Watching this red kite flying above us. It also goes to show that I need a stronger zoom lense.
Friday, 1 March 2013
In with a Bang
As the new year was welcomed in with a bang, bottle of Cava and Jules Holland, January crept by in a cold, dark and uneventful manner. I carried on volunteering while job applications fell on deaf ears. The Job Centre introduced this amazing way to apply for jobs via their website. You see a job that you can apply for so click on 'apply'. You then upload your CV and click 'continue'. The screen then tells you that your application was sent successfully. Well isn't that simple.
Where the fuck is the option to add a covering letter?
Oh. There isn't one.
Why can I not apply for the job directly from my email account?
Because We Want To Watch What You Are Doing.
Where is the confirmation that my application has been sent?
The Job Centre Website tells you.
Fortunately, I am on one of the Government's Work Programmes, one of those that the tax payers in this country are subsidising, I think - where else would the government get the money from to pay out the millions they do to run these programmes which, once somebody is on one, means one less-unemployed figure. Because you are on a Work Programme you are knocked off the unemployment statistics, apparently. Even though you are still unemployed. You can sit and scratch your head about that one for as long as you like but it won't help. The present government is in denial.
Coralie left for Vietnam with her boyfriend for 7 months at the end of January. She seems to be enjoying it although said she was sick of the food after the first week. That girl is so difficult to please. At least she is happy to be in the sun and heat.
February crept by. Dark and miserable. Slow and cold, reminding us all that it is still winter. The new Aldi near us started putting down it's foundations which means that by the end of the year we may be shopping there. Or not.
Richard and I went away to Aberystwyth for a couple of days to celebrate my 50th. I had a lovely day with fantastic weather and we stayed in a room with a sea view. Watching the sunset on the last day of being 49 with a cup of tea was succeeded by watching my first sunset at the ripe old age of 50 with a bottle of Cava. The highlight of my day was watching a red kite (bird) flying over us looking for food. Red kites are quite common in Wales as are other birds of prey so I would like to go back again to do some bird watching. Richard had my bicycle serviced which means that I can now get cycling although I miss being able to get on my bike and cycle inbetween fields. I was lucky back home in that sense.
The Crewe Lyceum has been taken over by a better company and so we shall be seeing Rich Hall and Jack Dee in May. I'd like to see Sean Lock too, but Richard spent the money to see him on tickets to see Wilko Johnson next week. Crewe has picked up in one area that I enjoy - the arts - but shops are closing all the time and being replaced by Pound shops - or in one case, a third amusement arcade. I thought this town was poor?
Richard has been keeping Hermie entertained as apparently, each time he picks up his guitar and starts twanging away, Hermie comes out of his welly and does a groove, or something. As soon as Richard stops, he goes back to bed. I had a son who wanted to be a rock star - it now appears that I have a tortoise that wants to be one.
Hermie, the Rock and Roll Tortoise.
Where the fuck is the option to add a covering letter?
Oh. There isn't one.
Why can I not apply for the job directly from my email account?
Because We Want To Watch What You Are Doing.
Where is the confirmation that my application has been sent?
The Job Centre Website tells you.
Fortunately, I am on one of the Government's Work Programmes, one of those that the tax payers in this country are subsidising, I think - where else would the government get the money from to pay out the millions they do to run these programmes which, once somebody is on one, means one less-unemployed figure. Because you are on a Work Programme you are knocked off the unemployment statistics, apparently. Even though you are still unemployed. You can sit and scratch your head about that one for as long as you like but it won't help. The present government is in denial.
Coralie left for Vietnam with her boyfriend for 7 months at the end of January. She seems to be enjoying it although said she was sick of the food after the first week. That girl is so difficult to please. At least she is happy to be in the sun and heat.
February crept by. Dark and miserable. Slow and cold, reminding us all that it is still winter. The new Aldi near us started putting down it's foundations which means that by the end of the year we may be shopping there. Or not.
Richard and I went away to Aberystwyth for a couple of days to celebrate my 50th. I had a lovely day with fantastic weather and we stayed in a room with a sea view. Watching the sunset on the last day of being 49 with a cup of tea was succeeded by watching my first sunset at the ripe old age of 50 with a bottle of Cava. The highlight of my day was watching a red kite (bird) flying over us looking for food. Red kites are quite common in Wales as are other birds of prey so I would like to go back again to do some bird watching. Richard had my bicycle serviced which means that I can now get cycling although I miss being able to get on my bike and cycle inbetween fields. I was lucky back home in that sense.
The Crewe Lyceum has been taken over by a better company and so we shall be seeing Rich Hall and Jack Dee in May. I'd like to see Sean Lock too, but Richard spent the money to see him on tickets to see Wilko Johnson next week. Crewe has picked up in one area that I enjoy - the arts - but shops are closing all the time and being replaced by Pound shops - or in one case, a third amusement arcade. I thought this town was poor?
Richard has been keeping Hermie entertained as apparently, each time he picks up his guitar and starts twanging away, Hermie comes out of his welly and does a groove, or something. As soon as Richard stops, he goes back to bed. I had a son who wanted to be a rock star - it now appears that I have a tortoise that wants to be one.
Hermie, the Rock and Roll Tortoise.
Saturday, 29 December 2012
Status Quo and Christmas.
The band, not the situation.
We drove up to freezing Blackpool to see them and they were pretty good - not as good as I expected, but good. I appeared to be the only one there that had never seen them before as die hard followers of the group had seen them a number of times. Or so I learnt in the Ladie's. We rocked all over the world as one man stood throughout the concert wearing a mac, scarf and Trilby, moving from side to side when the mood took him. There is something rather eccentric about the British. That may be it.
On 22 December we loaded up the car before setting off for the long drive down to Devon to send a few days with the Parental Unit, Tatiana, her partner Thomy and Todd. Before leaving I managed to do something to my back and as I pulled back the curtains in the living room I saw that I have rising damp and mold growing everywhere. There was no time to do much about anything so I folded myself delicately into the car, sniffed and we were off, windscreen wipers frantically wiping away the rain drops. And it rained all the way to Devon. Non-stop.
The news on the radio was not very comforting as the Young Ones were coming over from Brussels that day too and although the Eurostar was working (yes, this Christmas the Eurostar was on time and running), trains from Paddington to Exeter-St-David's were not. They were stranded at Taunton so my dad had to run up and get them. In the car.
Christmas was fine and jolly - we were told not to spend more than £10 on one another which would have been fine had my father told me that in November when I was being organised and ordering all my presents before a mad rush - and for slightly more than £10. Oh well. I would never have managed to get my mother, who wanted linen handkerchiefs, more than one had I stuck to the £10 - even John Lewis don't sell them. John Lewis. And they sell EVERYTHING.
Richard got me a Wacom tablet so I shall have to pick up on the tutorial and carry on learning what I can do on it before trying to put doodles up here. He also got me some nail varnish although that arrived while we were away.
It was lovely catching up with Todd who I haven't seen since August 2011 - and it is always good to see Tatiana and Thomy. I greatly missed Coralie, though, and have no idea when I shall next see her.
The journey back was awful for us all. The Young Ones had to get up at 5am to get the train from Tiveton (now that they were running from there) but my dad ended up driving them to Heathrow as there were no trains at all. They missed their Eurostar but managed to get the next one and Tatiana was only slightly late to work. Richard and I hit traffic at Bristol and Birmingham so it was a long journey home for us - and we got home to a very cold house, too. The heating had packed up and it is only today that we have heating and hot water again. The bill will be sent shortly, too.
I was turned down for another job which I'm rather upset about but let's hope that 2013 is a better year. I'm going to be 50, Coralie and her partner are going to Vietnam for 7 months and then spend 2 months travelling so who knows what else to expect.
A knees up to celebrate my 50th in Crewe, probably.
All two of us.
We drove up to freezing Blackpool to see them and they were pretty good - not as good as I expected, but good. I appeared to be the only one there that had never seen them before as die hard followers of the group had seen them a number of times. Or so I learnt in the Ladie's. We rocked all over the world as one man stood throughout the concert wearing a mac, scarf and Trilby, moving from side to side when the mood took him. There is something rather eccentric about the British. That may be it.
On 22 December we loaded up the car before setting off for the long drive down to Devon to send a few days with the Parental Unit, Tatiana, her partner Thomy and Todd. Before leaving I managed to do something to my back and as I pulled back the curtains in the living room I saw that I have rising damp and mold growing everywhere. There was no time to do much about anything so I folded myself delicately into the car, sniffed and we were off, windscreen wipers frantically wiping away the rain drops. And it rained all the way to Devon. Non-stop.
The news on the radio was not very comforting as the Young Ones were coming over from Brussels that day too and although the Eurostar was working (yes, this Christmas the Eurostar was on time and running), trains from Paddington to Exeter-St-David's were not. They were stranded at Taunton so my dad had to run up and get them. In the car.
Christmas was fine and jolly - we were told not to spend more than £10 on one another which would have been fine had my father told me that in November when I was being organised and ordering all my presents before a mad rush - and for slightly more than £10. Oh well. I would never have managed to get my mother, who wanted linen handkerchiefs, more than one had I stuck to the £10 - even John Lewis don't sell them. John Lewis. And they sell EVERYTHING.
Richard got me a Wacom tablet so I shall have to pick up on the tutorial and carry on learning what I can do on it before trying to put doodles up here. He also got me some nail varnish although that arrived while we were away.
It was lovely catching up with Todd who I haven't seen since August 2011 - and it is always good to see Tatiana and Thomy. I greatly missed Coralie, though, and have no idea when I shall next see her.
The journey back was awful for us all. The Young Ones had to get up at 5am to get the train from Tiveton (now that they were running from there) but my dad ended up driving them to Heathrow as there were no trains at all. They missed their Eurostar but managed to get the next one and Tatiana was only slightly late to work. Richard and I hit traffic at Bristol and Birmingham so it was a long journey home for us - and we got home to a very cold house, too. The heating had packed up and it is only today that we have heating and hot water again. The bill will be sent shortly, too.
I was turned down for another job which I'm rather upset about but let's hope that 2013 is a better year. I'm going to be 50, Coralie and her partner are going to Vietnam for 7 months and then spend 2 months travelling so who knows what else to expect.
A knees up to celebrate my 50th in Crewe, probably.
All two of us.
Friday, 2 November 2012
Ye Gads, it's that time of the year again.
It's cold, it's wet, it's dark. And then you go outside and it's warmer, drier and the sun is shining. It's called Winter. Getting up in the morning isn't quite so bleak - yet, but the days come to an end very quickly. Around 5-5.30pm. You can't really call that a day, can you?
Well.
The Parental Unit visited in April. It was good. What was better was that they brought flowers and left 6 bottles of wine. One must not complain. They got on with Richard very well - in fact, my dad and Richard really hit it off as they discussed their hernias and respective various operations over a rather good steak and ale pie. Richard's speciality.
And since then, I received a Shed. Oh yes. Mum and Dad bought me a Shed. Isn't that just lovely. A Shed. I'm just getting used to the word. Shed. It's half empty - or half full, but nevertheless, I own a Shed. No garage here, so I need a Shed. It's at the end of my long and horribly narrow garden and most of the things that should be in it are at this end of the garden, in the out-house. Or outside loo. It's time to migrate, oh yee empty boxes, lawnmower, et al.
A good thing about Crewe:
it's not far from places that do gigs.
So we're going to see The Quo next month. Yay, get us. Down, down, getting down wiv da kidz, like, innit? Or more like going down, down with the elderly ones two steps away from a nursing home. That's us. Kool.
We saw Mark Radcliffe in Nantwich in October during the 'Words and Music' week. Radcliffe was very amusing but I thought the small audience was a bit dull and didn't integrate with him enough - so I pointed out that 'Richard from Crewe' was here when asked if anybody came from anywhere other than Nantwich. Richard was mortified, got picked on all evening and I, "his controlling partner" (too bloody right, Mark) found it even funnier. It was an excellent evening. Richard didn't speak to me for a week after that.
Well.
Not until we went to see Thea Gilmore several nights later. Thea is a great artist - noted by most of non-Gilmore fans for her song 'London' which was sung throughout the Olympics and has probably paid off her pension nicely in Royalties. Despite having a stinking cold, she, her husband, son, Fluff, Tracey and Alan were great and I was very impressed by Thea's voice.
It's now November. I'm not growing a moustache or anything weird. Still looking for jobs - had a reject this week, the pain, and am looking forward to Christmas for once. It's also cold.
But I may have mentioned that.
Well.
The Parental Unit visited in April. It was good. What was better was that they brought flowers and left 6 bottles of wine. One must not complain. They got on with Richard very well - in fact, my dad and Richard really hit it off as they discussed their hernias and respective various operations over a rather good steak and ale pie. Richard's speciality.
And since then, I received a Shed. Oh yes. Mum and Dad bought me a Shed. Isn't that just lovely. A Shed. I'm just getting used to the word. Shed. It's half empty - or half full, but nevertheless, I own a Shed. No garage here, so I need a Shed. It's at the end of my long and horribly narrow garden and most of the things that should be in it are at this end of the garden, in the out-house. Or outside loo. It's time to migrate, oh yee empty boxes, lawnmower, et al.
A good thing about Crewe:
it's not far from places that do gigs.
So we're going to see The Quo next month. Yay, get us. Down, down, getting down wiv da kidz, like, innit? Or more like going down, down with the elderly ones two steps away from a nursing home. That's us. Kool.
We saw Mark Radcliffe in Nantwich in October during the 'Words and Music' week. Radcliffe was very amusing but I thought the small audience was a bit dull and didn't integrate with him enough - so I pointed out that 'Richard from Crewe' was here when asked if anybody came from anywhere other than Nantwich. Richard was mortified, got picked on all evening and I, "his controlling partner" (too bloody right, Mark) found it even funnier. It was an excellent evening. Richard didn't speak to me for a week after that.
Well.
Not until we went to see Thea Gilmore several nights later. Thea is a great artist - noted by most of non-Gilmore fans for her song 'London' which was sung throughout the Olympics and has probably paid off her pension nicely in Royalties. Despite having a stinking cold, she, her husband, son, Fluff, Tracey and Alan were great and I was very impressed by Thea's voice.
It's now November. I'm not growing a moustache or anything weird. Still looking for jobs - had a reject this week, the pain, and am looking forward to Christmas for once. It's also cold.
But I may have mentioned that.
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
World Book Night Seen Through A Blur.
I forgot that September happened - admittedly, it wasn't a very exciting month and not much happened. And if it did, I've already forgotten. But I promised Viviane and Pat to blog about World Book Night which happened years ago on April 23, Bill Shakespear's birthday.
I'd heard about it on Steve Wright's show (although it could have been Simon Mayo - the radio programmes seem to run into each other when you're having fun) when Andrea Levy came in to talk about her book 'Small Island' which was one of the many books that got distributed on WBN 2012.
What happens?
Well, if you're interested, you sign up and register to be a giver of books. You see the list of books that are going to be given away that year and if you are successful, receive 24 copies of the book that you'd like to give away to people who don't read much. A bit like God-bothering, really, only harder. Guessing who doesn't and who does read is not that easy in many places but in Crewe it is a cross between the two. When I tried to entice people I would either get a confused reply "Polish" or "I have a Kindle." Show-offs who do not appreciate the workmanship that goes into creating a book. I've never understood how people can dismiss that lovely feeling of turning over a page with preference to scrolling down.
Anyway, still feeling pretty new to the country I decided to settle for a pub - the Belgian pub, 'Hops' and distribute my books from there over a beer or too many. I managed to slur my way through the evening and wasn't really aware of who I gave books to in the end. I just remember that the 24th book went to the lovely man in the kebab shop near home as we stopped to pick up some chips to soak up some of the alcohol.
He really appeared to appreciate the book but that was seen through beer goggles.
His chips were bloody good though.
I'd heard about it on Steve Wright's show (although it could have been Simon Mayo - the radio programmes seem to run into each other when you're having fun) when Andrea Levy came in to talk about her book 'Small Island' which was one of the many books that got distributed on WBN 2012.
What happens?
Well, if you're interested, you sign up and register to be a giver of books. You see the list of books that are going to be given away that year and if you are successful, receive 24 copies of the book that you'd like to give away to people who don't read much. A bit like God-bothering, really, only harder. Guessing who doesn't and who does read is not that easy in many places but in Crewe it is a cross between the two. When I tried to entice people I would either get a confused reply "Polish" or "I have a Kindle." Show-offs who do not appreciate the workmanship that goes into creating a book. I've never understood how people can dismiss that lovely feeling of turning over a page with preference to scrolling down.
Anyway, still feeling pretty new to the country I decided to settle for a pub - the Belgian pub, 'Hops' and distribute my books from there over a beer or too many. I managed to slur my way through the evening and wasn't really aware of who I gave books to in the end. I just remember that the 24th book went to the lovely man in the kebab shop near home as we stopped to pick up some chips to soak up some of the alcohol.
He really appeared to appreciate the book but that was seen through beer goggles.
His chips were bloody good though.
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Oh Bloody Hell - Where did the Time Go?
It's been so long since I last posted that I almost forgot how to create a post. It wasn't until I realised that I had to sign in first that I managed to get anywhere and now it's all changed. Blogger has made everything look new and sparkly but to old people such as myself, this is really quite a nuisance. I'm sure that I'll cope.
In a manner.
So.
1. The Parental Unit came and went.
2. I've been volunteering madly at Oxfam which is quite good fun and obviously rules out the question of being employed. Still looking.
3. I've had a couple of interviews for jobs, including at a Catholic school. Ho hum.
4. Tatiana and her boyfriend visited.
5. Coralie and her boyfriend then visited.
6. Richard and I visited the Parental Unit. Mine, not his.
7. I took part in World Book Night.
8. Things happened - Olympic Torch went through Crewe! The Olympics happened. Things in the garden happened. Sales on eBay happened. My fractured wrist was a true happening.
If there is anything on that list that you want to read about in particular, do say. Otherwise another year may pass before I let you know of what's going on - if anything - and just to let you know that I am alive.
One thing that never happened: bloody summer.
In a manner.
So.
1. The Parental Unit came and went.
2. I've been volunteering madly at Oxfam which is quite good fun and obviously rules out the question of being employed. Still looking.
3. I've had a couple of interviews for jobs, including at a Catholic school. Ho hum.
4. Tatiana and her boyfriend visited.
5. Coralie and her boyfriend then visited.
6. Richard and I visited the Parental Unit. Mine, not his.
7. I took part in World Book Night.
8. Things happened - Olympic Torch went through Crewe! The Olympics happened. Things in the garden happened. Sales on eBay happened. My fractured wrist was a true happening.
If there is anything on that list that you want to read about in particular, do say. Otherwise another year may pass before I let you know of what's going on - if anything - and just to let you know that I am alive.
One thing that never happened: bloody summer.
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