Thursday 28 February 2008

Hotmail is driving me mad!!I

If you try Googling Problems with Hotmail you will get over 1 million hits. I am sorry that they are having problems but what is all the secrecy about, why were 80 million affected and no apology or explanation given. Times on line has a good report on the incident but they are non the wiser either. Come on Hotmail, shit happens but unless you say sorry your customers aren't going to stay loyal for long.

Tuesday 26 February 2008

It's early, I'm tired and I'm having a rant

I have just published Episode 15 of Spanish Steps (Sophie is over in Spain for Martin's party but is acting like a queen bitch to her long suffering mother) and thought that I would check my hotmail while the puppies are quiet.

Here comes the rant...adverts on hotmail...specifically optical correction adverts...I wear glasses...I have no interest in having an operation to correct my sight...My life is not impaired in any way by wearing glasses (except when I open the oven door and they mist up)...I don't feel a freak because I wear glasses...Wearing glasses never stopped my from doing all the things I wanted to do...Before I was married wearing glasses NEVER stopped me getting a boy friend (believe me, it is a myth that boys don't make passes at girls who wear glasses) So why do these adverts insist that those of us who need face furniture are freaky specky four eyes who are just waiting for the day when they can face the world without glasses...And if this operation is so bloody good why do you see optitions in glasses?...rant over (the puppies are getting restless)

Tuesday 19 February 2008

Horses





It always used to make us laugh when we first moved here that people used to say 'I can remember when this was all fields' but now I find myself saying the same thing, is that a sign of old age?

When the kids were little they used to raid the vegetable rack for carrots to take up to the horses in the field in front of the water tower. Well the horses are still there but now they are surrounded by 'executive style homes' (they still like carrots though)

Town Park

As part of Dave's physio he can now walk 30 minutes a day, still on the level, no hill treks obviously, but it does mean that we have been able to enjoy this cold sunny weather. The other day we took and stroll around to Town Park. It is ages since we've been there, which is mad as it is only 5 minutes away, but since Billy died we just didn't have an excuse for walking through it.



It doesn't have the landscaping of a more traditional park but on a day like this it has a beauty all of it's own.


The ponds have been cleared ready for the frogs and newts to spawn

The puppies are going to love running across the fields

The ground was very wet which made the walk a 'bit of a challenge' why they can't put in more paths I'll never now.

Saturday 9 February 2008

It really was a lovely walk




Come on Warrington BC, loosen up, you have a beautiful park, just get rid of some of the signs (and make the car park free!!)

Saved the best 'till last


It's no wonder the ducks are swimming round in circles!!!!

Signage for the confused


Do you think that it was the end of the financial year and they had some budget left in the road painting department?

Welcome Sign


OK I am all for people parking responsibly but for heavens sake this is a park, a place for families to have fun, and what do you do in the overflow car park where there are no 'marked bays' ?

Overflow Car Park



What possible Health and Safety reasons could there be??????

Overflow car park

I'm not joking, the hut was at the edge of this huge field and by my reckoning at the last count it had 5 notices attached to it!!

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Overflow Car Park Walton Hall Gardens

OK I give in, what is this the way out to???

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A walk on a sunny day

It was a lovely sunny morning on Wednesday so Dave and I thought that we would go to Walton Hall Gardens for a stroll. Unfortunately the puppies can't venture out into the big wide world until their next Friday i,e a week after their second jab, so it was just the two of us mapping out a 30 minute circuit (Dave's exercise regime is now walking up to 30 mins a day)

For those of you who don't know, Walton Hall Gardens is a lovely park with plenty of open spaces for dog walking, pretty formal gardens and a little children's zoo. It's all very nice and well cared for but the local authority has gone mad with the don't signs.

They start in the car park (a scandalous charge of £1.50 during the week and more at the weekends!) with this sign on an unmanned little hut -

Saturday 2 February 2008

Son going round the world - Mother going round the bend

You would have been very proud of me, I stood at the station and waved James off without disgracing myself, no tears on the platform - although the wind was blowing straight up the Mersey and any tears would probably have been blown off my face anyway!

As we speak James is winging his way to Thailand for the first stop on his round the world trip. It's very easy for a Mum to forget that her kids are grown ups. I suppose that it's because we look at them and see the little monsters they used to be but James is 22 now and I was a married woman at that age. I wonder if my Mum still thought of me as a ten year old with a pony tail and scabby knees when I was in my twenties?

I've just looked at the weather forecast for Bangkok - 30 degrees and rain for the next two days - well I suppose the rain will make it feel like home even if the temperature doesn't -it's been freezing here and this morning we've even had snow!

(I'm having great fun watching one chap trying to drive out of the road - so far he has had three attempts at getting up the hill and is now stuck half way up with a small audience offering advice - I bet he's thrilled!)