Filling the reservoir.

Check out this top smart Land Rover that I had a ride in on store
visits too!

Had it just been me and my colleague Gary, I would have asked for a
drive but as we were a group of five I declined!

Oh yes, there's a waterfall that feeds the reservoir too.

Saving the Wales.

For much of this week I have been on store visits in mid Wales. All
great fun but zero phone signal so no calls, no texts, no blogging and
most difficult of all no connection with my BS9 :-(

That is all restored now

Now then, in previous roles, store visits have been to one identical
high st or another with a dull view of a staff car park or a tired
staff room in need of a refurb' . These days I support eight stores
with views like this!

This is Lake Vyrnwy in mid Wales. It was dammed and filled in 1864 and
gravity feeds Liverpool with a source of about eight million gallons
of clean Welsh H2O. My store is at the end of the road atop the
reservoir. It is a profitable store with sound customer service and a
decently low wage to sale ratio (this is good) . The team are
innovative and excellent.

After a store visit with sales analysis, I hopped into a land rover
with some of the gang and explored the 22000 acre reserve! We saw peat
preservation, land management and up close some Welsh Black cattle.
Not a bad few days' work!

Cruise news..

I am on a day's leave today.

I woke at half five and drove to Southampton to collect my folks.

They have just finished a 28 day cruise that covered 8500 miles and a ton of stops and countries!

My Mother entered the digital age and took a new diggie camera with her. She was only on one photo of the 400 she took, most of which were buses with ears, ships, cranes and lorries - oh, and a bridge! She thought I'd like that.....spot on!

Here's a Caribbean crane, Ma and Pa's cruise ship (next to the world's largest), and my Dad in holiday mode! No pix of my Ma here; she wouldn't like that.

Back at Ma and Pa's now, and here comes the rain

Monosyllabic

My friend and fellow Blogger Saz had this 'one-worder' meme on her Blog so I am having a go...


1. Where is your cell phone? There

2. Your hair? Lengthy!

3. Your mother? Sorted

4. Your father? Relaxed

5. Your favourite food? Shared

6. Your dream last night? Chicken

7. Your favourite drink? Beer

8. Your dream/goal? Happy

9. What room are you in? Kitchen

10. Your hobby? Cooking

11. Your fear? Chives

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Bristol

13. Where were you last night? Goodrich

14. Something that you aren't? Bird

15. Muffins? Top

16. Wish list item? Spaceship

17. Where did you grow up? Haven't

18. Last thing you did? Typed!

19. What are you wearing? Out

20. Your TV? Infrequent

21. Your pets? Megaladon

22. Friends? Unsurpassable

23. Your life? Appreciated

24. Your mood? Bingy

25. Missing someone? Yes

26. Vehicle? Mercedes

27. Something you're not wearing? Bra (Saz wrote that on hers but, hey....)

28. Your favourite store? Sweetmart

29. Your favourite colour? Green

30. When was the last time you laughed? 4pm

31. Last time you cried? 2008

32. Your best friend? Australia!

33. One place that I go to over and over? Rhubarb

34. One person who emails me regularly? Wavey

35. Favourite place to eat? BS5

Have a go if you wish!

PS: Did you try to play the video you saw? Yes? Bnnnnngggggh!

Stew!

Here is a winter beef stew that I have made at my house to take to my
folks' house where I have volunteered to make dinner! It had a great
winter smell to it as the beef slowly braised!

Bread BS5

I have a breadmaker which arrived about a week ago.

I made a brown loaf last week under supervision and a white loaf
today, nearly without supervision. Today's came out just fine and
tasted great. It fills the house with a really good smell in the last
hour of production.

I think a loaf works out at about eighty pence a go, which is about
40p less than a store one.

It's also really easy to do!

Finnnnniiiiished!

All smiles here in Bathroom BS5!

Store visits.

In Matlock today for a visit to my store at a reservoir nearby.
Matlock is a civilised town with a 'local services for local folk'
sort of feeling, but it makes strangers welcome or at least the lady
who put my two cheques into my bank account did. Derbyshire is a
pretty county.

I am blogging from the bus now and it's all very picturesque. I pass a
stone museum on the way to the store. That's a museum about stones,
not just one made of them.

This picture is the bridge and river opposite my room.

Top refurb' action!

For nearly seven months now I have been about my business as a retail
Area Manager and in all that time I have been all over the place on
trains. At least twice a month I find myself at Derby station (as I am
now) and it has always been boarded over. A revelation today as a
long, full refurb' has been completed since I last passed through.

As a train/construction/transport/concrete spod this is all to the
good! It's a bit of a spanker. And I'm out of Derby on a brand new
train. Tragic but ideal!

All afternoon I have been sharing train changes with a blind lady. I
helped her off the train at Derby and learned that she was from
Tiperrary ("Tip' sure", she said).

I am about 40 minutes from a pint now and thank feck for that.

On the Rattler.

On the rattler from Chester to Crewe, a single carriage and a nine
stopper. Leg room is scant and the middle table has a couple of young
girls giving it some volume on a tinny phone with R n' wanky B! Oh
joy. The ticket man has asked them to turn it down and in fairness
they did. That's cool.

So here I am on an hour's journey that will pass through Stoke, where
I attended uni'. It's not so bad really. I'm at my destination for
half seven by which time I'll have changed trains again and my pint
light will be on!

This is a picture of my shoe, live outside Alsager!

The Nine Hundred.

As it happens post 900 is about my digital radio! It's a complete
bonus when I am away from home and have thought to pack it.

You can be in a random hotel room and most times can plug in, and
tune in to a plethora of digital stations, though I rarely heave far
from Radio 4 or The World Service.

It is nice to take these things along, as well as 'Today' from six
o'clock in the waking morning of another hotel.

As I type I am listening to a programme about 'Peak Oil' a documentary
about being in, or having passed World peak production.

I like my well travelled radio.

Post 899!

Now these chaps have appeared before, praised for their common sense and ability to cut to the chase!

40 years old this week, would you believe?

Good for Larry and Sergey to make them today's image!

Breakfast brother.

Another brother, another breakfast!

Today my other brother is passing through BS5 and he is on his way to Hong Kong.

Just like earlier in the week with Greg, we went out for brekker at Grounded, my local and somewhat Guardian-esque cafe. We had a top smart time and were surrounded by mothers and tots drinking coffee and chattering.

Back at my house now and cracking on with WFH. Today it's all about stock turn and weeks' cover.

And a sneaky read of Trucking International, a magazine I like but haven't purchased for a year!

For Dandelion

My friend Dandelion recently sent me a bus picture as she knows I like these things.

I suspect Dandelion is not wholly averse to bridges and stuff, as well as buses so here's a post for her.

This top bit of kit is a flyover in BS5. I cross it in the car to go to Sainsbury's and I walk under it many times a week to the railway station.

This week it is having some work done on its legs. See how the chaps and lasses fixing it attend to their work by climbing down from the top, not up from the ground. Cool huh?

In the picture of me pointing at it (Credit: BS9) you can't see the movement of course, but it was whirring away!

Breakfast with GH.

I have been WFH today and it has been a very pleasant affair.

I completed loads of useful work and analysis but I also had time to have breakfast with my brother who was passing through.

We went to a local eatery called Grounded and had some top scoff. We larked about with our Iphones and got a bit spoddy about Apps. Light Sabres were downloaded. Greg was a bit disappointed that his favourite item was not on the menu today.

On the way home we bought cream cakes (it's a long journey requiring sustenance) .

Top stuff.

My other brother is passing through tomorrow and then it's off to London and the South East at the end of my week.

Happy days for which I am grateful.