99, please!

Well now, I think today is day 99 for Barack O', and one before the big 100 tomorrow, which will no doubt see acres of press coverage.

I wonder if Barack O will run down Pencilsharpener Ave. and flag down an Ice Cream van for a 99.

Do Americans have ice cream vans, I wonder? Do they have the 99?

Maybe that Swine flu thingy is more in his in tray than ice cream.

All sorts of stuff and larks!

Today I have been working from home and in my new guise as an Area Manager, today was the first time there was some structure to it as I looked at sales and performance for stores over the last week and made sense of it. I enjoyed my day but I am not yet at full tilt, so in fairness it was an easy day. Busy ones will come.

I stopped and made lunch which was pretty fine according to my guest and her welcome review.

I also read about an ex BS5'er who hammered his thumb instead of the bit of cabling he was attending to.

After school was out, my TOP pal Steve texted me to say he had bought his USB/MP3 Turntable;  you connect it to the 'puter and it  lets you record your vinyl as an MP3 file. 

Honestly, he could not have been more excited if all of Charlie's Angels had turned up needing a bath and some help! I went round to have a look only to see the project hit the wall when it needed I Tunes. Now Steve isn't on line so this challenge resulted in some record breaking swearing. We ran down the road to my house and d'loaded the I Tunes installer at my house and on to a USB stick. 

Right now Steve is converting an Album by Ministry and he's a happy chap with 'Jesus built my Hotrod' soon to be an MP3 track.  Smart!

Dinner to follow for me and some evening TV then a couple of days on the road again.

A day of gratitude here in BS5

Tag!

This is from Suburbia at MFS so I am happily playing along:

1.What is your current obsession?

Train connections that take in a Pendolino

2.Which item of clothing do you wear often?
These days a tie, thank the Lord...

3.What's for dinner?

Irish rump steak, chips and Spring greens!

4.What are you listening to?

The Westminster Hour (R4)

5.Say something to the one that tagged you.

Cluck cluck!

6.Favorite vacation spot?

I have a small spot on my left arse cheek; it is no more or less favourite when I am on holiday.

7. What I'm reading right now?

On and off, 'American Prometheus', a biog' of Robert Oppenheimer.

8. Four words to describe myself.

Mr Richard John Ryan

9.Guilty pleasure.

Sundays at The Gregories

10. What do you think you will feel about your life when all is said and done?

I was generally decent?

11. What do you look forward to?

Quiet time in my house, and (separately) talking to my brothers and parents

12 Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak?

Pony tailed Guardian readers crapping on about lentils...and then becoming FTSE 100 finance staff (the fucking wankers)

13. Best thing you ate or drank lately?

Moo biscuits in bed

14. Flower of the moment?

Elegant lilies in my lounge

15. Favourite ever film?

Where Eagles Dare

16.Care to share some wisdom?

Psalm 128, though it is wisdom for me, and not wisdom I would impose upon you...

Okay: that's yer small onion.

Phone-tastic.

This weekend my mobile phone (well, 'phones' now that I have a work one too) has reflected many of the things for which I am 'truly grateful' as lunchtime Grace at school would have it.

I had messages from my friend Helen who came to stay because she was in a spot and needed a friend, I had emails via my Blackberry from my 'abroad' brother and I had lots of chat with England's finest Pilchard  - a Pilchard who, when I think about it has (and uses) my number, if only to secure cold pie - rather against the odds really, and that still surprises  and delights me!

Messages also from my vicar who is a consistent and fine sort, and messages from plenty of folks I am glad to know.

And just tonight I had really kind thanks from a pal in Israel to whom I sent the Arsenal score - she was really pleased to know this whilst on her hols!

Top stuff.

If anyone knows how to set up voicemail on a Blackberry Curve I'd be grateful to know. It's a great phone but came with no instruction manual. And can you download Doom for said same device?

The Council...

It is indeed seven days and seven nights since blogging here in BS5 and the comments on the end of the previous post are right - indeed the Chad'eech need not be silent: he is the elder brother on this one.

A quick line prior to my dinner to let you know that more posts will be here soon. Since my last entry I have been to Lancashire, Cumbria, Teeside, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and then back to BS5. I was away Monday to Friday with precious little Blog-ottunity across those days!

Today I have been a busy chap with lots of church work (that I am probably now too busy to deliver), and plenty of stuff at home too.

More to follow soon and thanks for looking in on an unprogressive Blog these last days.

Commute!

I know it's still early doors in terms of my new job but there is yet to be any tail-off  in pleasure gained from getting the train to work!  Today I am heading out from Bristol and up to the edges of the Lake District in Lancashire/Cumbria. Should be a picturesque one. Short of carking it in a horrific derialment incident, I always look forward the possibilities of the train. I think I will be on a Pendolino today.

As ever, I will check out the driver just in case it's the fella pictured (my brother says I will see him one day).

No Tequila for me!

My pal Jack just sent me this picture. It is a gathering with Caz, Claire (who is a jolly nice chick) and Claire's chap (or possibly ex-chap, I think). It seems to be a tequila moment though that is a crazy drink that I avoid strenuously!

Jack normally sends me pictures of Cranes, cement mixers and building sites but this seems a different subject matter altogether.

Fitter's mate.

This weekend I have been back on The Hill here in BS5. It had been a long week away at stores, but then the view from one such store is as per the picture of the waterfall. It is at Lake Vernwy in Mid Wales.

Anyhow, back on the Hill, I was fitter's mate for my friend Tony. Between us we put new frames on the window of the church vestry. The frames keep the protective wire in place so that youthful hooligans don't smash the lead framed windows. The task took quite some time but it was satisfying to complete the job.

I am off again tomorrow on the train up to Silverdale which is just on the edge of the Lake District. I am there overnight and then on to Teeside before heading on to Bedfordshire and Northants later in the week. I have my laptop sussed now and apparently one can get on line on the train so I may Blog on the move tomorrow!

Please look after this Bear.

I am back home from another few days away in the week. 

I covered lots of miles and counties this week. First of all I took the train to Paddington, across London and out of King's Cross, on into Bedfordshire. Check out that roof! 

At Bedfordshire I met my new head office gang and collected a pool car. From there I drove to Derbyshire where I spent the remainder of the week working in store. It felt odd but familiar to be working a store again and sorting out replen' for the weekened. X Reads, Z Reads, Cashing up and Floats - not seen all that for a while.

My Friday drive home was surprisingly traffic free but then it was a Bank holiday and it was awash with rain. Having not eaten meat on GF, I had not actually eaten much at all and felt a bit washed out on arriving home.

I am looking forward to the rest of my Easter weekend, and church on Sunday; I have not been for a couple of weeks now and received an affectionate enquiry as to my absence from Joan, our oldest congregant at 84!

I like the ranging nature of my job but I like BS5 better.

Colin the Dog

I have not been able to load a toolbar in BlogBS5 these last days, and hence I have not been able to post, but my logical friend Walshy advised me to log in via my Google Account page so here I am!

It's been a good few days since I posted and those days have been filled with employment. All last week I was on site for a new store which will be one of the eight I will manage in my new Area Manager role.  That store was in Derbyshire and I am back there later this week. It is on a Reservoir and affords a far nicer view than the high street retailers I have worked for these last years. The picture here is a chap who was around the corner from the store; we had a chat and shared lunch! The other picture is the body of water the stores face.

When I came home from the week away I spent some happy time on the wall. On that particular occasion a happy labrador ran up the road from his house to mine; he was with his owner, Colin. I said to my delightful wall companion, 'Here comes, Colin', and she said....'Is he the dog?'....oh dear! Much sarcasm from my part of the wall....

Grateful days indeed as Easter approaches and I leave blogging for a couple more days of working away. I do have a blackbery and laptop with work so I need to see if blogging is an acceptable indulgnece on my work equipment.