Dan's Fi-ver

Working for a change

2012-01-04T08:33:00.001-08:00

N went back to school today and, as I'm not back in college until next week, I've got three days work experience at my friendly not-so-neighbourhood solicitors office.

I've been seconded to the other office this time. I like the usual office - lots of observing court proceedings, meeting clients and meeting counse,l all of which are really interesting and great for the CV. Unfortunately, that is not all the life of a solicitor entails and it's always good, if not a little daunting, to get to spend a bit of time working with G at this office.

G knows his stuff and his enthusiasm and knowledge rub off. Today he's had me drafting particulars of claim (which he was mostly happy with), giving my opinion on a dispute over a piece of land (which he was mostly happy with) and making a site visit to take photographs (which I was unhappy with because he sent me to the wrong place!).

I'm looking forward to another few hours of getting into some 'real' legal work again tomorrow!

Dognuts

2012-01-03T02:17:00.001-08:00

We're back down to two big dogs in the house.

We've been doing our bit and helping to rehome rescue dogs. Bear was a lovely English Mastiff who had been pretty badly treated and was initially scared of his own shadow. He grew in confidence and this was perhaps a little bit of a problem as he started to show some aggressive tendencies towards other dogs. On his own, he was fine, but mixed with our 'pack' he was starting to be a pain.

F's sister had recently lost her two GSD's and had taken on the bitch that had been kennelled with Bear when they were rescued. After some (very brief) negotiation it was decided that Bear would go to live at their house and I'm pleased to report that he seems very, very happy there.

The other rescue dig was Eddie the Rottweiler. Again, Eddie had been very badly treated, locked in a cupboard, beaten and starved. When he came here he was remarkably well adjusted with just the odd behavioural trait to be ironed out. Eddie was only ever here on a temporary basis and he found a forever home quite quickly. His new owner couldn't take him straight away but came over at least twice a week to take him out. He went to his forever home last week and so far he seems very happy with his new family.

Our two, Rosie and Dave, seem pretty happy to enjoy the spoils of being the only dogs!

Experimental 2

2012-01-03T02:04:00.001-08:00

Ok, that seemed to work. Now to try a picture taken in landscape mode. If that works I need to figure out how to insert pictures between blocks of text!

Experimental

2012-01-03T02:01:00.001-08:00

I've just been checking the previous posts I'd done via Blogger for mobile on the computer and it seems that the images aren't uploading properly. I've altered the image size to see if this makes any difference.

So, I'll try a picture of N decorating the Christmas tree...

Give peas a chance

2011-11-13T11:25:00.001-08:00

I had a hankering for some pea and ham soup. This is a meal that I like to cook over a couple of days starting with soaking the gammon shanks in water overnight to get rid of some of the salt.

I boiled them this afternoon with an onion, some parsnips (all I had in) and a few peppercorns.

While they were cooking I started the dried peas going. We have to use dried peas because F says they taste better. I disagree but I'm outnumbered. Or something.

These two lovely ingredients combine to make this luscious greenness that I will devour with crusty bread tomorrow. Not all of it though, this pan will last a few days!

I'm pretty sure that the pictures won't insert as I intended so that's a feature I'm going to have to play with...

Mobile blogging

2011-11-12T11:01:00.001-08:00

I've just downloaded the Blogger app for my iPhone so I thought I'd give it a try to see how well it works.

So far, the main problem has been logging into my account but it seems to be ok just now.

Maybe with my blogging tool always with me I'll be able to blog more.

Anyway, just as an experiment there should be a picture of an 800 year old Peruvian chap below...

More Abersoch

2011-10-16T01:38:00.000-07:00

I realised that I'd not posted any of the other pictures from Abersoch, or indeed blogged about the adventures we had. When I say 'adventures' I use the term loosely!

We took a trip to the magnificent Caernarfon Castle, where there was lots of spaces for the kids to run around and explore.

The castle has lots to see. This was the site of the investiture of Prince Charles in 1969:

And the architecture is absolutely stunning:

On our way back to Abersoch, Nick told us of a World War 2 bunker that he'd heard of at Llandwrog and asked us if we fancied stopping off there. Well, it being in the vicinity, what did we have to lose? As it turned out, we lost an hour of our lives in possibly the most desolate seaside spot in all of Wales...only joking, Nick! To give you an idea of what it was like there here's a little video I took:

And here's a picture of said bunker - really magnificent and I'll be sure to go back soon...

There was also an aircraft museum in the vicinity but I didn't get any pictures there. Because it was closed. We did have a nice drive round it though. Interestingly, there is an ancient hill fort situated there:

And the kids had fun playing in the sea...

And N got absolutely soaking!

We all had a really fun time during our week in Abersoch!

What a feeling!

2011-06-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

This is it. The letter they sent me to confirm my degree classification. They can't take it off me now!!

I left university halfway through the course the first time around. Truth is that the time probably wasn't right for me to be studying for a degree, the planets weren't aligned in the right way and the butterfly on the other side of the world wasn't flapping its wings for me. I think I had to work in a job I didn't enjoy for a few years so that I could truly understand the benefit of a university education.

I'm quite sure that passing the course when I was younger would have been easier, yet I don't think it would have been as rewarding. I'm also quite sure that I wouldn't have had anywhere near the success that I have enjoyed to date. Education is wasted on the young.

There have been some very difficult times over the past three years, times when I thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew, times when I really didn't understand the concepts that I was trying so hard to grasp. I was very lucky to have people behind me to support and encourage me through those times. F would sit and listen to me waffle on about legal concepts, asking questions and giving me ideas, all the time helping me to get matters straight in my head and to find out where I had gaps in my knowledge.

One of the lowest points came when I got the result for my first coursework of the 3rd year. I handed it in full of hope and was dismayed to score only 50%. I made an appointment with the head of law who had marked my script and it would be fair to say that he didn't pull his punches - he tore that thing apart. I then went on to fail my formative exams miserably. That didn't bode well for getting grades good enough for a 2:2, never mind anything higher. I was so sure of my failure that I'd not even told F the date for the release of results until the day before.

I'm still not quite sure how I managed to get the results I achieved. I know I did a little bit of revision every day for about six weeks before the exams. I recorded myself making "journeys" out of my revision notes and listened to the recordings in the car and somehow all that information stayed in and subsequently came back out in a coherent form in the exams. I managed to get an A in every exam giving me 3 A's and a B overall - The B coming from Equity & Trusts which was the coursework that I'd failed so miserably.

And now I've been awarded a first. The best degree you can get in a difficult subject. It feels good, even though I'm still concerned that the decision will be rescinded because there's been some mistake! Now, I have to repeat my success in order to achieve a distinction in the MLP. This time, I'm sure that I can do it. I think the shock of failure gave me a kick up the backside this year and I hope that next year, the power of self confidence and the knowledge that I can do it will spur me on to bigger and better things...

Abersoch - Part 2

2011-06-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

I'm back with another instalment of the wonderous Welsh adventure!

When we went for a wander down to the beach at the end of the first day some of the scenery that greeted us was fantastic...

Gracie busied herself running along the beach. Kai, Harry and Sam were more adventurous and started exploring the rocks...

Nathaniel on the other hand, being a junior entomologist, had to see what bugs he could find - he seemed incredibly pleased to find this woodlouse which must have been 20-30mm in length

Anyway, after some grub we retired to our various bedrooms and in the morning we took another trip to the beach for some sun, sea and sand. Unfortunately, the sea had already been claimed by some rather less pleasant holidaymakers

This, apparently, is a moon jellyfish. They have a very mild sting, but we weren't to know that and given that there were literally thousands of them (think Michael Caine in Zulu but with the Zulu's replaced by jellyfish) on the water's edge we didn't take any risks. Undeterred, we had a good play in the sand and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves

It's safe to say that a fun day was had by all. After eating our tea outside we went back to the pub where some of the adults decided to enjoy alcohol responsibly. We went back to the house where they proceeded to enjoy alcohol irresponsibly. Okay, I admit that I'm just jealous because I can't drink anymore!

After a fine night's sleep we all arose refreshed and ready to face another day (*snigger*). A trip to Criccieth was in order and that will form the subject of my next exciting (stop yawning already!) post. For now, I'll leave you with this view of the harbour...

Abersoch - Part 1

2011-06-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

The blogging bug has bitten again and I have decided to come back for another round of posting. When I say posting, it implies posts in the plural, so perhaps I should have phrased that differently - I'll be the first to admit that my blogging activities have been somewhat erratic.

However, whilst I'm here I might as well make the most of this bout of enthusiasm and tell you about our recent holiday. My lovely parents (have a look at http://akelamalu.blogspot.com for my Mum's wonderful blog) paid for the family to spend the week in Abersoch in North Wales, a holiday destination that I visited several times when I was less than knee high to a grasshopper. These trips took place around thirty years and I honestly didn't recall a lot of the landmarks but I do remember having fun there.

The holiday party comprised my parents who now seem to have got to that age where they purchase matching jackets...

My brother, Nick, and his wife Alison who was a little hungover on the day this picture was taken and really wouldn't thank me for posting it...

My two boys, Kai & Nathaniel (Kai is back left and Nathaniel is in the middle with the purple t-shirt) and Nick & Alison's children Sam (centre behind Nathaniel), Gracie (next to Nathaniel) and Harry (back left)...

And finally there was me, and I seem to be seeing how many chins I can fit onto one face...

Unfortunately, F couldn't join us because someone had to stay behind to look after the hounds of hell. For the purposes of this post she will be represented (for no apparent reason) by this tiny bird sat on an anchor...

The anchor is located near the harbour beach in Abersoch. This picture was taken on the day we arrived in the town. The weather was glorious and we all took a stroll along the beach - after a visit to the pub for a swift cola...

More next time...

Money - part 1

2011-02-06T03:49:00.000-08:00

Here's a little thought that enters my head every now and again and has me going around in circles.

We all use money, don't we? I have a ten pound note and I use it to buy bread from the shop. The shopkeeper uses the ten pound note to pay his supplier. The supplier uses the ten pound note...and so on.

But what is the ten pound note? What value does it truly have? This is the bit that gets my head spinning. It seemingly has value to you or I because we can "buy" things with it. What it is in truth though, is a promissory note. English bank notes say on them, "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of [insert value]" - that is their worth, the promise itself. But what would you get if you attempted to redeem that promise? People have tried at the Bank on Threadneedle Street but they have been turned out, the doors locked behind them and the police called. The promise is empty because there is nothing of worth backing that money.

It's a very clever illusion and it has us all trapped. We simply swap promissory notes that have no value.

2011-01-01T11:46:00.000-08:00

Changes are afoot in the world of me. As I have both Crohn's and Meniere's I should really watch what I eat but the truth is, I don't. I eat what I want, pretty much when I want. I had got into the habit of having a bacon roll every day at college and some kind of pudding every night after tea. I know it's not good.

I was told a while ago that we should look at our bodies in the same way we look at a car - if you put rubbish fuel in you get poor performance out. This makes sense. The performance of my vehicle has been very poor of late and I think it's about time for a major service and rethink of what sort of fuel I put into it.

I seem to live in a state of perpetual tiredness coupled with brain fog. There's the constant worry of suffering from a vertigo attack or stomach cramps. I think by altering my diet that I can alleviate some of these problems. And that's just it. I'm altering my diet, not attempting to starve myself. I'm attempting to change habits - less meat, more fruit and veg, less sugar, more nuts and seeds, less gluten, more berries.

So, as well as the other rubbish I occasionaly post, this blog is going to be a record of how I'm doing and feeling. I don't expect miracles but I do hope to feel better.

Not nice...

2010-10-05T04:09:00.000-07:00

I am due to go into hospital for a colonoscopy tomorrow. This is something I've been through before and whilst it is for the most part painless there is still some discomfort with the air they pump into you - in fact, that can hurt a lot!

However, it's not the proceedure itself which is the worst part of this, it's the "bowel prep". The hospital used to send an industrial strength laxative called Fleet which, I believe, was manufactured by Satan himself. Two tiny bottles that you mixed with equal amounts of water and then attemted to drink without retching too hard. The taste was supposed to be ginger- lemon but was actually somewhere between salt water and raw effluent - in fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they had simply collected the contents of the bottles from the puddles found on the decks of trawlers off the Fylde coast.

I was relieved to find out that the hospital no longer use Fleet, preferring instead a product called Klean Prep. My joy at this news was short lived when I realised that I had been faced with Klean Prep at a recnt CT Scan. Whilst the taste of it is not as bad as Fleet it's still pretty nasty in that it's salted vanilla (try to imagine that for a second) and this is compounded by the fact that you have to consume FOUR LITRES of the stuff!

I have just downed my first pint, made slightly palatable by the addition of half a bottle of lemon barley water. I'm working myself up to another one just now and expect the explosion to hit my guts sometime in the next two hours. A fun evening is planned!

Oh, and I've had noting except "clear liquid" since Sunday night...so I'm bloody hungry too!

Can you see the religious figure in this photo..?

2010-09-26T09:07:00.001-07:00

2010-09-15T09:26:00.001-07:00

A couple of things caught my attention on the news this week. Firstly, there's the Electoral Court which has convened in the Uppermill area of Oldham to look into allegations of electoral wrongdoing by Oldham Labour MP Phil Woolas. The Liberal Democrat candidate, Elwyn Watkins, has accused Mr Woolas of a dirty tricks campaign in the run up to the election by stirring up racial tension in order to win the white, working class vote - essentially, Mr Woolas claimed that Mr Watkins was courting Islamic extremists in the area in an attempt to win their votes.

This is the first time in almost 100 years that an Electoral Court has been convened in the U.K., the last being in 1911 when there were instances of violence and bribery in the Ireland Constituency of North Louth. Disputes over local elections are more commonplace but these are heard in front of electoral commissioners or magistrates. The judges rule on disputed polls, and in this case two High Court judges have descended on Oldham to hear the accusations. Mr Woolas won the election by a majority of 103 votes and Mr Watkins claims that the accusations made by Mr Woolas as part of his campaign were completely false and therefore in contravention of the Representation of the People Act 1983.

The case started on Monday and was due to last four days. A little bit of history in the making in this little area.

The second thing that interested me is the call for a campaign of "civil disobedience" by several trade union bosses at the Trades Union Congress this week (see here and here) in response to government spending cuts. They have intimated a willingness to instigate general strikes, with some going even further and calling for citizens to stage "sit ins" on the country's motorway network in an attempt to cause gridlock on a massive scale.

These leaders always talk a good fight. What is clear is that they will not be the ones at the front line of any "disobedience" - they won't be the ones putting themselves in a position where they can be arrested, or for that matter in a position where they lose part of their salary for going on strike. You can bet while the proletariat are on the picket lines they will be sat in their office making sure they're being paid.

However, it was the idea of civil disobedience itself that lodged itself in my mind. Whilst I'm not advocating any of what I'm about to say (an important statement given my chosen career path) there are some points that are worth mooting given the current economic climate. If the unions are capable of organising this on a large scale, and the population is willing to take part, what is to stop action being taken on a smaller scale?

If you think about it, statutes are acts of parliament given the power of law by the consent of the governed. But how many people actually consent to being fined for driving at 31mph in a 30mph zone? I think the answer is probably not very many.

There are so may laws out there that are unjust. How many people are actually aware of the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre? Set up very much without fanfare a few years ago, this government body uses the police to identify individuals who may be a "threat" to high profile individuals. A good idea on the surface, but who decides where the fixation is? It's not doctors any more, but this special unit. So, if I decide tomorrow to devote this blog to attacking the political decisions of members of the cabinet, and set up websites to do the same, not out of any mental instability but simply to exercise my right to comment, it may well be that this unit can decide that I'm "fixated" and have me held under mental health legislation. A good way to remove political dissent. And if you think I'm being ever so slightly paranoid perhaps you should have a look at Maurice Kirk's story.

So the laws are there, but what if the citizens of this country decided en masse to stop giving their consent? I don't mean there should be a complete free-for-all and a breakdown of civilised society. A simple return to the common law maxims of respect for the life, liberty and property of others. Those are simple laws that keep society in check. People are being fined for putting their bins out on the wrong day - how would concils cope if they tried to enforce one of these crazy fines only to find that all the inhabitants of a town reacted by putting their bins out on the wrong day? They'd never be able to cope with the administrative feat of fining everyone.

Taking it a step further, what if someone on your street was about to be evicted from their home. They'd missed a few mortgage payments because they'd been made redundant, no fault of their own, but were actively seeking work and would soon be in a position to get back into shape financially. But the bank won't allow them the time - possibly a bank that had been "bailed out" by the taxpayer. So, on the day of the proposed eviction the bailiffs turn up to find thirty or forty people peacefully barring entry to the property - no violence, just making it awkward for them. I know the bailiffs are only doing a job, but it's arguably one that profits on other people's misery. If this kind of thing started happening up and down the country, perhaps there'd be a stronger sense of community and the balance of power would start to swing back in favour of the people.

And this kind of thing can work. I had a friend who had his car clamped and had to pay a £70 release fee, which he could barely afford. He argued the point that the warning signs were displayed behind parked cars (this was some years ago) but the clamper remained unmoved and he had to pay the release fee. However, instead of getting violent he simply sat and observed the clamper and waited til he clamped someone else. When this person returned to their car to be greeted by the sight of bright yellow wheel clamp my friend put his recently hatched plan into action. He drove his car into the car park and parked it directly in front of the clamper's van. He then casually walked over to the clamper (who was clearly enjoying fleecing another motorist of £70) and told him that he'd be pleased to move his car and allow the clamper to get on his way so long as he refunded his £70 and took the clamp off the other vehicle without charge. The clamper was clearly not impressed and began to issue threats of physical violence. Now this friend used to be a teddy boy and was quite used to violence, so he remained impassive but did remind the clamper that the there was at least one witness to his threats who was hardly likely to be on his side were the police to be called. Funnily enough, the clamper saw the error of his ways and capitulated to my friend's demands. At no time was my friend violent or abusive - he just decided to make things difficult. So maybe a bit of civil disobedience can work...

Take the power back

2010-08-05T01:22:00.000-07:00

A video worth watching in my humble opinion. Ignore the strange visuals which I think are something to do with the peoplw over at http://www.oldholborn.net (always a good read). The voice which starts at about 1.03 in is David Icke's (although slightly manipulated) and is taken from the end of one of his seven hour plus shows. I've become a bit of a follower of David's over the past few years and whilst I agree that some of what he has to say is a bit "out there" a lot of the things he has to say make an awful lot of sense...

Embedding has been disabled so you'll have to click play and then click on the link to watch it on youtube.

A Couple Of Pictures

2010-07-20T10:16:00.001-07:00

When I'm out and about I like to snap pictures of the things that I see, some of which turn out better than others! The wonder of digital cameras being just that, it doesn't matter how many pictures you take seeing as you not wasting "film". Thinking about it, I don't suppose my kids will know what "film" is!

Anyway, I digress. This first picture is the monument at one of the entrances to Harehill Park in Littleborough. The boys like to go there because of the tremendous speed they can get up on one particular roundabout! The park was built with funds raised by the local co-operative society and that is what the monument commemorates. I thought it looked quite pretty inside this arch of blossoming trees.

The picture below is of Peel Monument on Harcles Hill in Holcombe village, Bury. The monument is in honour of Sir Robert Peel, who was born in Bury and was Prime Minister of the UK twice from 1834-35 and 1841-46 and whilst home secretary was influental in the creation of the first modern police force (hence, "peelers" and "bobbies"). We took the boys and the dogs for a walk up the hill and I managed to take this photograph of the monument which is quite imposing when you get up there. I converted it to black and white for that "moody" feel!

Dave

2010-07-18T10:26:00.001-07:00

Here's Dave the Rotten sat with N a few weeks after we got him...

Here's Dave the Rotten a few weeks ago, aged just over six months old. He's now taller than the other two with a good twelve months growing left to do!

Lancaster Castle

2010-07-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

Today we took a trip to Lancaster Castle. The boys, being boys, always like the idea of going to a castle and the weather, being English and mostly wet, was more conducive to indoor activities. So we climbed in the car and headed up the M6 to have a look at this historic old building.The castle is still used as a category C prison and above is a picture of the prison entrance - on the tour you only get to see about a sixth of the prison. Its the oldest continually used prison in Europe and has a very long history, even back to Roman times (a piece of a Roman alter is on display in Hadrians Tower). The Pendle Witches were held here as was Rudolf Hess during the war and the trial of the Birmingham six was held the Shire Hall - a magnificent room which was formerly a civil court with heraldry adorning its walls. As a piece of trivia, the still active crown court is the only one in the country that is entered through a gift shop!

Above is a picture of the entrance to the gift shop and the start of the tour. It costs £14.00 for a family of four and lasts just over an hour. The guides are very informative and certainly know their stuff. As the castle houses a working Crown Court photography is not allowed for security reasons. This is also a good reason to go at weekend as your visit will then allow access to the court room where you can get a look at the original branding iron housed within the dock. The tour is definitely good value and incredibly interesting.

One of the creepiest moments was a trip into the Old Cells which were built facing inward and therefore there is no external source of light. You are given the opportunity on the tour to experience being locked in one of these tiny rooms. I ventured in with around ten other hardy souls and listened as the door was bolted and the light turned off - it was pitch black! So dark that you really were not able to see your hand in front of your face. It was a fun to experience knowing that I would be out of there in a minute or two but my mind did wander to the poor souls who were left to rot here for such heinous crimes as bankruptcy.

A look at the prisoner database on the castle's website reveals that a James Naylor was convicted of stealing two cows in Manchester in 1818, a crime for which he was sentenced to death! Luckily for him he was reprieved and it is likely therefore that he was transported to either America, the West Indies or Australia. In the same year a Thomas Dawson was convicted of horse theft although we are not told what his sentence was.

Around ten years ago the castle was being decorated and the painters apparently left their ladders unlocked. This gave two prisoners the opportunity to escape, one of whom was desperate to see his newborn daughter. They used the ladders to scale up onto the roof and then straddled them from the edge of one of the forty foot walls (above - the highest of any prison in the UK) as the alarms started ringing around them. The first prisoner made it across but the second wasn't so lucky and he fell the length of the wall. He did survive and the other prisoner was picked up a couple of days later at his mother's house. Both received and extra 18 months onto their sentence.

There's a magnificent church opposite the castle, which I sadly didn't get the name of but there's a picture below.

So there you go. I haven't even scratched the surface, so if you find yourself with a few hours to spare go and have a look. We drove, but it's only a couple of minutes away from the train station right in the centre of Lancaster!

Butterflies

2010-07-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

A visit to Chester Zoo a few months ago gave me the opportunity to take some camera phone macro shots of the butterflies in Butterfly Journey. I've no idea what their names are (although the blue one would probably suit "Phyllis") except for the first one which is a Goliath Moth and was bloody huge! This was the only one that was behind glass, the rest were flying free.

Some of the colours are amazing like the pearlescent blue on this one...

Some look a lot more delicate than others, although I would say there aren't many that are very robust...

More from the boys...

2010-06-06T13:04:00.001-07:00

So much for regular posting - once every six months or so is enough I reckon! However, as everyone else is in bed, and the dogs are now fed and watered I thought it was about time to make an effort.

I'm not going to write a lot. I'm going to post a couple of pictures of the boys. Here's Nate on the lion at Heaton Park:

And here's Kai on its compatriot:

Lastly, a picture of the two boys playing in the river near our house tonight...they came home wet but happy!

Update...

2010-01-05T12:06:00.001-08:00

We dug the car out...it took some doing but we got there - mostly thanks to Paul, out local mechanic, but I did some pushing too! F and N sat in the car and stayed warm...

New Year, More Snow!

2010-01-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

Here we are in 2010 (that's twenty ten...although not quite a second space odyssey) and were still can't plan for bad weather in this country. Ok, so it snowed some, then froze and snowed some more. Then it brightened up and dulled over again. Then there was a bit of sleet but it got too cold for sleet and it snowed again. Then, getting bored of snow the temperature dropped again and it froze over. When I went to take N out yesterday morning the ambient temperature according to the car was -7 degrees which was cold enough to mean that I had to scrape the frost off the inside of the car...

So, aside from the normal chaos that frozen snow over frozen snow over frozen snow causes we thought it couldn't get any worse. We spent last night watching a couple of films and F was all psyched up to head off to work bright and early until the snow started. Lots of snow. And then a bit more. And just for good measure a lot more snow. F did indeed set off for work this morning but after struggling for twenty minutes and getting no more than tw

o miles (so an average of six miles per hour there) she had to ring in to the hospital and tell them she wouldn't be able to make it..."That's ok" they said, "No one else has made it in either!" - and most of them live minutes away! F attempted to call into the local supermarket on her way back home but couldn't make it into the car park. (Incidentally, my car has been stuck up the road from us since Saturday when I had to park it there - I tried to move it yesterday and I may as well have been trying to plait fog). The hospital rang F later on asking if she would try to make it in tomorrow as they have had to cancel all operations for today.

The snow has meant no nursery for N, either. I spoke to K this morning and he was most disappointed that his was the only school in the area which was still open. So, we took the hounds to the river and let them chase the ducks, then we threw snowballs at them, and now, while everyone in the house snoozes I'm watching various vehicles attempt to tackle the hill in front of our house with varying degrees of success. I can't see it being too long before something goes a bit awry, leaving lots of tangled metal...

This picture was taken at some point last week so things are a bit worse now and you can imagine the fun that comes when traffic tries to get up or down that hill:

Decorating...

2009-09-18T02:24:00.000-07:00

Simple...I hate it!

Danger above your head...

2009-09-07T04:32:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a break from my hectic housework schedule in order to post seeing as I've been neglecting my blogging duties for the past few days. A few years accumulation of junk has demanded my attention and still is. N's nursery have benefited this morning from an influx of toys whilst I am almost on first name terms with the staff at the local tip.

The thought of going to the tip reminded me of a post I came across on a forum I visit (Above Top Secret) which concerned low energy light bulbs like the one below:

Now, we've all been told how these light bulbs are so much better for the environment, right? Well, that might not be so true. You see these things contain something that normal light bulbs don't contain:

Yup, mercury, a lovely toxic substance hanging there right over your head. If you were to break one Defra advise you to "Vacate the room and ventilate for at least 15 minutes. Do not use a vacuum cleaner but clean up using rubber gloves and aim to avoid creating and inhaling airborne dust. Sweep up all particles and glass fragments and place in a plastic bag. Wipe the area with a damp cloth, then add that to the bag and seal it. Mercury is hazardous waste and the bag should not be disposed of in the bin. All local councils have an obligation to make arrangements for the disposal of hazardous household waste" (Source)

Each light bulb contains about 6-8mg of mercury which, to be honest, isn't that much and wouldn't put you in so much danger. In a recent BBC report (see here) Dr David Ray, a toxicologist from the University of Nottingham was reported as saying "Mercury accumulates in the body - especially the brain. The biggest danger is repeated exposure - a one off exposure is not as potentially dangerous compared to working in a light bulb factory. If you smash one bulb then that is not too much of a hazard. However, if you broke five bulbs in a small unventilated room then you might be in short term danger."

So, the official line seems to be that as long as you know about the possibility of a mercury spillage then there's not much danger. There's one slight flaw in this otherwise flawless plan and that is the fact that the presence of mercury in these bulbs isn't made clear on the packaging so not many people are aware of the fact that it's in them.

As the OP on Above Top Secret pointed out - say you have 5 Low Energy Bulbs in your house, as did everyone in your street where there are 20 houses. Then there are maybe 500 streets in your town, that makes 50,000 light bulbs with 6-8mg of mercury in each one - potentially 300kg of mercury being sent to landfill rather than being disposed of properly...and that's just in one small town! (See here for the original thread on ATS).

Whilst doing a bit of research into this I also came across reports of these things causing sun burn like symptoms (see here) which is also quite worrying.

So, next time you see one of these, just think about the potential dangers. Oh, and while I'm on the subject of mercury have a think about any fillings you may have in your mouth containing mercury almagam fillings...have a read of this or this!

A case of mistaken identity..

2009-08-27T03:27:00.001-07:00

When I downloaded the holiday images and videos from my camera to my pomputer I was in "glad-to-be-home" mode. Now, as I look at them, I revisit their moments of capture and find the feelings of those times evoked within me. I don't long to be back there but there is that feeling of a distinct difference in attitude that you have when you're on holiday, kind of like you're not in the real world. I suppose it's just nice to reflect on those times once you're back to reality!

One of the things that gave us the most excitement while we were in Skiathos was when F and N spotted what seemed to be a Hummingbird darting from flower to flower, seemingly using a long proboscis to gather nectar. It was quite easy to get a look at the creature and to all intents and purposes it was a indeed a Hummingbird. I grabbed my trusty cameraphone and took this video (it's not up to BBC Natural History Unit quality but it gives you an idea...) -

A few days later I spotted another one of these creatures and managed to get a really good look at it after it had flown underneath a parasol. It looked like it had six legs to me and therefore shifted it from being a bird to an insect. I had a look on t'interweb when I got back to Blighty and found that what we were looking at was actually a Hummingbird Hawkmoth (which you can read about here) an insect commonly mistaken for a hummingbird and thought to have come about by convergent evolution where unrelated species develop similar characteristics.

Regardless of whether it was a true Hummingbird or a Hummingbird Hawkmoth it was certainly a beautiful little creature, and a delight to watch - one of those little moments of magic that you find on holiday!

I have a few more videos to load up, and I'm in the process of categorising and editing them now.

Quincy, me?

2009-08-25T03:55:00.000-07:00

I'm just doing a little bit of random surfing and keep ending up at foodie sites (possibly thanks to the mouth-wateringly delicious sounding recipes on http://www.romanticdinnerforthree.com/) which got me thinking about a couple of ideas (and more) we brought back from Skiathos.

I mentioned in my last post that there was a quince tree/bush (is it a tree or a bush? It's like an apple type of affair so I'm going with the tree option - I can't see many botanists, or even arborists for that matter, taking their time to read my little corner of the information supermotorway...but enough and onward!). F and I racked our somewhat addled brains and couldn't recall ever having tasted quince (a play of F's surname would not be appropriate right now) and resolved to pick some before our journey home in order to "cook something wonderful". The chilblains beat us two it and came chasing down the lane each carrying a quince. Not being sure if the tree (I remembered) belonged to anyone we hid them in our bag and swaggered off innocently. Anyhoo, the fruits are almost five days off the tree (again) now so I think I may have to attempt something with them...one quince crumble coming up with pics and a review to follow!

The other thing that we are going to try came to us one night in a harbour side cafe, which wasn't a particularly upmarket place but looked like one of those where you get the best food. We had placed our order a while ago (sausage and chips for the boys - as that's all they'd eat - spag bol for F and a steak for me) and were impatiently waiting for our food when a bowl of bread and a small dish of what can only be described as black mebb was placed unceremoniously in front of us. We examined the black stuff and came to the conclusion that they'd dipped a ramekin into the harbour and been lucky enough to catch some raw crude oil. Now some people think my attitude stinks but you should have smelt this stuff...! It was pungent to say the least. We thought maybe it was to ward off evil spirits or at the very least the prevalent stingy-winged beasties. Still, when in Rome and all that, so I piped up and asked the waiter what it was. "Crushed olives," was his somewhat dour reply, "it's very tasty, very good."

Hmmm...I wasn't convinced, but with the amount of lager that had gone down my throat over the past two weeks I figured that anything harmful in there would be immediately sanitised by over exposure to alcohol. I placed a small teaspoon of the potion onto a slice of slightly stale bread, prayed briefly and took a bite. It was delicious! Really, really nice. Aha, thinks I, let's pile some on the bread now and have a proper taste...slightly overpowering when you have too much (a bit like marmite) but still nice. F was intrigued, as were the chilblains and everyone had a taste. The kids attempted a faithful recreation of Tom Hanks' caviar eating scene in "Big" but F was also hooked - the problem was that we ran out of bread, and didn't think it'd go well on slightly damp beer mats.

It was simply black olives which had been crushed to make a paste. Anyways, discussion turned to how best to serve it when at home and we decided on bruscetta. F was of the opinion that it would be nice with anchovies on but I reckoned that would be too salty and much preferred the idea of sundried tomatoes and feta on top. Experimentations will be made soon. Oh, one word of warning if you fancy the sound of the magical mebb...it repeats!

Btw, did you spot what I did with the blog title...?! I've been dying to use that one!

Skiathos

2009-08-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

Despite the traumas there were still many good times to be had during our two week stay on the lovely Greek island of Skiathos. We stayed at Filokalia Apartments in Achladies Beach and the accommodation, though basic as always, was given that little touch of magic that is sometimes needed by the efforts of the manager, Shellina and her able evening/night time assistant, Maria. Both were excellent with the kids and couldn't do enough to help us. I'll post up some pictures of the kids with Shellina later on.

If you're thinking of holidaying in Skiathos give this place the once over on Trip Advisor - you really won't go far wrong. Access from the main road is via a lane lined with all manner of fruit trees including vines, fig trees, clementine trees, lime trees, brambles and even quince. It was nice to have a wander up there every day just to see if we'd spot something new!

We were quite shocked at the general cost of living in Skiathos. Knowing the strength of the Euro against the Pound we certainly didn't expect to get everything dirt cheap but a couple of days there taught us to buy wisely and whilst not quite securing bargains we were able to live quite happily. There are many places serving excellent food and in sizeable portions and the "street food" is delicious.

Unfortunately for us we had booked to go at entirely the wrong time with August being insect season. F was almost eaten alive by the mozzies (warranting a trip to the pharmacy - well, three tripshaving been told that they shut at 2pm!) - and the wasps being an almost constant pain in the a**e, especially when eating. Shellina, as always, had a solution with the burning of a small amount of Greek coffee on your table which not only kept all but the most persistent of bewinged terrors away but also gave all food a kind of barbecue like taste and aroma!

I'm sure I'll recount more tails as they come to mind but for now please be contented with the above pictures of our adventures...

That Course...

2009-08-23T05:46:00.000-07:00

Reveiwing the posts of many moons ago I noticed that I had last updated shortly after I'd applied for the law degree I was interested in.

I was successful in getting a place at the interview although a bit of gentle persuasion was needed in securing my place. The tutor that interviewed me (hereafter referred to as GS) was unsure at first as I have been out of education for 13 years and he suggested I would be well advised to complete an access course first. I suggested to him that I was more than up to the course and that he was essentially running a business - I was determined to find a degree course and if he didn't want my custom then I was pretty sure someone else would. GS relented saying that he trust his instincts and he reckoned I'd do ok.

Obviously being a mature student has its advantages and disadvantages. It's easier to see what you're working towards and that makes it easier to put your head down and do what's required. On the other hand, juggling hardcore studying with a family isn't always the easist thing to do.

I scored pretty well in the assignments for each subject but had a feeling I'd struggle in the exams so I prepared as thoroughly as I could. Still, my confidence was low and I was thankful to F for vacating the house with Nate for a few days while I stressed and simmered - I wouldn't have been the best company anyway! Exams over, I thought I'd done enough to gain a 40% pass and was happy with that.

I waited patiently for results day and went in to collect my resuls on 16th July. The system is that you log on to a campus PC to get your results for the first time, in order that the tutors are present and can give you advice if you need it. Iwent in and was greeted by the GS - strangely he quickly left the room. I logged on and was shocked by what I saw...4 A's! I had scored 70% in Contract, 74% in Legal Method, 76% in Constitutional and Administrative Law and 80% in EU Law. I was so shocked I thought that I'd logged into the results for another student! I was congratulated by my tutors and told GS that I was the best performing student on campus so that a pretty nice feeling.

A few days later I received a letter from the Head of Law at the main campus to say I was to receive the award for Best Performing First Year Student at a ceremony in Huddersfield. F rose from her deathbed (poor girl was proper poorly too...thanks F x) to accompany my parents (http://akelamalu.blogspot.com) and me to the ceremony where I was presented with a certificate:

I'm awaiting the cheque that was supposed to come with it but I'm not holding my breath!

A long absence...

2009-08-23T05:39:00.000-07:00

Well, as I posted some time ago I had found the wonders of Facebook. I'm bored with that now and have decided to return to (intermittent) blogging. I'm not sure if F will be making any posts on account of her working all the hours that God sends.

We've just returned from two weeks in Skiathos. The island itself was lovely, as were most of the people we encountered but the holiday was somewhat blighted by the loss of two of our four dogs in kennels. So, to Gracie and Sasha, I hope that wherever you are now you're getting all the walks and treats you could have ever wished for....x

Facebook

2008-03-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

My life as I know it is over. Facebook has sucked me in...

Balls and all!

2008-03-07T03:53:00.000-08:00

Here I am, back for another little bit of writty...

I'm afraid I've just not had the time to get on here since my last post. Although I've been surfing the information super-motorway I only get a chance to do it when N is asleep. However, he has that extra-sensory ability to wake up as soon as I start typing something. I'm on my second paragraph now so I'm hoping I may be able to complete this one!!

What's been happening...? Well, I've been and had my nadgers nipped but it would seem that the surgeon wasn't too good at getting his stitching done properly so that has caused me one or two problems. Having F here as a fully qualified nurse you wouldn't think this was a problem - just let her at 'em with a bit of gauze and a few steri-strips and Robert's your father's brother. But no, once out of work F's done nursing for the day. Suffice to say I have performed surgery myself this morning and as such I expect to find myself hospitalised at some point in the near future. I do envisage my trip to hospital to look something like this...

In other news we fought to get F a meeting with her former employer to air her grievances. This was easier said than done and took more than a little gentle coercion. The meeting took place on Tuesday and after a hearty lunch we rode off into battle. We were faced with a weasly looking f**ker who was one of the H.R. top brass along with a representative of the Chief Executive's department (the latter being there as we had taken F's plight to them upon being ignored by the former). The weasly one decided that he was going to use aggression in order for us to realise just who was in charge - unfortunately for him I was more than happy to take him on and play him at his own game and he soon settled his little self down. It's amazing what you can achieve when you stand up to these people. This man was also unable to defend his own statements from reasoned arguments and he actually ended up looking foolish a lot of the time. The lady from the C.E.'s office was quite the oppisite and we're hopeful that she will investigate matters fully. Time will tell. It's not my fault I'm bolshy...I blame the parents!!

I have finally sent off my application form for the University course I'm interested in. That went off last week so I should hopefully hear something soon. If that doesn't come off I'm thinking that I may just go down the OU route. I'm certainly going to invest my time (and F's money) in something.

So that's about it. Well, obviously it's not, there's been lots of other stuff going on but those are the main things in recent times. I'm not going to promise to update regularly because it isn't likely to happen!! Do check back and there's a possibility you will see something new. There's also the possibility that you will be disappointed!

About my day...

2008-01-10T16:30:00.000-08:00

There are supposed to be breaks between every paragraph on these posts but Blogger seems to be playing silly buggers with me. Forgive the squashed-upness and if anyone knows of a solution, please let me know!!

My resolution to post every day didn't last very long!! Anyway, I'm here today so you can all (the three of you, that is) stop worrying...

All's going well with not drinking. Still not a drop touched although the temptation has been there. Herbal tea is now the order of the day and we seem to be gorging ourselves on the stuff! We've got all kinds in our little stock cupboard - which is actually the worktop - from green tea to blackberry and nettle. We'll be aficionados soon!

As most of you (two of the three of you) that read this blog will know, it has been raining down like the piss here for about sixteen hours now. I ventured out earlier with the bastards to let them have a run. F normally takes them out but she's working much hours now so I braved their pulling and farting about and headed off towards the river with a pocket full of poo bags and more than a little trepidation, as they have a habit of totally ignoring me!

Sasha, who's the old lady of the pack, is left off the lead to wander on. The others, including Rosie Rotbag (who, at 18ish weeks, is almost Sasha's size) have to wait until we get to the river. Now Buddy loves the water and even when it was below freezing during the holidays, F took the big dogs the the reservoir and Buddy still dived in - he is quite mental. However, when we got to the river today he was having none of it...instead of running in and chasing the ducks like he normally does he ran at the side of it with a look of terror on his face. Well, I say terror, but with Buddy his dumb-arse, vacant stare can pass for anything from confusion to utter excitement!

As it happens, they were good as gold and came to heel on command. They have now all spent the afternoon in their beds sleeping so I think the walk did them good.

To change the subject, I thought I would share this with you. I'm fascinated by other guitarists (being, ahem, one myself) and love to watch different styles. There's a guy called Andy McKee and below is his version of the Toto song "Africa". I first saw him do one of his own compositions called "Drifting" and I'll try to embed that at some point in the future. Enjoy...

Father, dear father...

2008-01-08T05:14:00.000-08:00

N has now reverted back to Tuesday and Thursday at nursery so I've used the morning productively to prime and undercoat the fire surround and the new corner unit which my Dad helped me to build.

My Dad is a very good joiner and served an apprentiship as such before going into the cut-throat world of local government. I am more of a kak handed frigger and have a hard time buttering toast. He's helped me with all manner of jobs around the house over the years and I'll always be grateful for his help and advice - not just on the practical things but on everything.

So, although he'll likely never read this (unless you make him, Mum!), I'd just like to say "Thanks Dad!!"

Brothers In Hands...

2008-01-07T04:37:00.000-08:00

My two little boys were sat on my knee this weekend and N wanted tohold K's hand. I snapped this picture while they were sat still engrossed in a DVD. I think it speaks for itself.

Declutterisationing

2008-01-04T01:57:00.000-08:00

Here be I again with some more mundane ramblings. F is at work, N is at nursery and I am collecting K shortly after lunch. I have done my few chores for the morning and have just put a pork joint in the oven...a short interlude will follow as I head off to add the apples, garlic and rosemary. I say head off, but it's all of twenty feet from here to the oven!

Right, I'm back...and you didn't even notice I was gone!! Only a short note today as Ciara's post on decluttering has shamed me into sorting out all the pictures on my laptop into folders. I tend to just download them and leave them sat were they land. Now they're all over the place and I'm reckoning there's about 3 months worth that are going to need sorting out into their respective folders. Wish me luck 'cos it's gonna take some time!!

Before I go, a brief note on the self-hypnosis. I tried again last night but found it a little difficult to get as far as I had on my first attempt. I put that down to beginners luck in the first instance and a more inquiring mind on the second. Those in the know say that, as with all things, practice will make the transition into trance easier. I will continue to practice!!

Strangely Hypnotic

2008-01-03T02:24:00.001-08:00

"What?", I hear you cry, "Two posts and on consecutive days too...what's going on?!". Okay, I'm possibly being a little extravagant with my imaginative powers there, but I like to daydream.

Anyway, I've stolen five minutes whilst F is out of the house taking the two big dogs for a walk round the reservoir (see here for pictures) to do an entry...should I insert a star date here? I say stolen because F is off work today and she can be a proper slave driver sometimes. I've been forced to clean out the wardrobe this morning and clean the walls therein - it's a walk in wardrobe and is on the coldest corner of the house with no heating to it so it therefore suffers from a slight mould growth. Quite why you need to know all this I'm not sure but this is my blog and I can write what I want!

Anyway, all that aside, I have started to study self-hypnosis to help with the lifestyle changes I am trying to make. I attempted to enter my first trance last night, which was seemingly semi-successful. A very nice relaxed feeling and an almost numb floating sensation in the arms and back of the neck which was most pleasant although a little strange at first.

As with stage hypnosis, self-hypnosis works on the subconscious mind. I've always been fascinated by the fact that we as a species use little more than 5% of our brain power and even the most elite of the intelligent use no more than 10%. Imagine what could be achieved if we could tap into just a fraction more of the unused 90-95%...and that leads to another question - if we could imagine what could be achieved then would we be half a step towards achieving those dreams? Have I just confused everyone else like I've confused myself?

I digress...Self-Hypnosis is based around relaxation. I have been using active progressive relaxation (where the different muscle groups in the body are tensed and released in stages from the feet up to the head, imagining the tension running out of your body whilst your muscles relax) in spits and spats for about ten years. Once the body is relaxed the subject (me in this case) allows their eyes to focus on one unmoving spot, all the while giving suggestions that they are becoming ever more relaxed. Once the eyes have closed, which can again be induced by suggestion, the subject visualises a image familiar to them which has connotations with deep relaxation.

Now at this point the experience can become quite strange as you are still, to all intents and puroses, conscious yet you are able to make suggestions to your subconscious mind. As a test you can visualise feelings in your extremities, such as numbness in your fingers, and then will it to travel up your arms and into your shoulders. That was as far as I got last night. The progression is to enter this state to give yourself suggestions and post hypnotic cues which you can use to change areas of your life - one such example, if you wished to lose weight, would be to visualise yourself opening the fridge door but then walking away with your hands empty, thus reinforcing the idea that you don't need the quick snack you went to the fridge for. If these suggestions become deep rooted enough they will occur without a conscious effort on the part of the subject.

Now, all the above is simply from my own study and progression into the subject and should not be taken as a tutorial. I will keep you updated with my progress as I go on and let you know if it turns out to be a real journey of discovery.

Once again, thank you for reading this drivel!!

Be good!

A Dry Start

2008-01-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody matey peeps....

I have been shamed into doing this post. I was at Akelamalu's house yesterday (not a strange thing on account of her being my mother!) and Queenie was there - she of the random ramblings fame. Queenie asked when I'd be posting again seeing as she was sick of seeing that "bloody picture" of my foot...! "Charming", thinks I...and I thought I was blessed with lovely feet, althought they are not quite at their best in that picture, I admit!

Anyway, a new year has dawned and for the first time in our adult lives F and I saw it in free from alcohol. A glass of water, a pear and a raspbarry leaf tea were our vices! We have come to the conclusion over the past few weeks that our consumption of wine and beer was starting to become silly - I won't go into details but we have decided to try to turn over a new leaf. I say try, because the drinking malarky has become a habit, and habits, by nature are hard to break. I suffer from Crohn's disease and as alcohol has a nice side effect of messing with your digestive system this is indeed a "must" for me...I've just changed consultants and don't want to start out lying to him by telling him I only drink 28 units per week!

I was silly enough to smoke for several years and anyone that smokes knows how difficult it is to give that one up. I'd watched Akelamalu stop smoking one New Years Eve without any external help, simply willpower. "That looks easy", thinks I and off I popped to attempt it...enter humiliating failure! Anyway, a few years later I attempted it again and with just one smallmishap (two puffs on a cigarette which tasted disguting) I have stuck at it and I can't say I've been really tempted since.

So, with that in mind I belive that I can break this habit and start to enjoy alcohol again as an occasional indulgence rather than an everynight quest for oblivion...ok, it's not quite that bad!! How my prose can carry me away sometimes!

F, on the other hand, has a slightly bigger challenge. She being a, ahem, good girl, has never smoked so she hasn't ever faced the challenge of ridding herself of that demon. Therefore, I shall be there to offer my unwavering support when that time of day comes round and a cold glass of white wine calls sweetly from the shop over the road.

One thing that I have done is started to drink more green tea. I've always enjoyed green tea anyway and its health benefits are now beginning to be proven. My plan is to have a cup of green tea when I'm feeling a little weak thus quenching my need for that other liquid substance and reminding myself that the drink I'm taking is doing me far more good than harm. I sweeten my tea with honey (Manuka is best, but Asda didn't have any!) and now add a half teaspoon of crushed cinnamon which not only aids digestion but has been proven to lower cholesterol and aid weight loss.

Time will tell as to how long this new leaf stays turned but I aim to keep you informed of how it goes. Besides, those "experts" say that writing down a goal or resolution and sharing it with friends makes it more reinforced and harder to break. So friends, support us on our quest to become alcohol free and official bores at parties!!!

Be good....

Deadliest Loonpot

2007-11-28T13:14:00.000-08:00

Hullo there...

I'm still a 'ouse 'usband and enjoying all the duties that go with it - such as drinking tea, playing on my Wii and watching telly. It was whilst watching said telly that I came accross a programme called "Deadliest Catch" which is basically about a load of blokes pulling crabs in cages from feckin' freezing water...enthralling stuff...!

Anyway, on tonight's episode one of these young men took a bit of a tumble onto his ankle. Now, thinks me, how bad will it be? I am something of an expert in the field of damaged ankles - it's only a fortnight since F asked me to put the bin out* which I duly went off to do...she was then alerted to me lying in a pool of dog p**s in the back yard by my pathetic moans as I had thrown myself off the back step, twisting my ankle and bruising my leg in the process. I must make it clear that I had not touched a drop that day!!

Now, this time of year seems to bring out the best in me. Last year (this time avec my friend Stella) I went out to remonstrate with our neighbours from hell taking a tumble off the front step in the process. Luckily, Stella had worked her magic and I was a little anaesthatised to the worst of the pain. However, I knew I had done something pretty drastic and took my boot off as soon as I could to reveal this:-

It was sore!! It took a while to go right, and in all honesty still gives me a bit of grief to this day. These pictures were taken almost straight after I went over on it. Within a couple of days it was almost completely blue. Seeing the guy on "Deadliest Catch" tonight reminded me of that incident.

Judging by my past escapades I can look forward to doing a full limb next year!

*As a quick aside, on the radio the other they were talking about Lancashire sayings, one being how would you ask "Has the refuse collector arrived yet, mother?" in Lancashire..."Has bin man bin, mam?"!!!

An Influx Of Ideas

2007-11-23T03:51:00.000-08:00

I've been reading again.

Wait!! Before you go off to get matchsticks for your eyelids this might even interest you...ok, it probably won't but it'll at least give you another bit of useless knowledge!!!

I'm currently reading a book about how London was rebulit after the great fire in 1666. The author is postulating that our nation's capital was rebuilt by Wren and others in line with ancient beliefs that London was to be the New Jerusalem. Now, that's a bit deep to get into at the minute suffice to say it involves much to do with the Zodiac (if you're at all interested in the Zodiac and it's connection to religion today please have a look at this movie) and (for political reasons at the time) the lineage of our middle age Kings being shown to come from the aincient tribes of Israel and therefore directly from God.

What has really interested me about this book is the way that England came to be a scientific leader in Europe. At around this time most of Europe was still Catholic and therefore the Pope and his church were very powerful. As learned men (then known as natural philosophers rather than scientists and known to dabble in alchemy) discovered more the likes of Copernicus and Gallileo amongst others were coming up with theories and proofs that challenged the crestionist doctrine which was the mainstay of the Catholic church. To the all powerful church these men were heretics, the punishment for which was death - so what was the option for those with apparantly heretical beliefs?

Escape to protestant England where their ideas were more readily accepted. This acceptance of ideas drew more and more of these natural philosophers to our shores and their interaction with our own alchemists and great thinkers such as William Gilbert and later Sir Isaac Newton allowed Great Britain to be at the forefront of science in those early days.

Of course, the above is very simplified and I'm not suggesting that Copernicus or Gallileo made it to these shores, rather than using them as famous examples scientist of that time. I just find this sort of fortuitous footnote to our past very interesting and thought you might too.

Oh, one other thing I learnt today - the reason surgeons are referred to as "Mister" as opposed to "Doctor" is because they were originally seen by their collegues simply as hackersof limbs and therefore not worthy of the title "Doctor"...see, told you you'd learn something!

Don't worry, I'll ask F to post again soon!

New Arrival

2007-11-22T01:35:00.000-08:00

It's all change at the moment in our household. I'm currently playing the role of 'ouse 'usband while F goes off to do some agency work at some ridiculously high rate of pay. I've just set myself up for a day of hard work with bacon and egg on toast and a mug of tea - all after mopping the kitchen floor, filling the dishwasher, cleaning the yard and feeding the hounds...it's all go here!

Whilst mentioning the hounds there's a couple of pictures of our new arrival Rosie the Rotten below...ain't she cute??!

And here's one of her with Buddy, who isn't too keen at the minute!!

We reckon she might be a big girl seeing as she's only just over 9 weeks old!

I've been waiting for Blogger to allow us Blogger's to upload video. F and I tend to take a lot of media with our mobiles, having them with us most of the time they're just so handy to record those little moments or quirky little things that we see. Here's a video of Nate taking a ride with Noddy in the supermarket yesterday:-

I did have one in the same vein of Kaisters riding his pedal powered digger but for some reason it seems to have disappeard so I'll have to search for that one. Anyway, I suppose I should get on with some work (!) and some job searching...TTFN!

A sleeping sleepless night....

2007-11-20T13:25:00.001-08:00

Last night I had a strange experience. For once it didn't involve drink...!

I don't know if you have ever heard of sleep paralysis but I think I had my first (and hopefully last) experience of it last night. I awoke in the early hours, quite lucidly, but was worried when my legs wouldn't respond to instructions from my brain. Nor would my arms. Nor my torso. I couldn't move a muscle yet I was perfectly aware of my surroundings. To say I was becoming concerned would be an understatement but I was snapped out of this apparent hell by F brushing against me.

What happened to me is symptomatic of sleep paralysis which almost every person on earth will experience at least once in their lives. Luckily for me, I had seen a programme on this condition a few years ago - only the programme was more concerned with the "night hag" phenomenon where the sufferers of this condition experience a hag or demon type appirition in the room with them and eventually sitting on their chest or becoming attached to their throat, constircting their breathing. However, it is postulated that this figure is part a figment of the mind that is still truly asleep. Needless to say, I was waiting with trepidation for this manifestation last night!!

On a lighter note our friend Linda at Ravenrock Kennels gifted us with a magnificent 9 week old Rotten puppy yesterday. Her dad Mac can be seen on the link above - as can our beloved Tequila's mum and sister Cassie and Reba (respectively). We have named her Rosie the Rottweiller and her official Kennel Club name is Ravenrock Dolly Rose, although Dolly Dimple may be more appropriate thinks I!!! Pictures will be posted of this tiny row of teeth and an a**ehole on coming posts...!

Another Rant...

2007-11-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

Hullo!!

Firstly, thank you to those of you that left comments about the loss of our tiny girl Tequila. We scattered her ashes at Bolton Abbey and she's quite likely very happy now chasing ducks like she always wanted to! We still miss her like crazy but the other three are trying their best to fill the void that has been left in her wake. Gracie especially is doing her best to fill Tequila's (metaphorical) boots by protecting the house in what looks to be a new inimitable style!

For those that are interested, my new job didn't go too well so I've been putting my energies into finding another job (I have an interview on Friday) and also educating myself. I have been spending time with the chilblains and playing the guitar a lot more - I have even been getting blisters on my fingers for the first time in 17 years...and I sound like I can play now!

When I say "educating myself" I was speaking in terms of doing an awful lot of reading. I prefer non-fiction to novels as it has to be an extremely good story to grab me. The last one that did it was Stephen King's "Eyes of the Dragon", which was a fantastic fantasy story, although anything by Richard Bach would receive my full attention - I should blog my admiration for that man very soon. Strangly, Stephen King set himself an experiment where he published books under the name of Richard Bachman to see if he could replicate his success under a different name.

I have read all sorts of things lately but have turned my attention at the minute to the problems facing the western economy and the very real threat of a U.S./Allied strike on Iran (I've been boring F rigid, but nothing new there!). I have a lot of opinion on the latter and I definately believe that we in the West would be making a grave mistake in attacking Iran, not least because of the willingness of both Russia and China to seize an opportunity to support the Iranians and to make the most of the impending economic crisis that we face here in the West.

For the record, I believe that the Bush administration has totally abused its power and has done all it can to ensure that the supply of wealth to the top 1% of the population that they truly represent has been assured. Anyone with any doubts over the rhetoric displayed by this bunch of shites need only do a little bit of searching to just scratch at the surface of the lies that this cabal have built. The house of cards has to tumble.

Am I one of these "wacko's" that thinks that 9/11 was an inside job? Yes I am. I truly believe that Bush and his cronies were more than capable of killing their own citizens in order to bring about the support needed for an illegal war (we here in England we just as complicit...thank you, Mr. Blair). What was needed was another Pearl Harbour - the event that brought about America's entry into WWII and galvanised American public opinion in such a way that the then Government could quite happily wander into war. That's what happened. Ok, maybe it's not as clear cut as being an inside job, but maybe intelligence was skilfully ignored (I'm not decided myself yet) but either way, I believe the current American administration was complicit in the deaths of all those poor souls and the subsequent pain and grief caused to those left behind.

Oh, and just to make a little analogy, the Nazi party came to power in 1930's Germany after the Hitler's Nazi party burnt the Reichstag to the ground and blamed it on the communists. Upon gaining power they immediately set about taking power away from their citizens under the guise of protecting them from the evil in their midst. Sound anything like the erosion of the American constitution under the Patriot Act and Homeland Security Act/Bill? Or like the new powers of internment being introduced by the British government? But of course, it's for our protection...

Whilst mentioning the Nazi party I should also mention one Prescott Bush, father of former President George H. W. Bush and granfather of current President George W. Bush. A nazi collaboraor...?

But why do it? Oil is one best bet. A pipeline along the Caspian Sea area wouldn't really have been possible without a compliant government in Afghanistan. Not that the Bush family or their associates have anything to do with the oil industry (!). Then Iraq...well, Saddam was highly unlikely to be a best friend of Messrs Bush and Cheney so we'd better get rid of him. Who next...Venezuela looked good but I guess Mr. Chavez was just too vocifierous and did enough to avoid attack. So, that leaves Iran and Mr. Ahmadinejad...for those that believe the things they've heard about his comments please have a quick look at this. If this one falls through I can only think that North Korea's next.

If you have a couple of hours to spare please have a look at this movie. The producers don't want you to take their facts on face value but want you to research for yourself - see their reasoning here.

Enough for now, as I've quite bored you all enough, but if anything happens to me I've left a box of incriminating papers with my solicitor!!!!

A short goodbye...

2007-10-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hi Ppl....

I've started this particular blog entry three times now and it hasn't worked. So, rather than say how the job is I'd better just spit it out: queen of the ba****ds is gone....

Sadly...very, very sadly, we today said godbye to Tequila. Our favourite big girl died suddenly in our back yard today and I think it's fair to say that we're both devastated.

That big lump of a dog was the most fantastic thing on four legs. She was like a bumble bee: in no way should she be able to fly, but give her a good enough run up and she was a veritable flying pudding!

Everytime she went out into the back yard she went out fighting...nobody (let alone her!) knew who she was going to fight with but she'd try her best. Cars were her favourite things to bark at, aside from scrotes, and she'd quite happily barkbrain at them all day. She also liked to show the world her belly, which was spectacularly hairy.

I can't say enough good things about Tequila. She was a dog in a million. The dog you wish you'd always had and the dog you wish you could keep forever. Today that sweet canine soul left us and we both are so empty without her.

Wherever you are Tequila, we love you.

Apologies

2007-10-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone...

D here...I must apologise for the complete lack of posts over the past month and a half.

It's a strange state of affairs that having more time on our hands has meant less time to involve ourselves in our old pursuits. We've spent the past ten weeks being more of a family and enjoying time together that we would never have had had fate/providence not played its part. To be able to spend quality time with my family and be paid for it (thank you, Insolvancy Service!) has been a fantastic boost to the energy levels but alas, all good things must come to an end and I start my new job on Monday.

It's the same sort of job but luckily I will be working for people that seem to be forward thinking and genuinely concerned with their staff - a breath of fresh air after the last shower I gave nine and a half years of my life to (I'm not bitter!!). I was introduced to these guys by a rep that I used to deal with, whose company lost thousands when my former employers went bust. Mr. D (as he shall be known) had always been a good friend as well as a business associate and I count myself lucky to know a man like him - he looked out for me and explained to these guys the situation I was in. A few phone calls later and I had myself an interview.

I realised that I had nothing to prove to my prospective employers. They either liked me or didn't and I certainly wasn't going to B.S. my way through the interview, even telling them "If I lie to you now I'll be found out in three days so I might as well just tell you the truth and not waste anybody's time". It was this honesty that they liked and told me immediately that I'd got the job but that they would put a formal offer through within twenty four hours - Mr. D had "bigged me up" somewhat, it would seem!

So, I've landed myself a job with a company that have "Investors In People" and are more than willing to have their staff trained, who have hinted that they may be interested in funding the completion of my degree, have offered me a very good salary package, who will take over my pension contributions and,most of all who seem like human beings and people that you can have a proper working relationship with. I suppose mother was right: I can fall in a barrel of s**t and come up smelling of roses!!

I'm not getting too cocky just yet though as we never know what the next few weeks and months will bring. I'll keep you updated as to the working conditions and how much I'm enjoying my new post.

This post is dedicated to Mr. D (not that he'll ever read it!!) and to those friends that do all they can to help us out when the chips are down. I hope I never have to do it for one of my friends but if misfortune should ever visit them I hope I'm man enough to be able to step in and help them.

The above picture is of Fi holding onto The B*stards as they're affectionately known - from left to right they are Sasha, Tequila, Buddy and Gracie...and they're just as stupid as they look (Fi excluded!)

The Rottweiler

2007-08-31T14:09:00.000-07:00

Hi again,
We saw this and thought you may like to see the true character of the rottweiler, not the hideous vicious creature everyone thinks they are.. click here..

Trees for Life

2007-08-31T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hi there people, sorry we have not been around for a while but we have been very busy being a family, which has been lovely!!

Anyway, we are going to blog our recent visits to Bolton Abbey soon because we have had a great time and taken some lovely photos... But in the mean time we wanted to share the Trees for Life web site set up by Yorkshire Tea...(buy some...it's proper good tea!!!) DN) They are doing some really good things for the less privileged of us in the world, please do take a look...

TTFN

An Update

2007-08-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

We're still here, don't panic!! Oh, you weren't...ok, I'll get on with it then.

Just a quick one really. I've been doing a bit of work on the house, as well as dealing with all the things you have to do when you're out of work and preparing my claim for redundancy pay. I've been made aware in an email from my former employer that the company has not gone into administration and is therefore still trading. Because of this, I have to claim redundancy pay, pay in lieu of notice and wages owing from them rather than from the National Insurance fund.

Now that sounds relatively simply but I worked directly with these people for nine and a half years and I know that they'll do whatever it takes to wheedle out of it. This means there is a distinct possibility of me having to take them to an employment tribunal. I could be in for a long fight.

I have to attend the joke shop, sorry, job centre on Friday morning for a "ready to work" interview. I can see I might have to bite my lip a few times and not say what I'm really thinking!

Anyway, on a brighter note, we had a little trip into the historic town of Skipton today where Fi's sister and her husband have their narrowboat moored. We had fish and chips for dinner and then had a walk round the "famous" market...which in my opinion is c**p!! Still, it was a nice day out and was good to get away from the stresses of keep going over the above in my head!

2007-08-03T12:00:00.001-07:00

Well hello!

Ok...I'd actually wriiten a rather long post yesterday whch I was going to post today, a follow on from the dihydrogen monoxide article. Unfortunately, I'd written that post on my pc at work - and I'm now unemployed!

I went to work at my usual time of 7.30AM today and by 8.15AM I was on my way home. The company I work for has so much debt that to stay open was not a viable option, apparantly. I'm sure that won't stop my former employers from enjoying their luxury cars and yachts, but hey, I'm not bitter!!!

So, the post I prepared is at work, or what used to be work. However, I can still remember what I was waffling on about. There were only two of you that replied so thanks akelamalu and caira..probably the only two that read this rubbish, but I'm relying on you, my public to go and spread the word!

So, just what is dihydrogen monoxide? Break the name down..."di" means two, hydrogen is as we know, so we have two hydrogen. "Mono" is singular so we also have one oxygen. Two hydrogen and one oxygen is...H2O - water!

Now, please don't think that the last post was intended to show you up. It was actually an attempt to show that when facts are presented in a certain way they can suddenly become scary. Please go back and read the article now that you know what dihydroen monoxide is. All of those facts about water are true, it's just the way that they're presented that seems scary.

In the post I'd prepared I had entered into the realms of "peak oil" just to maybe stir up some debate (I'm good at that eh, akelamalu?!) about the way facts are presented and how they can be manipulated to make the general populace "toe the line". I'll find time to go into that over the next couple of weeks, I'm sure.

For now, be safe...x

Danger!

2007-08-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

I have today read this article on a substance that is clearly something we should all be aware of. Please have a read and let me know what you think in the comments...

Consider the name(s) of this compound while you're reading. You will have handled this in its raw form many times. Once I've got some comments I'll post another article.

After The Rain

2007-07-31T01:17:00.000-07:00

I spotted a plane flying in another plane's slipstream this morning and took this picture with my phone's camera...

Unfortunately, the planes don't show up too well. The lead plane is at the top of the picture with the second one about halfway down where the vapour trails seem to thicken. However, my reason for posting this wasn't really the planes but more to show that blue sky is still available in this country!

Seems a long time since we've seen it after the rain...

Recognition At Last!

2007-07-30T05:56:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah...

Akelamalu over at Everything and Nothing has given us this award. It should be for blogging prowess but is really for taxi services to holidaymakers. We've not been given nearly enough awards yet (a piffling one...) so if you're reading this and want to reward us with an award (huh?!) just drop us a line, we're happy to accept almost anything.

Gordon Brown, if you're reading this an M.B.E. apiece wouldn't go amiss...

The Road To Hell...

2007-07-30T03:28:00.000-07:00

A simple trip from Rochdale to Glastonbury. Motorway all the way. It couldn't be simpler. Could it?

Things had started to go wrong in the week and maybe we should've seen this as an omen. I was playing with the eldest of the monsters who at that time had a penchant for keys of any kind. He didn't want to do anything with them other than hold them. On this one particular night though he was playing with my car keys and he decided that he wanted to put them in the bin. Now, this wouldn't have been too bad because our landlord (who himself is worthy of a post) at the time didn't normally bother emptying the bins...ever! On this occasion he was unusually efficient and took about six weeks rubbish to the tip in one fell swoop...goodbye car keys!!

So that was that...no keys at all to my car which as well as being locked was thouroughly immobilised! It was later to cost me around £200 to get a replacement key but right now we had more pressing problems...how to transport ourselves around...

Luckily, Fi's brother-in-law had a spare vehicle which he kindly lent us for our road trip. Grateful as we were at the time using that vehicle was a decision we were going to regret!

It was a lovely May morning with the sun shining brightly in the sky and a gentle cooling breeze fanning us as we set off. We had arranged to meet a friend of ours who lived in Glastonbury on Saturday afternoon and have a wee wander round, head to our guest house for a shower and change of clothes and then head out for something to eat. A refreshing nights sleep followed by the journey back up the various motorways and home in time for Sunday lunch. Even the best laid plans...

We jumped, well clambered, into the vehicle we had borrowed (there's a theme here) and set off, full steam ahead! Unfortunately that's just what happened. We had made good time on the M6 and were just heading up to junction 15 (Newcastle-under-Lyme) when steam started pouring out from under the bonnet. A few frantic phone calls and we were in luck - the vehicle had Green Flag breakdown cover! Fi, being marvellous as she is, managed to limp the vehicle the ½ mile or so up to the next exit and we pulled into the carpark of the Holiday Inn.

Ok, says we. The car's buggered, we have to wait for the rescue man and we've not even completed a third of our journey. Plan of action...? We're at a hotel, let's just stay here the night, wait for the car to be fixed and head back home tomorrow, save Glastonbury for another time. Simple enough in theory but slap me with a fish slice if we hadn't chosen the busiest weekend in the hotel's history to try to get a room. They couldn't even offer us a stable to sleep in!!

All was not lost though. It was possible that there was only a minor malfunction with the vehicle that could be fixed in a matter of minutes. So we sat and waited for the breakdown man to turn up and enjoyed a cold beer.

Presently, our mechanic in shining armour turned up and proceeded to pour copious amounts of water into the radiator. "This won't be a problem" he assured us, "I'll just take the thermostat off and as long as you keep it topped up with water it'll get you there and back no problem". Fantastic, thinks we, we're gonna be on our way pretty soon with hardly any delay. Then came the slight flaw in the mechanic's otherwise flawless plan - the thermostat had already been removed hence it overheating in the first place...the jalopy couldn't be moved. We were well and truly buggered.

We thought the simplest idea would be to rent a car to take us the rest of the way - all we had to do was work out where from and how to get there. Luckily for us the receptionist at the hotel was more than willing to drive us into the centre of town and right at the door of a car rental place (anything for ten minutes out of work!). Another stroke of luck in that Fi had all the document we needed to hire the car in her bag. A few forms signed and we were back on our jolly way.

The rest of that day's trip was largely uneventful (apart from two sandwiches and two coffees costing the best part of fourteen quid in one of the service stations...the staff uniform should be a mask and a stripey jumper) and we arrived safe and sound at about 5.00pm. There was just time to meet Scooby Sue for a drink before we made our way to the guest house to get ourselves washed and dolled up. Scooby Sue had already let the owner know that we were running late so it was all gravy.

The guest house was lovely. In fact, it wasn't really a guest house but a private house with the downstairs area converted into a self contained flat. When we ventured upstairs for our breakfast on Sunday morning the view from the window was amazing, looking out over rolling countryside. Anyway, we did what we had to do and went for a lovely meal with Scooby Sue and her daughter...and a grand night was had by all!

After breakfast on Sunday we went for a brief stroll around the town (brief because there's bugger all there) and a coffee with Scooby Sue and then it was time to be on our way home. Now, the observant ones among you may remember that we were in a hire car which had to be delivered back to Newcastle-under-Lyme. A plan was hatched where we would search for a national car rental company, hire another car, drop the first hire car off and then drop the second hire car off closer to home. Simplicity in itself. Much searching was done and let me tell you now, the likes of National and Hertz don't venture into the potteries and who can blame them??!

So, foiled yet again our only option was to drive back to Rochdale, borrow yet another car and then wing it all the way back to Newcastle-under-Lyme to drop the courtesy car off before driving back again. We set off from Glastonbury at 11.00am and finally finished our journey at 8.00pm.

Next time we're getting the train!

A mind is a terrible thing...

2007-07-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

Fi says I should blog. Personally I think she should stop telling me what to do when she can't even control her faculties enough to keep hold of a poxy set of car keys...

Anyhooo, here I am. I've recently been taking much supplements, such as glucosamine, vitamins, fish oil stuff and ginkgo bilbao (which are not related to Rocky, seeing as his name is Balboa, and he's not real). The latter are taken the world over for their brain boosting properties which is something I've felt like I've needed recently!! To be honest, I can't say I noticed much difference at first but I can certainly say that I seem to have become a bit sharper mentally.

I've also been occasionally taking gotu kola but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this just makes me loopy. Last night I was laughing my socks off at a combination of this and this, much to Fi's bemusement! To me Cosmo, Dibs and Foggy seemed like the ideal sitcom...and I suppose you're probably just as bemusedright now as Fi was back then....

I don't think the ginkgo is working...

The Car Key Adventure...

2007-07-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

Hi there everybody, it is me, Fi, I told you that I wouldn't get to blog very much, my time is taken up with looking after Nate and the rest of it working.. Sometimes I even get to sleep but not much and certainly not nearly enough!!

I just have to tell you about how clumsy and baby-brained I have become since getting pregnant and giving birth to Nate..

I managed to finish work early on Tuesday, I usually work 8am to 9pm 3 days a week but managed to get away early to take one of the hounds to the vets..
I got back home, safe and sound but 'D' had called to see his mum & dad with Nate and was not yet back. Seeing as how good I am, I decided to take the aforementioned hounds out for a nice walk whilst waiting for 'D' to get home... I put the dog leads on 2 of the hounds but had left the other 2 dog leads in the car so I needed to go and get them....
Now then, the car I am using at the minute does not belong to me, it belongs to 'D's father who has kindly lent it to me for a while...
So, I picked up the car keys and left the house to go round the side to retrieve the leads and then, PLOP! the car keys are down the drain, right down the gully, in all the horrible rain water that we have been having... Oh no!! thinks I and calls 'D' to ask what to do, he has no idea really what could be done at that time in the evening.. I was advised to ring the council in the morning...

Now here is the good part, the following morning I ring the council at 9.10am, I spoke to a lovely lady who's name was Lorraine, after the expected jocularity at the stupidness of my actions, she said she would ring me back in 5 minutes, she took my number and indeed, she did call me back. She said, hello, Fiona, its Lorraine, there will be somebody with you in 10 minutes, I have asked them to divert to you.. Thanks, I said and off she went off the phone. I had to gallop upstairs and get dressed, by the time I came back downstairs a huge gully cleaner was parked at the front of the house.. Out pops 2 men, both enjoying the hilarity of the situation, we've come about some keys love, they say to me... I point them in the direction of the gully and they quick as a flash whip the top off and fish down in it with some big claw-like graspers that I am reliably informed are called gully scoops. Then, a few fishes later up comes the keys, full of dark black goo, they take them to the van and clean them up for me and hand them over.... Phew, i think and thank them in an embarrassed way and off they go. By 9.30 am I have the elusive keys back, now that is pretty good going, Lancashire County Council can be proud of themselves...

Anyhow, this is not the first adventure I have had, in fact 'D' and I had a great one a couple of years ago on the way to see a friend who was living in Glastonbury, but I will leave that for another time, I will also tell you about a short but life changing weekend 'D' and me had in Hebden Bridge
I hope you keep visiting us and we shall post more regularly when we get time..
Bye for now...

Out in the country...

2007-07-20T06:12:00.001-07:00

I've mentioned before how lucky we are to live so close to the countryside. In an attempt to lose a little weight and trim up my already svelt figure (!) I have taken to going for a half hour walk at lunchtime.

I have a choice of walking through the backstreets of the wonderful town in which I work or heading the other way to have a quick wander over an old quarry which has now been filled with muck and rubble. Despite its proximity to a couple of busy roads it's so peaceful there with wild fruit growing in abundance and the sound of grasshoppers filling the air.

There's a little lane at the back of the quarry and it was from this lane that I took the pictures below...

This week I did also go shooting things. A few of us went clay pigeon shooting to Cloudside where my boss is a member. I wouldn't have been able to hit a cow's arse with a banjo but it was still fun none the less. I now ache like you wouldn't believe and have a big bruise on my right shoulder...maybe my technique needs a little work!

I should be off now. I have an early night ahead of me as I am heading out at around 2.00am to collect akelamalu from the airport. I'm sure you will read her tales soon!

Be safe...

A Viscount..? But I am a Prince...

2007-07-19T06:10:00.000-07:00

Isn’t it odd how a little nudge to the senses can transport you to times and places past?

I have just eaten a mint KitKat, and jolly nice it was too. From the first bite I was transported back to the dining hall of my old primary school, though only in my minds eye...don’t be rushing out buying mint KitKats thinking that they have the power of teleportation!

What prompted this jolt of the memory? It was the taste. Back in the days when my Mum would make me a packed lunch – and I’m sure if I asked her now she’d still make me one – there was always a little bit of something to go with my cold toast and jam (yummm!) & flask of Vimto and that normally took the shape of a biscuit. The biscuit I remember the most was the mint Viscount a wonderful creation round in shape with biscuit and mint stuff covered in milk chocolate. My Dad and brother always seemed to go for the orange Viscount but I preferred the mint.

Anyway, there I was, sat at my office desk in body but talking childish nonsense with my very earliest friends in spirit.

I do post some rubbish...

Up at the res...

2007-07-14T02:50:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

We've been transferring some pictures fom our old pc to the laptop. This little exercise has given me the opportunity to post a few pictures taken up at a little reservoir close to our house.

Clowbridge reservoir is located at Dunnockshaw between Rawtenstall and Burnley and there is truly some beautiful countryside there. It's so goodto be ableto travel acoupleofmiles outof the town and beconfronted by sights such as these.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Fancy a quickie...?

2007-07-10T05:53:00.001-07:00

Hello friends...

The pressures of work and two pre-school delinquents have lead to a complete standstill in the corner of the blogoshpere inhabited by D & F but we thought this link may interest you after our previous post detailing the wonder that is the singing ringing tree...

Be safe...

More Tales From Bulgaria

2007-07-04T02:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends...

We must apologise for not posting any tales of wit and wisdom for a few days but we've been otherwise engaged. In other words we've found a good deal on alcohol from one of the local purveyors and have been befuggled.

Anyway, this post is not exactly a tale from Bulgaria but rather a few photographs taken in the historic town of Old Nessebar. We took a walk one day, as you do, just to see where the road lead to and got almost to Old Nessebar. We later discovered that we had turned back literally yards before getting to what is a beautiful little town. A day or so later we climed into a taxi and headed off...

To get to the town you have to go down a causeway with views of the harbour on one side and what I think is Sunny Beach on the other (though I am willing to be corrected if anyone knows different!). The streets of the town are very narrow and therefore only pedestrian access is allowed, hence the large bank of taxis congregating outside the town walls!

Above can be seen the fortifications at the entrance to the town. These are thought to originate from around the 4th - 6th Century although their foundations probably date from around the 5th Century B.C.

Entrance to the town is just off to the right of this picture where the archeological museum is located. We didn't go in there as we were in need of food. And it was shut.

There are so many fabulous building in this old town and information can be found on them on this wonderful little site. A lot of these buildings are former churches that have now been turned into museums or art galleries. Have a look below:-

Then there's the shops, a lot of which look Tudor in origin...

And finally, the signs...this one found on the pavement directing the traveller wearied by the midday heat...

Have fun and be safe!

Jacqueline Saburido

2007-06-29T01:41:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-28T07:33:00.001-07:00

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!!!

2007-06-27T05:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-26T04:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

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)

2007-06-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

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)

2007-06-19T12:43:00.001-07:00

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

2007-06-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

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!!!!