were moments when I was a lost soul but Jacqueline's friends were so nice to me and they made me feel really at ease.
Thank you guys, you probably don't realise how much good you did.

Monday 6 July 2009

Narcistic? perhaps (but it makes me feel good)

I last applied for a passport back in 1991 and when it expired I never bothered to re-new as I wasn't likely to be travelling abroad.
This year the family are holidaying in France so I needed a passport.
The application form states that, if you have had a passport your applcation and photograph do not need to be countersigned IF YOU ARE RECOGNISABLY THE SAME PERSON AS PICTURED IN YOUR PREVIOUS PASSPORT.
I took a chance and sent my application off.
The verdict, the passport and identity people don't think I've changed much in the last 18 years


YAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!! I'm still 29 (or did I look 47 back then?)

Monday 15 June 2009

wet and wild (pt 2)

It's hard to believe that England is a country blessed with abundant rainfall. Over the last hour there hads been very heavy rain and already roads are flooding and the pressure of the water in the drains is either forcing the manhole covers off or creating lovely little fountains through any available gap.

Oh yeah and this library van leaks lol

wet and wild (pt 1)

Yay! I did it (well actually we did it as it was very much a team effort).I'm sure the sight of 6 grown men\overgrown boys trying to master the complexities of a rowing boat entertained a few people. That said we did the actual rowing in 2 hours 40 minutes and the half time drinks in 40 minutes.
It was great fun and when one of the others gets round to posting some pictures I'll be sure to pass them on.
Plans are already afoot for next year when we might try the 22 mile course and will try to enter a couple of boats. Bro and I (and probably the others) would like to make this an annual event!

Saturday 13 June 2009

row row row your boat

The time is nigh, gulp.
in 24 hours I'll be on lake Windermere in the process of rowing 10 miles.

It's just a pity I didn't get any training in.
So this will be either a massive work out or a total disaster.
Wish me luck (and if you haven't sponsored me yet click the link in the side bar --->

Tuesday 2 June 2009

deeply honoured!

tomorrow I am taking our brand new library van to meet the city councillors with the possibility of a 'photo opportunity'
I will be parked in the public square in front of the civic building while the worthy city fathers and mothers view their latest acquisition.
Once they have viewed the van I will set off to take it to Nottingham where it will have it's lovely colourful livery put on. I'm looking forward to reviving the ToadSmiles campaign.

I have pondered over why the council want to see the van before it is identifiable as a Leeds Library Van rather than meeting the van after the livery is applied.

Wednesday 20 May 2009

Training so far

oh poo, I really should start!
I would really appreciate so suggestions for my training regime.
About three weeks to go

Positive feedback

working for a local council I find that there is a great preoccupation with customer surveys and feedback but by the time it's all processed and made PC it is so dry and boring.
Yesterday was a quiet day but at one stop a young customer came to browse (and to stop me getting bored, she said). She wanted books on ferrets which I couldn't provide off the shelf so as she was leaving I apologised for being useless. Her response? Yeah but you're funny, friendly and great at giving away books.

Now that's the kind of feedback I like to hear

Thursday 14 May 2009

What have I done!

I have always been a keen runner. I'm not a great runner but I can do it and I enjoy the challenge. So, when I needed to do some fund raising the solution was obvious......rowing ROWING!!!!!
Yes, I am taking part in a 10 mile row for charity (St Gemma's hospice provided support and care for those people in the final stages of terminal illness).
I am not an experienced rower and the event is one month from today so prepared to be bored by my training tedium.

Oh, and please click the link in my side bar and sponsor me if you are able.

Wednesday 6 May 2009

heartbreak

Young Jack came to lie on our bed with us the other morning and told us that he is looking forward to being a grandad which is pretty advanced planning for an 8 year old.
Although he knows that he has Long QT syndrome he doesn't know yet that medical advice is for him not to have children.......

Friday 1 May 2009

Birthdays and positive spin

Today we have two birthdays in da house. Lauren, my niece, is 16 and Jack, the youngest,is 8. There will be a select gathering this evening to mark the occasion.

One of Jack's presents is a power rangers chair and he is really pleased with it and commented that we were really lucky to get a Power Rangers Mystic Force chair because all the new ones are Power Rangers Jungle Fury

Bleeder

Whilst at the hospital yesterday I had to provide a blood sample. Let me make it clear that I believe anyone who says they like giving blood is missing several brain cells. I am also a coward.
Wife and I enter the room of doom and I am elected to go first. I admit to the phlebotomiser that i am none to keen on people stabbing me and she says she understands and would I like to lie down. I elect to sit so as not to be a complete wimp. The nice lady then says she has a 'magic spray' which will numb my arm and wold i like some. My wife (a phlebotomist herself) is sat across the room pulling faces and shaking her head vigorously so I vacillate my need for pain free procedure at war with the instructions from my great leader. The nurse decides to spray me and the procedure is soon done BUT I DID FEEL IT!

But hey, I got a sticker for being brave

Genetic counselling

Some people may remember me saying that my son Jack had been diagnosed with long Q-T syndrome.
Yesterday we went to see the geneticist to find out whether he had a 'Long Q-T' gene; he does.
The next stage was for Jacqueline and I to have repeat ECG and to give blood for genetic testing. Rebecca, our eldest daughter happened to be with us so she had an ECG too.
We sat in a room with the doctor as he gave us our results. Rebecca, you have a good trace, no problem there. Jacqueline, hmmmmmmmm, a little slow, you're in the grey area. Tim, this is where I worry you, you have a slower trace, this doesn't mean you have the condition but if I asked a group of heart specialists who had passed it to Jack you would be the favourite.
Our blood tests will be back in a few months. Two negative means it's just Jack, one\two positives mean tests for all our children and possible tests for our parents. I'll keep you posted.

Wednesday 29 April 2009

The legend that was Bob Dylan

I went to see Bob in concert last Friday and came away feeling rather sad.
Some artistes continue to perform well into old age and still entertain but not so Bob Dylan. My over-all memory of this concert will be of an old man with a towering reputation which he tried, without success, to maintain.I wondered at one point why he wasn't doing any of his mega hits and then realised he was but they were unrecognisable.

I wish he had retired gracefully.

Thursday 23 April 2009

St George's day

Happy St George's day!

I'm sure the streets will be flooded with students dressed in red and white quaffing large volumes of ale and cider.

Budget fudget

Yesterday was budget day and amidst all the gloom and false promises a wonderful new concept was introduced. When a car owner scraps a car over 10 years old they will receive £2000 towards a new car, WOW!
I'm not very clever but I can see a few problems with this
1. It will not be difficult to 'con' the system

2. It helps the affluent who are in the market for a new car but not those who run old cars becaus ethey can't afford a new one

3. £2000 seems a lot but it is a small part of the list price of a large family car and certainly less than the immediate depreciation when a new car leaves the forecourt.

It will possibly mean that old bangers will be worth more!

Wednesday 22 April 2009

What is that yellow thing in the sky

An ancient and wise woman tells me that it appeared once before when she was young and it is a portent of great happenings such as BBQ, ice-cream, cold beer and skimpy tops.
Tis a time when toad's get all hot and bothered

Wednesday 15 April 2009

the sum of my life

over the years I have received lots of advice on how to cope with my negative thoughts and confusion about life the universe and everything. One such piece of advice was to look at the positive aspects of your life (and make a point of celebrating them and thinking about them often) and to look at the negative aspects and make a plan to deal with, accept or dump them.

Because I approach everything in such a scientific, unemotional way I just shortened it to

(experience+desires)/fears = life

but I may have misinterpreted the whole idea of summing up my life

Wednesday 8 April 2009

Global Rock Challenge

Last Friday my daughter took part in a local heat of the Global Rock Challenge. The schools put a lot of time and energy into producing some great performances.
On this occasion my daughter's school did a piece based on around the world in 80 days and portrayed the diversity of different cultures around the world, it was a great performance and the other schools voted it the best of the 9 entries.
Unfortunately the judges didn't agree and it wasn't even placed. I think they got confused about the date because someone should have shouted out April fool when they announced the result.
I am tremendously proud of the achievements of all my children and of course I'm biased but there really must have been a mistake somewhere. I think everyone was surprised at the winner as it was quite bland and lacked much in the way of performance,and creativity.

Tuesday 31 March 2009

to much daytime t.v?

My youngest son, Jack was explaining the details of his soft toy's lives which also involved how they are related to the family.
He has a lovely monkey and he explained that Rebecca (eldest daughter) is the monkey's mother.
'how do you know she is?' I rather foolishly asked
'they have the same eyes' he replied 'AND we did blood tests'

Monday 30 March 2009

Doing it again!

I'm sure I've talked before about my short attention span and about how I get into something on the net and then get bored.
I signed up for facebook a while ago and threw myself into it with gusto. I was looking there yesterday and find that I have 322 friends (I know a fraction and actually interact with a handful) I am in 40 groups (I visit 2)and I'm getting sick of all the junk.
Time, I think, for a clear out

Tuesday 24 March 2009

speaking as a semi-retired stalker........

have you seen the new google street level thingy? How scary is that?

I have one friend who found her daughter walking to school, which is great, except that anyone else could watch her daughter too.
Yes, some people have complained because they have been caught out doing stuff they would rather keep quiet but the real problem is, if I were to find yor address (which isn't that difficult) I could be virtually be looking through your window very soon.
I say get this application outlawed NOW.

Monday 23 March 2009

someone shifted my perspective (and it hurt)

Some of you may know that I am semi active in the Parent teachers association at my youngest son's school. The vast majority of the other members are female (that's not why I go, honest)

Last Friday we put on a race night and at a point towards the end of the evening one of the ladies told her husband that the PTA were my harem.
Now there was a time when having such a harem of yummy mummies would have been a dream come true (oh come on, don't we all have those dreams lol) but I found that the idea now just scares me.

I do wish I'd discovered PTA's about 15 years ago

Friday 20 March 2009

Fame (pt 2)

A month or so ago I was talking to a regular customer at the library about how sad it is that people don't use us much.
he wrote to the local paper! His letter praises my colleague and I and gives the times that we are in the area and a contact number. He also included a picture of his 2 sons using the mobile library.

Fame at last (pt 1)

I blogged about the fact that I was going to have the chance to read some of my poetry in public a while ago but forgot to say that it happened, it was a great experience and I think people liked what I read.
The members of my writing group read a selection of our writing at The Red Shed in Wakefield (there is a web site but I can't find it at the moment)I decided to read a serious poem and a more humorous one and it seemed that the audience were into humour.
This is the first time I've read my stuff in public but now I know it won't be the last. The Red Shed have an open mike session and I'm going along in a few weeks.......

Wednesday 18 March 2009

Nation days

As some people may have noticed yesterday was St Patrick's day and it seemed that half of England suddenly realised they were Irish!

Got me thinking about recent discussion about St George's day parades being curtailed as they are racist (what piffle).

It seems to me that the root of the St George's day issue is that English people have no pride in their nation, if the English actually celebrated their patron's day the way the Irish do (ok it's an excuse to drink )then no council in the country would dare to ban it.

I didn't celebrate St Patrick's day mainly because I've never needed an excuse to drink and I'm not over keen on Guiness

Saturday 7 March 2009

why my son will vote Labour

Well ok it's a while until he is able to vote but the current government have done him a massive favour.
With lots of prompting from famous chefs and health groups the government pushed for schools to focus on healthy meals and snacks. As a result of this all sugary soft drinks were removed from vending machines and sweets were no longer sold. OK, we all know that coke is bad for you etc etc but what do the kids WANT to drink?

Enter my son (and other enterprising youngsters all over the country) Pepsi,on offer at the supermarket 12 cans for £2. He sells them at 50 pence per can. You do the maths.

Monday 9 February 2009

All good

The following tale shows that
a. I'm brilliant
b. My off-spring are brilliant
c. I don't keep my mind on the job when I'm driving
d. I'm a brilliant teacher

Whilst on a short car journey with youngest son (7) he entertained himself playing games on the mobile phone. He started playing Sudoku (the smaller 6x6 version) and asked me how to play. I explained, and to demonstrate, I had him read out lines of numbers so that I could tell him which number to insert. After finishing 2 games he went quiet but a glance showed me that he was concentrating. TWO MINUTES LATER he had completed another puzzle!

Tuesday 3 February 2009

I'm rather pleased

but also a little nervous.

My writing group have been invited to do live poetry readings in March so I'm busy trying to decide whether to use something I have already or write something new.

More later

Thursday 22 January 2009

a world of friends

Ever since I discovered the web I have been fascinated by the whole business of making friends around the world (lets use a wide definition of friend here).
Recently a friend on Facebook suggested that, as a group, it wold be cool to use each others homes as holiday destinations (staying as guests). This reminded me of a similar suggestion some years ago on Bookcrossing. At that time I recall someone saying that it would be safe to stay with another bookcrosser because we were all literary people and therefore safe!
Yes, it's great to have friends around the globe and I might even go so far as to say I would love to visit one or two (in fact I aim to do so) but to trust someone on the basis of their love of books?
I'm sure I'm not alone in having past experiences of 'friends' which were not entirely pleasant and were , on occasion, frightening

Saturday 17 January 2009

computer wizardry

having successfully sorted out my dad's Internet connection I returned home to find that my computer was behaving very strangely.
It wouldn't start up and just kept reverting to the BIOS screen.
I spend ages trying all sorts of codes and tricks but it seemed that I was going to have to leave it until I could afford professional help.

Then I spotted it.......

......a crumb jammed down the side of the delete key!

Monday 12 January 2009

some people shouldn't own dogs

Yesterday I had the misfortune to hit a dog with the car. The dog seemed ok but was taken to the vet for a check. Luckily I wasn't driving fast.
The dog was on a lead but it was one of those that extends and it wasn't locked into place when the dog decided that she was interested in another dog over the road. Her owner was drunk.

Thursday 8 January 2009

memories of other days

I just discovered that bloginterviewer is back on line. Bloginterviewer is a site that allows you to vote for blogs you like and a little over a year ago I used to have fun getting votes for my blog and voting for my friends. It offers prizes and I would love to win one so feel free to vote for my blog every 24 hours and if your blog is festured tell me and I'll certainly vote

http://bloginterviewer.com/randomness/round-the-writers-block-toadee

Was amazed to find my good friend KB hanging around there :)

Monday 5 January 2009

yay hay we're the Monkees

My son and I have re-written a Monkee's song in honour of a woman who got in our way at the supermarket

(tune - I'm a believer)

Then I saw her butt
and it was a big one
she was a slut
no doubt in my mind
I was squashed
Yeah, I was a flat one
never saw that one
coming my way


well we enjoyed it hehe