When I first started posting on the web I found that I sometimes wanted to post a picture / photograph, as on this blog and then later when I developed my website I need to post even more photos. After a good search around I decided upon PhotoBucket which offered photo hosting for free. Then after a few years they introduced charging.
So I bit the bullet and started paying a modest annual fee. Then the hits on this blog and the web site meant that I hit band width problem with PhotoBucket, and the annual fee went up.
So again I bit the bullet and paid the increased (but still modest) annual fee. I correctly maintained my account registering changes as they applied, including a change of email address.
Yesterday I received an email from PhotoBucket advising me that I have 30 days to upgrade my account. While I find the new charge rates unpalletable what has really got me is that since I changed my email address they have obviously been sending emails to my old (dead) email account. How and why this final notice got through I have yet to determine but the fact that over 2 years since I made the change on my account PhotoBucket still haven't updated their systems.
So do I again bite the bullet and pay the increased charges at x3 what I am currently paying? No! I have a whole shed load of work to do but I am setting about moving the PhotoBucket hosted pictures and photos to another host site and leave PhotoBucket to shut down my long running account. And I have lest than 30 days to do it....
Tuesday 7 November 2017
Sunday 10 September 2017
All change - cars
Mrs C decided that she wanted to change her car in August and finally found a Kia Sportage KZ3 1.7 CRDi that she liked and decided to buy. First off she intended to trade her Peugeot 207cc against the Kia, but we finally decided that a much more sensible financial solution was for her to trade in my Mazda6 and for me to pay her the difference between it and the Peugeot which had only 29,100 miles on its odometer while my Mazda6 had 104,500 miles under its wheels.
And so the deal was done. Sue is loving her new SUV while I am having fun in what was her, but is now my, Peugeot 207cc. All my mates rib me about me driving a "hair dresser's" car but I've found that a cloth cap fits the bill and generates amusement as Dave and I found when we were caught up on a drive down to Nuneaton by a couple of young ladies in another steel roof convertible (we were both driving roof down).
So the Mazda has gone and is sorely missed but the Peugeot is proving to be good fun and generates smiles, which is more important.
And so the deal was done. Sue is loving her new SUV while I am having fun in what was her, but is now my, Peugeot 207cc. All my mates rib me about me driving a "hair dresser's" car but I've found that a cloth cap fits the bill and generates amusement as Dave and I found when we were caught up on a drive down to Nuneaton by a couple of young ladies in another steel roof convertible (we were both driving roof down).
So the Mazda has gone and is sorely missed but the Peugeot is proving to be good fun and generates smiles, which is more important.
Tuesday 13 June 2017
Holidays
We love our holidays, always have, and 2017 is turning into a good year...
March - we flew out to Geneva, picked up a hire car and drove to Pubier which was to be our base for a week of touring Switzerland and France. Blessed with fine weather we had a great time.
May - this time a long haul 12.5 hour flight with our friends Sue & Norman care of Malaysia Airlines to Kuala Lumpur followed by a short 2.5 hour flight on Vietnam Airways to Hanoi, the start point for our adventure. Ha Long Bay cruise with a night on board was an antidote to the madness that is Hanoi and worth the 3 hour (each way) minibus drive. Next up, a flight to Da Nang and a minibus to Hoi An for some rest on the beach and round the pool with evenings exploring the Old Town and it's eateries, tailors and lantern sellers as well as the street markets. Another flight and we are is Saigon (don't try and be PC and call it Ho Chi Minh City, it won't endear you to anybody) to conclude our time in Vietnam as the next flight takes us to Siam Reap before our final internal flight to Phnom Penh. I'll post more details at a later date....
September - Already sorted, a break in Madeira to just chill and relax with our friends Carloe & Giuseppe. Bring it on.
March - we flew out to Geneva, picked up a hire car and drove to Pubier which was to be our base for a week of touring Switzerland and France. Blessed with fine weather we had a great time.
May - this time a long haul 12.5 hour flight with our friends Sue & Norman care of Malaysia Airlines to Kuala Lumpur followed by a short 2.5 hour flight on Vietnam Airways to Hanoi, the start point for our adventure. Ha Long Bay cruise with a night on board was an antidote to the madness that is Hanoi and worth the 3 hour (each way) minibus drive. Next up, a flight to Da Nang and a minibus to Hoi An for some rest on the beach and round the pool with evenings exploring the Old Town and it's eateries, tailors and lantern sellers as well as the street markets. Another flight and we are is Saigon (don't try and be PC and call it Ho Chi Minh City, it won't endear you to anybody) to conclude our time in Vietnam as the next flight takes us to Siam Reap before our final internal flight to Phnom Penh. I'll post more details at a later date....
September - Already sorted, a break in Madeira to just chill and relax with our friends Carloe & Giuseppe. Bring it on.
SIPP Update
Its is nearly a year since my last SIPP update, so what has happened?
Well overall the situation has not changed much, but the news is not good. The IFA that advised me to move all my 'little' pensions into one SIPP and then on the subsequent investments has been barred by the FSA (Financial Services Authority) / FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) from operating as an IFA so at least he won't be bankrupting any more in my situation.
So, I have had to engage another IFA who is trying to help me out but it is a complicated situation and is going to take a long time to unravel. In the meantime more of my investments has gone bust, ceased trading or have had to undertake considerable restructuring, which means that my original 'investment pot' of £176,000 is now worth in the region of £55,000. My question therefore to the FSA / FCA is this... "Who the hell are you protecting?" Certainly not the small investor like me. From where I sit it looks like the organisation is protecting those that run off with and/or misappropriate funds to line their own pockets at the expense of the small investor.
I'll stop there for now, I'm too angry to finish this post for now....
Well overall the situation has not changed much, but the news is not good. The IFA that advised me to move all my 'little' pensions into one SIPP and then on the subsequent investments has been barred by the FSA (Financial Services Authority) / FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) from operating as an IFA so at least he won't be bankrupting any more in my situation.
So, I have had to engage another IFA who is trying to help me out but it is a complicated situation and is going to take a long time to unravel. In the meantime more of my investments has gone bust, ceased trading or have had to undertake considerable restructuring, which means that my original 'investment pot' of £176,000 is now worth in the region of £55,000. My question therefore to the FSA / FCA is this... "Who the hell are you protecting?" Certainly not the small investor like me. From where I sit it looks like the organisation is protecting those that run off with and/or misappropriate funds to line their own pockets at the expense of the small investor.
I'll stop there for now, I'm too angry to finish this post for now....
Thursday 12 January 2017
On reflection - 2016
The start of a new year is the time to look back and review the year just gone. I have to say that 2016 was actually quite a good year for us and our family. My change of job at the end of 2015 was a leap of faith but 2016 proved it to be the correct move at the right time and it has worked out better than could have been reasonably expected. Holidays, we enjoyed more than a few. Pitlochry in March followed by Zante and Ibiza later in the year and Sue went to Iceland on a hen do at the end of November.
So now we are booked for a short break in Geneva (tourist and touring) in March and a two week holiday to Vietnam & Cambodia in May. Probably fit in another week somewhere in September if the money holds out. We have two weddings to go to in the same weekend at the end of January and goodness knows how many miles I will drive for UoD and where my job will take me.
So we wish all family, friends and colleagues (past, present and future) a happy and prosperous 2017. Here's hoping it is a great year for us all.
So now we are booked for a short break in Geneva (tourist and touring) in March and a two week holiday to Vietnam & Cambodia in May. Probably fit in another week somewhere in September if the money holds out. We have two weddings to go to in the same weekend at the end of January and goodness knows how many miles I will drive for UoD and where my job will take me.
So we wish all family, friends and colleagues (past, present and future) a happy and prosperous 2017. Here's hoping it is a great year for us all.
Changes in the "Bike" world
So with the new year 2017 now well and truly with us the effects on motorcycle manufacturers product line for the year have been revealed with the Euro 4 laws coming into force. As usual most manufacturers are taking the opportunity to rationalise their line-up, dropping the poor sellers. The full picture can be read in these two articles on BikeSocial:
BikeSocial: In Memorium and BikeSocial: Rest in peace
According to the first of these 2 articles it is a surprise that the VFR1200F, Honda’s great hope just a handful of years ago, is being killed off. Well EXCUSE ME but if you check back in my blog to when it was released in 2010 you will see that I dubbed it "the bike nobody wanted nor asked for", and so it has turned out. Good initial sales quickly tailed off and it just never proved as popular as the Blackbird that it replaced. So, no, I am not going to dance on its grave but I am not going to mourn its passing either. Might just raise a glass to the Suzuki Bandit (both 1250 and 650 versions) as it passes into history because unlike the VRF1200 the Bandit (RIP) was iconic, a real world motorbike for real bikers with a strong and loyal following.
BikeSocial: In Memorium and BikeSocial: Rest in peace
According to the first of these 2 articles it is a surprise that the VFR1200F, Honda’s great hope just a handful of years ago, is being killed off. Well EXCUSE ME but if you check back in my blog to when it was released in 2010 you will see that I dubbed it "the bike nobody wanted nor asked for", and so it has turned out. Good initial sales quickly tailed off and it just never proved as popular as the Blackbird that it replaced. So, no, I am not going to dance on its grave but I am not going to mourn its passing either. Might just raise a glass to the Suzuki Bandit (both 1250 and 650 versions) as it passes into history because unlike the VRF1200 the Bandit (RIP) was iconic, a real world motorbike for real bikers with a strong and loyal following.
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