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New Year's Eve...
I should probably do a review of 2004 but I'm feeling rather tired and
can't concentrate too well - nothing to do with the Madeira I've been
drinking, honest :) So instead here's hoping that you all have a nice new year's eve...
Posted 9pm GMT
Tsunami updates This site has constant updates on the disaster plus lists of relief organisations. For those in the UK who wish to donate to the relief effort, you can do so at the Disasters Emergency Committee site, an umbrella organisation that includes Oxfam, Save the Children and the British Red Cross. Posted 8.35pm GMT
Thursday 30th December Quake 2 Just
wanted to say that I've been finding it hard to cope with the enormity
of the disaster. With the total dead now at 83,000 and still rising
it's very difficult to even begin to comprehend the toll that this has
had on those countries affected.
But have just watched an English couple on BBC News 24 whose daughter and
fiance are missing in Phuket and it's brought home the individual tragedies that
must be happening everywhere. Seeing the devastation of small areas, the
sightless eyes of survivors, the grief of a mother or a man who have lost
everything, the doctors struggling to help the injured helps to bring the whole
to a more realistic level that I can begin to understand. And for the first time I
have found myself crying at the tragedy of it all.
In a way I wish that I was young and fit and able to go out there to help.
Not that I could do much, being a non-medic and having no training in how to
deal with such disasters. I just hope that the world continues to send aid and
to follow the reconstruction - past experience indicates that by this time next
week there'll be no media coverage and the "story" will get swept away...
Back here, my partner is working upstairs. He was called both yesterday and this morning, and has worked from home every day since Boxing Day. I know that he's on call yesterday until tomorrow evening, but it's madness. I had really been looking forward to him relaxing and us being together. Admittedly we have had a fair bit of time resting, chatting and just enjoying being with each other but I confess that I'm beginning to get annoyed that, once again, our lives have been rudely interrupted. Ah well, I bought myself some cheap games in town yesterday afternoon - may as well try them out! Posted 11am GMT
Tuesday 28th December Lights Just a few piccies taken in the centre of Sheffield yesterday evening.
Posted 12.40pm GMT
Monday 27th December Quake We've been watching news of the massive earthquake and the consequent tsunamis that hit SE Asia on and off since yesterday morning. Also have been checking out the site on the BBC. With the death toll now standing at over 23000 and getting higher by the hour, it's difficult to really take in the extent of the devastation from the safety of our home. My heart-felt sympathies, however, go out to all those caught up in the disaster, whether there or because they have people they know in the affected areas. Posted 3pm GMT
Monday 27th December Photos Taken on Boxing Day afternoon when we had a short walk in our local park. Unfortunately the light was fading by the time we ventured out, but there was still enough light around to take a few pictures. As you can see, there were still remnants of snow from xmas day...
Boxing Day Well, after working out how to take the photo of our xmas tree yesterday I confess that I didn't do much at all. After the rather hectic last 2 or 3 weeks I think we were both exhausted and in need of a rest. So much of our day was slumped in front of the tv watching various films. Some were on tv. Others, like Shrek2 and Red Dwarf, were on xmas dvd's. We had a break for our dinner, of course - this year we opted out of the traditional fayre and had a lovely gammon glazed in acacia honey - very tasty and we may well repeat the experiment next year! In the evening we enjoyed Midsomer Murders - but were slightly disappointed as there were only 2 murders (usually there are at least 3!!!). Kidding apart, it was enjoyable, especially when accompanied by nibbles and madeira :) My dad was eventually allowed home late xmas eve. He had an allergic reaction to the anti-biotics which made him very unwell. But they've changed the tablets and he's now feeling better, although still not well. He's also still recovering from the pneumonia and should be resting. But my parents seem not to understand the notion of rest. Getting them to understand has been a nightmare for the whole family. I think we've got part way there (and in a way it's good dad isn't feeling well as he doesn't want to do much - at the moment) but have almost given up convincing them both that dad really needs to just sit on the settee and do nothing for a few more days at least. But what's the betting that in a day or two he'll be lugging the vacuum cleaner upstairs or even going out? My partner, however, does understand the concept of rest, when he gets the chance! As I write this he's still snoozing in bed and I have no intention of waking him. Only wish I could join him but having woken at 8.40am I couldn't get back to sleep. So have had a cup of tea and decided to update whilst I have the chance. For the rest of the day neither of us plan on doing much, perhaps having a walk to the park or local recycling bins (need to get rid of a few empty bottles) later. See you all in a day or two... and thanks to those who've sent xmas wishes - I really appreciated them. Posted 9.30am GMT
Saturday 25th December MERRY XMAS EVERYONE!
Guess who got a digital camera for xmas? :>  Our tree - before we attacked the other presents :) Posted 1.10pm GMT
Thursday 23rd DecemberOn edge... So, xmas is almost upon us. I made my last visit into town this morning and have finally bought all that I'm going to until after the event. The presents are all wrapped and sitting around the tree. I can relax. Or, at least, that's the theory. In practice, however, I'm unable to. Partly because my dad was taken back into hospital with fluid on his lungs and heart problems on Tuesday afternoon. This time the doctors are determined to give him a heart scan before they let him home, and I'm waiting for news as to when that will be (or has been). My daughter visited him yesterday and said that dad appears to be ok, although obviously down at being back in hospital. Both mum & dad are hoping that he'll be allowed home for xmas, but at the moment we don't know. So I feel strangely tense and on edge as I wait to find out what will be happening. We should be staying up here in Sheffield for xmas and my partner should finish work for the holidays at lunchtime tomorrow. However, this is the other reason why I find myself feeling unsettled. There have been numerous problems for my partner at work during the last few weeks (he works in I.T.) and he's had several late nights and unscheduled hours working at weekends as well as from home. He's on call next week and could end up working late tomorrow. I'm obviously hoping that he manages to leave work on time and that he doesn't get called in. But I can't count on either and I'm concerned that my partner's own health is suffering. All in all, very unsettling. But at least I can stay in the warm for now - although the strong winds we're currently experiencing are adding to my edginess: the letter box keeps rattling, the wind is howling around the house, the branches of the nearby ash tree are dancing madly and things keep banging. Still I've been reading in an attempt to remain as relaxed as possible. For some reason though, I've once again strayed from my normal reading material (fantasy and sci-fi) and am enjoying John Grisham's "The Last Juror". I like his style, and expect that I'll be reading more of his books in the New Year. For now, just in case I don't get chance to write again before the 'big day', my very best wishes to you all for a happy holiday: have a good one and enjoy yourselves!!! Posted 3.15pm GMT
 Tuesday 21st December  Having
finally ordered my partner's main present yesterday as well as buying
the major food items for our xmas break, I feel that I can relax. It
wasn't until this morning that I realized how stupidly tense I'd been
over getting things done, even though we're not having visitors and not
going anywhere! Silly. But then this is what I refer to as 'the silly
season'. Too consumerist. Too materialistic. Too hyped.
Time to return to a more spiritual and natural sense of the world. A time to recognize those little pleasures of watching nature, listening to bird song and generally being more aware of nature. This, for example, is officially the shortest day of the year. A day revered by our ancestors. I'm not a pagan but I feel strongly that, as a general rule, society ignores the natural sense of rhythm in our environment; that we've become too separated from the world around us. Caught up in the madness that is work related and consumerist driven. Interestingly I was reading a chapter from a book that I've had for a long time "Celtic Magic Essentials". It's one of numerous books that I like to dip into occasionally and that I often use to glean ideas for my writing. This is what I read: "The
Celtic path is a path of the heart....all of which lead to the Goddess.
Since this is essentially a Feminine path presided over by the Mother
Goddess, the spirit of Celtic Myth reminds us of our essential nature
and the 'place' we came from.....
"Contemporary culture, however, is essentially 'masculine': actively goal-oriented, competitive and concerned with 'progress' and acquisition, whether of status, knowledge or money........it is not the gifts of the heart and soul that are valued today, but those of the mind and body." Thanks to the author, James Lynn Page, for expressing so well how I feel. Posted 11am GMT
 Monday 20th December Trains On Saturday we went to Cheltenham to meet with my son, his fiancee and their children (my grandchildren). It was great to see them, if rather hectic - sitting in a pub trying to talk and eat when constantly being interrupted by a 2 year old bent on escaping from the Fun Factory that he was meant to be enjoying was not exactly conducive to a relaxed meal! But we enjoyed ourselves, our visit was appreciated and most importantly xmas presents were exchanged. The train journeys lasted 2 hours each (so an overall 4 hours spent travelling to give us 3 hours together). Now, the trains look great. Sleek, modern, bright. But they are a nightmare. Even when quiet (and they were packed with people forced to stand or sit on the floor between carriages) they feel narrow and claustrophobic. The seats are small with little leg room. The aisles between seats are narrow and difficult to walk along. So different to trains that we've travelled on in Europe where there is plenty of room to stretch your legs and wander around. Because of the cramped conditions I suffered not just during the journey but Saturday evening, yesterday and much of today from awful aches and pains. Far more so than from any similar length flight where people are known to suffer problems with their back and legs due to having to sit for so long. Perhaps it's time that someone started a campaign for recognition of the problems experienced by train travellers as well... Posted 3pm GMT
 Friday 17th December Penguin Arcade Found this little game and couldn't resist sharing. Felt rather sorry for the penguins but hey! they're cute... Loads of other games with an xmas theme on the site too, so enjoy. Posted 3.10pm GMT
 Thursday 16th December Bassett An interesting idea from Writerspark today sent me searching for the website of the General Cemetery in Sheffield. I used to live opposite the cemetery and spent many hours wandering around amongst the gravestones and buildings. One epitaph that I missed on my visits, however, was that of George Bassett, the maker of what we now know as Bassett's Liquorice Allsorts. See here to discover the story of how the sweets came to be so famous. Posted 2.50pm GMT
Thursday 16th DecemberHappiness is...
Posted 12.35pm GMT
Tale of printerly woe and madness! I sat around yesterday and today getting more and more despondent because the printer that I ordered, and need to print off my xmas letters, hadn't arrived. Unable to settle whilst waiting for a knock at the door I wandered restlessly around the house, doing various small tasks and surfing listlessly, getting more and more down because I needed to go shopping but didn't dare leave the house! Eventually it arrived and I unpacked it all, checked that everything was included, then went into town. Queued for half-hour or more at the station for tickets to Cheltenham on Saturday where we're meeting my son and family for a long lunch and to exchange presents. Luckily I got both tickets and seat reservations although the clerk hadn't been optimistic of either when I eventually reached her booth - seems that trains are getting very full with the xmas season approaching fast. Then I managed to get the first of the presents for my partner. Found a post-box and posted a handful of cards. Queued to buy stamps for the rest. Trudged to the supermarket and got some food for tonight (my partner is at his work's xmas 'do') and finally got a very crowded bus home. Town was just packed. The madness of consumerist xmas. As an atheist I probably shouldn't join in the celebrations but I do love an excuse to buy presents for my family and friends and indulge myself for a few crazy days. I eventually got the printer up and working, so am much happier now that my xmas letters are all printed. Too tired to sign them and put in with the cards tonight though. But at least it shouldn't take too long to do in the morning. As for my dad, he came home from the hospital yesterday. He seems very tired and complained of being weak, but not surprising. He's been ordered to take it easy and rest, and has a mountain of medication to keep him going. At some point he'll have to return for a heart scan (they were unable to fit him in for one on Monday) but for now he's glad to be home and is looking forward to xmas. Me? I'm going to put my feet up and watch tv! Posted 8pm GMT
 Arani Just to say that I've updated my Games page, and have included 2 pictures of my Star Wars Galaxies character, Arani Sherrin. So if you'd like to see my avatar, just head over to Linda's Den Games page. Posted 2.35pm GMT
Monday 13th DecemberGetting closer... ...to xmas. Have put up some decorations but I'm leaving the tree until later in the week as, to be honest, it takes up a fair bit of space and I'm not that keen on having to walk around the chair that needs moving so that the tree can stand in the bay window! I've finished writing my cards but - the printer has still not arrived so I still can't print off my xmas letters. Mind, plenty of time yet, provided the printer arrives in the next couple of days... My dad is having a heart scan today - probably just a precaution by the specialists before letting him go home (they've said tomorrow if things go well). If he isn't let home tomorrow I can see that my mum will not be happy - she hates being on her own, as she keeps telling me every time that I phone. I just hope that she lets him rest when he does get back, rather than give him the all the jobs that she has waiting for him. Posted 1.30pm GMT
 Friday 10th December Xmas lights Just found this link showing Sheffield's xmas and EID lights - Eid is a Muslim festival, in case you're wondering. The lights shown are only a very small selection but they give some idea as to what the city centre looks like this winter. Thanks to my friend An Incurable Hippie for the link. Posted 4.10pm GMT
Friday 10th December My dad, xmas cards and printers I spoke to my dad on the phone this morning. Think he was surprised to hear from me in the hospital, but once he got his breath he seemed pleased and appears quite cheerful. He reckons that he's improved a lot since being admitted on Wednesday - probably not least because he's finally getting a good rest. Something that he doesn't get at home, despite my mother telling us that he does - I'm afraid that mum is a 'nagger' and gets dad to do jobs that she can't manage by herself, regardless of whether dad is well or not. So in some ways the rest of the family is hoping that dad stays where he is for at least another 2 or 3 days - and at the moment it seems that the doctors want him to remain in hospital for that long. So feeling happier about my dad's health, I managed to get some of the xmas cards written. Then wrote the xmas letter on my pc. Unfortunately my ageing printer has decided it's had enough and died on me last week. I was going to use my partner's machine but he doesn't have a copy of Word and Wordpad doesn't like the graphics in my letter. So have solved the problem in my own inimitable way - by ordering a new printer from Amazon. Not only will it be much better than my ancient one, it will also be able to cope with printing digital pix from the digital camera that I'm hoping to get from Santa :> It means that my credit card has taken another battering, just as I'd begun to get on top of the amount that I owe. Still, hopefully it's a one-off and I'll be able to take more bites out of my debt in the New Year... Posted 3.45pm GMT
 Parents I should be writing cards or wrapping presents but can't concentrate. Not really surprising as my dad (age 84) is in hospital with mild pneumonia and a chest infection. My parents live 'down south' so getting to see him isn't easy - it's a good 3 to 4 hour journey, depending on times of trains and connections. At the moment we're waiting to see how he goes - it may seem uncaring not to rush off to visit but my mum has friends and neighbours who are helping out and we're all (ie the family) keeping in touch by phone and email. If I did go down there would probably be little that I can do, being unable to drive. In fact I may be more of a nuisance than a help as my mum would insist on rushing around to make up the bed etc. For now, Dad is in the best place and appears to be responding to treatment. So for now I'll stay out of the way unless he gets any worse, then obviously I'll get the first possible train down. Have been playing Pandora's Box, a game that I bought for only £3 in a cheap book shop, to keep myself occupied. Basically it's a series of puzzles that need solving in order to return the likes of Coyote to the box. Quite addictive, even though it's obviously an old game that has been re-released on CD as opposed to it's original floppy disc format. It's been dark here now for over an hour and quite cold all day - at least we did get some sunshine and I had a short walk. Got the last of the presents that I need to buy, apart from those for my partner. He can never decide what he would like, so I always leave his until the last minute to give him ample time to browse for ideas. No doubt I'll have to prod him into action at the weekend!!! For now, time for a break from the PC, and a cup of tea... Posted 4.30pm GMT
 Tuesday 7th December Busy Sorry I haven't updated sooner but my sister and her husband visited yesterday, and I was too tired on Sunday after the writing workshop. The workshop was very enjoyable although I was disappointed as I didn't get chance to share my own story with them - basically we ran out of time. Still, it will definitely get read and critiqued next time (29th January). Might even write another one by then!!! And there was a broad spectrum of stories to listen to, ideas to glean and hints and advice on crafting a short story to give me plenty to think on in the next few weeks. It was great to see my sister - we don't see each other very often, even though we get on well together. Still, she retires on the 21st of this month, and hopes that next year we'll get to meet more often. Something to look forward to. I've actually managed to do some gardening this morning - not that I have a garden as such, just a back yard. But it was covered in leaves from a nearby ash tree and the ivy that adorns the 'sheds' (old brick-built outdoor toilets long since abandoned for their original purpose & now used as storage areas) was in desperate need of trimming. Not that I've done it all - far from it - but at least it looks a bit tidier than it did. I even found some berries - not sure what plant it is, but it grows out of the roof of the shed - looks very strange and I know that I ought to cut the plant down (or rather get a chunky guy to climb a ladder and remove said plant for me!) but the berries look promising. Hopefully I'll remember them nearer to xmas so that I can adorn the door with them...  My backyard: painted about 3 years ago - the ivy and sweet jasmine now cover the whole wall and I have a lavender bush instead of all the flowers!!! Posted 12.10pm GMT
 Friday 3rd December Tired Feeling tired and rather irritable. Partly because I spent the mornng trying to work out Blogger - I got a blog going ok but then couldn't work out how to upload pictures with the Hello programme. It's probably easy but my Internet Explorer wouldn't work and Hello seems to only let you view the help and support pages in I.E. After a couple of hours I gave up. Perhaps I'll have another go next week... No cold callers today - hopefully my outburst has stopped them! But I wouldn't be surprised if I hear from them again. In a way I hope that they eventually do get hold of my partner as then we'll know who they are and what they want. At least I.E. now seems to work again. Perhaps it's been fixed after I sent out several error reports! No idea why it suddenly decided to stop working - maybe it threw a wobbly because I keep using Firefox instead!!! I really do like Firefox, it has some nice features, like tabbing - opens up a line of tabs for the sites you've bookmarked in a particular group so that it's easy to flit between them. Very useful. Right, I'd best go and get some dinner and hopefully wrap up some more xmas presents. Tomorrow it's the short story workshop - I'll definitely go but if I get too tired I've decided that I'll leave after lunch or when it becomes obvious that my brain has stopped co-operating! Have a good weekend all... Posted 6.35pm GMT
 Cold Call Hell Ok, you may recall that back on 29th October I told you about a cold call that I received, where the guy didn't seem to understand that I was the house holder and that my partner was at work. I know for a fact that the call came from abroad (easy enough - the delay alone is a dead give away, the acccents another). At the time I thought it was a one off. But no. Since then I keep getting calls for my partner. Always during the day when he's at work. I keep telling them that he's at work - often I get another call about 3 hours later from the same person when I repeat he's at work and won't be back until the evening. They won't tell me who they are (I got an answer about legally they only have to tell the person that they're calling), how they got my phone number (although one person did say it was on a form that my partner filled in - but again I got the you don't need to know legalese) and I can't get them to tell me what it's about (you guessed it - legalese). Virtually each time I tell them he won't be interested as we never deal with cold-callers. I've had 4 calls this week - 2 of them yesterday. My partner, who's as mystified as me as to which company they're from, told me to give them his work number. So when I had the 5th call of the week today I told the guy to phone my partner at work. But before I could give him the number he quickly told me that he isn't authorised to call businesses. At this point, I lost it. Told him that my partner worked for a living, during the day like most people, that if he wanted to speak to him then phone back after 8pm our time, but not to phone me again during the day as I was p*ssed off with him and his colleagues. At which point I slammed down the phone. They withhold their number, of course. If they phone again I'm going to contact my phone company and explain the situation to them, to see if they can bar them as I am getting very, very annoyed. I can guess what happens - they're handed a list of numbers in the morning and so each day a different person calls. But you'd think by now one of them would have had the sense to mark the number as 'not interested' or 'not in during the day' or something... Posted 6.15pm GMT
Thursday 2nd December Brighter Feeling much brighter today - thanks to all those who've sent emails wishing me well - think it must have worked!!! One of the problems with using my own pages for my blog is that I have yet to work out a way to include a comments section. I could probably use a guest book, but my previous attempts at setting one up weren't very successful. Another problem is that, if away, I can't access my blog at all, and therefore am unable to update when on holiday etc. So I may have another look at the various free 'blog' sites (my limited budget means I can't really justify paying for a blog-page). My main problem with the ones I looked at before is that posting pictures to them isn't easy - as I'm (hopefully) getting a digital camera for xmas, I want to be able to post more pictures, easily, with no limits as to the numbers (some blog sites seem to think 3 pictures are enough!). If any of you know differently, please email me! Posted 2.10pm GMT
Wednesday 1st December Bears Did anyone see this programme on bears last night?
Wednesday 1st DecemberThey looked so cute, shame that they're actually rather aggressive - but then, that's why we have teddy bears! It was a great programme, the antics of bears in general and giant pandas in particular were wonderful and quite an eye opener. For those of you missed it, check out the site and watch the video...  Posted 11.45am GMTThe Seer I eventually wrote a short story for the workshop on Saturday. Based on the exercise that I did a few days ago (see 24th November) it is still in a draft stage as I want to wait and see what the tutor's comments are. But I've posted it here for those of you who may be interested in reading it. Apart from that, I haven't done much at all and today feel awful - had an attack of vertigo last night and although much better now, I'm still feeling rather fragile. So afraid this is it for now. Posted 11.10am GMT
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