27 February 2010

Saturday Satire - Disease Warning

The United States Center for Contagious Disease Control has issued a level 1 warning about a new virulent strain that has been quickly spreading. The disease is contracted through dangerously high-risk behavior.

The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim, and is pronounced "gonna re-elect 'em."

Research has confirmed that most victims contracted this dangerous and destructive disease after having been screwed in November 2008. It is expected to infect the general population of the United Kingdom widely in May 2010.

Naturalists and epidemiologists are amazed at how destructive this disease has become and have further learned that it is easily cured....by simply voting out all incumbents!

23 February 2010

Too Hot... Too Cold

Yet again the bug has struck.... from being freezing cold and shivering, I have gone to being like a furnace and not even sunshine in sight...

Don't know whether it is the length of Winter this year, and boy doesn't it seem to have gone on for such a long time, or whether it is just the contact with new people and places that brings these bugs out to attack.

Luckily, or unluckily, it is mainly now my nose that is bunged up and stuffy but the cough is a cracker but not something I am worrying about as otherwise I feel fine.

Had to have an early night on Saturday, due to feeling ever so slightly unwell, and piled all the blankets I could find on top of me as well as the quilt and a second one as well. I cooked the virus out and although it left me feeling a bit on the wobbly side, and a bit lack lustre about food. I even missed a chinese meal on the saturday night but I wouldn't have been able to do it justice. Instead I suddenly developed a craving for a strawberry milkshake on Sunday afternoon which once in my mind nothing was going to make it go away except a trip to the golden arches.

Why is it that the very worst things for you taste the best especially when you are recovering from illness? I have no idea but it went down very well at the time.

I am looking for more permanent work, but enjoying the drive to Truro it lets me wind down from work before I get home. Though I would like to have something a little closer to home if I could only because I am about to shell out on a second hand mountain bike and it would be nice on a sunny warm day to consider cycling in, but even I am not mad enough to do 10 miles.

22 February 2010

Piggin' Lovely

Went out yesterday, with SOH's family to bring home the bacon...

Well actually a 17stone, 9 month old gilt called Big Girl who is a cross breed gloucester old spot and has a lovely temperament; though she didn't think much of being coaxed into the trailer to bring her back home to Redruth.

She almost became bacon though, and the two other gilts sharing her stall were off to the 'you know where' today but the family have an idea to raise their own piglets rather than buying weaners and raising them.

We even had lessons in inseminating pigs with AI you can buy over the internet; I didn't know you could DIY AI for pigs but you can and cheaper than it would cost to sent the pig to the boar..

You live and learn.

20 February 2010

Saturday Satire - Tanjooberrymutts

The following is a telephonic exchange between maybe you as a hotel guest and room-service in China ......

Room Service : "Morrin. Roon sirbees."

Guest : "Sorry, I thought I dialed room-service."

Room Service: " Rye . Roon sirbees...morrin! Joowish to oddor sunteen???"

Guest: "Uh..... Yes, I'd like to order bacon and eggs."

Room Service: "Ow ulai den?"

Guest: ".....What??"

Room Service: "Ow ulai den?!?... Pryed, boyud, pochd?"

Guest: "Oh, the eggs! How do I like them? Sorry.. Scrambled, please."

Room Service: "Ow ulai dee bayken ? Creepse?"

Guest: "Crisp will be fine."

Room Service: "Hokay. An sahn toes?"

Guest: "What?"

Room Service: "An toes. ulai sahn toes?"

Guest: "I.... Don't think so.."

RoomService: "No? Udo wan sahn toes???"

Guest: "I feel really bad about this, but I don't know what 'udo wan sahn toes' means."

RoomService: "Toes! Toes!...Why Uoo don wan toes? Ow bow Anglish moppin we botter?"

Guest: "Oh, English muffin! !! I've got it! You were saying 'toast'...
Fine...Yes, an English muffin will be fine."

RoomService: "We botter?"

Guest: "No, just put the botter on the side."

RoomService: "Wad?!?"

Guest: "I mean butter... Just put the butter on the side."

RoomService: "Copy?"

Guest: "Excuse me?"

RoomService: "Copy...tea..meel?"

Guest: "Yes. Coffee, please... And that's everything."

RoomService: "One Minnie. Scramah egg, creepse bayken , Anglish moppin, we botter on sigh and copy ... Rye ??"

Guest: "Whatever you say."

RoomService: "Tanjooberrymutts."

Guest: "You're welcome"

19 February 2010

Disappointed

I was really looking forward to watching the Winter Olympics from Vancouver, and boy have I been disappointed.

Not with the competitors, the weather, the location, the time difference.. no just that the BBC are not putting on as much as I would have liked, where were the highlights - hidden away on BBC2 as though it was something to hide.

If it had been Wimbledon the channels would have been swamped with live matches, replays and highlights of the day; likewise football, we get a glut of it, with the FA Cup, the Euro matches, the world cup etc.. but the Olympics held every 4 years have had so little air time in prime time and I cannot stay awake long enough to watch it live at midnight and beyond.

What exactly do I pay my licence fees for BBC, please tell me that.. Oh hang on, I know it's those damn celebrity shows you insist are entertainment. Well let me tell you that you have it wrong, and that eventually we the people will rebel until you start putting on decent programming schedules and not endless repeats or celebrity showcases.

16 February 2010

I loved his books

Dick Francis, that is, who sadly died yesterday. I can remember eagerly awaiting the release of his newest novel (and really didn't care whether it was him, his wife or his son who wrote it) then sitting down and reading it in one go; usually within a couple of hours.

There was no point in even talking to me when I had my nose in a book, I was oblivious to the world and wouldn't surface, willingly, until I had read the last word.

The book would then join the rest of the book collection, sorted by order, until I took it down again for another refresh of the story. No matter how many times I read it, the story was just as fresh as before and just as gripping. I loved the tales of racing and enjoyed the way the stories ran, though I will admit the earlier books were better than the later ones where racing almost took second place.

15 February 2010

Weekend of sunshine and warmth

It was nice to sit out in the warm sunshine yesterday, I was cleaning some of the bike gloves and boots using good old fashioned saddlesoap, they will need re-conditioning at some point in time, but the storage conditions are not ideal for leather and some of the gloves had grown a lovely mildew covering of mould which comes off beautifully with a bit of warm water and some saddle soap. I brought a bar of it when we visited Trago Mills at Liskeard as I thought it might come in handy and it has done. The only thing I didn't buy which I regret is some Kao-Ko-Line which is used to condition leather and waterproof it without rotting the stitching. Very important in boots and gloves which can be expensive to buy and not always easy to find the ones that suit.

The afternoon was spent, as it got cooler outside, in front of the TV watching the rugby, England were playing Italy and making a ham-fisted job of beating them. Not that the Italians were playing badly, it was more that England were throwing away chances and Johnny Wilkinson didn't help by missing three penalty kicks; this was later blamed on the fact that a Mitre rugby ball was being used - not something he was used to.. My dad always said a bad workmen always blames his tools, so hopefully JW will gear up for the next round of matches.

I made the mistake of trying some mulled wine SOH was given for christmas, and on an empty stomach it made me feel really yeuch. Enough at the end to go and get some tablets to cure the headache. Though later a nice piece of treacle tart with some clotted cream went down nicely. We brought it from Kingsley market along with some sausages. I will definitely be going back there for meat as the prices were as reasonable as the bigger supermarkets and it is nice to support the local economy. In all the times I have visited cornwall I had never been there and didn't know what I was missing.

13 February 2010

Saturday Satire : Career Paths

A father had a teenage son, and it was getting time the boy should give some thought to choosing a profession. Like many young men, he really didn't know what he wanted to do, and he didn't seem to concerned either.

One day, while the lad was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy's room and placed four objects on his bedside table: a Bible, a £5 note, a bottle of whisky and a Playboy magazine.

"I'll just hide behind the dooor," the father said to himself,"when he comes home from school this afternoon, I'll watch to see which object he picks up.

"If it's the Bible, he's going to be a vicar. If he picks up the money, he's going to be a banker or businessman. But if he picks up the bottle he's going to be a no-good drunkard. Worst of all, if he picks up the magazine he's going to be a skirt chasing bum."

The man waited anxiously, and soon heard his son's footsteps as he entered the house and headed to his room. The boy tossed his books on the bed, and as he turned to leave the room he spotted the objects on the table.With curiosity in his eye, he walked over and inspected them.
Finally, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm. He picked up the money and dropped it in his pocket. He then uncorked the bottle and took a big swig as he admired the centrefold in the magazine.

"Lord have mercy," the old man whispered disgustingly,"he's going to run for Parliament!"

12 February 2010

Time

Time is flying by really quickly this year, and yet at the same time dragging it's heels.

What do I mean by that?

Well the days are getting longer, and the sun is definitely getting warmer (when you see it that is), but the temperature seems still to be as cold as the depths of winter. Here we are in virtually in the middle of February and this morning I was outside at -3 degrees C defrosting my car to go to work yet the sunshine was bright enough to dazzle.

The children are just starting their half-term here, 6 weeks after returning to work, meanwhile I have been at my job for the same amount of time and it has flown by. I am looking around for more permanent work as this is only temporary until the Summer but I am ever hopeful the right job will turn up for me. The one thing it has taught me is that I can fit in to a new team quickly and pretty much do the job without feeling like a fish out of water, which is something you never really know until you do it; and after nearly 30 years in one employment I will admit to having doubts.

All we need now is for the house to sell, so we can buy something down here and move out of the caravan into our own space. Not only that we plan on having a dog, torn between a German Shepherd and a Belgian Shepherd. SOH likes the idea of having a shepherd dog, I like the idea of having a big dog after years of little jack russells and it won't remind me of Sam quite so much. We saw a 4 month old Belgian Shepherd called Hudson at Pool market a week or so ago and he was absolutely gorgeous but we have to wait for the right circumstances.

11 February 2010

Ideas for Packed Lunches

I am running out of ideas for packed lunches, I can only do sandwiches with plain fillings as I don't like soggy bread and as my journey to work has to start reasonably early I cannot really do them in the morning.

Other than ham and pickle, or cheese and pickle (and I can't eat a lot of cheese these days) or the fallback of peanut butter I am at a loss for the right ideas.

I can take a salad, and have done for the past two days, and as the main canteen for the office is right downstairs with fridges for our use, I have access to storing salads to keep them cold.

I could take bread and butter, and then put on salmon to make them fresh, but it still lacks originality or even enthusiasm.

I did find some sandwich recipes on-line but again it would make the bread soggy or contains too much mayonnaise etc for my liking.

Today I am having garlic chicken wraps with grapes, I have spread the tortilla wrap very thinly with some garlic mayonnaise, sprinkled some chicken on it and the grapes are stored in the same container so I just have to cut them in two and add them to the wrap

What do others do for their lunch, because as nice as the lunches are downstairs and yesterday they did roast lamb, they are too expensive to do each day and not only that I can't eat two main meals a day as it makes me to full.

So ideas please either it can be in a comment or on your own blog, there must be some good ideas out there.

09 February 2010

Back to the folds of Winter

Over here in the West at the Edge of the World, the cold fingers of Winter are reaching out, not as badly as for those living in the East of the Country where snow and ice are making lives so much more difficult.

It seems strange to see on the news the weather only 300 miles away and yet so different to what I wake up to.

Even that is small stuff in comparison to the snowfall that the East Coast of the US has received and is still receiving, they are expecting another 18 inches on top of the 3ft they have already but they still manage to run their services and some hardy souls are skiing to work in the capital.

Take note England for when we even get 2 inches of the white fluffy stuff we grind everything to a halt for days.

I can't wait for the warmer days to return, last weekend we even had warm sunshine and light winds, enough for me to ditch my coat for a waistcoat for a short trip into town and not notice the cold. But I am keeping an eye out on the first signs of a real spring emerging though Sally over at Cornwall beside the Sea has seen the first daffodils blooming at Portreath.

08 February 2010

In the pouring rain

A nice young man, known officially now as the hero of the hour, pulled off the old exhaust now completed severed from the manifold end and welded it back together using a bit of spare pipe and meanwhile the rain pelted down on him as he was lying on his back outside under the car.

It took him about an hour in total and then my little car sounded once more like a car and not an undersized tractor. He did try to kid me by saying I had to drive at 20 miles per hour for 5 miles which later got increased to 10 miles but I kept quiet. It has to have some more work done on it in the near future as the Cam belt drive and pulleys need to be replaced due to age, hopefully this will be enough to keep it going for a little longer.

I am looking to get a new car, well new second hand. I haven't made up my mind what I want, but some of it is going to come down to needs and environment as well as costs. I quite like the idea of a Kia next but have no experience of them, though SOH's Dad has had a couple and seems quite happy with them.

06 February 2010

Saturday Satire - Threat Levels

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to a "Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588 when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots raised their threat level from "Pssed Off" to "Let's get the B'stards". They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralysing the country's military capability. It's not only the French who are on a heightened level of alert.

Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout loudly and excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Americans meanwhile and as usual are carrying out pre-emptive strikes, on all of their allies, just in case.

And in the southern hemisphere...

New Zealand has also raised its security levels - from "baaa" to "BAAAA!". Due to continuing defence cutbacks (the air force being a squadron of spotty teenagers flying paper aeroplanes and the navy some toy boats in the Prime Minister's bath), New Zealand only has one more level of escalation, which is "I hope Australia will come and rescue us".

Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be right, mate". Three more escalation levels remain: "Crikey!', "I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend" and "The barbie is cancelled". So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.

05 February 2010

Exhausted

Not me the car!!

Coming home on Tuesday I thought the car sounded a little noisier than normal, and when I got back home one of the family said the exhaust has gone and the car now sounded like a tractor. I groaned... I didn't need this now, nor in the future, but the car is almost 10 years old and hasn't really had many problems at all during that time. Good job too as I am not an aspiring mechnanic and rely on garages etc to keep me sane and on the road

SOH lent me his car for work, as I have further to go, I have only driven it once and being an estate car I have felt a little nervous about driving it before. I only managed to stall it once and that was trying to reverse into a car parking space at work but in my defence the car was on full lock and apparently is a bit more tempramental. I made to work, and home again and even felt a little more comfortable.

Yesterday, SOH took mine to work and en-route the hole in exhaust developed into a fracture. He coaxed it home yesterday where hopefully at the weekend a family member might be able to weld it back together again, but now we have one car between us and his start time is earlier than mine so I get to take him to work and then come back for an hour or so before I need to get to work myself. Needless to say I managed to find the time to catch up with the news on the BBC and watch an episode of Heartbeat being too tired to do much more than tv watch this morning. Still it could have been worse, he might have still been on the 2am job rather than the 5am job.

I managed to leave my mobile phone at work yesterday evening, and today he left his at home... For those of you wondering about the bikes, and not using them, the storage area where they are being kept is boggy and my chances of getting the bike in and out is zero.. a nice couple of days of dry warm weather wouldn't go amiss right now.

03 February 2010

Book Stop

I don't always have too much time on my hands now to curl up with a book, in fact the only time I generally have is when I am on my lunch at work. I don't know whether this is because I am getting older and reading is more of a struggle; long gone are the days when I used to curl up with a book in bed reading until the small hours of the morning, desperate to get to the climax of the story.

Nowadays I am lucky if I can read a book a month, never mind a week or even a day. I am lucky in that there is a small library where I work which has some fiction books as well as the more mundane text books (though archaeology is never really dull lol) but also they have a book stop.

People can bring along books they no longer want and place them at the book stop for others to pick them up, read them and either keep them or return to either the same or a different location. I suppose similar to book crossing only much more local.

I have picked up a book by Sarah Harrison - The Dreaming Stones - but similarly written to that of Barbara Erskine's novels where the central character reaches back over the history to an earlier character and this is the crux of the novel. Haven't yet started it as I am trying to finish Zoe Ferraris The Night of the Miraj set in Saudi Arabia and reads a bit like a Columbo story but for all of that you can almost smell the heat of the sand and the scent of the camels. Not a boiled egg in sight.

02 February 2010

An Offer to buy the House

I had another offer on the house, but it turns out to be a bogus one, apparently the 'company' agrees to buy the house, but you have to indemnify them against any and all admin charges they might incur while they try to find a buyer for you.

My estate agent told me they were bogus and there is a report in the Daily Mirror saying just that, even Trading Standards have now got involved and taking the company owner to court over unfair practice. I am still trying to find the link again, and when I do I will update this post.

So if you are considering selling your house, and you get a similar offer be careful as it isn't likely to bring you anything but misery and cost you money.

On a brighter note, I just reached 600 posts... my word what a load of drivel I have filled the internet void with :-)

01 February 2010

Its no good, I've tried

On my to work, which is about 9 miles away, I get the chance to listen to 30 mins or so of radio and since the departure of the much missed Sir Terry de Wogan and the rest of the gang, I have tried on a couple of occasions to listen to Chris Evans.

Don't get me wrong, I used to listen to around about 10 mins of Drivetime when he was hosting that, and quite enjoyed it especially on a friday when callers could choose the tunes. Going home was a short pleasurable listening time and I did this if anyone could take over from Wogan it would be Evans.

How wrong I was, he is manic and it feels like I'm listening to Radio 1 with the music of Radio 2 with an manic DJ in charge of proceedings.

I dislike it so much, that I am listening to Pirate FM instead in the morning on the way to work, and Simon Mayo who has taken over the drivetime programme in the evening. I miss the gentle humour that accompanied Sir Tel, and I don't think I am alone in regretting the BBC's choice of successor to him; though no doubt the BBC will not back down as they usually insist that we don't know what's best for us.. hmmm similar sort of nanny state that the Government think we require.