All last week the projections for the weekend’s weather was for rain, rain and yet more rain. The only thing that the various meteorological services couldn’t agree on was how hard it would rain and the speed of the winds. So what did we get?
Saturday was fine, dry, mild, with gentle breezes. Sunday it rained all day, hard and blowy at times.
How can they get it so wrong? Don’t they realise that people actually plan what they are intending to do around the weather forecasts? Thinking we were going to be stuck in doors for the weekend we planned loads of indoor stuff, leaving the outdoor activities for better weather…. Grrrr! It’s so maddening!
The BBC national news ran an article on the flooding and the #1 complaint by those affected was the unreliable nature of the weather forecasts. Told to expect rain, they don’t get it. Told to expect dry conditions and it rains! Personally, I think that the government should bring in legislation for performance related pay for weather forecasters. Get it wrong and they don’t get paid!
Monday, 21 January 2008
Friday, 18 January 2008
Google it…
If you Google the phrase From Tea to Whiskey you get 3 hits! Two of those 3 hits are for this blog.
Worldwide - That’s a pretty exclusive club! Welcome to my club!
Worldwide - That’s a pretty exclusive club! Welcome to my club!
Home alone
It’s been a quietly busy week this week. Mark had another exam at Uni – his second (and last) since Christmas. As far as he’s aware both have gone well and he’s not concerned in any way. In his words they went “fine” so last night on my way home after work I dipped by and picked him and his mate Sonny up and took them back to Derby. Mark’s girlfriend hasn’t had much luck this week – she also had exams but what with traffic and a noisy neighbour keeping her awake at night, then no hot water or heating in her digs, well let’s just say things could have been better.
I’ve not got any chargeable work on at the moment so my firm has got me doing some internal project work at the moment. It has to be done, it’s long overdue, and somebody has to do it, but, the moment I get some chargeable work then the project will get shelved and forgotten. So where’s the motivation to do a proper job of it? On the car front - I've done absolutely nothing. The Merc is running well so I'll take my time to find a replacement. I started the bike up as it had not been run for 5 weeks. It took a bit of cranking but fired up OK in the end. At least the battery was fine, which is the usual concern over winter.
Sue is having a rough time at work at the moment. I can’t post details here right now so it will have to wait until the whole episode is finished – that’ll be at least 12 weeks from now. Her car passed it's first ever MOT at the weekend (it's now 3 years old) and looks as good as the day she drove it out of the showroom. It's almost done 13,000 miles so no need to replace it just yet. Socially she’s a right busy lass, out every night for the past week except Monday and Thursday. She’ll be out tonight and we are out again tomorrow night. Lots of birthdays this month and then again in March which means loads of parties.
Andy has been kept busy at work, but thankfully, most of it has been interesting or challenging stuff – which is what he trained for. He hates the routine servicing jobs but luckily, with so few BMW trained technicians now working at Stratstone (Derby) most of those jobs go to the less qualified technicians. This week saw him and his girlfriend celebrate 2 years going out together and it still looks strong.
Both sets of parents have been quiet since the turn of the year. Dad is spending more time sitting and less time reclined, which is a good indication of his strength. However, he is house bound and that won’t change. Now that mother and the carers have mastered using the fixed overhead hoists things appear to have improved (got easier) and Mum’s spirits have been good on all the visits so far this year.
I'm looking forward to being home alone tonight - a curry & a can or two.... the phrase nothing to do doesn't often feature in my out-of-work time so tonight I'm hoping! So make my day - don't ring me tonight!
I’ve not got any chargeable work on at the moment so my firm has got me doing some internal project work at the moment. It has to be done, it’s long overdue, and somebody has to do it, but, the moment I get some chargeable work then the project will get shelved and forgotten. So where’s the motivation to do a proper job of it? On the car front - I've done absolutely nothing. The Merc is running well so I'll take my time to find a replacement. I started the bike up as it had not been run for 5 weeks. It took a bit of cranking but fired up OK in the end. At least the battery was fine, which is the usual concern over winter.
Sue is having a rough time at work at the moment. I can’t post details here right now so it will have to wait until the whole episode is finished – that’ll be at least 12 weeks from now. Her car passed it's first ever MOT at the weekend (it's now 3 years old) and looks as good as the day she drove it out of the showroom. It's almost done 13,000 miles so no need to replace it just yet. Socially she’s a right busy lass, out every night for the past week except Monday and Thursday. She’ll be out tonight and we are out again tomorrow night. Lots of birthdays this month and then again in March which means loads of parties.
Andy has been kept busy at work, but thankfully, most of it has been interesting or challenging stuff – which is what he trained for. He hates the routine servicing jobs but luckily, with so few BMW trained technicians now working at Stratstone (Derby) most of those jobs go to the less qualified technicians. This week saw him and his girlfriend celebrate 2 years going out together and it still looks strong.
Both sets of parents have been quiet since the turn of the year. Dad is spending more time sitting and less time reclined, which is a good indication of his strength. However, he is house bound and that won’t change. Now that mother and the carers have mastered using the fixed overhead hoists things appear to have improved (got easier) and Mum’s spirits have been good on all the visits so far this year.
I'm looking forward to being home alone tonight - a curry & a can or two.... the phrase nothing to do doesn't often feature in my out-of-work time so tonight I'm hoping! So make my day - don't ring me tonight!
Monday, 14 January 2008
A minor mishap
Now I’m not the best plumber in the world, so knowing my limitations I try and keep to the small, simple jobs in the belief that I can’t cock those up. Wrong!
Over the Christmas – New Year break I had to unblock the waste pipe to the sink in our en-suite – simple enough, surely? Except that I somehow managed to fail to reconnect the pipe correctly and left a hidden joint only partially connected. This was discovered after spotting a stain forming on the lounge ceiling on Saturday (12th January) a fortnight later
So Saturday evening I re-did the job, leaving just one join (part of the U bend) untouched as it looked OK. Sunday morning I checked for leaks only to find that the one connection I’d not had apart and redone was leaking (the rest were fine). Lesson learned, now I just have to get the decorator back in to do the lounge ceiling.
Over the Christmas – New Year break I had to unblock the waste pipe to the sink in our en-suite – simple enough, surely? Except that I somehow managed to fail to reconnect the pipe correctly and left a hidden joint only partially connected. This was discovered after spotting a stain forming on the lounge ceiling on Saturday (12th January) a fortnight later
So Saturday evening I re-did the job, leaving just one join (part of the U bend) untouched as it looked OK. Sunday morning I checked for leaks only to find that the one connection I’d not had apart and redone was leaking (the rest were fine). Lesson learned, now I just have to get the decorator back in to do the lounge ceiling.
Thursday, 10 January 2008
DIY
Something I missed from the Christmas - New Year posts was my bit of DIY. I used to do quite a bit but I don't do so much these days, mainly because I don't have the time and also because it's often more convenient to "get a little man in".
Anyway, in cleaning up the house for the Christmas visitors I noticed that the bathroom used by the boys (at the top of the stairs) was a bit tatty and the wallpaper was starting to peel off, so I told Sue that if she got most of it off I'd finish the removal, do the prep work and paint it any colour paint that she got so long as it was blue and went with the existing tile scheme.
In short, one day stripping and preping, one day laying on several coats of paint. All the fixtures and fittings were carefully removed, cleaned up and refitted. All that remains is to find a new roller blind and put that up and the jobs done. Believe me, when I say that's a quick turn around, then for me it is.
Anyway, in cleaning up the house for the Christmas visitors I noticed that the bathroom used by the boys (at the top of the stairs) was a bit tatty and the wallpaper was starting to peel off, so I told Sue that if she got most of it off I'd finish the removal, do the prep work and paint it any colour paint that she got so long as it was blue and went with the existing tile scheme.
In short, one day stripping and preping, one day laying on several coats of paint. All the fixtures and fittings were carefully removed, cleaned up and refitted. All that remains is to find a new roller blind and put that up and the jobs done. Believe me, when I say that's a quick turn around, then for me it is.
The Boiler is mended
Monday 7th January - around 16:15 the engineer from British Gas returned with a new pump for the central heating system. Just over an hour later the pump was in place and the system fully functional again. Oh! It's so nice to be warm again.
Since it was fitted we've had a cold snap with some snow, which fell around 22:00 Tuesday night but was all melted away and gone by 7:00 Wednesday morning. Night time temperatures have been low, dropping below freezing, but daytime it's been around 8 degrees C which is not bad for this time of year.
Since it was fitted we've had a cold snap with some snow, which fell around 22:00 Tuesday night but was all melted away and gone by 7:00 Wednesday morning. Night time temperatures have been low, dropping below freezing, but daytime it's been around 8 degrees C which is not bad for this time of year.
The saga of the headlamp - My 1st Rant
Monday 7th January - during evening dinner Andy says that he has time to look at the headlight to see if it can be adjusted so that even when it's pointing down, it would be correctly aligned. So after the table has been cleared I get the toolbox out and we pop the bonnet (the hood, for my American based readers) and check out the adjusters. They require a 13mm socket to adjust and it takes just a few seconds to raise the level of the beam, and we close the bonnet. Then we have to move the car so than Andy can go out to see his girlfriend, and, damn it, the headlight works just fine, but, because we adjusted it we now have to adjust it back.
What really pisses me off is that the garage, Mercedes main franchised dealer claimed that they had tried to adjust the beam and said that it couldn't be done. They didn't even try! Had they tried then they would have solved the problem when they had the car in the workshop and I'd happily paid the bill. But, when you think that they are charging £100 per hour for this "service" and that they wanted me to part with £1187 to supply and fit a new headlamp! They quoted £852 + VAT (in the USA that's called tax) for the headlight unit and the rest was the fitting charge and the VAT on the labour.
To make matters even worse (in my eyes) a local car parts supplier said they could supply the light unit for £183 + VAT, so I guess that the rest ( some £669 ) is to pay for Mercedes Benz Formula 1 racing. Either way I am not happy with the costs associated with running a Mercedes and I will be changing the car at the earliest opportunity for something less costly - probably a Vauxhall Astra as I've had loads of them in the past and they are so easy to live with.
I wouldn't usually name a firm on a public site, but, in this case I am making an exception because others need to know that they are very likely to get ripped off by these people. So the name in shame is Inchcape, Mercedes Benz franchised dealer on Pride Park in Derby, England, UK. Inchcape are very big in the region, controlling a number of major franchises including Toyota, Lexus & Land Rover. So that's some other car manufacturer who won't be getting my custom.
What really pisses me off is that the garage, Mercedes main franchised dealer claimed that they had tried to adjust the beam and said that it couldn't be done. They didn't even try! Had they tried then they would have solved the problem when they had the car in the workshop and I'd happily paid the bill. But, when you think that they are charging £100 per hour for this "service" and that they wanted me to part with £1187 to supply and fit a new headlamp! They quoted £852 + VAT (in the USA that's called tax) for the headlight unit and the rest was the fitting charge and the VAT on the labour.
To make matters even worse (in my eyes) a local car parts supplier said they could supply the light unit for £183 + VAT, so I guess that the rest ( some £669 ) is to pay for Mercedes Benz Formula 1 racing. Either way I am not happy with the costs associated with running a Mercedes and I will be changing the car at the earliest opportunity for something less costly - probably a Vauxhall Astra as I've had loads of them in the past and they are so easy to live with.
I wouldn't usually name a firm on a public site, but, in this case I am making an exception because others need to know that they are very likely to get ripped off by these people. So the name in shame is Inchcape, Mercedes Benz franchised dealer on Pride Park in Derby, England, UK. Inchcape are very big in the region, controlling a number of major franchises including Toyota, Lexus & Land Rover. So that's some other car manufacturer who won't be getting my custom.
The 1st weekend of 2008
After the British Gas Heating Engineer called on Friday I took the opportunity to tidy up the garage, dump a load of stuff and recycle some clothes that were laying about. So Saturday saw me accompanying Sue on the usual weekly shopping trip to ASDA. Andy had to work the morning. Mark was still recovering from a night of clubbing with his girlfriend.
Everything was going well until I had some problems with the computer and then spent 6 hours uninstalling, re-installing, defragging, virus checking, etc… in order to get the system back up and working as it should. Thinking I succeeded I finished at 23:10, only to have to spend another couple of hours at it on Sunday morning. Alls well in the end, but, there was a mid-process panic when I though I’d lost all our emails and email address book. Phew!
Sunday, my cousin Susan drove Alan, Pauline and Katy up from East Anglia to see Mum & Dad. It’s a long drive, about 3 hours each way, for what turned out to be a 3 hour visit, especially when Dad keeps falling asleep in his chair. Katy looks well and Alan looked better than last time I saw him about 6-8 months ago. Turns out that Susan has a step-daughter who, like Mark, is studying at university (in East London). We had to cut our visit to see them all at Mum & Dad’s short as we had to get Mark back into his university digs as he has his first exam today, Monday 7th. Let’s hope he does well so as to boost his confidence.
Everything was going well until I had some problems with the computer and then spent 6 hours uninstalling, re-installing, defragging, virus checking, etc… in order to get the system back up and working as it should. Thinking I succeeded I finished at 23:10, only to have to spend another couple of hours at it on Sunday morning. Alls well in the end, but, there was a mid-process panic when I though I’d lost all our emails and email address book. Phew!
Sunday, my cousin Susan drove Alan, Pauline and Katy up from East Anglia to see Mum & Dad. It’s a long drive, about 3 hours each way, for what turned out to be a 3 hour visit, especially when Dad keeps falling asleep in his chair. Katy looks well and Alan looked better than last time I saw him about 6-8 months ago. Turns out that Susan has a step-daughter who, like Mark, is studying at university (in East London). We had to cut our visit to see them all at Mum & Dad’s short as we had to get Mark back into his university digs as he has his first exam today, Monday 7th. Let’s hope he does well so as to boost his confidence.
Monday, 7 January 2008
And the Boilerman called
Friday 4th Jan – I worked from home today so that someone would be in when the Heating Engineer called from British Gas. Mid-morning I got a phone call, it was the Engineer saying that he was just setting out from his previous job and would be with me in about 20 minutes, and he was. I’d moved all the junk from the back of the garage so that he could get to it. He enters all the relevant details into his laptop, connects it to the boiler, hits a couple of keys and then asks me “where’s the pump?” Two minutes later he announces that the system is now working again, that it needs a new pump and that he can return on Monday to fit it all included in the price I’ve pre-paid.
So, at the moment I’m well impressed. Sue has taken Monday afternoon as flexi-time off from work to be there for when he returns. We’ll see how he performs when he returns.
So, at the moment I’m well impressed. Sue has taken Monday afternoon as flexi-time off from work to be there for when he returns. We’ll see how he performs when he returns.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
2008 – A New Year
According to a survey of Christmas shoppers, 70% of respondents stated that they would be seeing in the New Year at home. This was part of a bigger survey of economic conditions related to interest rates, housing prices and the cost of living and was included as an indication of people’s confidence. Well we weren’t included in the survey, but, saw the New Year in at the May Sum Chinese restaurant with everyone that wanted to coming back to our place to conclude the celebrations. Needless to say everybody was more than a bit merry when we finished some time around 2am.
Having drawn the short straw I had to be up at 8:30 New Years Day and was therefore the first person to realise that the central heating boiler had packed in sometime between 2am and 8:30am. That’s a nice start to the year. Booked and prepaid for a British Gas boiler repair person to call, but due to heavy demand caused by recent advertising on the TV we have to wait until Friday morning. In the meantime we heat water by electric immersion system and the rest of the house by the single gas fire in the lounge so needless to say, it’s a bit cool right now. Snow is forecast for later today so roll on the visit by the repairer tomorrow.
On a brighter note, holidays! Last week in March sees Sue & I celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary and we are planning to go away to Scotland for a few days. Then for early July we have booked a week in Porto del Carmen, Lanzarote (Canary Islands) to celebrate Andy’s 21st birthday so that will see us four and both boys’ girlfriends sunning and otherwise enjoying and entertaining ourselves. As a result of that trip I’m going to miss out on the DmD trip to Luxemburg on the motorbike, but, hopefully I can compensate for that disappointment with a trip to the Millau Viaduct in southern France sometime in September – funds permitting.
To close – last night I popped in on Mum & Dad. Mum was in good spirits and Dad was as comfortable as can be expected. Mum says that since the weekend she and the carers have had to cease using the mobile hoist and use the overhead hoists that are mounted in the bedroom and lounge to move Dad as his legs have finally given up. This is a significant development and explains why Dad appears to be less defiant and less resilient / stubborn than usual. The news from them is that my cousin Susan is bring Alan, Pauline & Katy to see Mum & Dad this coming Sunday. I hate to say it but it’s as if they are preparing for his departure. If it works out that way then it will be a blessed relief for both of them and perhaps Mum will then be free to have a life for herself – by God she deserves it, she’s earned it!
Having drawn the short straw I had to be up at 8:30 New Years Day and was therefore the first person to realise that the central heating boiler had packed in sometime between 2am and 8:30am. That’s a nice start to the year. Booked and prepaid for a British Gas boiler repair person to call, but due to heavy demand caused by recent advertising on the TV we have to wait until Friday morning. In the meantime we heat water by electric immersion system and the rest of the house by the single gas fire in the lounge so needless to say, it’s a bit cool right now. Snow is forecast for later today so roll on the visit by the repairer tomorrow.
On a brighter note, holidays! Last week in March sees Sue & I celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary and we are planning to go away to Scotland for a few days. Then for early July we have booked a week in Porto del Carmen, Lanzarote (Canary Islands) to celebrate Andy’s 21st birthday so that will see us four and both boys’ girlfriends sunning and otherwise enjoying and entertaining ourselves. As a result of that trip I’m going to miss out on the DmD trip to Luxemburg on the motorbike, but, hopefully I can compensate for that disappointment with a trip to the Millau Viaduct in southern France sometime in September – funds permitting.
To close – last night I popped in on Mum & Dad. Mum was in good spirits and Dad was as comfortable as can be expected. Mum says that since the weekend she and the carers have had to cease using the mobile hoist and use the overhead hoists that are mounted in the bedroom and lounge to move Dad as his legs have finally given up. This is a significant development and explains why Dad appears to be less defiant and less resilient / stubborn than usual. The news from them is that my cousin Susan is bring Alan, Pauline & Katy to see Mum & Dad this coming Sunday. I hate to say it but it’s as if they are preparing for his departure. If it works out that way then it will be a blessed relief for both of them and perhaps Mum will then be free to have a life for herself – by God she deserves it, she’s earned it!
Monday, 31 December 2007
And so the year ends...
Tonight we are going out as a family with friends and neighbours for a meal and a dance (disco style) at a local Chinese restaurant. Both the boys will have their girlfriends with them, but, our friend Dave won’t have company after his latest lady friend did a runner and headed off home while he was playing badminton yesterday afternoon. She was weird - which seems to sum up all of Dave’s ladies but hopefully he’ll learn from this episode and stick with less complicated examples of the female race. That aside, we have taxis booked to take us down town so we can all drink as we like. The restaurant is the May Sum in Babbington Lane, Derby which is that rare place – one that the whole family likes, and is recommended if you are in the area and like buffet style, serve yourself food with lots of options and the chance to go round the hot plates as many times as you like.
Fred (he lives 2 doors down the close) has spent today trying to clean out the inside of his car after his dog was sick in the back of it. That dog is greedy and so fat! Perhaps Fred will stop over-feeding it now. Boy did that car stink.
Earlier today Andy got a call from Mum as Sue was on the phone learning all about Dave’s runaway lady. Dad had slipped down out of his chair so the two boys went down and pulled him back up into it. He sleeps a lot, but, thankfully that allows Mum some rest from his otherwise constant demands. She has to feed him and hold cups so that he can drink, in fact, he now is totally reliant on her and the carers that visit twice daily for everything.
On a happier note, with the Christmas card that we got from Jo & Richard there was a short epistle summarising their year, how the girls are getting on, Richard and his business(es), family and so on. Seems like some things never change (family relationships) while others develop and move on. The two girls appear to be doing well with their studies (a good thing) but appear to be into horses (hmmm…) and acting as free stable girls to Richard’s sister Christine (so she’s not changed then!). As ever we wish them well and hope that just perhaps, we can get to see them sometime soon in the future as I now struggle to remember the last time we saw them.
Total curve ball here – I got my car insurance renewal through which I thought a bit steep at £460. A bit of shopping around on the internet (using MoneySupermarket.com ) and a few phone calls on 0800 numbers and I moved to another insurer getting better cover and protected NCD all for £313. That’s better!
Christmas through to New Year has been a family affair. Boys in, boys out, boys and girls in, boys and girls out and various combinations including family and friends. In between I’ve found time to keep up-to-date with the chores, ferry folks about in Dad’s Taxi and re-decorate the master bathroom which was in a bit of a state with peeling wallpaper and general shabbiness. Just need to put a blind up, touch up some silicon sealant round the hand basin and behind the bath taps and the jobs done. Probably do those little jobs next weekend – I like having something to look forward to!
I found the time to ring Don & Liz in Colchester the other night and had a good old chat with the man. He's not been in the best of health through this year and has appointments with his GP for some tests to hopefully get to the bottom of his troubles early in 2008.
Sue got a phone call from Graham's wife to say that he had been taken into hospital (the DRI) on Christmas Day as he couldn't breath and he's been diagnosed with pneumonia. The ultra sound scan showed that it has got a hold of most of his upper torso and he will be off work for 8 – 10 weeks. Get well soon Graham is our message. It’s a shame you can’t go on that holiday in January but there will (hopefully) be another day and time for that. Health has to come first.
I haven’t bothered to do anything about the failed headlight on my car, other than decide that it’s time to change it for something cheaper to run. Top candidate at the moment is a Vauxhall Astra as I quite fancy the 150bhp diesel version – just need to decide on 3 or 5 door. I’ll probably go for the 5 door as it’s more practical and one of the things I hate about the Mercedes is the enormous doors that come with having a 3 door. I also like compact and the 3 door coupe version is longer than the 5 door hatchback. Still, no need to rush so I’ll give myself a month to find one I like – February is a quiet month in the motor trade so there should be some opportunity for haggling a better deal.
Anyway - time to get shaved, showered and dressed up in the glad rags for tonight's little effort. Happy New Year to one and all.
Fred (he lives 2 doors down the close) has spent today trying to clean out the inside of his car after his dog was sick in the back of it. That dog is greedy and so fat! Perhaps Fred will stop over-feeding it now. Boy did that car stink.
Earlier today Andy got a call from Mum as Sue was on the phone learning all about Dave’s runaway lady. Dad had slipped down out of his chair so the two boys went down and pulled him back up into it. He sleeps a lot, but, thankfully that allows Mum some rest from his otherwise constant demands. She has to feed him and hold cups so that he can drink, in fact, he now is totally reliant on her and the carers that visit twice daily for everything.
On a happier note, with the Christmas card that we got from Jo & Richard there was a short epistle summarising their year, how the girls are getting on, Richard and his business(es), family and so on. Seems like some things never change (family relationships) while others develop and move on. The two girls appear to be doing well with their studies (a good thing) but appear to be into horses (hmmm…) and acting as free stable girls to Richard’s sister Christine (so she’s not changed then!). As ever we wish them well and hope that just perhaps, we can get to see them sometime soon in the future as I now struggle to remember the last time we saw them.
Total curve ball here – I got my car insurance renewal through which I thought a bit steep at £460. A bit of shopping around on the internet (using MoneySupermarket.com ) and a few phone calls on 0800 numbers and I moved to another insurer getting better cover and protected NCD all for £313. That’s better!
Christmas through to New Year has been a family affair. Boys in, boys out, boys and girls in, boys and girls out and various combinations including family and friends. In between I’ve found time to keep up-to-date with the chores, ferry folks about in Dad’s Taxi and re-decorate the master bathroom which was in a bit of a state with peeling wallpaper and general shabbiness. Just need to put a blind up, touch up some silicon sealant round the hand basin and behind the bath taps and the jobs done. Probably do those little jobs next weekend – I like having something to look forward to!
I found the time to ring Don & Liz in Colchester the other night and had a good old chat with the man. He's not been in the best of health through this year and has appointments with his GP for some tests to hopefully get to the bottom of his troubles early in 2008.
Sue got a phone call from Graham's wife to say that he had been taken into hospital (the DRI) on Christmas Day as he couldn't breath and he's been diagnosed with pneumonia. The ultra sound scan showed that it has got a hold of most of his upper torso and he will be off work for 8 – 10 weeks. Get well soon Graham is our message. It’s a shame you can’t go on that holiday in January but there will (hopefully) be another day and time for that. Health has to come first.
I haven’t bothered to do anything about the failed headlight on my car, other than decide that it’s time to change it for something cheaper to run. Top candidate at the moment is a Vauxhall Astra as I quite fancy the 150bhp diesel version – just need to decide on 3 or 5 door. I’ll probably go for the 5 door as it’s more practical and one of the things I hate about the Mercedes is the enormous doors that come with having a 3 door. I also like compact and the 3 door coupe version is longer than the 5 door hatchback. Still, no need to rush so I’ll give myself a month to find one I like – February is a quiet month in the motor trade so there should be some opportunity for haggling a better deal.
Anyway - time to get shaved, showered and dressed up in the glad rags for tonight's little effort. Happy New Year to one and all.
Tuesday, 25 December 2007
December 25th
If like us you are of the Christian persuasion then I hope that you had a Merry Christmas, and if you are not, then I wish you whatever it is that you wish on yourselves (so long as there is no violence involved).
Our day is drawing to a close, and it has been a good Christmas. Dad was better than we could have hope for based on the previous week, they both slept well Christmas Eve so Mum wasn’t too tired. Suzie & Mark went down in the morning for about 40 minutes, then Andy & I went down for slightly longer in the afternoon. Dad stayed awake for the duration of both visits and joined in the conversation. Phil & Joyce came to ours for Christmas dinner and stayed for tea. Presents were exchanged and opened, and both of the boys’ girlfriends are here now (probably for the night). Tomorrow is another busy day with a small crowd due here for the day. More fun and games and karaoke singing (one of Mark’s presents).
I’m off to join in with the others and I’ll add more news over the next few days. Peace & goodwill to everyone on this all too small planet that we call Earth & Home!
Our day is drawing to a close, and it has been a good Christmas. Dad was better than we could have hope for based on the previous week, they both slept well Christmas Eve so Mum wasn’t too tired. Suzie & Mark went down in the morning for about 40 minutes, then Andy & I went down for slightly longer in the afternoon. Dad stayed awake for the duration of both visits and joined in the conversation. Phil & Joyce came to ours for Christmas dinner and stayed for tea. Presents were exchanged and opened, and both of the boys’ girlfriends are here now (probably for the night). Tomorrow is another busy day with a small crowd due here for the day. More fun and games and karaoke singing (one of Mark’s presents).
I’m off to join in with the others and I’ll add more news over the next few days. Peace & goodwill to everyone on this all too small planet that we call Earth & Home!
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