Jacqueline Saburido

I have just read the story of Jacqueline Saburido who was terribly burned when the car she was travelling in was hit by a drunk driver. Despite her injuries Jacqueline has continued to recover from her injuries and has shown amazing strength as well as tremendous courage and a depth of character beyond someone of her years.

Her father, Amadeo, also deserves a mention for the unwavering support and tireless devotion he has shown to his daughter.

Their moving and inspirational story can be read here (you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded for free here).

Reading their story really should be more than enough to put anyone off drinking and driving.

Be safe. D.

The Camera

Hello Friends...

The digital camera has to be one of the greatest inventions of all time. The ability to pretty much snap away without limit and almost immediately discard any shots that aren't up to standard is an amazingly powerful tool to have. So how could this invention be made better..?

Combine it with a mobile phone! Give the man or woman that came up with that idea a medal. Well, maybe not a medal but at least a pat on the back!

I'm a bit sentimental and I like taking photographs as keepsakes. I tend to keep all the photos I take of the boys, even the ones that are a bit blurred or off centre, because it seems wrong somehow to just discard them. I also like to be able to share my photos as instantly as possible and my camera phone lets me do this. God forbid I should have to wait a few hours until I can email!

Below are a selection of the pictures that I like to take with a bit of a description underneath each one...

I didn't actually like taking this picture. I came home from work one evening to find a puddle on the carpet in the dining room...shortly after this section of ceiling collapsed due to a leak from a valve on the shower!

My previous post about the sights of this country may have benefitted from the above picture. This is a view over Ashworth Moor (read akelamalu's visit to the historic Owd Betts on Ashworth Moor here) which I pass almost every morning. As you've probably guessed, I find the British Countryside beautiful.

The baby goats at Heaton Park Farm....awww!!

A view of Central Manchester showing Piccadily Tower to the fore and the Beetham Tower in the background. I took this picture from the top of a six storey apartment block that the company I work for is currently constructing.

Another view from the top of the apartment block, this time looking down Great Ancoats Street.

The view towards Ashworth Moor heading toward the cloudy mists.

Finally a picture snapped of a beautiful sunset over the M60 (Fi gets credit for this one!!).

Have fun and be safe...D.

The Terrors!!!

Greetings!

Here are a couple of pictures of the boys for your viewing pleasure....

This is Nathaniel - he's helping his Mum unpack the shopping. Only problem is, his Mum has just unpacked the shopping from the bags and into the cupboards and Nathaniel is removing it from the cupboards!!

And this is Kai with spikey hair like his Dad!

And finally...

I think this one is a relation of Fi's...

Tree

I spotted this picture on stumbleupon.com...not sure how long the link will stay alive or to whom credit should go but I hereby credit you with an outstanding picture!! Have a look at this crazy tree here...

I must be on a nature theme today...

The Singing Ringing Tree

Hello everybody matey peeps...D here again.

Well, it's only been a week but the drudgery of work has made Bulgaria seem like a distant memory. We've been frantically buying lottery tickets since we came back only to be disappointed by our lack of winnings!

But if we won enough money to make it so we didn't have to work and could live anywhere, what would we do? Yes, maybe we would buy that holiday home somewhere hot and sunny so we could just jet off when we wanted to. But the truth is, I'd really want my permanant abode to be a nice home somewhere in the countryside of this green and pleasant land.

Despite all the problems with yob culture, binge drinking, littering and such faced in the towns and inner cities today Britain is still a beautiful country with some absolutely breathtaking scenery. I'm lucky enough to have spent all my life within striding distance of the countryside. We can lie awake at night listening to owls and foxes right outside our window. I find it hard to believe that there are children in this country that have never seen a cow in real life - but it's true!

I will post some pictures soon of some of the marvellous scenery we enjoy just a stride from our home. On this post I'd like to share with you the Singing Ringing Tree. This is a sculpture of hollow metal tubes (described as a panopticon for some reason) up on the hills at Crown Point above Burnley. The wind blows through the tubes and they resonate at different frequencies producing a lovely (though somewhat eerie) humming. Some kind soul has posted a video to You Tube which can be viewed here.

Here are pictures I took of some of the views from Crown Point..

This is the path up to the sculpture (above)

Looking down over the conurbation of Burnley (above)

In the backgound there's some (barely visible) wind turbines and just over that hill is the town of Rawtenstall (above)

So there you go. Just one of the fantastic sights to go and look at. I'll post more of these in the coming days and weeks. I'm sure Fi will want to tell you all about Bolton Abbey when she gets a minute.

For now, be safe and have fun!

The Hitman

Hello My Pretties!!

D here again. I thought I'd leave Bulgaria alone for today because my brain isn't working properly (not that it ever really does). I was up in the wee small hours to watch my local hero, Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton, go toe-to-toe with one of the top rated fighters in the world, Jose Luis Castillo. The Hitman won in emphatic style, stopping the challenger after just over 2 minutes of round four with a crushing blow to the kidney which left him gasping for air an unable to continue.

Ok, I know some people find boxing to be a barbaric sport but all fighters know the risks to their health and those that make it to the top get paid handsomely for it. Watching a top class pugilist can be akin to watching a chess grandmaster. They're constantly trying to out think their opponent, out manouvering them and leading their opponent into their own game plan. There were a couple of low blows in the fight last night and The Hitman always gives one back when he gets one - as he says "This isn't a tickling contest"!

I've always been a fan of boxing with some of my earliest memories being of watching Alan Minter with my brother. I've followed the likes of Chris Eubank, "Prince" Naseem Hamed and Lennox Lewis through their careers but The Hitman eclipses these by far in my eyes.

I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate The Hitman on his latest victory...

You can view Ricky's website here.

Sproutgaria

It be me, D! Are you not bored of me yet?! I've been bored of me for a good 29 years and that's one of the main reasons that I've decided to inflict myself upon you 'orrid lot...see how you like it! Oh, you do, do you? Right then...

You know, I really like breakfast. I mean, it's a great meal and it's really versatile too. You can have cereal with milk, cereal with warm milk, cereal without milk if it takes your fancy. Then there's the bacon, sausage, egg, beans, fried slice, tomato and cup of tea option. There's the fruit option - melon and all that business. Toast and marmalade or jam (jelly for our cousins across the pond). If you're a bit continental you could opt for the cooked meat, croissant, crepes and really freaky iced fancy thing. All of these are acceptable and all were available at the Iberostar Nessebar Freakplace...

But picture this - you awake bright and early to the sound of a crying child. Fair enough, thinks you, we'll shove a bottle in his godiber then go and grab a bite ourselves. Oh, and some for the other child already moaning about his aching feet...a pancake and beans'll shut his noise. So, infant alarm fed you toddle off to find your sustainance for the morning. Now, what have we got? Bacon, good. Beans, good. Frankfurter, acceptable. Frankfurter with cheese, borderline. Fried sprouts, go..what the fu...??!!! You mad black sea dwelling bastards!!! What the hell are you trying to do to me??!! Even the Germans wouldn't touch the feckin' stuff! And they didn't. Oh, how we laughed at their weird, weird ways...

Hi, it's Fi here and I'm a really moany, snot filled, whingebag today. I have brought back from Bulgaria the most awful cold but at least it's not man flu or pnuemonia of the sort that will kill me rapidly, and I will still have to go into work despite it being a hospital because they wont accept that you are ill until you have proved that you have died!!

Anyway, onto the delights that are Bulagrian breakfasts, I am not going to go on about this but the frankfurters with cheese reminded me of sausages with abcess pouring out, the same way that fried eggs with beans or tomatoes do, maybe it's because I am a nurse, but I just can't stomach that! As for the fried sprouts with tomatoes, oh no! Not for breakfast! I have to say that I actually love sprouts, but not in the morning, it was all just too much!

I had forgotten how much a hated flying when I booked our trip to Bulgaria, especially short haul flights, my last fight was 2 years ago when I returned to the UK after living in New Zealand to be with my love, 'D', everybody say ahh...!! I always end up with my knees firmly pressed against the seat in front, oh how 'D' laughs at me, he says it is because my legs are too long where he has little short legs, he thinks that short legs do have their advantages, I have to agree after 3 odd hours needing a wee, wedged into a seat, very tired and with a small 1 year old wriggly and sleepy on my lap!! To say I was glad to get home was an understatement!! I think our dogs were glad to have us back too! My niece had been house and dog-sitting for us, but she had insisted on the hounds sleeping in the kitchen whereas we allow them to sleep on the floor in the bedroom.. I am now going to show you some photos of these vicious dogs of ours...

This is Sasha, she is the token mongrel of the pack and the old lady of the family, she (trys) to keep the rest in some type of order.....

This is Tequila, otherwise known as Kiki, Quila, kikiloulou amongst other no-so-polite names, as you can see, she, like the next 2, is a Rottweiler, or Rotten, as I prefer to call them, not hideous vicious monsters but big softies who love and are very protective of kids...

This is Buddy, (he's a dimwit..*D*!), the dopey one and token male although he has no nuts, they were taken from him while I was in New Zealand, he is also known as Buddly, Doo-Duddley, Stu-Duddley, Budalumps, Budaluds, and Good-Lad..., he is quite possibly the nicest one of our dogs with a gorgeous, kind, lovely nature.... ahhh......

Finally, this is Gracie, she is our newest arrival and has been with us since Christmas Eve, she has an unfortunate history which I wont bore you with just now. She really is daft, clumsy greedy but ever such a nice girl....

Well, I think you have probably heard enough from me right now... I can't always get here to talk to you what with working full time and being a mum the rest of the time, as I am sure you can appreciate, I am pretty tired, A LOT!!!

I hope you enjoy our tales, keep reading!!

D back again. My tales are funnier. And better. I'd like to thank my public for reading x

A Bulgarian Odyssey (Part Two Of Fewer)

Alrighty then! D here with more tales of our Marco Polo-esque trip around the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. Ok, that's not strictly true...we visited three places all within a 5 mile radius. And we were staying in one of those. So I lied...sue me. No don't, I've got nothing.

Our hotel was the luxuriously named Iberostar Nessebar Palace Hotel, a five star flop box of luxurious splendour. You can view the online brochure for the hotel here. We arrived in the early hours and the place did indeed look magnificent with its fountain outside and its marble foyer. We checked in, received our "All Inclusive" wrist bands and were taken to our room (which, incidentally, the bell boy couldn't find).

The room itself was nice enough but sans kettle which made warming bottles of milk for the boys a little difficult. Resourceful as we are, this was not a problem that couldn't be overcome. We laid ourselves down and, after a short fight from both boys (read "screaming fits"), drifted off into a deep sleep.

We awoke the next morning and F immediately swung open the balcony doors to reveal our expected view of lush Bulgarian countryside...

Ah, maybe the view to the left is better...

Ah...a bit more to the left maybe...

Nope...still not there! Ok, pan right...

Woo-hoo!! Greenery...and then miles upon miles of half built apartments. Perhaps we should have paid for the sea view??!

Now I couldn't work out what those tin huts were for. A couple of days later a nice young man with a quite large automatic weapon appeared from one of the huts and wandered over to release two very large German Shepherds from their hutch...all very sinister!

Well, after this stunning start to our excursion what could we do? What would anyone in our situation do? Moreover, what would Jesus do? We went out to find a bar...

We found a bar. We ordered a drink. And then it rained. It rained a lot...

2007 - A Bulgarian Odyssey (Part One Of Many)

Hello again, intrepid reader...

A little later in the day, though the times of the posts won't reflect that as I had to do some buggering about with the blog name and some subsequent re-posting. Some sleep was had, and it was a very deep sleep although I can't say we feel more human for it!

Please bear with us whilst this blog takes shape and we work out how to make it a little more pleasing on the eye.

I (D - for I feel we should identify which one of us is posting, and you will realise just who is the abusive one) was going to post a little run down of our trip but I'm still far too sleepy for that so I thought maybe a couple of visiuals from our trip would be good. I know, I know - it's not really good form to extract the wee-wee from different cultures but sometimes you have to just revel in your own overinflated sense of superiority however misplaced it is...

Sometimes pictures speak for themselves. In the case of these two, they don't so I've added my own highly amusing captions:

Hey, even old people look forward to their Lays!!

Is this service offered on the NHS???

And now, enough of my nonsense....FI!!!

Hi there, this is me, the Fi in the title, and the one who shared the Bulgarian Odyssey with D...

I have to say, the trip was an eye opener as far as the vast differences between the 2 cultures goes, but I am sure our later postings will show you more of the place..

I do hope you like the pictures here that we have shown you, we both found them highly amusing, but what a doctor does that reanimates I really do not know. I do know that this service is not available on the NHS but I am sure it would be extremely expensive in the private sector! I imagine the place inside to look something like Frankenstein's Lab and whatever came out of it to be a bit like what came out Stephen King's Pet Semetary if any of you are familar with his books.....?

I am certain we will get more onto books later on as both D and I like them and have recently been freeing books, you can find out more about how to do that by looking at http://www.bookcrossing.com

Anyway, back to Bulgaria, I am really telling you here about the end of the holiday because both D and I are a little traumatised by Bourgas airport. We have both agreed that neither of us has visited a more awful airport. We were greeted from our taxi by what can only be described as swarms of cockroaches on the floor and swarms of Mosquitos in the air, it was hideous, and what's worse is that our taxi was early so we had to suffer this for much longer than should have been humanly bearable.... all very nasty!! I am not very good with creepy crawlies at the best of times but trying to remain cool and unflustered in front of 2 sleepy children in the early hours of the morning was not easy!!

Well, I am sure I have bored you enough for now. As D said, please bear with us while we get going, we promise to make it more interesting to look at and hopefully, read, very soon...

The First Post/The Origin Of The Species

Ha! The first post of Dan's Fi-ver (geddit..? Dan's Fi-ver..? Dance Fever...? I'm Dan and the other one's Fi...? I thought of that and I think it's pretty bloody clever!).

This blog is here to inspire you, bore you, enthrall you, annoy you & generally keep us amused in some small but significant way.

We've just returned from a week in Bulgaria and I reckon the next post will contain one or two pictures from that trip along with our Alan Whicker/Judith Chalmers like commentry on the place and its people.We've been travelling all night and have now been awake for twenty four hours so we're off for a few hours sleep!!

Until later....goodbye!!!!