The Sturdy Soapbox

Computer sez you did !

My morning walk fraught with danger as it is down that arboretum, usually terminates with a visit to Tesco.

I'm even poorer at the moment than usual, so only got essentials this morning plus some bleach to detoxify the bog.  I used the self checkout and almost passed out when the system wanted sixteen pounds for items that were less than five.

Lady came over and pushed her supervisor's buttons and said "what about the DVD you ad" ?  "I didn't buy a DVD take a look".  "Computer sed yo did".  

Finally she believed that I was an unlikely candidate for a Halloweeen party fun DVD and zeroed the sale.

Saw Margo as I was crossing by the arboretum, she was in the traffic queue.  She sent me a text later and commented how much thinner I was than the last time I saw her about three months ago and she commented on my pace of walking.

Seeing Jenny again on the first of November, hope there's a decent drop in weight this time to give me encouragement.  Trying for a good run between now and Christmas, so I can relax a bit over the holiday.

November is a busy month for appointments, diabetes checks at the hospital, appointments at the QE in Birmingham at the cancer centre plus my annual tests and scans.  Must make sure I get all my appointments recorded so I don't miss one, the physio as well, eek !

Lucky to be alive

I could hear the excited quacking when I was still fifty yards away, but the moment I was within ambushing distance they were on me.  All I'd got was half a loaf of Warburtons Wholemeal.

As I was feeding this lot, I suddenly felt tugging at my trouser cuff only to find the bravest of three ducks pushing his luck having crept round behind me.

Pity I don't work in a bakery, I could make myself very popular with this lot.  Arboretum walkers beware, the cold nights are here and these guys are hungry.

Filthy little thieving chav

Picked up Jan's laptop and slung the bag over my shoulder for the 1.57 mile walk home.

I was about half way, walking along a busy road, when I just looked to my left and saw some filthy little unwashed wiry twat in a hoodie, about to attempt to unzip the bag the laptop was in.

As he saw me turn, he didn't know what to do with his hands.  I couldn't do anything, because I didn't actually see him touch the bag, half a second later, things might have been different.

Found this quite unbelievable, I was walking at a fair pace, so it was no coincidence he was walking so close to me.

OBC often makes handy little suggestions of places I can go for my walks and I suggest he's looking for the day I get mugged.  This was 1:45 in the afternoon.

This fast breeding scum is everywhere and you need eyes up your arse to stay ahead of it.  Thieving chav scum'd have the milk out yer tea given half the chance.

 

Sunny Tuesday but the frost's a comin

I set the heating to come on last night.  You have to plan these things ahead here, because it's storage rads which charge up overnight on a special slightly cheaper tham rip off rate power wise.

After a stormy night, the sun's out and I am going through the ritual of moving the chilli plant with fruit round the flat to catch the sun through the day.

I've polled the opinion of Moll in Baltimore the doyenne of chilli growing as to whether I should bring the rest of the babbies in to avoid frost.  

Off up to see Jan at the Wheatsheaf later.  She's got a laptop for me to look at.  I'll bring her up to date on all that's been going on with CAMRA, seeing how she fell out with them a few months ago for excluding her pub from an "ale trail".  In the end there was a perfectly good reason for this, but no one could be arsed to explain it to her and as a reasonable lady, she would have gone with it, over the wet slap of an excuse she was given.

I am hoping that I've solved one of the many problems on the big PC.  I've been wasting three or four discs for every one I produce which is not only wasteful on media, but also on the time you use to try achieve something.  Got a dual layer IDE burner off E Bay for less than a tenner, fitted it on Saturday and so far have produced three discs and wasted only one.  There's hope yet !

 

So I'm sort of famous again !

Some time back on the Walsall Flickr group, the council put out a call for pictures of the locality for use in a promo for the town in the windows of the long vacated Tesco supermarket (since they moved to a brand new location in town).  The members tagged their piccies and then we heard nothing, til late last week.

I was really chuffed that from the hundreds of pictures, I was one of those to have a photo included.  In my case, one of the market last winter in the snow.  It's part of a long display and has already generated a lot of interest in the town.

Was lucky to get the longshot this morning, as this cretin saw me photographing the windows and ambled right in front of me, scoffing his breakfast and just plonking himself down on the wondowsill dead centre of where I was about to take another picture, tosser !

Light wasn't very good for pictures, but you get the idea.  Two bits of notoriety in one month, the first being the inclusion of my Venus flytrap photo in that US university book and now this.

Other than that, I had a pretty crap weekend (literally).  I had the shits all last night and right through today, guts jumping around like nobody's business.  I severed all ties with Walsall CAMRA, something that's been coming for a long time, but came to a head with them sending out the latest Kils n Kins understamped which led to many a member having to claim it from the post office and pay a £ 1.56 surcharge.  The treasurer's response to the numerous complaints I received by e mail and phone was that the magazine is still free, it was just one of those things.

Then over the weekend I was asked to add something to their website and found someone else had been on there adding material.  I've no objection to this, which is why I didn't change the access password when I took over, but their lack of manners for not telling me sent me ballistic.

I've passed over the log in details for the Twitter account which has been going great guns, suggesting they do their best to fuck that up as well.  The perpetrator of the website additions has a propensity to overuse upper case and exclamation marks, mercy as if I would ever do that !!!

I am quite cut up about it, as I don't like quitting on something which I was obviously doing a good job of, but I know in the long run I did the right thing.  

After being involved with a committee in the early 80's the meeting of which were known as "bun fights", a run in with Friends of Highgate Brewery in the 90's and now this lot, you'd think I would have learned my lesson.  Well, maybe this time I have.

There are rays of sunshine amidst the gloom

The one really nice thing about living here, is that it only takes a bit of sunshine to perk everything up.  The carnies positively sing and I discovered on  Thursday that one of the chilli plants is now sporting fruit, albeit late.  I've brought it inside and am pampering it, moving it to the kitchen to catch morning sun and the drawing room to catch the afternoon rays.

The violas are going great guns, some nice colour as we go into winter along with the Cyclamen which is in a basket with Ivy that Pat gave me.  I never had Cyclamen before and was surprised to learn it flowers in winter like the Violas.

 

Drowning my sorrows in a packet of ginger nuts

I've had an uncomfortable and irritating week.  I've already mentioned the physio I had which put me out the game for two days after and then there's my ankle, inflamed and a blister on the same foot !  I'm now taped up with masking tape which is all I had to fix it with.

Last night, all there was to eat was four fish fingers and two stale slices of bread.  "Sad ay it" said Bob the Butcher in his most comforting manner this morning, which wasn't very comforting at all.

I fell out with Lovefilm for charging me twice, I've had another row with Vodafone for just being stupid and I've had a go at several people at Walsall CAMRA and given my notice as editor.  I won't detail why, because it makes me extremely angry to even think about it, but to use a beer related pun, these people really couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery.

After my Bob the Butcher trip, I went out a second time and as well as imprtant things, treated myself to a packet of ginger nuts in Tesco.  I rarely eat biscuits, but I do love ginger nuts.  Most people would be into a promotional sized bottle of Whisky after the sort of week I had, so I think ginger nuts represents a sensible compromise, don't you ?

Does make you wonder if it is doing any good

Physio yesterday and she has identified the bit of my spine that's causing most of the trouble.  Vertabra no 4!

It's out of alignment and the muscle attached to its left side is so hard, she had trouble working on it, which in turn hurt a lot.  All the walk home, I felt like I had something wedged in my back.  I asked what she was using on me and she said "just the palm of my hand".

By the time I got home I was in such pain, I went off to bed which is just as well, as I only had three hours sleep last night.

So generally grumpy, not helped by Lovefilm taking two payments from my bank which means I can't cover a bill due out tomorrow.  I e mailed them and got a very prompt resonse and just like Vodafone, they pulled it out of the air and it was inaccurate.

My response to that is a little more on target - stuff your account and giz my money back !

Headline of the day

I tidied up and nobody came

I was due two visitors this morning.  Firstly, Sandra (a friend of Helen's) was coming by to collect her computer which I managed to mend and we were going to chat.  Then, last night, I had an e mail from McBark who I've not seen in about 9 months, saying he was in town and would pop by around noon.

I was up early, cleaned up the kitchen, mopped the floor (Flash with Ferbreeze), changed the bed linen for something bright and Japanese, vacuumed donkey and tidied up all the little bits and pieces that were lying around the place.

When Sandra came by, she called me to say she had her grand daughter in the car who was sleeping, so could I go down to her.  So I did.

Then McBark called me and said he wouldn't be coming by as he'd got sidetracked at the surgery.

So there I was with a lovely tidy flat, a fresh bottle of milk for coffee (cappuccino if they'd wanted) and nobody came.

Then, as I was pottering around on the balcony, I thought something was missing.  My seaside windmill which my brother and Anita got me, has blown away in the strong winds we had over the past couple of days.  It must be that, as six floors up, I don't think anyone nicked it do you ?

It pays not to get too attached to anything these days, but I will miss that windmill !

Cheered myself up with a Sunday roast.   Bob the Butcher recommended the English lamb this week and I'm glad I took his recommendation, it was utterly delicious.

Physio again tomorrow and I have to tell her the exercises she gave me have been making me really ill.  The upside will be the fact I have to walk past the shop that sells those lovely samosas.