I've decided to have a go at learning to use wordpress so I've made a new blog if you want to see it please go to....
http://bigfishlittlefishcb.wordpress.com/
January 07, 2010
May 15, 2009
March 20, 2009
So... Pete Hasn't Moved Then?
Playing with Google Street view I had to have a look at my old flat in Tooting. It was home for over ten years and (so far) my one and only venture into property ownership. I was the first of the two flats at the top of the fire escape. I paid for the open window (in the bedroom) and had the sky dish installed (the small one, Ladbrokes paid me nearly £700 every year to have the big one on my balcony!) But the two things that really made me feel a bit warm and fuzzy were that my old neighbour, Pete, is still walking up that fire escape, just how I remember him, and the cat flap that my two geriatric old mogs used to use to explore the wilds of Tooting is still there. They were a (mainly) happy ten years.
March 04, 2009
Cough Up!
I've been a bit slack on the blogging front so far this year, moving house on the 27th December took up a bit of time and the fact that we now live on top of a hill, on a farm, in the middle of nowhere has taken a bit of getting used to over the winter months.
At times we haven't been able to get out of the front door because of rain or snow (it's very exposed) and for a lot of the time we just haven't felt like it because the weather has been cold and miserable. Sometimes it feels like it's a different climate up here, I can walk out of the door to a howling gale, drive a mile down to the high street and it's calm and dry.
So, as I've been cooped up for a few weeks and not got out much and not got any exercise (if I'm being honest it's been a lot lot longer than a few months since I got any real regular exercise - try a few years!) I decided I needed to kick start things a bit and entered myself into the Race For Life.
In the name of charity I'm going to run (well maybe jog if I try really hard, but more than likely take a brisk walk) around 5k of Basingstoke in June. So if anyone feels like sponsoring my pain please go to my Just Giving page, and be generous, it's a good cause.
At times we haven't been able to get out of the front door because of rain or snow (it's very exposed) and for a lot of the time we just haven't felt like it because the weather has been cold and miserable. Sometimes it feels like it's a different climate up here, I can walk out of the door to a howling gale, drive a mile down to the high street and it's calm and dry.
So, as I've been cooped up for a few weeks and not got out much and not got any exercise (if I'm being honest it's been a lot lot longer than a few months since I got any real regular exercise - try a few years!) I decided I needed to kick start things a bit and entered myself into the Race For Life.
In the name of charity I'm going to run (well maybe jog if I try really hard, but more than likely take a brisk walk) around 5k of Basingstoke in June. So if anyone feels like sponsoring my pain please go to my Just Giving page, and be generous, it's a good cause.
December 14, 2008
The Artful Dodger Is Not A Nice Person!!
Last week I fell victim to a pickpocket! I used to think of it as an almost whimsical, romantic, harmless crime a la Dickens etc. It was, at one stage, punishable by death (and right now I'd be leaning towards a reintroduction of the death penalty, or maybe just cutting off their hands would be more appropriate!) the irony being that a public execution [of a pickpocket] was an ideal opportunity for pickpockets to work what with there being quite a major distraction going on.
So there I am all smug 'cos I've done all my Christmas shopping already, I have to add that it's the first time in my life I've been this organised, but when you get paid on the 6th of the month it sort of makes you get on with it. We had the company piss up on Thursday night and as they'd very kindly paid for my train fare to London (and back) and and overnight stay on Thursday night, the man and I decided to meet up on Friday morning and head off to the Borough Market to get a few bits of food for Christmas. I'd never been there before and was looking forward to it.
On arrival we headed straight to the Monmouth Coffee stall, topped up the caffeine levels and bought some coffee beans that smelt as only I can only image heaven would smell if it was an odour.
I was in awe of all the food and sights and sounds and smells and noticed the signs saying 'high risk of pickpockets' but I thought I was ok, after all my purse was in my front pocket, where I (and everyone else!) could see it. How could anyone get it without me noticing?
I'll tell you shall I? Take a camera with you! When you take a photo you're not looking at your purse, in fact you're not looking at anything outside the viewfinder and both your hands are a long way away from your pocket - and there it was gone!!
It's not romantic, it's not funny and it's not even the fact that they lifted the £100 I'd got from the cashpoint (why did I not just get £50!) it's my debit card, my credit card, my driving license, my train ticket, my AA membership etc etc. It's such a pain and I'd really like to get my hands on the piece of scum who got up on Friday morning and decided to make some easy money robbing at the Borough market and shove what's left in my purse where it's going to hurt most. All I can hope for is that they suffered horrible painful injuries when they were run over by a London bus whilst crossing the road, when they were distracted momentarily whilst rummaging through my purse!!!
August 28, 2008
Don't Put Off Until Tomorrow...
Following on from my rather easy target of thirty something things to do in the next year (it's a vague number as I keep adding things as I think of them) I thought there was a touch of irony in the fact that Dave Freeman the man who co wrote the original '100 Things To Do Before You Die' Book has died at just 47.
Even though the success of his book and the birth of the whole 'things to do/see/visit/kill etc genre gave him the means and the freedom to do what he wanted he only managed to get about halfway through his list before he died, thus proving the old adage to be correct...
... cos you never know, tomorrow may never come.
Even though the success of his book and the birth of the whole 'things to do/see/visit/kill etc genre gave him the means and the freedom to do what he wanted he only managed to get about halfway through his list before he died, thus proving the old adage to be correct...
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today
... cos you never know, tomorrow may never come.
August 20, 2008
It's Not Mom's It's Mine!
We have a huge apple tree in out garden which produces many many more apples than we can ever eat/cook with/reach to pick. Most of them went to waste last year as we can't reach to pick any higher than the bottom few branches. The birds and the wasps also make short work of a lot of them while they're still on the tree, so we've never managed to get to too many of them.
We've done better this year than we did the last though and there's a litre of Apple and Sultana Vodka waiting in a cool dark cupboard, which should be ready to taste in about three weeks and one very nice apple cake has been cooked and eaten.
The Perfect Apple Cake Recipe.
8oz of cooking apples (although eating apples from your very own tree work just as well),8oz of sultanas,1/4 pint of milk,6oz of soft brown sugar,12oz of self raising flour,2tsp mixed spice (or just cinnamon is nice),6oz butter,1 medium egg,1oz demerara sugar.
Peel, core and chop the apples into bite sized chunks.
Mix the apples, sultanas and milk together and put to one side.
Cream the butter and the soft brown sugar together, mix in the egg.
Sieve the flour and the spice together into the butter and sugar mixture and mix well.
Add the apples, sultanas and milk to the butter and flour mixture and give it a good stir.
Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top before cooking.
Put it in an 8" cake tin and cook in the oven (electric 160) for about 2 hours until cooked through. It may take a bit longer so towards the end of the cooking time out a knife or skewer in the centre and if it comes out clean it's cooked.
Cool and enjoy.
We've done better this year than we did the last though and there's a litre of Apple and Sultana Vodka waiting in a cool dark cupboard, which should be ready to taste in about three weeks and one very nice apple cake has been cooked and eaten.
The Perfect Apple Cake Recipe.
8oz of cooking apples (although eating apples from your very own tree work just as well),8oz of sultanas,1/4 pint of milk,6oz of soft brown sugar,12oz of self raising flour,2tsp mixed spice (or just cinnamon is nice),6oz butter,1 medium egg,1oz demerara sugar.
Peel, core and chop the apples into bite sized chunks.
Mix the apples, sultanas and milk together and put to one side.
Cream the butter and the soft brown sugar together, mix in the egg.
Sieve the flour and the spice together into the butter and sugar mixture and mix well.
Add the apples, sultanas and milk to the butter and flour mixture and give it a good stir.
Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top before cooking.
Put it in an 8" cake tin and cook in the oven (electric 160) for about 2 hours until cooked through. It may take a bit longer so towards the end of the cooking time out a knife or skewer in the centre and if it comes out clean it's cooked.
Cool and enjoy.
August 08, 2008
August 01, 2008
Days When I Shouldn't Have Got Out Of Bed #1
So - Today!
I bought a new lens for my camera. It arrived Wednesday. Despite the fact that I work from home I've been really good and resisted the urge to play with it instead of working until today. At around 3pm it got the better of me and the raindrops on the window looked to be the ideal opportunity to try out the macro function. So I stuck the lens on the camera and the camera on the tripod. Then I realised it wasn't quite high enough and picked the tripod up to extend the legs. Holding it high in the air above a concrete driveway I pulled the leg to it's full stretch and at the same time I watched the lens and camera fall from the top of the tripod and hit the ground with a resounding smash!!!
Hopefully our insurance will cover it but I'm still really pi*@$d off that I never even got to test the lens before I broke it. the glass is still intact but the mount is hanging off and as for the camera!! Suffice to say that Canon's (or any other brand for that matter) don't play well with concrete!
Then....
Luckily I have some very nice friends, one of which (Thanks Gillian) was willing to lend me her camera so I could take pics at the 'Balloons over Basingstoke' event tonight. So off I go to pick her camera up en route to Basingstoke and then I reverse out of a parking place into another car!!!!
Luckily it was (really) as much her fault as mine and as no damage was done to either car we just chalked it up to a bad day.
Then...
We got to Basingstoke and the wind got up and they decided not to fly the balloons tonight!
I need a drink.
I bought a new lens for my camera. It arrived Wednesday. Despite the fact that I work from home I've been really good and resisted the urge to play with it instead of working until today. At around 3pm it got the better of me and the raindrops on the window looked to be the ideal opportunity to try out the macro function. So I stuck the lens on the camera and the camera on the tripod. Then I realised it wasn't quite high enough and picked the tripod up to extend the legs. Holding it high in the air above a concrete driveway I pulled the leg to it's full stretch and at the same time I watched the lens and camera fall from the top of the tripod and hit the ground with a resounding smash!!!
Hopefully our insurance will cover it but I'm still really pi*@$d off that I never even got to test the lens before I broke it. the glass is still intact but the mount is hanging off and as for the camera!! Suffice to say that Canon's (or any other brand for that matter) don't play well with concrete!
Then....
Luckily I have some very nice friends, one of which (Thanks Gillian) was willing to lend me her camera so I could take pics at the 'Balloons over Basingstoke' event tonight. So off I go to pick her camera up en route to Basingstoke and then I reverse out of a parking place into another car!!!!
Luckily it was (really) as much her fault as mine and as no damage was done to either car we just chalked it up to a bad day.
Then...
We got to Basingstoke and the wind got up and they decided not to fly the balloons tonight!
I need a drink.
June 01, 2008
The List!
I keep talking about 'The List' the hypothetical list of things that I'd like to do. I'm forever mentally adding things to the list then I forget all about them. So I thought I'd actually write it - THE List.
As we're already half way through the year and I can't think too far ahead on a good day I'm counting the start date as 1st June 2008 and the list is going to be made up of things I'd like to achieve/do/experience before 1st June 2009.
(Please note it's now July 2009 and I'm not even half way through so the next deadline in the end of July 2010).
I started off with grand ideas of a list of a 100 things, then when I started to struggle decided maybe 50 was enough but at the end (so far) I can only come up with 36 ideas. However as day to day life and conversations seem to be a wealth of inspiration I reserve the right to add things to the list as I go along, nothing too earth shattering or life changing just some little challenges and a bit of fun. Photographic evidence will be provided wherever possible.
So to start with...
Things To Do In The Next 12 Months.
1. Go up in a hot air balloon.
2. Go to 10 places in the UK that I’ve never been to before
1) Beer in Devon
2) Abbotsbury in Dorset.
3) Bath
4) Belfast
5) Paignton
6) Norfolk
7) Robertsbridge, East Sussex
8) Rye, East Sussex
9) Colchester
10) Northampton
3. leave the country
4. Write a Novel (even if I’m the only one who ever reads it)
5. Send a message in a bottle
6. Make an origami crane
7. learn to play at least one song on the guitar.
8. Bake a Cake
9. Make a t shirt (well a design for one anyway)
10. Make a time capsule and bury it in the garden
11. Give up something for lent
12. Go to the dogs
13. Buy/Blag (and drink of course) A Bottle of Krug champagne.
14. Drink a Vintage Wine
15. Go to the Theatre
16. Go Ice Skating
17. Watch a live Ice Hockey match
18. Ride a motorbike
19. Visit a museum
20. Visit a theme park
21. Do some voluntary work in the community
22. Order something in a restaurant that I’ve never eaten before Guinea Fowl
23. Plant a Tree
24. Make a loaf of bread, from scratch without the aid of a bread making machine
25. Go on a picnic
26. Fly A Kite
27. Visit (and spend the night if possible) a haunted house
28. Visit a zoo
29. Make something crafty, (No CD’s or photographs)
30. Raise money for a charity
31. Watch a movie with subtitles (something I usually avoid, too much concentration needed)
32. Go on a wildlife photography day
33. Celebrate St Davids Day (Including home made Welsh Cakes)
34. Cook a meal from another country
35. Put my name down to rent a beach hut in the UK (On the list for a Beech Hut in Beer in Devon, it's only a 15 year wait!)
36. Get my blog redesigned and make 'Big Fish Little Fish' all grown up.
37. Go to Church
38. Run a race for charity. (Race For Life)
As we're already half way through the year and I can't think too far ahead on a good day I'm counting the start date as 1st June 2008 and the list is going to be made up of things I'd like to achieve/do/experience before 1st June 2009.
(Please note it's now July 2009 and I'm not even half way through so the next deadline in the end of July 2010).
I started off with grand ideas of a list of a 100 things, then when I started to struggle decided maybe 50 was enough but at the end (so far) I can only come up with 36 ideas. However as day to day life and conversations seem to be a wealth of inspiration I reserve the right to add things to the list as I go along, nothing too earth shattering or life changing just some little challenges and a bit of fun. Photographic evidence will be provided wherever possible.
So to start with...
Things To Do In The Next 12 Months.
1. Go up in a hot air balloon.
2. Go to 10 places in the UK that I’ve never been to before
1) Beer in Devon
2) Abbotsbury in Dorset.
3) Bath
4) Belfast
5) Paignton
6) Norfolk
7) Robertsbridge, East Sussex
8) Rye, East Sussex
9) Colchester
10) Northampton
3. leave the country
4. Write a Novel (even if I’m the only one who ever reads it)
5. Send a message in a bottle
6. Make an origami crane
7. learn to play at least one song on the guitar.
8. Bake a Cake
9. Make a t shirt (well a design for one anyway)
10. Make a time capsule and bury it in the garden
11. Give up something for lent
12. Go to the dogs
13. Buy/Blag (and drink of course) A Bottle of Krug champagne.
14. Drink a Vintage Wine
15. Go to the Theatre
16. Go Ice Skating
17. Watch a live Ice Hockey match
18. Ride a motorbike
19. Visit a museum
20. Visit a theme park
21. Do some voluntary work in the community
22. Order something in a restaurant that I’ve never eaten before Guinea Fowl
23. Plant a Tree
24. Make a loaf of bread, from scratch without the aid of a bread making machine
25. Go on a picnic
26. Fly A Kite
27. Visit (and spend the night if possible) a haunted house
28. Visit a zoo
29. Make something crafty, (No CD’s or photographs)
30. Raise money for a charity
31. Watch a movie with subtitles (something I usually avoid, too much concentration needed)
32. Go on a wildlife photography day
33. Celebrate St Davids Day (Including home made Welsh Cakes)
34. Cook a meal from another country
35. Put my name down to rent a beach hut in the UK (On the list for a Beech Hut in Beer in Devon, it's only a 15 year wait!)
36. Get my blog redesigned and make 'Big Fish Little Fish' all grown up.
37. Go to Church
38. Run a race for charity. (Race For Life)
May 30, 2008
Feed Me
Down in sleepy little South Warnborough (a village so small you don't have time to blink before you miss it) there is a fantastic little village shop. It's a real old traditional style village shop which sells all manner of long forgotten treats like Wagon Wheels. It has exotic Olive Oils in big containers on the shelf that they sell by the refillable bottle, they have fresh farm produce and the most delicious fresh cream gateaux and just in case that wasn't enough to tempt you on Friday nights the traditional cream tea and bacon and eggs cafe that takes up half the shop does a very nice side line in Fish and Chips.
Now the idea of a local Chippy will no doubt make most people shrug and say "so what!" but round here it's a big deal. Planning permission for a Chippy in Odiham has been turned down several times because the powers that be are concerned that it might encourage the local youths to congregate around the chip shop at night and cause disruption in the village! Pathetic! So when the next village down the road opened a Friday night Chippy it was met much approval and I have to admit that Fish on a Friday has become a bit of a regular thing.
So if you owned a cafe come Chippy I ask you, would you have a rather large talking Penguin litter bin outside your shop? Yes, I did say talking! It freaked me out the first time it spoke as I walked past, and who wouldn't be a little jumpy if a large Plastic Penguin suddenly started to speak to you? If that's not enough it stands outside the Cafe/Chippy saying things like "I love it when you feed me trash"! Is the thought of eating trash what you'd want to be on people's minds as they walked into your cafe?
It doesn't seem to have affected business though, they are always busy and I have to say they do a mighty fine Fish and Chips. My only complaint, which is a really teeny one, is that their idea of a small portion and mine are two very different things. If you want a bumper bag of Fish and Chips give it a go. So far I've never managed to finish a whole 'small' portion we're getting very close to ordering one to share but then that just seems tight!
So if you ever feel the need for a chat with a Penguin you know where to go.
May 05, 2008
New Boots.
I've never quite understood the way shops, in particular sports shops and outdoor clothing shops size up their footwear. Not that I'm complaining, as someone who is one of the sizes that seems to cross over from Children's to adult sizes it saves me a fortune whenever I want to buy trainers or walking boots, like I did today. So I found a pair that I liked in the womens range in Blacks and the womens range went from size 5 upwards. So I'm a size 5 and they would have cost me £59.99 in the womens range. Then I see exactly the same pair in the children's range which went from a size 10 to a size 6 but only cost £24.99.
The shop assistant didn't look too pleased when having picked up the kids pair that was on display and asked him if they had it in a 5 I sat down and tried them on! They're a perfect fit and £35 cheaper than the adult version. Surely everyone who can fit into the upper end of the kids sizes would do the same? He tried to convince me that not so much care was taken in the manufacture of children's sizes are is in the adults versions but I've never found a problem with quality before and I've been buying kids trainers for a long time now. All in all a bargain!
The shop assistant didn't look too pleased when having picked up the kids pair that was on display and asked him if they had it in a 5 I sat down and tried them on! They're a perfect fit and £35 cheaper than the adult version. Surely everyone who can fit into the upper end of the kids sizes would do the same? He tried to convince me that not so much care was taken in the manufacture of children's sizes are is in the adults versions but I've never found a problem with quality before and I've been buying kids trainers for a long time now. All in all a bargain!
May 04, 2008
May 01, 2008
flickr Monthly Scavenger Hunt - May 2008
As I haven't tried one of these for ages, and I've never finished one yet I thought I'd have a go at the flickr scavenger hunt again this month.
Here's the list...
Official May 2008 Scavenger List
1. yellow swing
2. dust
3. garden tools
4. mountain
5. ice cold glass of milk
6. trail mix
7. garden gnome
8. headache
9. heavy fog
10. scared
11. fork
12. bird
13. fruity flavour
14. station
15. an unlikely duo
16. roadside stand
17. traditional
18. farmer
19. flattened
20. now, that was refreshing!!
I'll link them to the pics as I find them, there could be a few in the archives for this month! Although I'm not sure where I'm going to find a yellow swing!
Here's the list...
Official May 2008 Scavenger List
1. yellow swing
2. dust
3. garden tools
4. mountain
5. ice cold glass of milk
6. trail mix
7. garden gnome
8. headache
9. heavy fog
10. scared
11. fork
12. bird
13. fruity flavour
14. station
15. an unlikely duo
16. roadside stand
17. traditional
18. farmer
19. flattened
20. now, that was refreshing!!
I'll link them to the pics as I find them, there could be a few in the archives for this month! Although I'm not sure where I'm going to find a yellow swing!
April 16, 2008
Surreal Conversations With The Postman!
You just know it's going to be a difficult day when the Postman knocks on your door in the morning and interrupts your raging hangover by asking you if you know any Ghost Hunters!
April 03, 2008
How Today Feels
I was offered a fantastic new job today, it's been worth the wait. There are a few i's to dot and t's to cross still but I can't wait to start.
March 06, 2008
It's Been Fun But...
In February 2008 Polaroid ceased production of it's instant film in favour of digital technology, so when the film that's currently in it runs out our Polaroid will probably be relegated to the realms of decoration. So in tribute to the many Polaroid Instant cameras still out there...
March 04, 2008
2008
Just thought I'd better say hello to 2008 as I'm a little lacking in inspiration this year!
So... Hello 2008, brb.
So... Hello 2008, brb.
December 29, 2007
Frensham Ponds
To celebrate my first Saturday off in over five years that I didn’t have to ask for or arrange around other people we decided that we needed to do something! Nothing too adventurous just a bit of a walk with the cameras and some fresh air and having driven past it several times but never stopped to look we decided to have a walk around Frensham Great Pond in Surrey.
Frensham Ponds consists of roughly 1000 acres of attractive countryside. It’s midway between Farnham and Hindhead on either side of the A287. The site is owned by the National Trust, but most of the land is managed by Waverley Borough Council. The Common comprises a large area of heathland, together with some coniferous and mixed woodland, and two large ponds, known as Frensham Great and Little Ponds, which were built in the Middle Ages to provide fish for the Bishop of Winchester's estate.
The common was once important to local communities as a source of fuel and other materials, and as rough grazing for their livestock. These days the site is valued for recreation and nature conservation and it's many miles of footpaths and bridleways on which to explore the Common. The common supports a wealth of wildlife. Species found on the heath include sand lizard, smooth snake, woodlark, Dartford Warbler and nightjar. The ponds also attract rare visitors such as the osprey, especially during spring and autumn although we didn’t come across any on our walk this time.
Originally we were just going to walk a little way around it then head off for the obligatory visit to a pub on the way home but once we started we just carried on and ended up walking all the way round, as someone who's not usually a fan of walking too far I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed walking the full two miles around the circumference of the pond.
It’s a great place for a walk with a camera (although Matt probably would have had better results if he’d put the memory card in his camera, I did share mine for a little while though!) I got a little obsessed with the rushes that grew all around the pond and needless to say I was in my element when we found the ducks and spent quite a while shooting off countless photo’s of them and a Swan that got a little too close for comfort (lovely birds but I’m very wary of them, especially when they get out of the water and start heading towards you!)
It was a lovely afternoon and I’d recommend a visit if you fancy a walk, or in warmer weather a picnic and maybe even a swim if you’re feeling brave and it was a great way of kick starting my plans to spend my new found weekends doing something a lot more fun than sitting in front of the television and/or drinking too much.
New Job.
So.. I’m three days into my adventure back to the real world of full time employment! It feels very strange but also a little exciting.
After the collapse of Postal Gifts and Number 81 I wandered into the local Wine Rack as a stopgap while I decided what to do with the rest of my life and it’s taken me eighteen months to finally leave. I still haven’t decided what I want to do with the rest of my life mind you!
Just before Christmas (23/12 to be exact) I finally did my last ever late night at Threshers and at nine o’clock in the morning on 24/12 I started as a temp with Getronics on their IT helpdesk (the blind leading the partially sighted springs to mind!)
I’ve been looking for a new career for a month or so now but it seems that either the job description leaves me cold or I don’t have all the skills I need when something has grabbed me. I set myself the goal of getting out of Threshers before Christmas and rather than jump at the first thing that came along temping whilst still looking seemed the sensible option.
So here I am temping! I have to get up in the mornings again! I have a commute, traffic jams, parking problems, travel costs, a no smoking office, a dire need for a new ‘business’ wardrobe and a whole new load of stuff to learn and it’s great, it finally feels like my brain has come back to life.
So for the foreseeable future at least I’m on the twelfth floor of the Barclays building in Basingstoke every day, having to remember my electronic pass to get through the doors and, for the time being at least, spending my day wearing a very uncomfortable headset (I think I need bigger ears) listening to someone resetting passwords and solving email problems while I try to get my head around how to do it all on my own. But I finish at 5.30 and I don’t have to work weekends anymore! Not to mention the fact that my wages have just trebled (Wine Rack wages are nothing to aspire to believe me!) and I’m looking forward to a few more new challenges in 2008.
After the collapse of Postal Gifts and Number 81 I wandered into the local Wine Rack as a stopgap while I decided what to do with the rest of my life and it’s taken me eighteen months to finally leave. I still haven’t decided what I want to do with the rest of my life mind you!
Just before Christmas (23/12 to be exact) I finally did my last ever late night at Threshers and at nine o’clock in the morning on 24/12 I started as a temp with Getronics on their IT helpdesk (the blind leading the partially sighted springs to mind!)
I’ve been looking for a new career for a month or so now but it seems that either the job description leaves me cold or I don’t have all the skills I need when something has grabbed me. I set myself the goal of getting out of Threshers before Christmas and rather than jump at the first thing that came along temping whilst still looking seemed the sensible option.
So here I am temping! I have to get up in the mornings again! I have a commute, traffic jams, parking problems, travel costs, a no smoking office, a dire need for a new ‘business’ wardrobe and a whole new load of stuff to learn and it’s great, it finally feels like my brain has come back to life.
So for the foreseeable future at least I’m on the twelfth floor of the Barclays building in Basingstoke every day, having to remember my electronic pass to get through the doors and, for the time being at least, spending my day wearing a very uncomfortable headset (I think I need bigger ears) listening to someone resetting passwords and solving email problems while I try to get my head around how to do it all on my own. But I finish at 5.30 and I don’t have to work weekends anymore! Not to mention the fact that my wages have just trebled (Wine Rack wages are nothing to aspire to believe me!) and I’m looking forward to a few more new challenges in 2008.
December 08, 2007
November 23, 2007
New Career?
I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much but I think I may have found the perfect job. It's an industry that I love, a good basic, and commission, flexitime (handy when you're as crap in the morning as I am) and something that's going to fire up my brain again and get me back in the real world. I had the first interview today, which went well, the second is scheduled for Monday and then the third, and hopefully final is up to me - wish me luck :)
Well, I didn't get it :( lucky there's a plan B so watch this space. And it's a good excuse for drinking more bubbly :)
Well, I didn't get it :( lucky there's a plan B so watch this space. And it's a good excuse for drinking more bubbly :)
November 20, 2007
Snoring!
I had to smile tonight when I posted a few bits in need of a new home on freecycle including three unused pairs of earplugs that have been floating around my dressing table for eternity.
I got them as freebies from my days of selling for Bike Trader so I was expecting requests from bikers eager to save their hearing, but no, they've all been snapped up by women with husbands who snore!
I can understand it. I have to say it's one of those things that would eventually become a deal-breaker in a relationship for me. As a light sleeper the idea of spending a night with a man who snores incessantly is my idea of hell. Fortunately Matt only snores when he's had too many Ciders (and as I'm guilty of the same after too many glasses of wine I can hardly complain) or when he lies on his back (ditto) and generally some well aimed fidgeting or a gentle (cough) poke in the ribs usually puts an end to it but I can't imagine anything much worse than a loud non stop snore next to you night in night out.
So, ladies, they're on their way to you with my best wishes and if it helps to promote a little extra marital harmony I shall consider it Karma points well earned.
I got them as freebies from my days of selling for Bike Trader so I was expecting requests from bikers eager to save their hearing, but no, they've all been snapped up by women with husbands who snore!
I can understand it. I have to say it's one of those things that would eventually become a deal-breaker in a relationship for me. As a light sleeper the idea of spending a night with a man who snores incessantly is my idea of hell. Fortunately Matt only snores when he's had too many Ciders (and as I'm guilty of the same after too many glasses of wine I can hardly complain) or when he lies on his back (ditto) and generally some well aimed fidgeting or a gentle (cough) poke in the ribs usually puts an end to it but I can't imagine anything much worse than a loud non stop snore next to you night in night out.
So, ladies, they're on their way to you with my best wishes and if it helps to promote a little extra marital harmony I shall consider it Karma points well earned.
October 09, 2007
Psychometric Blogs?
So, having got to the stage where I seriously need to find a new job I got to thinking - what would my potential new employers think about me if they read my blog?
I think I’d be ok. There’s no real deviancy or debauchery to concern them, there’s the occasional glimpse of wit and once in a while something worth reading but at the end of the day I do it for me, not to use as a CV. Which got me onto another train of thought – why not? After all, decisions are made on the basis of psychometric tests so why not Blogs? What clearer indication is there of what’s really going on in someone’s mind than the contents of their blog?
Take for instance, a friend of mine who has been doing the job that she wants for three months now but she’s not allowed to actually have the job title (and salary) that goes with it until she can pass the company psychometric test, which she’s already failed, and to make matters worse she has to wait three months to retake it! Ask her to write a blog for three months, it’s gotta be easier.
So I think there should be a new line on application forms, one asking for the URL of your blog, and if you haven’t got one make one. If I ever get to the stage where I’m making hiring and firing decisions again it’s going to be the first thing I look at.
I think I’d be ok. There’s no real deviancy or debauchery to concern them, there’s the occasional glimpse of wit and once in a while something worth reading but at the end of the day I do it for me, not to use as a CV. Which got me onto another train of thought – why not? After all, decisions are made on the basis of psychometric tests so why not Blogs? What clearer indication is there of what’s really going on in someone’s mind than the contents of their blog?
Take for instance, a friend of mine who has been doing the job that she wants for three months now but she’s not allowed to actually have the job title (and salary) that goes with it until she can pass the company psychometric test, which she’s already failed, and to make matters worse she has to wait three months to retake it! Ask her to write a blog for three months, it’s gotta be easier.
So I think there should be a new line on application forms, one asking for the URL of your blog, and if you haven’t got one make one. If I ever get to the stage where I’m making hiring and firing decisions again it’s going to be the first thing I look at.
September 23, 2007
The Strange World Of Boot Sales
The Sunday before last we embarked on a journey into the unknown! As part of the ongoing attempt to declutter my life (and make a little extra cash) Matt and I did our first boot sale.
We were up at stupid o’clock on a Sunday morning with the boot of the car duly loaded with tables and a couple of very uncomfortable stools, cash tin and several boxes of tat and made our way to the ‘Huge Car Boot Sale’ in Alton.
We didn’t really know what to expect although I had had a little advice from two veteran bootsalers that I know. Apparently we were mugged as soon as we arrived. Not in the hoodie, 'give me your mobile phone' sort of way of course. But before we could even get the car unloaded we were surrounded by eager buyers. Apparently the ‘professionals’ get there early and go on a bargain hunt. The first guy was only interested in records (although he did also invest in a large smiley face clock that I had) and bought 21 of my old 7” singles for the bargain price of a tenner. He was followed immediately by two people who had both swooped on my old collection of Whimsies which were snatched up for Twenty quid between them, so not a bad start to the day, even if the pace didn’t stay quite so hectic for the rest of the morning.
There was a strange collection of absolute junk on offer with one or two treasures if you look hard enough. We gave ourselves a budget of £5 each for a little shopping and took it in turns to have a look around and came back with a tripod, in full working order, a Polaroid camera complete with film, a garden tool (a sort of cross between a rake and a spade), a Darth Vader money box and a Darth Vader desktop mobile phone holder (not so sure about the last one!). There was also a little underhand dealing in TY bears along the way but I won’t go into that.
So I reckon that so far I’m about even on getting rid of clutter vs. gaining more but didn’t have a bad day, well worth the early start. So much so that we’re going to do it again this weekend. I wonder if that Skateboard will still be there….
September 04, 2007
London
It’s a strange place. I lived there for over fifteen years and when I was there I really couldn’t imagine ever living anywhere else. I loved it, grime, smog, indifference, anonymity, congestion, overcrowding, crime, the whole scene, at the end of the day I still believed, and still do, that it’s the greatest city in the world.
I moved out just over four years ago now and ended up more by accident than good judgement in a sleepy little village in North Hampshire where the pace of life is so different there’s no comparison.
As I drove up the A3 today, past all of my old haunts, and the landmarks that were part of my life for so long – The Tollworth Towers, a regular mention on the flying eye on the morning commute, dodging the numerous speed camera’s along the way then through Clapham, Stockwell and finally onto the Elephant and Castle, which to my disappointment is no longer pink. Passing old homes and old employers along the way I felt an overwhelming rush of nostalgia and started to seriously question why I ever gave in to the idea of leaving.
Then I realise it took me forty minutes to get to London and two and a half hours to drive fifteen miles into it (the tubes were on strike today and I really couldn’t face hauling the files that I needed for my meeting around with me on an overcrowded bus). I was hot, thirsty and quite frankly out of practise with traffic jams. I listened as faceless people honked their horns blindly in the vain hope that they might get a little further a little quicker and I drove at a pace slower than I could walk! I also had the pleasure of paying £8 congestion charge for having to leave at any of the exits on the Elephant and Castle roundabout (all roads lead to a big red C)
By the time I finally got back onto the A3 and waved goodbye to the City all I could think about was getting home again, back to the nice, quiet, green life that is Odiham.
Do I still miss London? Yes. It’s always going to be a big part of me. I absolutely loved my time there. Would I move back? No. Sometimes the past is best left as a fond memory that you can look back on and smile, but the present is what matters and the future – well who knows?
I moved out just over four years ago now and ended up more by accident than good judgement in a sleepy little village in North Hampshire where the pace of life is so different there’s no comparison.
As I drove up the A3 today, past all of my old haunts, and the landmarks that were part of my life for so long – The Tollworth Towers, a regular mention on the flying eye on the morning commute, dodging the numerous speed camera’s along the way then through Clapham, Stockwell and finally onto the Elephant and Castle, which to my disappointment is no longer pink. Passing old homes and old employers along the way I felt an overwhelming rush of nostalgia and started to seriously question why I ever gave in to the idea of leaving.
Then I realise it took me forty minutes to get to London and two and a half hours to drive fifteen miles into it (the tubes were on strike today and I really couldn’t face hauling the files that I needed for my meeting around with me on an overcrowded bus). I was hot, thirsty and quite frankly out of practise with traffic jams. I listened as faceless people honked their horns blindly in the vain hope that they might get a little further a little quicker and I drove at a pace slower than I could walk! I also had the pleasure of paying £8 congestion charge for having to leave at any of the exits on the Elephant and Castle roundabout (all roads lead to a big red C)
By the time I finally got back onto the A3 and waved goodbye to the City all I could think about was getting home again, back to the nice, quiet, green life that is Odiham.
Do I still miss London? Yes. It’s always going to be a big part of me. I absolutely loved my time there. Would I move back? No. Sometimes the past is best left as a fond memory that you can look back on and smile, but the present is what matters and the future – well who knows?
August 31, 2007
Camera Porn!
UPDATE
Thanks to a really helpful company that I found on the net - Retro Photographic I now have two (out of date) films for my Kodak Duaflex. Even if the films are a little out of date and the photo's don't turn out at least I've got the spools now so I can use 120 film in it in the future. What's more I've just had another look at their website and noticed that they've just started stocking Black and White 127 film so it looks like the Brownies going to get a go after all. I've just finished the first film on the Duaflex so I'm looking forward to seeing what comes back when it's developed.
So, my latest acquisition from freecycle was a load of old. really cool cameras. I was really looking forward to running a film off on each but it would appear that's not as easy as I first thought!
The Agfa Isolette II, which is by far the most complicated of the three is the only one I've managed to get a film for, all I need to do now is work out how to load it, use it and unload it! the Brownie 127 would appear to be a lost cause as no one makes the film anymore and even Tony the nice man at Longworth Photographic in Farnborough (who by the way has THE coolest collection of old cameras in his shop) couldn't suggest a soloution for. But the Kodak Duaflex is usable it might just need a bit of work/expense because even though no one makes 620 film anymore 120 film will work, I just need to spool it in a dark room/bag.
I've had lots of helpful suggestions to alternatives to a dark bag including trousers and a hoodie but I might just blow £20 on a bag and make life easier (although I have advertised wanting one on freecycle - you never know!)
Either way I still love them, there's something really nice about the nostalgia of old camera's. Each one of these is probably over 50 years old and have obviously been lovingly cared for. And no matter how advanced we get with the digital age the smell of bromide still tales me back to school days, and there's still more skill needed to get a good pic out of these. Am I up to it? Who knows? Watch this space :)
Thanks to a really helpful company that I found on the net - Retro Photographic I now have two (out of date) films for my Kodak Duaflex. Even if the films are a little out of date and the photo's don't turn out at least I've got the spools now so I can use 120 film in it in the future. What's more I've just had another look at their website and noticed that they've just started stocking Black and White 127 film so it looks like the Brownies going to get a go after all. I've just finished the first film on the Duaflex so I'm looking forward to seeing what comes back when it's developed.
So, my latest acquisition from freecycle was a load of old. really cool cameras. I was really looking forward to running a film off on each but it would appear that's not as easy as I first thought!
The Agfa Isolette II, which is by far the most complicated of the three is the only one I've managed to get a film for, all I need to do now is work out how to load it, use it and unload it! the Brownie 127 would appear to be a lost cause as no one makes the film anymore and even Tony the nice man at Longworth Photographic in Farnborough (who by the way has THE coolest collection of old cameras in his shop) couldn't suggest a soloution for. But the Kodak Duaflex is usable it might just need a bit of work/expense because even though no one makes 620 film anymore 120 film will work, I just need to spool it in a dark room/bag.
I've had lots of helpful suggestions to alternatives to a dark bag including trousers and a hoodie but I might just blow £20 on a bag and make life easier (although I have advertised wanting one on freecycle - you never know!)
Either way I still love them, there's something really nice about the nostalgia of old camera's. Each one of these is probably over 50 years old and have obviously been lovingly cared for. And no matter how advanced we get with the digital age the smell of bromide still tales me back to school days, and there's still more skill needed to get a good pic out of these. Am I up to it? Who knows? Watch this space :)
August 23, 2007
August 19, 2007
M.I.A
Update
Well he's back! He wandered through the cat flap at about 11.30pm on the tenth day since we saw him last, we really have no idea where he could have been. One things for sure he hasn't gone ten days without food and water and apart from a scratch on his head he seems no worse for wear. Either someones been feeding him or he's been on a mammoth hunting spree!
We've had problems with what we think is a stray male cat, still intact if you get my drift who has not only been bullying Smodge but is hanging around our neighbours flat showing more than a passing interest in their two female kittens who are currently on heat. After a bloody encounter tonight (please note the blood was all mine) I have officially declared war on him. I am determined to catch the little s*@t and take him to the vets to check for a microchip. If he's chipped and we can trace an owner he'll be taken home with a strong recommendation that he be neutered. If not there's a very nice lady called Shirley in Basingstoke who will take in waifs and strays and find them a loving new home. The new kid has got to go, he's making all the local cat's lives miserable!
As for Smodge and his adventures there's only one thing left to do and that's to take a leaf out of Mr Lee's book and treat him (?) to a cat cam. Assuming we can find a Smodge proof collar. I'm determined to find out where he goes, and it works for Mr Lee :)
So we’ve pounded the streets, called his name till we’re hoarse, called the vet, called identichip, even called environmental health (the worse call to ever make – they pick up the pieces, if you know what I mean) and plastered the local area with missing posters but Smodge still seems to have managed to disappear. I really don’t know what to do next.
It’s been ten days now since we last saw him, and I feel awful, not just because I’m worried sick about him and what might have happened to him but because the last time I saw him was at 4.30 in the morning when I unceremoniously removed him from our bedroom door where he was scratching and howling to come in. I shut the door to the bedrooms so that his only option was to sleep in the living room or go out – he chose the latter and we haven’t seen him since, and do I feel bad or what!
I’m clinging to the hope that somewhere in our tiny little village someone else has decided that he must be a stray and have decided to keep him and he’s being fed and looked after but just not let out for now because I’m certain that no matter how pissed off he was about not being able to sleep on our bed he would have come home if he could, the alternatives don’t really bear thinking about and I refuse to give up hope – yet! Although he’s clearly not a stray and he’s micro chipped so it’s not hard to find out if he has a home or not, and little old lady or not if I ever find out that someone has been feeding him and trying to keep him they better be prepared for some serious grief. Anyone who’s ever shared their home with a cat knows not to feed someone else’s cat, they’re fickle at best and given the choice of someone who let’s them sleep on the bed and feeds them nicer food and someone who feeds them healthy food and relegates them to the spare room at night (he’s got his own room for god’s sake, he’s hardly deprived!) they’ll go where they get the best treats.
We’ve had a few phone calls in response to the posters I’ve put up, unsurprisingly there seems to be an abundance of black and white cats in the area, (no surprise there) but so far none of them have been our boy so we’re no nearer to knowing where he’s gone. I’m going to start knocking on doors tomorrow, even if I have to knock on every door in the village, I can’t believe that someone doesn’t know where he is. Although the thought that he may have got himself locked in somewhere isn’t good, if so he’s had nine days without food or water and I’d rather not think about that right now.
He disappeared for three days a while ago and came back like he’d never been away and so many people keep telling me tales of how they have lost cats for weeks, months even and then had them return there’s still a bit of hope so all we can do is keep our fingers crossed that he comes back safe and sound.
Well he's back! He wandered through the cat flap at about 11.30pm on the tenth day since we saw him last, we really have no idea where he could have been. One things for sure he hasn't gone ten days without food and water and apart from a scratch on his head he seems no worse for wear. Either someones been feeding him or he's been on a mammoth hunting spree!
We've had problems with what we think is a stray male cat, still intact if you get my drift who has not only been bullying Smodge but is hanging around our neighbours flat showing more than a passing interest in their two female kittens who are currently on heat. After a bloody encounter tonight (please note the blood was all mine) I have officially declared war on him. I am determined to catch the little s*@t and take him to the vets to check for a microchip. If he's chipped and we can trace an owner he'll be taken home with a strong recommendation that he be neutered. If not there's a very nice lady called Shirley in Basingstoke who will take in waifs and strays and find them a loving new home. The new kid has got to go, he's making all the local cat's lives miserable!
As for Smodge and his adventures there's only one thing left to do and that's to take a leaf out of Mr Lee's book and treat him (?) to a cat cam. Assuming we can find a Smodge proof collar. I'm determined to find out where he goes, and it works for Mr Lee :)
So we’ve pounded the streets, called his name till we’re hoarse, called the vet, called identichip, even called environmental health (the worse call to ever make – they pick up the pieces, if you know what I mean) and plastered the local area with missing posters but Smodge still seems to have managed to disappear. I really don’t know what to do next.
It’s been ten days now since we last saw him, and I feel awful, not just because I’m worried sick about him and what might have happened to him but because the last time I saw him was at 4.30 in the morning when I unceremoniously removed him from our bedroom door where he was scratching and howling to come in. I shut the door to the bedrooms so that his only option was to sleep in the living room or go out – he chose the latter and we haven’t seen him since, and do I feel bad or what!
I’m clinging to the hope that somewhere in our tiny little village someone else has decided that he must be a stray and have decided to keep him and he’s being fed and looked after but just not let out for now because I’m certain that no matter how pissed off he was about not being able to sleep on our bed he would have come home if he could, the alternatives don’t really bear thinking about and I refuse to give up hope – yet! Although he’s clearly not a stray and he’s micro chipped so it’s not hard to find out if he has a home or not, and little old lady or not if I ever find out that someone has been feeding him and trying to keep him they better be prepared for some serious grief. Anyone who’s ever shared their home with a cat knows not to feed someone else’s cat, they’re fickle at best and given the choice of someone who let’s them sleep on the bed and feeds them nicer food and someone who feeds them healthy food and relegates them to the spare room at night (he’s got his own room for god’s sake, he’s hardly deprived!) they’ll go where they get the best treats.
We’ve had a few phone calls in response to the posters I’ve put up, unsurprisingly there seems to be an abundance of black and white cats in the area, (no surprise there) but so far none of them have been our boy so we’re no nearer to knowing where he’s gone. I’m going to start knocking on doors tomorrow, even if I have to knock on every door in the village, I can’t believe that someone doesn’t know where he is. Although the thought that he may have got himself locked in somewhere isn’t good, if so he’s had nine days without food or water and I’d rather not think about that right now.
He disappeared for three days a while ago and came back like he’d never been away and so many people keep telling me tales of how they have lost cats for weeks, months even and then had them return there’s still a bit of hope so all we can do is keep our fingers crossed that he comes back safe and sound.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
