A Little More Harmony...

The car sailed through its MOT this morning needing only a new tyre and that, coupled with the half price test fee, would seem to be a lucky escape so I think it's time for a cheery post.

Last October I posted a couple of YouTube clips on here to demonstrate some excellent examples of acapella singing and to be fair, I thought they would take some beating.

Well take a little listen to this. Sure the song itself (Africa, originally by Toto) is impressive enough, but get a load of the way they introduce it...

Death by tray...

No news on the job front and none really expected this early in the proceedings. Lots of uncomfortable shuffling in-house and no shortage of inaccurate reporting via the press, but no, nothing to report yet.

Oh, except my CV. That was my quest for this weekend, I've updated the CV to bring it up to date and to try and make it a tad more appealing than the other 2 million or so I'm going to be in competition with in a few months time.

Anyway on to far less serious matters. Take a look at this video I found tucked amongst my YouTube recommendations - I think it's hilarious . Perhaps its just that I find most material by Eddie Izzard hilarious. Perhaps its because I've decided to pour copious quantities of Jack Daniels down my neck this evening. I guess I will know for sure when I look at this again tomorrow. Of course if I then decide it isn't funny and I delete it before you have seen it, then you may never be any the wiser. Anyway, take a look...

What you talkin' about...

I was in a bit of an odd mood yesterday evening and looking back now, I can see that my previous post was maybe a bit cryptic! So what is actually going on?

UK employment law states that you cannot make more than 100 people redundant without entering a consultation period of 90 days, essentially to ensure that the best options for all parties have been considered.

Technically it is only a "proposal" from those on high that we cease production in the UK and transfer the work to our other plants but realistically, I can't see why it won't be followed through.

Being pragmatic about it, I'm trying to see this as a fantastic personal opportunity as they have now forced me into doing something I should have pursued further a long time ago. For too long now I have really enjoyed my job and working with many of my colleagues there, but found it challenging to respect the organisation I've been doing it for.

As it turned out, my instinct wasn't far wrong but there is no place for self pity when you are one of around 200 people in the same position, many of whom are probably wondering how they are going to support their families and keep a roof over their heads.

Sure, its going to be tough looking for new employment in the current climate and especially coming from an industry which is quite unique in its nature. Personally, I have been fortunate to have gained a variety of experience during my time there and will be trying to pitch the various aspects of that to anyone locally who is remotely interested.

I can't go into too much detail as while I retain some level of anonymity on here, I can speak freely about how I'm really feeling about things and added to which, my current contract specifically restricts discussions on personal blogs about company matters.

So I'll keep the blog updated as this forthcoming adventure unfolds, but maybe not always at such a ridiculous hour of the morning...

Always look for a positive...

Well today has been an interesting day at the office.

Suffice to say that when the management team are suddenly summoned to the boardroom at short notice, it's seldom to tell us anything particularly pleasant.

Then an hour or so later after the site briefing when you are all handed a letter that contains the phrase "consultation period", it is seldom bearing encouraging news.

I'm increasingly inclined to agree with Little Sis that these things usually happen for a reason. The reason in this case is that I've spent the last 14 years of my life working for a bunch of...

No, that would be unfair as it's only in recent years that things appear to have taken a bizarre direction and gone pear shaped, not solely down to reasons of global recession.

Still, many of us have said that perhaps its the kick up the backside many of us needed to start making some serious decisions about our future. I'll settle for that as a positive right now while I try and figure how what the hell to do next...

A Quick Plug...

What a brilliant idea this is...

Nothing Succeeds Like Excess...

You can't beat an opportunity to help friends celebrate something really special, even more so when they go to the extent that Andy and Sharon did this weekend for their wedding.

I'm not going to post a minute-by-minute account of the weekend's activities, but I doubt that any of the 90 or so guests involved would have any cause for complaint whatsoever.

The actual ceremony had everything you could asked for, from the beautiful bride to a sincere but light hearted service from the local vicar. For those who like to keep track of that sort of thing, the bride entered the church to "Heaven" and they left to "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" both sung by Bryan Adams with yours truly at the controls. OK, CD player.

There were mountains of food throughout from the generously stacked barbies on Thursday and Saturday to the heavily laden tables with all manner of things sweet and savoury to make sure that everyone had their fill throughout the afternoon and evening receptions. All skilfully co-ordinated by our friend and chef Dave.

You are possibly familiar with the phrase "enough booze to sink a battleship" but I think I may have actually set eyes on such an amount this weekend. In the marquee erected behind the holiday cottages were drinks of every conceivable description. Countless bottles of real ales, a paddling pool full of cold water and cans of beer, cases of bottles of red, white and rose wine and bottles of every spirit you were likely to look for. And yet with all of this free alcohol available, it was reassuring to see that nobody seemed to be abusing the situation. Sure, I guess all of us drank more than we know was probably good for us but we still left plenty behind this morning.

Yesterday afternoon we took a couple of the cars out for a scenic drive around Derbyshire on our way to Bakewell (you've got to love sat nav eh?!) and I'd forgotten what a charming little town Bakewell is. From the stone buildings which are quite commonplace throughout the area, to the trout in the river Wye being admired by the passers-by and of course we couldn't leave without stopping off for a quick cuppa and a Bakewell Pudding (not to be confused with Bakewell tart).

So there you have it, three days of total excess and excellent company in some absolutely beautiful surroundings. I highly recommend that you discover the area for yourself and you can book one of their holiday cottages here, but I would respectfully ask though that you don't hassle them expecting any of the free booze and food that we've just enjoyed...

Movie Subtitle Mistakes...

I know that Twitter has been taking a bit of flack in that many people, celebrity or otherwise, are using it to share every boring minute detail of their day to day lives.

Sure there is an element of that sometimes, but you always get to choose who you "follow" and you can easily "unfollow" people who are guilty of that. With a bit of effort though it can really bring out the imagination and talent of some people and this last week has been an interesting one.

On Monday night, they hosted a live comedy gig with comedians (unsurprisingly) invited to tweet a set each with material in chunks of 140 characters at a time. It went fairly well given that it was really quite experimental, but I'm sure they will get even better as they organise some more. The full transcript if you're interested is here.

This weekend, twitterers were invited to join in a game of movie subtitle mistakes by being a bit mischievous with photo editing software and there were some hilarious results. My contribution was from Goodfellas, which I didn't think was too bad until I saw the sort of talent I was up against. My personal favourites were from Superman, First Blood, Silence of the Lambs, Fight Club, Airplane, Snow White, Gone With The Wind and the one that went on to win, Sixth Sense, but if you want to see them all, follow the Twitpic links from this page.

I accept that Facebook is maybe more easily accessible, but I've never known it as entertaining as that...

Pause for thought...

Reading Delcattos blog this morning, I was reminded of a story I heard on Radio 2's "Pause for Thought" a few weeks ago and decided perhaps it was worth sharing with you all.

A Buddhist student had travelled far and wide in search of a wise old teacher and after many days of travelling through treacherous conditions, he finally spotted him on the other side of a wide, fast flowing river.

He glanced up and down the river bank and with no apparent crossing place, he became frustrated that the end of his journey was so tantalisingly close, but unattainable. He called across to the teacher, explaining about his long journey and asked how he could cross to the other side.

The wise old man looked up and down the river, paused, then eventually replied "but you are already on the other side"

Don't get me wrong, it's not my intention to preach to anyone, the sentiment behind the story applies to me as much as anyone here...

Calling all the heroes...

No apologies, you know the drill by now. I've just got back from the blood donors and once again I'm going to get all self righteous about how simple yet important it is.

To those that already go, good on yer, I think we have every right to feel proud of ourselves.

To those who don't (and can) please believe me, there are few opportunities to do something so potentially heroic with such little effort. Just ask yourself when was the last time you took about an hour of your time to do something which very realistically could save someones life?

Please click on Billy's picture below to find the next session in the UK near you...

Virgin on the ridiculous...

I'm ashamed to admit I've been 'ad.

Further to my last attempt in January, last month I rang Virgin Media to check what special offers they had running as I've been itching for an excuse to upgrade to 10MB broadband but (quite typically) wanted to pay as little as possible for it. The best they could offer at the time was an upgrade to 10MB, keep my existing TV package and switch phone package to include free evening and weekend calls, all for the princely additional monthly sum of 45p. In a moment of uncharacteristic extravagance I agreed to accept the deal there and then.

Now it wasn't the end of the world, but I was a bit irritated that a couple of days later I received both email and a leaflet in the post explaining that as a valued customer, they were upgrading my broadband to 10MB for free. I figured this was just unfortunate timing on my part but rang them anyway just to clarify what was going on and sure enough, my upgrade and their offer had crossed somewhere along the line so I would still have to pay the additional 45p. Irritiating sure, but not exactly going to keep me awake at night, then my bill arrived today with a couple of unexpected surprises.

Firstly, despite a month's notice they had not updated my bank details and as a result had not taken my direct debit payment last month. In fact they were so annoyed that they had neglected to take my money, they decided to charge me a late payment fee of a tenner for good measure.

Secondly, my monthly charge had actually increased by £2.45; again not exactly the end of the world but this coupled with their absurd late payment charge led me to think that perhaps it was time we had another little chat.

Fair play, they accepted that their late payment charge was unreasonable and refunded it. As for the new bundle fee she couldn't understand why I had only been quoted 45p extra - twice actually, I reminded her. Not only are they unable to keep to the quoted price (which unfortunately I only ever had verbally), but I couldn't even revert to my previous package because the phone deal it included was an old one that is no longer available, so I'm stuck with it.

I realise we aren't talking enormous sums of money here, but with a few pence here, a couple of quid there and the occasional charge that many people may feel too uncomfortable to challenge, it's little wonder they are making money...

Holiday in the sun...

Well who would have thought? I finally got around to taking my first full week off since last June and the weather has been superb. So much so, that I've overdone it a little over the last couple of days and I'm a bit too sore to venture out into the sun again this afternoon.

As May is our family birthday silly season, Little Sis and family have been staying at my place for the latter half of the week and the weather has meant that we could all actually venture out and see some of the local attractions between munching birthday cake and other goodies. And yes, I did say local attractions.

Thursday we headed out to Willingham Woods for a walk and thanks to a couple of recommendations from Delcatto, also managed to track down the giant golf ball on the top of the Lincolnshire Wolds and sample a multitude of different flavoured chocolate at Special Edition Chocolate before stopping off at Brigsley on the way home for some home made ice-cream.

Friday afternoon, we took our lives into our hands and headed off towards Cleethorpes beach (bound to be quiet on a sunny half term afternoon). As it turned out, it was busy but not as packed as you would have thought. Plenty of opportunity for a bit of sandcastle building, shell collecting, donkey rides, general laying about frying on the beach and finishing with a trip on the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway.

Yesterday morning, the five of us headed off to Weelsby Woods with our bikes. Aside from being surprised to see how they had cleaned the place up since I was last there (a considerable number of years ago), it was interesting discover the number of cycle routes surrounding the area that are within easy reach of home. We rounded of the day with a barbie which despite my efforts to keep helpings modest, still ended up with far more than we could eat between us

So everyone has gone again now and I'm sat with the remains of last nights barbecue to finish off, all the while wishing I'd been a bit more liberal with the sun screen and trying not to think of what might be waiting for me at the office tomorrow...

More musical perspective...

Even though I can claim to have a little sister who is celebrating her 35th birthday today (Happy Birthday Sis!), I've never been particularly bothered by age.

As I am quite generous with my working hours Monday to Thursday, I feel no guilt whatsoever in trying to claim the odd one back by getting a flyer on a Friday afternoon. If I get away early enough, I get to hear the non-stop oldies feature on Steve Wright's radio show on the way home, although I do sometimes struggle with the concept of what some people consider to be "oldies".

Amongst today's collection I heard a song I'd completely forgotten about which despite my initial horror at not being an "oldie", I discover this evening is 29 years old. Now there is a girl who works for me who is mystified by those of us that refuse to admit to middle-age and firmly believes that nobody should indulge in bedroom activity after the age of forty - this song is older than she is.

Back in the day of course, we were mid Mod-revival and having found myself much more comfortable in the "rocker" category, could never have owned up to thinking that this was actually a good song.

These days of course, I'm too o... actually never mind. Let's just say that the passing years have allowed my musical tastes to become much more eclectic and I'll say that I think this is a good song without caring particularly whether anyone agrees with me or not...

Hidden messages...

Driving into work this morning, a magpie flew across in front of me and as I instinctively did the saluting thing, I was surprised that at that very moment Stevie Wonder sang out from the radio "Superstition ain't the way". Hmmm... strange coincidence.

On the way home tonight I glanced over the horizon to my right and at the split second that the church tower of St Mary in Wrawby came into view, Labbi Siffre sang out "bless you and bless me". Hmmm... that's funny, something similar happened earlier.

It's only when I sat down and worked out that I spend about 400 hours a year sat in the car, listening to the radio, generally gawping at the scenery as it goes past, that I realised that this probably goes on all the time and I just happened to notice it today...

A quiet evening with my mate Jack...

Although I happily managed to avoid the selection process itself, there was clearly no way the British media was going to let this year's Eurovision Song Contest go by without playing our entry to death at every concievable opportunity.

I'm in no place to criticise Mr Lloyd Webber as a songwriter and you can't deny that Jade Ewan is a very talented singer, but as I have heard said many times before and since, it just wasn't "Eurovisiony" enough to win.

As a result, there didn't seem much point watching this year when you can't cheer on your own team, but sure enough, come eight o'clock I found myself watching it regardless and in hindsight, I'm glad I did. Not that the actual songs were any better than usual but I thought Graham Norton did a great job on the commentary given the restrictions he would have been working under.

Better still, there was a much funnier unrestricted alternative commentary on Twitter courtesy of Jonathan Ross, Sarah Cawood and Phil Schofield. Being the open forum that it is, it also meant I was able to contribute about 30 tweets on the event and with a bottle of JD at hand to help the evening go by, its the best laugh I've had (on a night in) for ages.

So spasiba to the Russian hosts, until this time next year in Norway...

Hey Big Spender...

I doubt I'm the only one who has heard enough about the current politician expense scandals. Initially, it seems ridiculous that people of such responsibility who already earn a high salary should go to such lengths to claim items of varying levels of trivia on expenses.

Stephen Fry clearly believes that it is more a question of media frenzy by journalists who surely should have something more important to investigate/report and to an extent, I'm inclined to agree with him. After all, plenty of us have bought a meal in a restaurant/hotel/service station way beyond the price that we would ever spend from our own pocket. Significant difference here being that first of all, its our money being spent and secondly, not many of us have had the opportunity to extend such perks into thousands of pounds worth of personal luxuries and home comforts.

I suppose the breaking point for me was today's comment that Health Minister Phil Hope has decided to repay over 40 grand in expenses to help to restore his integrity. If we are talking about real integrity, then surely the real reason he has decided to repay it is because first of all he was wrong to claim it all and secondly because he got caught...

Motivation? It Pays The Bills...

I fully accept that I am not alone in working in challenging surroundings.

All too frequently I find myself struggling with the cultural differences of some of my international colleagues, disappointed at how difficult it is to make my seemingly valid opinions heard, or more recently, utterly astounded and the issues considered to be most important to the future of our business.

Unfortunately for me, I have a reputation for not being afraid to speak up (I like to think tactfully) when I believe something is wrong. Where in the past such behaviour was nurtured and encouraged, we are now fast becoming an organisation who storms ahead based on knee jerk reaction and with little regard for the people managing the business nearer to the coal face. We left that behaviour behind 10-12 years ago but it is difficult to draw the fine line between being someone who thinks he has some ideas worth sharing and being the gobshite who thinks he knows it all.

After a wave of redundancies and an order book far quieter than many of us can remember, you would have thought it appropriate to start pooling the resources of the management teams and formulating a strategy to secure our company a place in the future. However, it has been decided that we should tackle this by getting everyone to move offices again. After all, it's been almost a year since the last one.

Cue weeks of disruption, lost telephone and PC links, disorganised workstations and general frustration. Everyone is being pissed about because someone on high has decided to put the music back on while we all run around in circles, quietly hoping that a seat will still be available when it stops again.

Unfortunately, the harsh truth is that we all have to be grateful that we are in work at all. Deep breath and count to 10... again.

If you're lucky, amidst all this sort of nonsense something comes along to cheer you up and this video received from one of my colleagues did just the trick this morning - with apologies to the politically correct brigade out there...

Tim for a song...

Another one of my lazy posts, but I hope you'll agree, something worth sharing.

This guy is Tim Minchin, a relatively new name to me, Australian now living in the UK and the rare combination of an incredible musical talent who is bloody funny too. After some recent research on YouTube, my current favourite is called "Not Perfect", more for the fact that it's a beautiful song than it's hysterical comedy content. Certainly worth a look.

This one however is a love song which I'm confident will have a wider appeal...

[Edit:]
Apologies - due to further YouTube censorship, the videos I originally linked to have been removed. Don't let that discourage you, just search for Tim Minchin Inflatable You or Not Perfect to see them as someone is bound to keep re-posting them...

On Yer Bike...

I remembered last night that in return for changing my current account, I have apparently got £100 heading my way, so I thought it would be appropriate (and traditional) to spend it before it arrived.

I've been meaning to get a pushbike for years now but I had no idea how hard it would be to get a reasonably priced one. Every bike shop and sports shop I visited seemed determined to push some overly featured contraption my way for hundreds of pounds but basically, I just wanted something to get me from A to B in a healthier and greener manner.

Of all places, I eventually found exactly what I was looking for at Tesco. It was clear from the box that I would actually be assembling it myself and there were considerably more parts in there than I'd expected. Sure I used to dismantle and tinker with bikes as a kid, but they didn't have anything like disc brakes or dual suspension.

The good news is that it actually came in exactly on budget. Well the bike did. I had overlooked that I would need a helmet, a pump, a speedometer/milometer (OK, perhaps I didn't really need that) and, sign of the times, a bloody substantial lock. The other significant extra I opted for was a rack for the car which means I can now look forward to some rides amongst scenery further afield than Lincolnshire.

It also means that if I fancy a crafty few beers, I can drive into town and leave the car, then when the beer has worn off the following day, cycle in and collect it again. Aside from burning off some of the the earlier excesses, it would also save me best part of £20 in taxi fares each time.

So I just need to start going to the pub more often again and this lot will practically pay for itself in no time...

By George...

Happy St George's Day!
Another year and again barely a mention anywhere.

To my complete shame I usually find a suitable tipple on Paddy's Day or Burn's Night but I've no English spirits to hand and it's too late to go out and buy something now. In fact I was so late getting back from work tonight that I'm afraid I'm not even going to manage a cuppa having barely found time for a quick moan on here before turning in.

However, I heard about this a little while ago which makes me curious and although it may prove to be a bit of a gamble, I'm tempted to try it, if only to make sure I'm not caught out again in future...

Run like hell...

Ever since I started using the running machine regularly, it's always been tucked away in the back of my mind that once I have lost the weight I wanted to, what would happen next?

I was always lousy at sport as a child and although I don't actively partake in any now, I sincerely doubt anything has changed particularly. Having been reasonably successful so far in terms of weight loss though, I had recently begun to wonder.

Since the London Marathon first started in 1981, the family would sit around the TV at home to watch it and Dad would invariably say that perhaps he should start training and give it a go. I can report that in the subsequent 28 years, it hasn't happened yet but I have been told by several people I know who actually have run marathons that it does give you a tremendous sense of achievement.

So what are my chances? I know I have a brother-in-law waiting in the wings who would jump at the chance of someone to run a marathon with, but I guess my biggest problem is that I don't really enjoy running or jogging that much.

In all honesty I am an intrinsically lazy person and the only reason I keep to my current daily routine is that a mile or so each morning seems little effort on my part for the great results in weight loss I am achieving in return.

But never say never I suppose. A couple of years ago, I would never have believed that I would be prepared to jog over a mile every weekday morning, or even be able to for that matter. It isn't beyond the realms of reason that a mile or two could soon become three and 3.1 miles is the equivalent of a 5k race.

Whether 5k goes on to become 10k, 10k goes on to become half marathon and the half becomes whole remains to be seen, but certainly don't go looking out for me on TV next Sunday. I'm a long way away from dragging my still bulky frame around that sort of distance, even at a jog.

Perhaps a more appropriate title would have been: Run? Like hell...

Nothing to do with me...

I know, three posts in one day - it doesn't happen often, but I've just noticed the site stats and I'm amazed to see its passed the 30,000 hits mark!

Of course, I'm delighted that the old blog is still generating interest but as usual, the truth is revealed when you examine the detail. However, informative, amusing, or just generally verbose I try to be on here, there no denying that most people land here as a result of image searches:

In fifth place, searching for this photo of Nigella







In fourth place, actually searching for "Seany" (I doubt they're after a picture)

In third place, searching for this photo of Emily Maitliss








In second place, searches for this photo of Samantha Janus







In first place, even though I posted the image at Easter 4 years ago, searches for this photo of some bunnies






In fact to be honest, given the choice of looking at those delightful people, or reading my inane ramblings, they've probably got the right idea.

However, to those who do keep coming back for the genuine content, no silly pictures, songs or videos this time, just my sincere thanks.

And of course, this post will have done nothing to help matters...

In the interest of completeness...

Another couple of items I picked up this morning were the original ingredients for the chocolate cake in a mug recipe.

So purely to fulfil my service to the reader you understand, I made another one tonight using caster sugar instead of granulated and self raising flour instead of plain. I suppose the sponge did come out very slightly lighter, but the difference was so insignificant that it wouldn't warrant buying the ingredients in especially.

I would have taken another photo for you but it seems to have disappeared already...

A Few Words About My Mate...

They say you either love it or hate it and I have never made a secret of the fact that I love Marmite. Indeed it's been mentioned on here before, whether I'm lathering it on home made crumpets, or trying to decide the best addition to cheese on toast.

I have dabbled in the Guinness and Champagne limited editions and have tried the supermarket own label, but there is nothing quite like the real thing. You can imagine my delight then when I spotted these in the supermarket this morning.

As I'm usually very careful with what I eat during the week (what about the cake in a mug I hear you ask), I like to pick up a treat, usually something like a pack of crumpets to dowse in the aforementioned spread or very occasionally bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon (trimmings on my budget).

My brother-in-law introduced me to the delights of humous on rice cakes last weekend so there was this weeks treat sewn up. Humous on Marmite rice cakes, absolutely delicious and as a bonus, reasonably healthy.

Seeing as I did a bonus mile on the running machine this morning, I'll bet neither pack lasts the day...

A Sneaky Advert...

I know the other blog is supposed to stand on it's own merits (or otherwise) but seeing as it's been not been updated for a while, I thought a quick plug wouldn't go amiss.

It's a bit of a far stretch from the music I usually listen to, but I suppose it's a classic of sorts and I'd had a few ideas while away with the family last weekend. So please feel free to check out my latest futile attempt at video entertainment here...

Here's one I made (and ate) earlier...

You have been warned. Not that this post is concerned with any intrusive examinations of any nature, but I'm about to share something that you may just wish you hadn't read.

Last week on Chris Evans' Radio show, they made a chocolate cake in a mug and tonight was the first opportunity I've had to see whether it actually works. I had to improvise using ingredients I already had in the cupboard, but as you look on the net, there are lots of variations on a similar theme out there.

The recipe is quite simple:
4 tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp sugar (granulated)
2 tbsp cocoa
Mix these thoroughly together with a fork in a large mug, then add
3 tbsp oil
3 tbsp milk
1 egg
Continue to mix these together until you get a smooth mixture.
Apparently at this point you can mix in extra ingredients if required such as orange peel, chocolate chips, or a splash of vanilla essence, whisky, rum, etc. I chose to keep mine simple for the first attempt.

Then microwave at full power for 3 minutes - this was sufficient in my trusty old 750 watt machine. Don't be surprised when the mixture rises above the top of the mug (thankfully, mine didn't spill over).

When it's done, leave to cool for a few minutes and empty out onto a plate. Or if you really can't wait, get a spoon and just dig straight into your mug.

Unfortunately, it is as simple as that, it really does work and if mine was anything to go by, it's delicious.

So there you are. You are now only ever 5 minutes away from a freshly baked chocolate cake. Don't say I didn't warn you...

A blog too far...

I gave much consideration before writing this post tonight as some things are probably best kept to yourself.

On the other hand, the whole raison d'etre of this thing was to share new experiences with you all in the hope that it may be informative, or at the very least, I could provide some amusement in the face of my adversity. So apologies in advance. You may wish to stop reading now, as today's tale revolves around somewhere entirely opposite from my face, adversity or otherwise.

The past couple of mornings this week whilst going through my daily routine of getting ready for work, lets just say I spotted something unexpected and rather shocking during my time spent in the bathroom. Not that I was in any physical discomfort or that there were any physical anomalies that I was aware of, but something was clearly quite wrong.

I tried some internet-enabled self diagnosis last night which (unsurprisingly) scared the bejeepers out of me and convinced me that having "cheated death" (man-flu stylee) from the mysterious shadow behind my eye, other gremlins could still be lurking.

So this morning, I thought it best to nip down to the surgery and get myself checked out. I explained the situation to the stand-in GP. It's very rare I get to see my actual GP first time, but in the hope that it may help me get in and out of the place quicker, I'll gladly talk to any professional in there who is prepared to listen.

I told him the details and the shocking potential diagnoses I'd found on the internet which led me to be there. His reply surprised me "So you were bothered you might have cancer then?" rather in the same tone as a big kid in the playground would have jeered and said "What are you scared of dogs for?"

Now clearly I'm no doctor, but from the little I do know about cancer, it is something to be pretty fucking scared about. I should also add that I didn't for one minute think that actually was my diagnosis, but I did think it was something worth checking out. What I hadn't thought through, was how I would be examined as he went on to explain it was going to be that examination; the one we have all heard about and laughed at on American sitcoms, but secretly hoped you would never actually encounter yourself. The surprise was such that I missed the opportunity to tell him that he ought to at least buy me dinner first.

Not long afterwards, I was called through to one of the exam rooms where I was shortly followed by the above-mentioned stand in and my regular GP who had decided to come along for the show. "Are you OK?" he asked. I couldn't avoid the absurdity that I was sat there in collar and tie from the waist up and below... a pair of socks, but said yes regardless.

I'll spare the rest of the details (as if anyone was still reading by now anyway), but everything is OK and as embarrassing or uncomfortable as the experience was, it is still a close call as to whether I would rather have been at work.

So how on earth do you finish off a post like this? With a song of course! Not the original video I'm afraid while the YouTube/PRS debate continues, but I couldn't think of anything more appropriate...

Dear Santa...

Tonight's challenge is to take a few minutes to watch this video clip, then tell me that you don't want one...

Just doing my bit...

I'm a bit late on this one really and should have mentioned it earlier, but yesterday evening I took part in earth hour. Not heard about it? No surprise really as it didn't seem to get much media coverage. I just happened to read something about it on... well, you know where.

The idea was that everyone, wherever they are in the world, should vote earth by turning their lights off for one hour from 8:30 to 9:30pm and I went for it whole heartedly. When the time came, off went the lights, TV, DVD player, cable set top box; I even unplugged the laptop and ran it on battery power for an hour. I'm not too sure what I achieved as I'm already quite frugal with the power I use and I doubt any global leaders were peering in with concern to see how fast my meter was spinning. At the very best I've maybe saved a few pence of my next electric bill.

I also read this morning of another eco-initiative, but I can already state categorically that I will not be taking part. Monday 27th April marks the start of Walk to Work Week 2009. Now I'm all for contributing towards a good cause, but this goes a bit above and beyond the call for me.

At a steady 3.5 mph it would take me 10.5 hours to get to work, that's 21 hours both ways leaving me 3 hours to spend at the office (where presumably I would feel the need for sleep, or maybe grab a bite to eat). Were I to step the pace up to a 5.5mph jog, then I would only travelling for 13 hours of the day.

Now by coincidence, my daily running machine programme alternates between both of the above mentioned speeds (albeit on a steady incline) but I usually find that after the first mile or two, I've pretty much had enough. Now that would barely get me to the neighbouring village let alone to work, Not to mention the harmful CO2 I would be exhaling in huge quantities along the way.

The Americans and Australians have a much more modest approach with a walk to work day. At least that way I could just take the day off...

Will you please change the subject...

I'm sorry guys, but there's no denying that it's considerably easier (ok, lazier) to blog at 140 characters at a time, but I will keep coming back whenever I've done anything more exciting than eat, work or sleep.

I've got Mum and Dad coming over for Sunday roast tomorrow to celebrate Mother's Day and I've already managed to get the chocs and flowers sorted earlier this morning. So once I'm finished here, I need to get all of the the weekend chores out of the way today.

So until next time, here's a couple of things that made me smile, courtesy of the the very same application that's been keeping me so distracted of late.

Firstly this one, via the great tweeter himself, Stephen Fry, which throws the whole Twitter and Blogging habit into question

Secondly this one from Jason Manford (8 Out of 10 Cats team captain) for no other reason than that it really made me laugh...

Tee Hee...

More lazy blogging from me I'm afraid, but I just had to share this link that I picked up from Alan Davies on Twitter earlier...

How Cool is This...

Not exactly sure what I'd use it for, but I want one...

Yes, I'm still going on about it...

More about Twitter I'm afraid. No, I'm not afraid, just enthusiastic about it.

I got a better idea today of just how many pathetic people there are out there who have set up Twitter profiles in celebrity names and then imitate them in order to pass false or misleading information out to their fans. What can they possibly get out of that? Pricks.

But don't let that deter you. On a lighter note, I had my first tweet from a genuine celebrity today, which more than made up for any earlier irritation.

Now I know a few of my regular visitors have looked into this already and signed up, but for those who are looking for a little more info, have a listen to this guy, Evan Williams. The clip is about 10 minutes long but it's well worth listening to as he knows what he's talking about. Well I guess he ought to seeing as he is a co-founder of Twitter.

Incidentally, he is also responsible for Blogger, without which I wouldn't be sharing this with you right now...

Quick update...

Updates on here seem to be a bit sporadic again, but I've been continuing to find my way around Twitter.

In fact, I'm so impressed with it that I've decided to give up Facebook for Lent this year and all of the annoyances that go along with it. I'd expected it to be much more of a challenge to ignore it completely over the last few days, but now I'm thinking it may become a longer term decision.

However, as much fun as micro blogging is, I can't always say what I'd like within my 140 character per tweet allocation, so I still have every intention of keeping this blog going.

Oh and on the subject of updating blogs, I thought it was about time I posted something new on the other one...

Enough to make your eyes water...

I can't say I'd been particularly looking forward today. I don't like hospitals at the best of times and this time I wasn't just there in visitor capacity.

You may recall that during my eye test last month, they spotted a "mysterious shadow" behind my right eye and decided it needed further investigation. Even with the aid of the detailed photos, my GP (or rather, his stand-in) was unable to make a confident diagnosis and referred me to the eye specialist at our local hospital.

Having been forewarned that I would be ill-advised to drive, I made my way down there this afternoon by taxi. Unpredictably, the taxi rolled up a couple of minutes after I called which meant I arrived well before the "no longer than 10 minutes before your appointment" sternly stated on my letter. A cup of filthy hot water vaguely disguised as coffee helped pass the time.

After a brief conversation with the grumpy receptionist who told me she didn't have me on her list, then mysteriously did, I took a seat and waited.

First was the visual field testing, having to stare at a central light then click a button each time I saw another light flash in my peripheral vision. Quite honestly, it felt like the most important computer game I'd ever played. Then back to the waiting room. To wait, obviously.

Next up, the vision text. No surprises there, reading letters from a chart covering one eye at a time. The nurse telling me that she was going to put drops in my eyes to dilate my pupils was no surprise either. The surprise was her advice that it was likely to make my eyes sting quite nastily for a couple of minutes. Wonder why they don't mention that in the pamphlet? Truth be known, it was no worse than the way your eyes run when chopping onions.

Then back to the waiting room for, you guessed it, more waiting. This time with the added bonus that my sight was slowly going blurred as the drops took effect so I couldn't read anything to pass the time. I refused to stoop so low as to look at the pictures in the Hello magazine perched my the chair.

When the doctor eventually called me through, he asked a few questions, shone some more lights into my seriously dilated pupils then announced I had a choroidal nevus behind my right eye. Thank goodness no-one mentioned those words to me earlier - I Googled it this evening and found it on the website www.eyecancer.com. Now there's a trouser filling URL if ever you read one (and not in a pleasant way).

Fortunately as the site goes on to explain, it is (as my optician originally anticipated) little more than a raised freckle on the reverse of the eye that rarely requires treatment. He wanted to get a better photo of it for future reference (i.e. make sure it doesn't grow) but their camera was out of action today so their "photographer" is going to call me back in.

So another eye-wateringly fun-filled afternoon awaits. But all of that said, I'm more than a little relieved to know that it's nothing serious...

Did you know...

No rant, no wise cracks and no funny remarks this evening.
I was directed to this video this evening via Twitter and I thought it was worth sharing. Certainly makes you stop and think...

What are you doing...

No new videos this week I'm afraid as I've been busy trying to make my house look as though somebody actually lives in it before Little Sis and Co arrive later in the week.

On the subject of Little Sis, she had a bit of a rant a few weeks ago about the futility of Facebook sometimes. Now although there were mitigating circumstances behind that particular post that I will not go into, I have to say that to an extent I agree with what she had to say.

I really enjoy being able to see what my friends are up to and it is a convenient way of keeping in touch with people I don't see very often, but there is quite a price to pay in terms of irritation factor.

On so many screens you are constantly told how many of your friends apparently "have a crush on you" and "want to kiss you" or "want to go even further". Then there is the bombardment of futile gifts of virtual hugs, kisses, chocolates, drinks, snowballs, muppets, local landmarks, etc. For each of these you receive, you then feel somehow morally obliged to return the gesture but before you can do so, you need download the application that drives them.

This weekend I finally took a good look at Twitter having heard how many people in the media were "twittering" regularly; Stephen Fry being one good, and I would previously have thought unlikely example. I have to say that it seems to be a much more grown up way of keeping track of what your friends and favourite celebrities are up to without all of the other annoying distractions that Facebook permanently regurgitates in front of you.

Basically, it's a micro blogging site where each post is limited to 140 characters; a limitation that I may well have benefited from during some of my waffles and rants in the past.

For the more adventurous amongst you, there is also a great application called TweetDeck that helps you to organise your tweets more effectively. The only down side I've seen so far is that it can be just as addictive and a drain on your spare time.

So for those that know me in the real world, please sign in and look me up and I'll look forward to twittering with you...

Strange celebration...

The 2009 get-fit campaign is well under way now although I think it's fair to say that it hadn't exactly been going to plan so far.

With the exception of one pub meal and a few pints a couple of Saturdays ago, I've pretty much stuck to the same diet that worked so well for me last year but the weight didn't seem to want to budge this time.

Each day I'd been ramping up the running machine program but to my horror, it seemed that my weight was actually increasing. Screw that for a laugh, I'm no real fan physical exercise at the best of times, especially if I'm not going to see any benefit from it.

However, persistence seems to have paid off over the last few days as the scales finally started moving in the right direction again and today marks a very special day. Yes folks, today for the first time in at least four years that I know of, I am officially overweight.

Why am I so pleased with this result? Today my BMI dropped to below 30, which apparently means I am now only overweight rather than obese. Now although it would have taken more than a light breeze to carry me off over the tree tops, I've always thought that the term "obese" was a bit harsh.


And if I was a bit miffed, imagine what the apparently obese (according to BMI) Johnny Wilkinson must have thought...

Video Vault...

Firstly I'd like to say thank you for all of the kind comments of late regarding the "literal" music videos. They are certainly good fun to put together and I'm glad that others are getting enjoyment from them too.

However, this blog was never really intended for that purpose so I've decided I won't be posting any more of them on here.

The good news is that I've set up a brand new home for them where I can keep them all in one place, along with the other daft little animations I've made along the way. The plan is to keep adding to them there as I hopefully continue finding ideas for new ones.

So please feel free to head on over there now at http://seanysvideos.blogspot.com where, to get the blogwarming party started, there's a brand new one waiting ...

For no other reason...

While the ideas were still buzzing around in my head, I couldn't resist putting another video together for another of my favourite Queen songs.

Admittedly, this one is shorter than the last and does make use of several images I already had, but it was more of a challenge trying to sync the pictures to the music this time. But hey, what does it matter? It's only supposed to be a bit of fun...

By popular request...

Seeing as you asked so nicely (and quite honestly because they are quite good fun to make too) I've given the Seany Silly Video treatment to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen...

Seal with a kiss...

Listening to the radio on my way into work the other morning, I heard Terry Wogan comment after playing Kiss From a Rose by Seal that it was a beautiful song, but he had absolutely no idea what it was all about.

On the CD sleeve notes, Seal actually says that he prefers not to print the lyrics to his songs as it's the general vibe that he is trying to get across and the listeners are able to take their own interpretation from it.

With that in mind and after the fun I had making the Christmas one, I thought it would be an opportunity for me to put together another one of my literal (i.e. silly) videos, or if you prefer, what BBC news teams would put on the screen if the song was played during one of their bulletins...

Any excuse...

Despite all of the financial doom and gloom lurking at the moment, there are a couple of good excuses for celebration on the horizon.

Tonight of course is Burns night. I can't lay claim to any Scottish heritage that I'm aware of, but that won't deter me from having a wee dram later on in honour of the Scottish bard. I believe it falls under the "rude not to" category.

Tonight is also Chinese New Year's Eve as tomorrow sees the arrival of the year of the ox. Again, I'm quite certain I can't lay claim to any Chinese ancestry, but I understand the ox symbolises prosperity though hard work so let's hope that we can all look forward to some fruitful rewards for our efforts this year.

Had I realised earlier, I would have used the excuse to have a play in the kitchen. I've yet to try haggis and I've frequently knocked together a sweet and sour something-or-other, but yesterday I made a delicious steak and ale casserole that I'm afraid I can't wait to finish off.

Closer to home, we've one more celebration pending. It's Emma's birthday next weekend and seeing as I didn't get to the pub for Christmas, New Year or my birthday, I'll be out on Saturday night for a long awaited reunion with the pint glass.

Only a short-lived reunion though. I've finally got the running machine back into my daily routine after a four month break so I'm hoping that I can finally start chipping away at the weight again having managed to maintain last years weight loss. However, if this last weeks results are anything to go by, it's not going to be as easy...

Highway Robbery...

Apparently this issue has been known about for a little while now, but I've only just heard about it and thought it was worth sharing.

Do you have a UK photocard driving license that looks something like this?

(click for larger image)

Do you know when it expires? Are you sure?

You are probably aware that your driving entitlement expires on your 70th birthday and if you turn your card over, you will see valid to and from dates alongside each of the vehicle categories you are permitted to drive.

But did you know the actual license expires after ten years? If you look at the minuscule writing to the left on the reverse of your license you will see a key to the numbered information on the front, including "4b. license valid to"

(click for larger image)

So your driving entitlement continues until you are 70, but you must update the photo on your license every 10 years. Current renewal cost is £17.50 and it's been estimated that the treasury will net £437 million over 25 years from this lot.

Of course, you could choose not to bother renewing, but then you run the risk of a £1000 fine for driving without a valid license.

At least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask...

On the plus side...

One of the things I do enjoy about Virgin Media TV is the "catch-up" facility where you can watch missed episodes of your favourite shows. Personally, there is very little I'll go out of my way to watch, but the aforementioned feature brought a new Channel 4 comedy to my attention, Plus One.

Basically, it's about a bloke who's girlfriend has just dumped him to go out with Duncan from the boy band Blue and his endeavours to get an impressive "plus one" to accompany him to their wedding. Fair play to Duncan James, he's certainly not afraid to send himself up.

It's the most I've laughed out loud at a TV programme since the last series of Mock the Week finished and I heartily recommend you check it out. It's back on Channel 4 next Friday night at 9:30 or you can find out more here where you can also catch up with the first two episodes...

You don't know until you ask...

While the financial climate is in it's current condition, I think you can be forgiven for pushing your luck with sales people.

It's been in the back of my mind for a while now that I ought to give Virgin Media a call to discuss what they are charging me for my TV, phone and broadband internet package. Not that I think I've got a particularly bad deal at the moment, but it irritated me to see that they appear to tempt in new customers buy offering my package at half price, but do little to reward existing ones for their loyalty.

I wasn't overly surprised to hear that the half price deal is only available to brand new customers so by being a loyal, trouble free, timely regular-paying customer for over three years, I didn't qualify. Then young laddo starts with his sales pitch:

Pitch one: he could give me a free weekday phone calls and upgrade my broadband service to 10MB for only another 95 pence a month. Quite tempting, except that I don't really need cheaper weekday calls as most of the ones I make are on Skype which cost nothing. Perhaps he could find a package that would actually save me money.

Pitch two: existing phone package, existing TV package and 10MB broadband for a reduction of £3.50 a month, the only catch being that I would have to subscribe to a new 12 month contract. I admit, he almost had me there. It was only when he went off to check some details that I decided to push them further. I actually get by quite nicely with my current 2MB a month and if they can offer this 10MB package for a £3.50 reduction, surely they can reduce the cost of my existing package even further. Apparently he couldn't, but facing the harsh reality that he had just lost his sale, he somewhat begrudgingly put me through to customer services.

As it turned out, they couldn't offer anything better either, beyond knocking another £1 a month off for e-billing rather than paper bills. Rather more worryingly, they advised me that the 10MB deal in pitch two would only last for a month after which it would revert to my existing speed (unless of course I chose to upgrade at that point). Apparently, it's not unusual for their sales team to overlook this short term detail.

So while I consider the virtues of Freeview over cable TV and how necessary a landline really is, at least I am happy in the knowledge that my call to them didn't cost anything...

Me and my big mouth...

It's always a dead giveaway when you pick up the ringing phone and there is a momentary pause at the other end while their auto dial system does the equivalent of calling across the office "hey up, we've got a live one here!"

A girl at the other end with more accent than dialogue asked me how I was this evening then proceeded to waffle on without pausing to hear my reply.

"I'm calling you from ???????". Believe me, I would tell you if I could have understood her and was still no better off after asking her to repeat the name twice.

She continued "I'm pleased to tell you that your name has been pulled out of our prize draw and you have won a prize worth 12 thousand euros"

"I haven't entered any prize draws" I replied in my best faux-naive voice "but I am registered with the Telephone Preference Service so I sincerely hope this isn't a thinly veiled attempt to try and sell me something"

"Very sorry sir, we will remove your name from our database"

Unfortunately she hung up too quickly to tell me the rest of the details of my prize...

All together now...

A pea berth data ewe too if you are Emile Heskey, Dean Reynolds, Brian Robson, John Sessions, Arthur Scargill or one of the millions of other people celebrating today...

Look at these...

For some bizarre reason I feel compelled to share this picture of a part of my anatomy that none of you will ever have seen before.

You'll be relieved to hear this is obviously totally innocent. When you have an eye test with Vision Express, they now offer an additional service where they take a photograph of each retina so the health and condition of your eyes can be examined more thoroughly. Then they store the pictures in a secure site on the internet where anyone who has need to can look over them. I couldn't resist.

The verdict? Apparently they are in pretty good condition except for a mysterious shadow lurking behind one of them. They assure me that it's probably just the eyeball equivalent of a harmless freckle, but now they know it's there they are referring me to a specialist to investigate further.

Oh whoopee, a bit more excitement to kick off the new year...

Out with the old...

It may be the time of year to be considering resolutions again but I'm running short of ideas.

Thankfully I've just passed the 4 year milestone of non-smoking and although temptation has been greater of late, I'm pleased that I've managed to resist so far.

My alcohol intake took a huge nosedive towards the end of last year and having just learnt that my new specs are going to cost me over 170 quid, I certainly won't be going out anywhere this month, possibly even longer.

Of course, I can't overlook the success with the weight loss last year. Two and a half stone down from where I started, I fully intend to get back on the old running machine and see if I can shed a couple more.

The one major factor I need to focus on this year is getting my work/life balance back in order, which despite good intentions last year still had far too much emphasis in the wrong area. Something has got to be wrong when you feel pleased that you only worked 4 weeks worth of unpaid overtime last year as opposed to 8 weeks in the previous one. It's heading in the right direction I guess but I don't see pressures of work relieving to make 2009 much of an easier ride.

As if to deliberately catch me at the first hurdle, I received a call this afternoon asking if I can start three hours earlier tomorrow. Well of course I said yes - I was caught off guard by receiving a call at home on a Sunday and it's not as though I had got anything else planned at that time of the morning tomorrow...

Altruism. It's not for me...

Happy New Year everyone!

I've just got back from a very enjoyable break to see the New Year in with Andy, Sharon & little Laura and although I don't usually do the whole New Year thing, it was nice to get away for a couple of days.

So back to the first witter of the year. I'll spare you the tale of how I managed to ruin a completely good set of specs, despite my not feeling overly drunk when I eventually turned in. I say that, but my head the next morning gave a tell-tale clue to the 20-odd bottles of various real ales we managed to put away between 5pm and 3 the next morning.

The nearest Vision Express to where I was staying couldn't repair rimless glasses so I resorted to driving home this afternoon wearing prescription sunglasses. As luck would have it the sun actually shone so I didn't look the monumental tosser the occasion might have warranted.

Anyway, with eye test appointment arranged back in Grimsby for tomorrow, I set off for home then suddenly remembered there was a blood donor session in the neighbouring village. I had to miss the last session at my usual venue as I was out of town that day, but knowing they are always desperate for donations this time of year, I took the chance of just dropping in.

They do operate an optional appointment system now that helps them to organise staffing but you can never be sure how many impromptu donors will show up so sometimes you may need to wait a little beyond your appointment time.

For the first time in my 25 years as a blood donor, I felt truly embarrassed tonight as people started complaining that they "had better things to do than wait around all afternoon" and left without giving a donation. Worse still, they made a point of doing so with raised voices to the poor nurses who were clearly busy enough trying their best to reduce waiting times for the more patient among us.

Where the hell do these morons get off? Before the appointment system, it was perfectly acceptable to wait around for as long as it took, but now they can give an indication of when you might be donating, apparently it's supposed to be exact to the minute. Worse still, what is ever going to be achieved by shouting at the poor nurses? I'm pretty certain they all have places they would much rather be.

Please don't let any of this put you off though. I was less than an hour from getting out of the car to getting back in again, a pint of blood lighter (well, about 470ml actually); a small price to pay for the proud claim that it may save someones life. I make no apology for promoting this at any opportunity so please click on Billy's image below where you can find out more, or better still, see where the next session is near you...

A bit more festive fun...

I saw this on Facebook today and hunted it down on YouTube so I could share it with you here.

This is our very talented friend Richard with his take on Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. In my opinion, this would have been a much more worthy occupant of the Christmas number one spot than whatever eventually made it there.



Oh and when you have finished watching this (and telling all of your friends about it) don't forget to check out Norad Tracks Santa to see how our other festive friend is getting on. At the time of writing he is just leaving Sydney. Who says it's just for kids...

A bit of festive fun...

Well I finally got away from work tonight for Christmas and I've resisted the obvious temptation of hooking myself up to an intravenous real ale supply.

Instead I decided to call in our local kebab shop and walked out with the equivalent of a grilled Turkish farm. Admittedly, my appetite is not what it used to be but I doubt a family of four could have waded through so much meat. Lesson for next time I guess.

Anyway, its been in the back of my mind that this years little festive animation hadn't exactly involved a huge amount of effort on my part and although I've no reason to feel guilty about it, I've had a go at something a bit different this evening.

I've stumbled across loads of clips on YouTube where people have added their own "literal" videos to existing songs so here's my homage to the Christmas Song by Nat King Cole. It's festive and more than a little bit silly, but then what else did you expect...

It's on the cards...

I can't pretend I'm finding it particularly easy to get into the festive spirit this year.

Perhaps it's because we had to say our final goodbyes to my uncle yesterday. Perhaps it was because at that very service we discovered the shocking news that one of his sons in New Zealand is sadly no longer with us either. I'll spare you the few details I know as there has been enough sad news on here of late.

Our Christmas shutdown at work this year is more fragmented than usual so I'll ending up working on and off throughout, where usually we enjoy a bit of a longer break. Still, I suppose I should really be grateful that I have a job go to back to at all really.

I'm acutely aware that finances are a bit tighter this year than they have been for a while, so I've also made a concerted effort to avoid putting my liver through it's traditional punishing schedule. Fortunately, the last time I went out I managed to catch up with most of our friends and bought them all a drink in lieu of a Christmas card (a bit kinder towards the trees and generally better appreciated I find).

On the subject of Christmas cards, I have continued my personal tradition of keeping them to an absolute minimum again this year. I will never understand why people sit down and write hundreds of cards each year, most of which are then distributed out of some kind of obligation rather than need to share Christmas wishes. For example, this is my 4th Christmas in the bungalow and yet I continue to get cards for the previous owners, one of whom sadly passed away a few years ago. I have no means of letting the senders know and clearly they have not heard from them in return for three years, but in the words of Jeff Wayne "still they come".

However, I haven't lost my Christmas spirit entirely, they do say that the best presents or cards are the ones you make yourself, so I've put together another one of my festive little animations for you all. Despite the absence of a coloured piece of card through the post, I sincerely wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and hope that 2009 brings you continued health, happiness and prosperity...

It's started...

The weekend has got off to a good start with my waking to find that I have effectively shrugged off my latest bout of man-flu within 48 hours thanks to little more than a few paracetamol and a few extra hours sleep.

Keen to maintain this advantage I braved the elements around 7:30 this morning to nip to the bank (cashpoint obviously) and then hit the supermarket for my weekly shop. To my amazement, I had to queue at both, at that time of the morning and with 12 days still to go before Christmas. Realistically, given the days that the seasonal holidays have fallen this year, I doubt many stores will be closed beyond the festive day itself but I'm sure people will still stock up like there's no tomorrow.

The title reminds me of a story about a guy who gets in from work, slumps in his armchair in front of the TV and calls through to his wife "Quick, get me a beer before it starts".
Dutifully, she brings his beer which he chugs in almost one go then says, "still not started yet, can you get me another?"
He polishes off the second can at the same pace then says "Still not started, can I have another?"
At this point his wife slams the can on the table by his chair saying "Who the hell do you think you are? I've been busy all day running round tidying the house, trying to keep the kids occupied, preparing a lovely meal for when you get in and all you can do is perch in front of that bloody TV barking orders"
To which the husband replied "and there you go, it's started"...

Departures...

Almost a month to the day, I posted about the discomfort we feel when we part company with friends and colleagues and how perhaps we should be grateful for the way they have enriched our lives and for their opportunity to move on.

It's not quite the same though when you know you will never see them again. This morning I received a call from Mum telling me that our Uncle John passed away early hours this morning. He has been battling ill health for many years, indeed it must be at least five years since he was told he had only months to live, but his sheer determination and refusal to give into his illness often disguised any physical clues whatsoever.

We had been told on Sunday that he had been admitted to hospital and we decided there and then to take a drive out to see him that evening. Sure he was in a hospital bed and occasionally a little short of breath but that didn't stop the stream of tales about how they had been teasing the nurses, or his trying to work out whether mobile phone frequencies actually would interfere with hospital equipment.

Rather like Little Sis has said, I will always have fond memories of him, from the extravagant tales of his travels across the world to the ingenious tricks I could have tried to beat the exhibits in the Science Museum as a child. A generous man to the extreme, ever willing to help you through a financial scrape or to treat his family and friends to some of the memorable restaurant meals I've ever enjoyed.

As our busy lives take us all our separate ways, its all too easy to feel guilty and wonder why perhaps we didn't keep in touch more often, but it's probably more important to realise that he is now free from the pain and discomfort he has battled with so bravely in recent times.

So I'll raise a glass to you tonight Uncle John (single malt of course). God Bless and I'm sure that you and Grandma have got some real catching up to do...

License to print money...

It's been a good day, probably something to do with not having to go to work.

Ever mindful of how long it took to sort out last weekend's quick plumbing task (eventually sorted by paying the plumber a handful of notes Monday night), I decided to set forth this morning with a little electrical task. OK, no big deal really, just changing a couple of light switches over to dimmer switches as my contribution towards saving the planet. The screws that came with the switches were too short for the pattress but fortunately I had a couple of spares in the garage that obliged and it was sorted in about 15 minutes.

Every other little "get out of the way" job I tackled went according to plan until I decided that perhaps it was time I set my printer up with the laptop. Should have been straight forward, the printer was still perched on the desk along with cables and discs, fresh from the time a set it up with the previous laptop only a few months ago.

However, Lexmark obviously had other ideas. No discs, cables or any other accessories could cater for the fact that there are no drivers released for my all-in-one printer to run with Windows Vista and by all accounts it looks as though they have no intentions of doing so either. Oh bugger - it would seem I need to buy a new printer.

Am I alone in thinking that is a bit naughty? I'm now stuck with having to replace a perfectly good printer, well OK, it isn't really that good to be honest but the scanner has been really useful and best of all, it was free when I bought my first PC. Fortunately my old laptop hasn't breathed it's last yet so I do have a protracted means of printing anything that won't wait for me to send to work to print there and when it does come to upgrading, I think I'll pick another manufacturer. Or at least see if anyone is still giving away free ones...

On and on...

I thought I really ought to post something today seeing as it is my 4th Blogday today! As usual at this time of year, it's hard to believe it's been another year since my first post and it's all the more remarkable that people keep looking in even though, by my own admission, posts have been a lot less frequent and less inspired of late. However, I'm continually grateful that you all do keep dropping by and proud to remain the "I'm Feeling Lucky" or first search result on Google for the word "Seany". Perhaps the popularity of reality TV "celebrities" is short lived after all.

I'm not sure that you could call it a celebration, but today I also find myself the owner of the biggest fridge I could ever have dreamt of. Perhaps the situation would be more accurately described by saying that the snow has settled outside on the very weekend my central heating system decided it doesn't want to play any more.

Determined not to let another weekend disappear into combination of beer swilling and sleeping, I decided on Friday morning to put my day off to good use by getting a replacement radiator for the dining room. The old one had developed a tiny leak quite a while ago and although it wasn't doing any significant harm, it clearly wasn't going to get better on it's own and equally, would be unable to heat the room once the weather took a turn for the worse.

I took Dad up on his earlier offer to help with replacing the thing and although it took a little longer than expected, by teatime we appeared to have reconnected a brand new radiator with no sign of water leaking from anywhere and any residual air removed from the system. What I didn't discover until later that evening was that now, none of the radiators were working and it was getting bloody cold outside.

After a brief review again yesterday morning, we couldn't see where the problem was and as neither of us are qualified plumbers, I've had to resort to calling a professional in. So now I'm playing the waiting game until he replies to my message and then ultimately to find out what the damage to my wallet is likely to be. It's not really an emergency as I do have a solitary gas fire which is going it's best to keep the living room warm, but it isn't up to the challenge of heating the entire bungalow.

It could also prove a good excuse to plug in the Nintendo Wii in as all that jumping around provides some natural warmth...

Have you ever wondered...

...where mobile phones go to die?

By the look of this little lot (which isn't exhaustive), it would seem there is a veritable cellphone graveyard developing in my house.

It's not that I keep changing them to keep up with fashion, but I'm not as careful with them as I ought to be and all too often end up replacing them rather than going through the hassle of trying to find a repair outlet or worse still, trying to convince an insurance/ warranty company that I had been less careless.

But there is good news ahead, all the more topical to tell you about it today. If you have any old mobile phones lurking around the place, put them in an envelope, marked Freepost BBC Children in Need and pop it in a post box.

Apparently there is an organisation called Regenersis (formerly Fonebak) who have the licenses to unblock phones from all networks and if they can repair them, will send them off for use in developing countries. If not, they break them down and their constituent parts and they are recycled.

They have agreed to make a donation to Children in Need for each handset that can be economically repaired. So I've cleared out a load of handsets I'll never use, potentially improved communication in developing countries, added to my existing donations to this year's Children in Need appeal and if nothing else, they will be more environmentally responsibly disposed of than they would have been otherwise.

Everyone's a winner...

All change...

We are all somewhat resistant to change and goodbyes are never easy, but I guess it's just a question of perspective.

My manager retired on Thursday after 40 years of service and I think we are all a little nervous of how on earth we are going to fill his shoes. Sure, his replacement is very capable, but it has always been easy for us all to pick up the phone and tap into those 40 years of experience whereas now we are going to need to be more resourceful. On the positive side, he has worked damned hard and is certainly deserving of a long and happy retirement so who are we to deny him that?

Secondly I was surprised to hear that our beloved Tap and Spile is closing tomorrow night as Dave and Rose have decided it's time to move on. We are all going to miss them both and it's unfortunate that circumstances have dictated that the pub will actually close (hopefully just short term). As I have posted numerous times on here before, I truly believe it has been home to some of the best ales, food, music and of course regulars. But again, the sale of the pub has been ongoing for years so from their perspective it must come as a welcome relief that they can put the pressures of running a pub behind them and get on with their new lives.

Perhaps the reason we find such goodbyes so difficult is more to do with our own discomfort and insecurity at being left behind rather than considering the positive prospects for the leavers themselves...

Motivational thought for the day...

I just had to share this email I received at work today which provided some much needed cheering up:


This little animal is called the Naked Mole-Rat and is from Africa





So if you're having a bad day and feeling sorry for yourself, just remember, you could look like a dick with buck teeth...