It's been awhile

I'm not neglecting you all honest .... it's just that I've been busy updating Dad's travel blog that I don't get much time to update this one! Plus June was a busy month. Had a few theatre outings. Midsummer Night's Dream which was an outside performance. Pretty good performance seeing it was done by students from the University. Also went to see Dumb Story at the New Vic. Better than I was expecting. West Side Story was great ... the guy that played Tony was an excellent singer. I could still shed a tear at Tonight or Somewhere.

A trip to Birmingham to see Thorn Birds the Musical. The show was a bit of a disappointment. Sometimes I think it's best to leave books alone. At times it felt a bit amateurish with scenery moving at the wrong time and in the wrong place. It did pick up during the second half. However it was a lovely evening and we had a meal at the Mash House and a walk along the canal and through the Mail Box so all in all it was a good evening.

Highlight of the month was Take That supported by the Script. The show was BRILLIANT and I would recommend anyone to go and see it even if you aren't big Take That fans. There is so much going on. It's the Circus tour and boy do they put a circus on. Here are some photos from my Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87996&id=585777112&l=daa8874157 We got there and it started raining so we sat for about 20 minutes in the car until it stopped a bit. We got inside the cricket ground and found our seat eventually (had to dry it off with a towel). Skies looked a bit threatening so we got out our rain ponchos (how sexy are they!!). Gary Go did his set. Then the Script came on (how cute is the lead singer!!!). They were brilliant and I'd go and see them again. Just as Take That came on the clouds disappeared and it was a glorious summer evening. Only downside was getting out the cricket ground and getting going on the road. The concert finished at 10.20 and we got going on the road about 11.45!!

Also managed a couple of sporting events ... cycling in Hanley town centre. The Tour Series came to town. Excellent night and the weather was just great. Here are some photos
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=86207&id=585777112&l=9ffefe0fd5

Plus we went to Uttoxeter races. Again weather was perfect - I'd gone prepared for rain with a waterproof coat and an umbrella. In fact most of the afternoon was spent sitting in the sun! Had a flutter or two and even managed a couple of wins!!!

Will try to update more during July!

Followers

My Dad's blog now has as many followers as mine! I just knew this would happen. Mind you I have been putting more time and work into it and I suppose his travel blog is FAR more interesting than mine .... I just seem to twitter on about nothing really.

So my aim is to blog more interesting things! Like who will win the Apprentice or will this be the last season of Big Brother! Talking of which off to "bitch" about the new housemates as they enter the house round at a friends tomorrow night! I just love it when they are eyeing each other up and forming their little groups.

So on that note .... will be back soon to talk about Big Brother!

Neglecting my blog ...

Sorry been pretty busy just lately that I've been neglecting doing my own blog. I have been updating my Dad's travel blog http://jack-allen-travels.blogspot.com/

Hopefully will be back on track to blog here shortly.

Dicky indicators

Got dicky indicators on the passenger side of my car. It clicks really fast in the car. I thought it must be the rear one as I got "flashed" when turning so I assumed the rear bulb had blown. I got a bulb for the rear indicator and replaced it myself. Crumbs I had to take off the whole light fitting. Was really pleased with myself especially when I put it all back together. However the indicators still wouldn't work! So Sunday with help from my neighbour we tested everything we could. There were no problems with the bulbs or fuses. We even disconnected the battery to see if it would reset itself but we couldn't get the indicators to work on the passenger side. So car has gone off to the garage today .... but it did work a couple of times when I was driving it. How annoying is an intermittent problem. I hope the garage can sort it.

Angels & Demons

Went to the cinema to see Angles and Demons last night. It was a full house which is good especially when they keep saying that pirating and illegal downloads is killing off cinemas. I personally don't think it's an issue. People will always want to see films on the big screen!

I'll not make a very good Barry Norman/Jonathan Ross with a review as I nodded off not once but at least twice in the film! I blame my pizza beforehand. Saying that every time I opened my eyes I could remember from the book what was going on so I didn't miss much .... well I don't think I did! The reviews I've read of the film aren't good as they say it isn't factually correct but if you take it as a "story" I enjoyed it and I remember after reading the book it taught be a thing or two about how a new Pope is elected.

Taste of Honey

A Taste of Honey was brilliant Theatre. Joanne Higson (Maxine in Shameless) and Janice Connolly (Holy Mary from Phoenix Nights) were both excellent! I nearly got hit by a flying pepper though - I even returned it back at the end of the performance!

A love going to the New Vic theatre. You are so close to the action (or maybe a bit too close with the pepper incident). It also has a great little restuarant and I dream about their quiche all day. Today's was sausage and mushroom quiche!

Twilight

Here is a link to Twilight. Books are very readable. I wasn't that impressed with the film. Edward to me wasn't handsome enough !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_(novel)

So busy ...

Been busy setting up my Dad's travel blog so that his friends can follow him on his cycle trip around Britain. If you haven't had a look at it it's linked from my profile. I know what will happen ... he'll end up having loads more hits on his blog than me!

So in between work which has been SO busy and setting up Dad's blog I have managed to have a social life as well. Last night we went to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. One of the few musicals I've not seen before nor heard the music from (it was voted 3rd best musical by Radio 2 listeners ..... mmmmmmmmmmmm). I now know why I've not seen it before - not really my sort of thing and it didn't really help that the leading man was not so good and the male dancers were not the best. Think I had been spoilt by Chicago last week. OMG how sexy were the male dancers in that! Also felt like the first half of the performance went on for AGES (I admit I had 40 winks during it!!). Second half felt rushed (but I was pleased with that!!). So to sum it up I'll not be wanting to see it again in a hurry!

Tonight I'm off to see Taste of Honey at the New Vic. Quite looking forward to that. Seen it before on the stage but not in the round.

Well must get on I want to try and finish New Moon ... kind of got sucked into the Twilight series which if you haven't read any are extremely readable books and leaving you wanting to read more! That to me is a very good book!

A busy few weeks

Been busy this last couple of weeks so haven't really had time to blog, I know it's no excuse! When I think "Oh I must blog today" .... something else comes along! Anyway got a few minutes so thought I'd write a few lines.

Weather has been a bit rubbish so haven't really had a great deal of chances to take photos! I'm hoping to get out and take some photos of bluebells ... Oh I love bluebells! If I do take some photos I promise to post.

Managed a few theatre trips. Went to see "Adrenaline" at the Regent. A local dance school showcasing their talent. A friend and her daughter were in the show. A great night but I soon realised that you can teach anyone the steps and moves but you can't teach everyone to dance! Also went to see Northern Broadsides production of Othello at the New Vic. This is a theatre in the round so you sit very close to the stage. It was excellent and I thought Lenny Henry was superb as Othello. He was "such" a presence on stage. I would have gone again to watch the show but it was a complete sell out!

This week it was Chicago at the Regent. Jimmy Osmond was playing the part of Billy Flynn. Jimmy Osmond in Hanley ... Oh how I wished it was his big brother Donny! The show was excellent but my eye was drawn to the six packs of the male dancers more than watching Jimmy! Was gutted when I heard that after the show Jimmy was in the Unicorn .... even more surreal Jimmy Osmond in a pub in Hanley!

Well must get on ...

New Camera

Been out taking photos this morning. Eventually got my memory on Thursday so there was no stopping me now! The weather forecast was for rain after lunch so I was out at 9.00 am. It's funny how people tend to talk to you when you have a camera! Saying that I did feel a bit uneasy sitting having coffee close to a childrens play area ... to the extent I even put my camera away! What a sad world we live in where you cannot feel comfortable with a camera in your hand!

I've lots to learn about my new camera but I had a play with it on it's auto settings! I'll post a few photos.

Spent most of the afternoon playing on Photoshop ... think I really need a more powerful laptop cause at times it was SO slow! You can waste a good few hours just tweeking photos.

Edited to say ... can't seem to upload any photos at the moment. Will try again later but for now here is a link to some I've put on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76601&id=585777112&l=ee07cb6655

My new camera

Took the plunge at the weekend and purchased a digital SLR camera.

I got this one in the end after much deliberating - A Sony Alpha 200
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/AA200/AA200A.HTM


It claims it's good for entry level photographers and that's me!

I've not really been able to play with it yet as I'm waiting for the memory to arrive (oh and an idiots guide on how to use it) ... but when it arrives look after for loads of photos - you have been warned!

A week off ....

Well I had Easter week off work. A nice chilling and relaxing week. Went to Cheshire Oaks for some retail therapy one day and around a couple of local Garden Centres (and I didn't buy anything!). Saturday went to Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. Great day out and it's all FREE !
It wasn't very busy so we managed to play on all the interactive stuff! We really are BIG kids. Also had a ride on a steam train.

So after a nice relaxing week off it's back to work today!

I haven't posted photos of my plants this week as I re-potted them yesterday and they looked a little sad. If they are looking better tonight I'll take some photos.

Smart Metre for my electricity

I've been fitted with a new Smart Metre today. My electricity company just wrote to me asking if I would take part in the trial. The metre aims to give accurate and upto to minute readings for my electricity. It comes with a display unit which shows exactly how much I use and aims at cutting the amount I use and to the spread it over different time periods. In a few months I will be put on a new tariff where the electricity will be cheaper in off-peak times ... so these will be the times I'll be using the washer/dryer, etc! Thankfully I have a timer on the washer so I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to put the washing on!

It will show me the cost per hour and also show a graph of the last hour's electricity. In order to be "energy efficient" I need to keep it in the green zone. I can even set an alarm on the display unit and when I'm using too much electricity it will sound (I wonder how much electricity the alarm sounding uses!!!)

So hopefully I will be "doing my bit for the environment" and also on my bank balance! Will report back on my usage ... that's if I haven't limited myself to the amount of time I can use my laptop!

Leopard Cat

Thought I'd post a couple more photos. It has the most beautiful markings. Even managed to give it (not sure if it's a he or a she) a stroke today!

However it doesn't beat my princess ... Potter who is the sweetest puddy around.

Visiting Leopard Cat

This cat has been visiting my garden over the last few weeks ... I think it can smell the mice (and the rat!). It's very beautiful and graceful but a bit timid. I think it lives in the next street. If that was my cat he/she wouldn't be out on her own without at least a collar!

Photos are not brill as I had to take them from inside the conservatory.

Seeds week 4

Well the seeds have come on leaps and bounds. I think they now need re-potting in big pots.

These are the sunflowers. I only put in the sticks last weekend. Now they have outgrown those!

The tomotoes are coming on really well and dwarf the basil!

The peppers are coming on as well.

Hopefully next week they will be thriving well in their own little (or maybe big) pots.

Busy busy busy ....

Well it's been a busy Easter Sunday. Got up early - why! It certainly wasn't to crack open all the eggs I'd got! Decide to give the downstairs a good cleaning. Mopped all the floors and even pulled the cooker out and mopped behind that! Felt inspired as I'd got a new mop and some stuff that says it wouldn't leave streaks and smears. Funnily enough it did what it said on the bottle, so well chuffed with that!

Sat down for a well earned bacon buttie and cup of coffee and noticed that the dying rat had managed to get itself out from behind the bushes and was being terrorised by the leopard cat (lovely looking cat). Horrible to watch an animal dying and suffering so I asked my neighbour if he could help and now the rat is in a plastic bag in my wheelie bin (I will not go in to details). It's been about 36 hours "dying". I think someone must have put poision down for them. I just wished it would happen "quickly" as it's not nice to watch! Anyway it's sorted now so lets move swiftly on.

I had meant to take photos of my seeds/little plants but didn't get round to it as I looked after my neighbours little girl for a few hours and we spent the time making her brother a get well card, drawing, colouring, making necklaces/braclets and playing on the Cbeebies website. How good was she surfing the web ... scarily so for a five year old! She wasn't overly impressed though with my desktop picture of one VERY hunky naked French rugby player (rear view!) and would hide her eyes everytime he appeared! Give it a few years!

So hopefully photos of plants to follow tomorrow!

Seeds Week 3

Well the seeds are coming on really well.

The sunflowers have grown quite a bit. I think they will need support soon ... so out will come the kebab sticks!

Tomato and basil are both doing well. The tomato plants have that lovely smell when you touch them.

Just look at the peppers as well ... I'm really chuffed with them as last year they didn't even sprout!

Garden Visitors

Just been sitting watching the mice at the bottom of my garden. I sat there for about 15 minutes watching them coming and going. Here are some photos.

They are really busy little creatures ... but I think they should move on elsewhere if they know what's good for them! My cat is asleep upstairs!

Seeds Week 2

Well I'm really impressed how my seeds have come on this week.

Here are my sunflowers.

These are tomato and basil.

Best of all the peppers have sprouted!

Simply Red

Went to see Simply Red at the NEC in Birmingham last night (now called the LG Arena). As per usual they were brilliant. I've seen Simply Red on majority of their tours. This one was billed as the "last" time he'll tour with Simply Red so it was their Greatest Hits tour. He rattled through his back catalogue going right back to Picture Book. He slipped in some ballads and some of his more up tempo stuff. Finished off with a couple of encores and their closing numbers were Stars and If you don't know me by know.

I hope it's not the last time they tour.

Jelly Babies

Got myself a bag of jelly babies the other day. Bassett ones of course! Thought I'd take a photo to share with you. Don't know about you but I think they should be re-branded as jelly bellies ... as all of them have BIG bellies!

Cirque du Soleil and Birmingham

Went to Birmingham yesterday to see Cirque du Soleil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirque_du_Soleil . Show was at 4.00 pm so we had plenty of time to have a look around Birmingham. We had a wander around the market. We had booked into see the Back-to-Back houses http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-birmingham_backtobacks Really good tour. Took you back to three different eras and the guide talked about the families that lived in the houses at that time. There were only 8 of us on the tour. Mind you the houses wouldn't have held many more!

We managed to grab a quick bite to eat at the Mash House (at Brindley Lock) and bumped into one of the families who we had been with us on the Back to Back tour (chances of doing that were pretty slim!) Food was great and hope they open more restaurants .... so I can try the bangers and mash or pie and mash!

The show we saw was Quidam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quidam It was excellent. A bit disappointed in the ground floor seating arrangements as you had to keep dodging the head in front of you ... but at the interval the people next to me didn't come back (obviously found better seats elsewhere) so I was able to straddle two seats and had a great view of the stage! It started off with a guy of a HUGE wheel (similar to a hamster's wheel) in which he rolls, spins, twists. How strong must he be to do that! This was followed by four young girls with Diabolos. They were brilliant - never dropping one of them! One of the highlights followed with a girl and two red silks hung high above the stage .... and there she wrapped herself in the silks and swung and fell and suspended herself. It was mesmerising. There followed a set with skipping ropes ... I remember from school trying to get two people jumping in tandem ... these would have lots of people skipping in the same rope .... and at one point two ropes swinging inside each other! I must go and dig out my skipping rope!

Other acts included the hoops where three girls would swing high above the stage - at one point holding on with just one foot (no safety nets or wires!). Then the men took to the ropes and swung high above the stage. A female hand-balanced on stage - and at times the stage was moving and she was balancing on a post. She was so flexible ... I never knew legs could stretch so far! A female swung high above the stage on a rope which was made into a swing - she was the only one who wore a safety wire - I think it was more for the audiences safety than hers! The show was finished off with the acrobats ... they performed various human pyramids and the "flight-exchange". Boy they need such strength and precision! Great show and worth seeing on stage so that you can appreciate how difficult the performances are.

Headed back to the train station along the canalside and through the Mailbox ... didn't see anyone famous at the BBC but now know where BBC Midlands comes from!

Seeds - one week on

I planted some seeds last Sunday - sunflowers, tomatoes, basil and peppers. Well here they are one week on.



These are basil and tomatoes. Basil is to the left of the photo. Basil is doing ok ... tomatoes not so good.

Mmm this is the peppers ... not much sign of any sprouting yet!

These are the sunflowers. They are doing ok!

Will report again next week.

First Day of Spring

According to the radio today is the first day of Srping! Well hasn't it been a glorious day ... the sun has shone and it was warm enough for a walk without your coat on! Had a quick walk around Keele lake - down past the white well (I think that's what it is called!).

The daffodils are out and it's lovely when the sun shines on them. Took a couple of photos (these are straight off the camera and before any photo-shopping!)

Spring has arrived

It's been a lovely day today ... spring is definitely here. Lots of daffodils are flowering and that is always a good sign. It's amazing how quickly things come on in the garden. Did a tidy up yesterday and lots of plants had new buds and shoots. It's a lovely time in the garden.

I'm hoping Mr Rat has packed his bags and gone. I didn't notice any new signs that he had been around last night so hopefully he has taken up residency in someone else's garden.

Been for a walk this lunchtime around Keele Hall and the lakes. Stumbled across a Geo-cache so left a note in the book. Didn't really have anything to leave in the box ... but found a cloakroom ticket (number 301) so left that. We probably walked about 1.5 miles. Need to get some miles done this week as we have kind of let lunch times walk slip.

Hope the weather continues ... everything feels so much better when the sun shines.

Edited to include photo of the Geo-cache we found (they are my gloves ... used so not to leave finger prints - well we didn't know what was in the box at first!!)

Sowing the seeds

Spring has arrived. I've pushed through the cobwebs down in the shed and dusted off my seed trays and planted some seeds. Hopefully in a few weeks I should be getting some basil and tomotoes (seeds courtesy of Red Cross), two types of peppers (not holding much hope as they didn't grow last year) and the good old favourite sun flowers.

The trays are currently on the window sill in the conservatory. Will keep you posted on their progress and who knows maybe even some photos when there is something to show.

Reducing my electricity consumption

I've been "chosen" to receive a new Smart meter which aims to reduce how much electricity I use by showing me how much I'm using! Starting to wonder if I actually want to know how much electricity my washer or tumble drier uses! On the plus side no more estimating billing!

Just found this article in computing with http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2207441/npower-smart-meter-trial-begin-3753332

Just waiting for Npower to let me know when they are coming to install ... I hope it's not on a wash day!

Belfast March 2009

Had a great weekend away in Belfast. Bit of a panic on Friday morning. I was allowed 20kg on my EasyJet flight. So I popped my case on the scales and it registered 26! I checked to make sure it was on kgs and it was! So stuff was being flung out of my neatly packed case and being weighed and a decision was made to “take it” or “dump it”. Both hairdryer and hair straighteners went on the “dump it” pile! Dad turned up to take me to the airport and said “that weighs no where near 20 kg”!

We headed off to Liverpool airport. It was a lovely sunny morning. Given myself plenty of time. Dad dropped me off and I headed into the airport. I was soon able to check in and get rid of my case (which incidentally weighed in at 10.3 kg!). Had a few hours to kill around the airport so sat listening to music and people watching. I kept trying to guess where people where heading off to! Was surprised that I had to remove my belt and shoes to pass through airport security! What’s that about! The flight was only 30 minutes. No sooner had we had got to cruising altitude we were starting the decent. We landed in Belfast in the rain …. and where was my hair dryer and straighteners, yes you remembered correctly back home! Picked up my case and headed off to find the bus to the City centre. Got chatting to a lovely Irish couple (well brother and sister) on the bus into the City centre. Journey took about 30 minutes. From the bus station I set off walking to the hostel which wasn’t far … but again it was that drizzly rain! I checked in and found I’d got a text from Sarah who had arrived a few hours earlier. Did a bit of un-packing and then got a text to say they were meeting for a few drinks in the bar at Benedicts. Meet up with Anne, Martin, Rita and Dave. A couple of drinks (and yes I did order halves but got served pints!) and then headed back to hostel for a quick shower and get changed ready to go out for the evening meal.

We headed off out to Northern Whig. Had a lovely meal – chicken fajitas and scrummy warm chocolate and walnut brownie! Once dined and wined we headed off round the corner to the Cloth Ear for a few more drinks. We called it a night about midnight as we had a busy weekend ahead.

Saturday morning me and Sarah had breakfast in the hostel. Wow what a breakfast. Bacon, sausage, beans, tomato, egg, soda bread and potato bread. It was HUGE. Once we had had breakfast we booked onto one of the open top tour buses … slight problem though it was cold and raining! First part of the journey we sat down stairs on the bus but couldn’t see a thing through the windows so eventually we braved the weather and sat on top deck! Thankfully the rain had eased off. Excellent tour. It took in the Titanic dock, Samson and Goliath cranes, Stormant, the Falls Road and Shankill Road with the murals and peace wall and back into the City Centre. Well worth doing if you are ever in Belfast. As we had missed the first part of the tour we headed back off again. This time we got off the bus at the Pump House. It was desolated and it seemed we were the only foolish tourist about. We had a look around the Pump House and the Titanic dry dock and found the recently refurbished café had just re-opened. What a welcome cup of coffee that was! Warmed up by the coffee we waited for the bus to come round again. Back on the bus we sat downstairs in the dry and headed off again back round Stormant. We left the bus once back in the City Centre and headed on down to the City Hall. Again it had started to rain so we headed off into the Linen Hall Library for coffee a cherry scone (very nice!). By the time we had finished the rain had eased off so we wandered around the streets. We had a look inside the Opera House and no one would have noticed if we had taken a seat and watched David Essex in All the Fun of the Fayre. We then headed across the road to the Crown liquor house. What a quaint pub – it still has gas lights and little snugs. (I forgot to take any photos but found this http://www.crownbar.com/gallery_details_2.html ). We had a couple of beers and Hazel joined us. We all then headed back over to the Europa to meet up with Fi and Catherine. Sat and listened to the jazz band for a short while and then headed off back to the hostel.

A quick shower and thankfully Sarah had some straighteners and then we were off out to meet up with everyone in the bar in Benedicts. There must have been around 25 people. We then headed off to the restaurant. Had a lovely meal. Bang Bang Chicken for starter and Tempura Chicken for main. Both well presented. We then had a book dip – we each had to take with us a book you loved, a book you hated and one that made you laugh! We then took turns pulling a name out of a bag. For some reason I never got the book “that made you laugh” . More drinks and more chat followed and the “dreaded” sorting out of the bill! Hazel did a wonderful job and for a time we thought we would all get a refund … but sadly the restaurant hadn’t done the bill correctly. Yet more drink and chat and we final called it a night about 1.00 ish (actually I can’t remember the time but I know it was late!).

Sunday morning me and Sarah headed off to breakfast and I was still full from the night before so it was the Causeway breakfast for me (cereal, coffee, toast and croissant). Nipped into Benedicts to say goodbye to people and then I headed off for a Sunday morning walk … but oh was it cold. I had a walk around Queens College and then into the Botanical Gardens. Unfortunately the Palm House was closed but I pressed my nose up against the glass and peered in through the windows! One moment it was sunny and then I noticed that the sky was getting darker so I headed back to the hostel for a coffee to warm up … luckily I went when I did as it started snowing/raining/sleeting! My intention was to have a quick look around town but I decided to head back to the airport so I walked back to bus station (in the snow/sleet) and waited for the bus.

I was at the airport with time on my hands and I had a wait for the check-in desk to open so I found myself a seat and sat and people watched again. I picked up a paper that someone had left on the seat and the first article I read was “how to survive a plane crash” !!! Essential reading in an airport waiting lounge – not! I munched through my bag of Tayto crisps (not much different than Golden Wonders) and drank my bottle of pop as I was not allowed to take it through airport security. Eventually checked in and went through to the departure lounge. Still had time to kill so sat and read for awhile and then the flight got delayed for 30 minutes (which turned out the be an hour!). We all got herded to the gate ready for departure but there was one thing missing - the plane! Eventually the plane turned up and we were allowed to board (remembering all the tips I’d read in “how to survive a plane crash”). Arrived safely back in Liverpool. Cost us a fiver to get the car off the car park – the flight wasn’t much more than that!

A great weekend … can’t wait til the next one!

I’ve posted some photos on Facebook and I’ll leave them open to anyone to view for a short while.
Album 1 http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1581320&l=cf0a8&id=585777112
Album 2 http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1581485&l=96713&id=585777112

Blood Brothers

Went to see Blood Brothers at the theatre last week. It's very good. The story centres around twin boys who are separated at birth and then brought up in totally different backgrounds. This is the second time I've seen it - both times a different Nolan playing Mrs Johnstone (the mother) - how many Nolans are there! Well worth going to see it if you get the chance.

Wikipedia pagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Brothers_(musical) gives more information .. but might also have spoilers if you don't already know the story.

Belfast

I'm off to Belfast in the morning. Meeting up with friends old and new that I've met on RISI (readitswapit) forum. Really looking forward to actually meeting some of my "virtual" friends. I've meet several before so it will not be as daunting as it sounds!

Last time I went to Belfast was in the 70's ... so I think it's going to be quite different this time - no soliders and tanks and barricades!

Anyway I will update when I get back on all the antics and no doubt there will be a few photos!

Spotify

Just downloaded Spotify ... no it's nothing to do with giving people zits on photos - well that's what I thought! It's like having your own personal juke box! There is loads of music to choose from and you can listen to albums or just tracks. I'm having an Everything but the Girl moment. Funny thing is I have all these albums ... it just easier to sit here flicking between various tracks! Just humming away to The Only Living Boy in New York!

Have a go ... it's free! Just Google Spotify and you'll find it. Music is for enjoying and singing badly too :)

Pancake Saturday

I didn't have pancakes on Pancake Tuesday. Didn't really have the time to make them for myself and the mixture usually makes loads and I can't eat them all ... but we were round at a friends house on Saturday and had them for pudding instead. Just simply served with lemon and sugar. Yummy. Here are a couple of photos.

Revolution 24 Cycling Manchester

Saturday night we went to Manchester Velodrome to watch Revolution 24.
http://www.cyclingrevolution.com/content/en/default_gb.aspx

We were hoping that we would see Hoy racing but unfortunately he'd had a smash last weekend and was not fully recovered from that. This was to be Arnaud Tournant last race before retiring and the finale was to be a sprint between Hoy and Tournant.

However we did catch lots of other races. This time we stood track centre and you get a completely different feel to the race. Boy do they go fast (I got lots of photos of track or the part of the back wheel of a bike!). Standing track centre you are also very close to all the riders enclosure... and there were some very pleasant sights to be seen :) Bradely Wiggins and Geriant Thomas were racing as were Jamie Staff and Jason Kenny.

Another highlight of the night is the pancakes with banana and honey ... oh and lets not forget the goodies we had taken ourselves. All in all an excellent night at the track.

London in Photos

I meant to post earlier in the week a couple of photos from London ... but as usual time rushed by and where are we now, Sunday! So here goes


Here is the Sherlock Holmes Museum and Sherlock!

These are from Regents Park. I think the squirrel was munching on a jaffa cake!

This is from the Rose Garden in Regents Park ... no roses but I did manage to capture a pigeon!



Oh and this is The Ivy ... it doesn't look that posh!