Fifty and 1914

This late night post here at BS5 is for no other purpose than the fact that I could hardly close the month on 49 posts without a small effort to nudge 50, so here it is!

Back to the office tomorrow to start to wrap things up and close projects down, it will be positive and professional but that is the mind set and no longer the longer thoughts ahead on what I could really do to make a difference.

I had a good day today and enjoyed myself. I also put some decent effort into future roles, as did some other people too.

Let's hope this starts to show some mileage before too long.

Hey! I happen to have my diary to hand and have just looked up today from 13 years ago, also a sunny day but I pulled a very long shift in my Barman job that was bringing in the pennies back in '95. Hard work and a quick break to chat to a fabulous woman I liked at the time who used to come in now and again and with whom I used to occasionally walk her dog. I finished my shift at 12 midnight, bottled up and tidied up until 1am and drank beer until 2.15 in the morning when I walked home! I worked the day after too which was the first Sunday in England since 1914 when pubs could stay open all day on the Sabbath!

There you go.

Quite a lot of Moles.

Here in Bristol we have a sound old House of Fraser dep't store but they are vacating the premises to take up new space in a smart new City centre development that has been under way these last 12 months. According to the window posters (which will be made up because it's Marketing!)the sale is a 10m pound clear out. I ventured in on Saturday (a mental thing to do really) and it was CHAOS! I knew I wanted a brown jacket like the one Walshy loaned me in Ireland, and so I nipped in to find one with ruthless speed and Ninja like stealth, and here it is! It is a moleskin number and is really nice and long in the body and well fitted - I quite like it. The pocket handkerchief did not come with it. It is not long like a frock coat, just long enough for my six foot five frame!

A Monday stroll into BS1.

Into the centre of this great city today to see a man about temping and long term jobs. I saw an agency and as it happens I am already their client at work so they have been very accommodating and sent my CV to a ton of their offices in this part of the UK. We shall see.

Now then, I also went to several other cool places, and took a pint reading the New York Times which was a jolly old read with its curious Americanisms.

Caught short a little before my appointment I needed to see a man about a dog so I strolled into the Bristol Marriott where they are usually a bit sniffy about casual passers by. A man in a top hat opened the door and said good afternoon, and I said it back to him equally sincerely, ditto all the other super-polite staff. I had a wander around and a quick visit to the most elegant and elaborate public convenience in the city! Here's the outside of the hotel. Nobody seemed to mind me being there and to be honest I was not a scruffy bugger while I was there today so maybe they took me for a guest.

After that I had a quick gander at Bristol Cathedral which is 868 years old.

Here's a quick little movie. It's a bit grainy really because I was being disapproved of whilst taking it. Only a little bit though.

After my time at the recruitment agency I strolled home and all the attractive women in BS1 seemed to take their lunch at the same time. Ideal!

Monday Monday

Despite having a day at home today, and therefore a Monday lie in, I bounced out of bed happily and cheerfully at 6.30 am. I woke and tried to guess the time and it felt like half seven but then I rolled over and James Naughtie told me it was only half six (if you are reading this in America, don't worry, you didn't miss a change of inclination and a new relationship, JN presents Radio 4's flagship morning news prog, 'Today').

A nice long bath and then a few more trawls of recruitment sites for jobs I can handily look at. A quick re-read of my CV too. Off later to see some agencies about this and that.

It seems sunny and warm and I have yesterday's Observer to pick up again whilst sat on my wall.

I have a chicken to roast as well which will provide a whole load of eating!

This pic is of me last Monday!

Good to go!

So here comes next week. I have a few things on my plate but in reality all is well; stormy days may be ahead and tough times may be out there but right here, right now, I am happy, well and blessed. I don't want to tempt fate but hey-ho, I am happy and generally content with my lot and in the grand reckoning, that will do me just fine.

My vicar sent me such a nice line today when I told her of my imminent joblessness and she offered a little prayer my way and in my absence at church today (I stayed at home and worked my CV and applied for this and that). What a kind soul she is.

So come on next week, get that plane door open, let's leap out and not give a flying fuck!

Love it!

Zimbabwe...

I think Mr Mugabe is a ....

I wish he had oil, then someone would have taken him out.

My good deed for Sunday

This is a pic' for a freind of mine who was supposed to inform the passengers in her car that 'on your left and right you can now see The Severn Bridge'.

Here are some bonus facts!

This crossing is just over 5 km (3 miles) long and forms part of the European Strategic Route Network. The navigation clearance is 37 m (121 ft.). The main spans are cable-stayed.

Total length including approach spans: 5168 m (16955 ft.)
Main span: 456 m (1496 ft.)
Pylon height: 137 m (449 ft.)

:)

Cleaning Mike

This is a picture of Mike.

Mike is my vacuum cleaner. Today after just three years of owning him, I discover he has a filter that you are supposed to clean out each six months. I have never cleaned this but am going to do so today having done all my housework. His filter is probably a bit full but hey, Mike still picks up all the dust he can see, so I reckon he will be on top form after I have cleaned his filter. I will let you know !

Bruisey Bonus!

Last weekend we went paint balling in Co.Wexford, Ireland. Afterwards and for the rest of our trip we excitedly compared bruises. We factored in totals, distribution across the body, size, colouring and progress after the event. I think Walshy won, possibly because he was the most mental man on the field.

Being the ex Special Forces ace that I am, I was hit very few times indeed; all down to stealth, speed, force, CQB instinct, and hiding behind a massive tree for most of the day. Anyway, this is my bruise in the bath just now and a week after Ireland. I think it should score well on colour and consistency, and staying power!

Tongy is playing Laurent Garnier, The Man with the Red Face as I post - GREAT tune!

Silver linings

I have Monday off and had agreed with my boss that I would take the day to hit the agencies and apply on line for a flurry of jobs. I still have complete respect for my boss, for those of you who think I should not have. That's not going to happen.

Anyhow, having Monday off means I can watch Spain versus Germany on Sunday night in complete relaxation and with a full on lie in the day after until a crazy half past seven!

I am going to have a crack at a few Area Manager jobs with a bit of research this morning. This role is the sort of caper where one looks after a handful of stores in one part of the country and drives people, sales, promotional space, standards, replen', supply chain, training etc; not entirely dissimilar from what I do now! I am also going to apply for a job as a professional larking about person.

It's a grey old Saturday morning as I write but it's a happy day anyhow.

Ton

FECK!

I topped 100 Blog visits today! Twice the rare and previous best! Maybe learning one is not to remain employed and blogging about it is a fine thing!

I am intrigued.

I had one visit from Galway - I hope it is where I hope it is from.

Irritation

I am yet to become really IRRITATED about work, or the lack of continuation of it. Watch out for a stroppy and coruscating post soon; it may hove into view after Monday when I have a day off to hit the agencies and put my CV about. I am calm so far. After all, this was a six week stint that ran for fifty two and I am grateful for that, and for the broad experience it has given me.


I can't be irritated at my boss because I know she wanted to retain me, and she has no reason to lie (and I like her too; she has always been decent), I can't be irritated at her senior boss, our French chairman because I only met the chap once for about 7 seconds and said what-ho. It was his call but whatamIgonnado?

Hmmmm.

New role tactics.

I have decided upon a new strategy for getting my next job after August 1st! Having read today about new laws to enure women and ethnic minorities have positive discrimination at interview to get work, I have a new thought; I am going to lie about my white, male, hetrosexual, public school education and in its place re-work my CV. I will tell employers that I am a 6'5" woman, and a lesbian at that (I already fancy women so I am nearly there). I will also claim to be from North Korea. This plan should ensure a total blag for a great role going into the Autumn.

Suburbia - I am still in place for a month and can give you the full tour, spiders, scorpions, plants et al!

And lastly..a moving picture of Ireland!

Weyhey! Seamus has a huge garden that has seeded and grown since I was last there a year ago helping plant the new hedges - we all had a go at cutting the lawn and larking about on a tractor - this was me after a quick lesson and just getting into a stride of perfect stripes. The belching man is Walshy - incisive commentary at 16 seconds in!

I look pretty gangly on this tractor. It's quite big but I am very skinny and all legs!

I hope this vid' works; it's my first go at the flicks on a blog post!

I am a day back into work as I write this post though sadly today, I was informed I only have 4 weeks more in my role - but then that was always a possibility hanging over my tenure. A bloody shame as the year has seen Midas like success in the projects I have been given, and of course no more 3rd paragraph woman :(

Pics of Ireland 2

Our mutual friend Bag gets married next month so what more appropriate caper than to travel to Ireland dressed as Spiderman? This was what we did on our first night in Ireland where we spent a few hours in Carrig on Bannow before coming back into Foulksmills and Larry's bar.

Here is Spiderman on a mission in Ireland. Bag used his Spidey senses to drink large amounts of ale and to climb on stuff. It worked well.

Later on, the next day I think, we extended our capers to the machinery at the back of Seamus' house - here is a snap of me in control of a bit of kit!

Proper pints of guiness at McDonna's bar, Foulksmills followed the day after that where Walshy had me at a game of pool, not that I played without some talent on my part! The rest of the country was rooted to a Wexford sports triple at Croke Park Dublin - all the games were a bit strange to we English chaps so we sat about just lowering pints and chatting, whilst being made entirely welcome!

Pics of Ireland 1

So here is a quick little post about days spent in Ireland.

Arrived at about 6.15 in the morning last Friday, about an hour after the lads flying in from Manchester had made their way down to Wexford from Dublin. Rather than go to bed I just got on with the day and was soon at the sort of capers shown here! I went out to work with Seamus and Fridge; they are building at a local house that's in the family. As well as the chap type larks, I also took time to stroll into a field just next to the house and look at Mt Leinster clear as a bell some 60 miles away and nothing in between but fields and valleys.

We were at this for an hour or three and then took it easy until a respectable hour when we went out and got right on the beer scooter!

Back to the coal face.

Back home and back to the office shortly. Had a fantastic few days in Wexford, Ireland - the stuff of a longer post tonight but for now I have to try to remember what it is my job entails and get on with it!

This is me (well, somebody anyway) looking back over the last few days very fondly.

Pictures and lark-filled tales to follow!

Monday on the water.

Right now I should be on a ferry home but I am having far too much fun and will just get the one that goes tomorrow instead.

Time has had no concept these last days and things have started early (typically I am the first one awake in the house) and just gone on until very late the morning after. 6 am, 6am, 3 am and some other time have been the finishes so far.

Country pubs, a fine welcome, fantastic guiness, a bit of singing and then a wander home slightly confused.

Ideal!

Over the water. Ireland blog 1

Gooooooooooooooooooooooood morning, Ireland! Here I am in Foulksmills at Seamus's house! Half seven and everyone else is in bed but I got 2 hrs' kip on the ferry so I am staying up. Seamus and Misa came to collect me from the ferry but they had also driven to Dublin and back bcse the Manchester boys had their flight delayed so they missed their coach.

We are off to Eric's shortly. Eric is Seamus's brother and lives two big fields away. He runs a plant hire business (diggers not begonias) so there is always some caper to be had at his house. An hour into the country and larks already.

Happy as a lark this country Friday morning.

More updates as time allows. We already drove past The Clever Salmon and I said hello - a pint on the cards for lunchtime, surely.

Sub, to answer your query.....we will surely hit 40 over the Fri-Sunday!

Thursday Thinker 7

'Nuff said.

Seeya.

A birthday bouquet...

Sharks can sense blood in the water at 4 parts per million and Polar Bears can smell a man 20 miles away and will pursue him and eat him.

If you share any of nature's gifts for detection and observation you may have gleaned that I am away on a top jolly to Ireland this weekend, a jolly that will curtail my blogging as of late tonight!

Thus I am going to post early for SUBURBIA's birthday which I believe to be on Friday.

Sub, HBTY, here are some virtual flowers for you from me.

Enjoy your day

:)

An absolutely true test...

Have you heard of the business of 'Six degrees of separation', the notion that each of us is only 6 jumps from a link with anything random in the world?

Here's a blind go at testing it out.

I picked a random article in Wikipedia (there's a specific button for this) and I would like to know, how close can you get to a connection with THIS ? Is 'degrees of separation' a theory with any merit, or specious hoo-haa?

If you attended this place we have a winner!

Squaring it away.

I had quite a smart day at work. So much of the output of my all-day Store Mgrs' meeting lends itself to expanding my remit so I will think about that later next week when I sit down with my (decent) boss.

Tonight I am packing and prepping for Ireland. I don't leave for another 27 hours but on the quiet I am a bit of a bird when it comes to travel organisation and always have it well prepped a day in advance. I like the fact that tomorrow I can work my bollocks off to cover days off then come home to eat, bathe and change and just pick up my gear and head for the 9pm train safe that the bag I pick up will have been thoroughly packed the night before and will do just the job. It will be packed by need and will be alarmingly organised and well thought out. All I will need to do is grab a 4 pack from the fridge for the 9-1.30 train journey and make some sarnies to eat on the ferry at half six or seven when it docks the next morning, but I shall do that tomorrow morning. Tomorrow I can be 100% focused on work and cover all the bases and then kerpowww, I am on leave and excited!

Here's a thrilling picture of work in progress just a few short minutes ago. This is my spare room and the bed is a good size to organise such things.

In rather a charitable and Christian act, I am laundering various items of outerwear the Irish contingent left here when they visited my house last month. I will deliver them to the owner.

My goodness, my Guinness.

Here is the cartoon on the Editorial page of the Daily Telegraph from yesterday (Tuesday) . Quite often this cartoon section is unadventurous at best but this one I liked. The fifties and sixties advertising programme it plays upon was good in itself and it also captures Ireland's confident 'No!' to the EU Lisbon Treaty.

Cool.

Top smart pic'

Most days the Guardian will have a double page spread entirely given over to an image - it is often quite smart and creates a pause as one looks for the smallest detail in a huge picture. I am trying to find the web equivalent but it's the Guardian so it won't be straightforward.

Here is an entirely equivalent and equally smart alternative from The Boston Globe.

This is a recent storm in Iowa (which my friend Scargosun had posted about the other day)

I think James T Kirk is from Iowa?

Some kinda crazy lunatic snapper to take this one! Double click it - it's much cooler close up.

Off to work shortly; presenting to a room full of Store Managers today, plus my Ops Director (the boss) and our MD. Looking forward to it.

Retail is detail...so they say.

Okay - retailing is a simple business and today we are going to talk about stocktaking.

This is when you count your whole store, so imagine the place you last did your groceries and walk with me through a stock take.

You know how much stock has come in on the wagon because you have a GRN (a goods received note) and it is loaded on to the till or 'price file'. You know how much you have sold, because your end of day report tells you so. Therefore, stock in minus sales, minus stock write offs , minus current warehouse holding equals the current holding of the 'live' store and it should be a given, somewhere close to a predictable amount from your paperwork. The difference is called stock loss or shrinkage and it is made up of all the stuff staff ate or customers stole. That's it. It is a measurable % of your holding and paying for it is costed in by the retailer and passed on to you well before you put the first item in the basket.

Doing a stock take is easy if you prep' it well and make sure people count logically.

We are doing our Stock take right now in our stores. In a typical store we have 80 fish tanks and to stock take fish, some poor fecker has to count them live. How daft is that? I would definitely make it up.

Check these little fellas out; they are very young catfish and some poor sod has to count them whilst they swim around well fast! Guaranteed lack of accuracy.

Mental.

Paint balling.

On Saturday I have to go paint balling. It will be a laugh all right but I am not desperately looking forward to it as I am unashamedly bad at this sort of thing. I will probably end up shooting myself as I trip over a particularly flat bit of ground. My mate Walshy will be pretty good and Bag who can edge him at Quake might be even better.

I rang up my mate Andy McNab and he has popped round this morning to lend me the pictured clobber and to advise me on a few moves over tea and toast here in BS5. This is me, Bag and Walshers in our kit taking a look up the road. As ever in a hostage/CQB/Quake situation, I am on the end looking at a smart bridge or a lorry trundling past whilst Bag and Walshy have the main target absolutely covered mid-mid and high left. It does not bode well for paint ball.

Personally I am looking forward much more to the hazards and danger of the output of St James' Gate, Dublin but we shall see.

On a much more mundane note and with my feet still on the ground for work, this morning I have to conclude my sanitary product negotiations with an unfairly attractive national account manager. Great laugh.

Clongeen II

This seemed to generate some interest.

Foulksmills is indeed a delightful and pretty part of county Wexford, Ireland, and the parish of Clongeen. This small part of Ireland is where Honey Fitzgerald had a house (I have been to it) . His Grandson had a bad day in Dallas years later in November 1963.

So, we are going there to visit Seamus who hails from that part of the world and now has his own house on a field his Dad and Mum gave to him. We are going for a Stag do, or a Bag do as Bag is the man getting married. There will be a little handful of us who all used to work together here in Bristol (oh and Mike!) when we worked together at the HO of Somerfield, a UK Supermarket group. This is why we all came to Bristol and we have all been BS5ers too. We are now spread about a bit in Ireland, the north of England and yours truly still in BS5.

The weekend will be raucous but also civil. We are doing a little paint balling, some drinking, some barbecuing and some general larking about in open fields, country roads, village pubs and get away places in the middle of nowhere where the air is clear and the welcome constant. I am constantly happy when I am in in this part of the world and could live there happily. When I lost my job in April 2007 I just headed to Ireland in VX52 and spent 15 days all over the country with a welcome billet at the ever kind Seamus's house, and with his sister in Cork too. It was great. Head clear, baggage abandoned and completely rested! In fact I went into a pub I had never seen before , 8 miles from Seamus's house and on my own; the barmaid (his older sister's daughter, unbeknown to me) piped up 'Ahh, now you have to be Dickie, don't ye - are you staying with Seamus, so?'

Wellington Bridge is a small village close by which is where I met Gigi, so that has to be close to the top of the list of places! As well as being the place I met that fabulous woman, it is also the place I have drank the most ever with 15 or 16 pints of Guinness taken of an afternoon.

Seamus's village has a great bar run by Larry. When I was there for the days mentioned above, we went along to Larry's at about 3pm to place a bet on the Irish National - kinda stayed until 6 the next morning.

Can't wait!

In the Parish of Clongeen

Quick post before work!

A four day week for me but five days of work to squeeze in. The last bell will go on Thursday and then it's a 9pm train to the end of Wales and a big old overnight boat to Ireland for a weekend of larks. Anyhow, plenty of posts before that I hope.

This is the edge of the village I am visiting, called Foulksmills and the mill here is about half a mile from Seamus's house. The village is in the Parish of Clongeen (I think) which is one of those words that is nice to say out loud.

Here's a fun game..

You provide the missing word or words, as you wish.

George Bush is a ...


Over to you!

New stuff and tickets

I have made an indulgent purchase after I saw it reduced from 35 pounds to a tenner! I picked up a white toweling dressing gown like the ones people tend to hoof from top-whack hotels. I quite like my new purchase and it is well smart. It is bright white (so far) and has a picture of a little bloke on it! I bought this on Saturday morning when I had a bit of a bird-moment and had a wander round the sale that was on at House of Fraser. I haven't had a Saturday taking in a coffee, the paper and a wander about the place for about three months and it was quite smart. I also purchased my rail and ferry ticket that gets me through all of Wales and across the water to Ireland and back for fifty quid! It's about a 500 mile round trip.

A quiet day today with a great car washing session, a look in at church, a lunchtime pint, an afternoon snooze (yippee!) and an early evening watching three episodes of Enterprise, which is great TV!

Why?

Do you suppose they built one for going and one for coming back again?

Apparently this is found on 'on Highway 89A between Bitter Springs and Jacob Lake AZ' - I suppose that must be Arizona, but the web page did not elaborate, in an assumption that America is the centre of the feckin' universe!

Anyhow, smart bridges.

Actually I need to cross some internet bridges to go to visit the other Blogs I have not really looked in on this week.

Human Cannonball

This morning I am listening to 'Human Cannonball' by The Butthole Surfers from their 1987 album Locust Abortion Technician.

It's pretty smart! This is the album cover.

Shortly I am off to Temple Meads railway station to buy a ticket that takes in the choo choo and the ferry and will get me to Ireland overnight a week hence!

Fast to Friday.

Another week has hurtled by as fast as you like. I don't think I took any corners quite this fast and certainly not driving a 700 ton train anyway, but the week feels like it was on a similar sort of a journey!

And bang, it's Friday! I have a bit more copy writing to do today so that will be pleasant enough, I hope. It is Friday the 13th!

I suspect my good friend Mr Walsh will be surprised that it is Friday as well; all week long he has been larking about in Assassin's Creed and not doing his work! Top lad.

Thursday Thinker 5

I am out of kilter with my blog this week as the Social Whirl overtook the week, rather pleasantly.

I think it is Thursday isn't it?

Here's what I am thinking about today - the woman who sits near me in the office and has become known here and to friends as '3rd Paragraph Woman'!

She's got right into my noggin!

The Social whirl

The week is a pleasant and busy social whirl and is an enjoyable run at the office as well! I have neglected my Blog a little, I think.

Out and about at Stores on Tuesday, and a long day of copy writing at work yesterday; my friend Helen over for dinner (and record breaking amounts of chat) last night, and a garden party at my Vicarage this evening! It is my attractive Vicar's birthday today.

Off to work shortly for more copy writing and a meeting with a supplier about shopping trolleys. It's all go but hey, I didn't leave any Top Secret Garden Centre documents on the train!

More soon!

How you doin'?

My week is sign-posted by attractive women!

My friend Helen is coming over for dinner and to stay one night this week, and we will have a great old catch up. On Thursday I am at my local Vicarage for our Vicar's birthday, and she does not look her age, and then there is the pleasant and unfolding intrigue of she who has become known as 'third paragraph woman' in the office. More on this last one if news emerges, and that is down to me (and a bit of courage!)

I am also driving a van to Birmingham but that's not until tomorrow.

Euro 2008 was on all weekend but I can't get excited about it as we are not in it - not very sportsmanlike but there it is.

It's just wrong

Cider - it's just wrong. I only had one pint among a few Guinnesses but it got in there and did its mischief. My head feels like there's a Frenchman living in it and you know how obstreporous the French can be.

Oh dear.

Lesson learned.

Top buzzing beastie

I took this snap for a little chap who pops up all the time on Moments From Suburbia, another fine Bristol blog with a very witty lady at its helm. 'Small Sprog' is into bugs and things like that so I hope he appreciates this little green chap who stopped at my house to catch some rays this lunchtime.

I was sat on the wall doing the same and reading The Economist (all about Barack O and Hillary) and I heard a very distinct buzzing as the pictured green chap came in to land. His legs and body would have adequately covered a 2 pence piece. He's a little out of focus and the weeds are pin sharp but if you click the pic' you can enjoy his greenness.

Electric Boogaloo.

Apparently this is Gael Monfils, a French tennis player losing his racket in the week. Or that's the story on the web.

When Gael rang me to ask for advice on his back hand he told me a different story. "BS5'" he said, "I just heard someone start up Rapper's Delight by The Sugar Hill Gang and I had to bust a move".

Mr Monfils threw the game but got a perfect Swipe, Flair and Windmill. No stranger to post work suited & booted break dancing and burn outs in the street myself, I can see his point.

Oil

This post is all about the picture, but you may take it as implied that it is also an inherent whinge about fuel prices.

Anyhow this pic' (with thanks to Mr Getty) is cool because it shows one of those oil heads in motion, and they are always, always captured sitting still. This picture shouts out frenetic energy for me, and a hint of crisis and I like it.

It's the weekend and I am pleased about that!

Bricking it.

Today , 1944. Enough respect to that!

Frankly if I had been there, I would have been absolutely bricking it but then I guess I would have gone with the atmosphere on the landing craft and thought, 'Come on then Jerry, let's have it!'

What a scary prospect to get this detail. I am grateful that all I am doing is driving to an office to do a day's work.

Go ahead caller...

I nearly forgot Thursday Thinker 5 because my week is all out of kilter!

So here we go: this week I am thinking I love the internet!

Tonight I dialed a Bristol number on my mobile and paid local rate to speak to my brother in Manila, some 7000 miles away. It cost him a small fee to take a call from my mobile but if I call from my land line it is entirely cheap. My brother picks the call up on line and with schoolboy delight, the on line call is actually via the network in the apartment next door to him which he just picks up for free anyhow and until he gets his own connection.

Smart!

All the best tasks.

Today and for the rest of the week I have a task at work which won't be the most fun in the world. I have to draw up a plan with margin, cost, practicality and advantage of selling sanitary products in our stores. Great laugh! We currently have these things in the loos in vending machines; this makes no money for us and is prohibitively expensive service to provide, so I am suggesting we sell it instead as a convenience purchase in the store. It might not seem a logical listing for a garden centre but then again we sell a myriad of un-gardeny stuff! I am aiming to get the basic facts and then pass this on to a buying colleague. I don't want to sit in on a meeting with a supplier hearing all about the advantages and market share of one provider versus another - I don't want to know - eeeugh!

I am a chap of course and my opinion is absolutely second to the opinions and comfort of women so I did ask about, and indeed my boss is a woman as is our senior buyer and they each thought it had commercial merit.

Nice work if you can get it.

Kabooooom!

Between news fixes to see if Hillary has done anything interesting yet, I watched two episodes of Walking With Dinosaurs this evening.

The 2nd ep' was in fact the final one where the T-Rex had rather a short moment considering what an iconic beast she was. The one that featured in the show happened to get her job as a massive noisy dinosaur right in the week when a comet hit the Gulf of Mexico with a right old KABBOOOOOM that wiped out 85% of life. That's gotta be a pisser for timing.

Go Barack!

And now it becomes interesting! Reagan and Bush had much more of a pop at each other in 1980 but Bush became his VP. Should Hillary get it? I think not - get her out there as Sec of State or in charge of Health.

Back to work for me after two days off and a great 4-dayer.


And welcome back to Suburbia who has returned to the Blogsphere from her hols!

How moral is your Fridge?

This evening I am only eating lightly as I have been quite a porker in the last two days.

So, tonight I just knocked up a quick tuna salad with some pasta and I will eat at about 9.00.

As I was making it I realised I had no idea where things in my fridge and cupboards come from as a snapshot in July 2008. I did a survey!

I have generated quite a large amount of food miles and I am trying to work out how I feel about it. I don't think I am very comfortable with it.

Here goes - and maybe let me know the same for your kitchen and if you feel it is moral or immoral:

Green Beans - Kenya
Pasta -Italy
Tuna - Canned in Ghana
Sweetcorn - France
Rice - Uruguay
Celery - Spain
Wine - France

Fosters - UK
Peppers - Essex, UK
Asparagus - Lincolnshire, UK
Red Onions - Cambridgeshire, UK

Recipient - BS5. Bristol, UK

Days off and great guests

My house is empty again after being filled with 5 fabulous people and a team effort to fill the recycling box with cans and bottles (oops - did that frighteningly easily).

The Walshies and the Warns came to my house so we could all meet up; Chris and Caz and their new little chap Thomas, and Chris and Sofe who were home for three weeks (they fly to Australia tomorrow!)

We had a great take out on our first night and chatted endlessly - we had not all been together for about 10 months so the chatter was constant. You can see the table detritus in the picture. On Monday we had a really long walk across the Clifton downs - Bristol is very lucky to have acres and acres of green public space. it overlooks the Suspension Bridge at one end.

A civilised dinner of roast pork last night and a little bit of loafing about today before everyone departed.

I now have the rest of the day to potter about before work again tomorrow.