Waffle and Whinge

18:28:20 o'clock BST

 

 

My first entry in my new journal is here.

 

 

 

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23:54:42 o'clock BST

Whelans.

 

  I’m back at work this week, after enduring a hectic two weeks off . It’s a bit of a cliché to say I was glad to get back to work for the rest, but in this instance it was true. I put a lot of hard work into those two weeks and got almost all the jobs done that Reet had lined up for me. There just remains for me to put up a shelf or two at the weekend and I’m finished. (Of course, the list will probably grow again by then!)

 

  We took a day off from the chores to visit a place in Kent, called ‘Whelans’. At Whelans they make all manner of garden ornaments at very reasonable prices. We went there about five years ago and bought some stepping stones at £2.00 each. This visit, years later, we bought a few more of those same stones and they were still two quid each. Now that can’t be bad. I was going to upload lots photos of their yard to give you an idea of the variety and quality of the stuff they make but seeing as my journal is going to be making way for the bulldozers at any minute it hardly seems worth the effort. So what I’ve done is to knock up a little montage and just upload the one image:

 

 

 

  As well as these they make Buddahs; elephants; stone tables and benches; a variety of animals and people; busts; statues…. the list goes on. For a better idea, check out their website:

http://www.whelansmouldings.co.uk/

 

This link will better show you the size of the place:

http://www.whelansmouldings.co.uk/factory.htm

 

They’re quite easy to find too. Just enter the Isle of Sheppey, turn left at the first roundabout then head towards the docks. Somewhere along the route you’ll spot their sign. And if you’re making a day of it, there’s a pub next door, a greasy spoon just around the corner and a beach not too far away.

 

  Okay, that’s enough advertising for today.

 

  I had yet another day off work today. This time it was to go to the funeral of a friend. A sad day all round of course but, as is usually the case at these occasions, it was also a chance to catch up with friends we haven’t seen for ages.

 

  On Saturday evening I’m going on a ‘Jack the Ripper’ tour of the east end of London. Reet doesn’t fancy it so she’ll be staying at home. That’s okay as I’ll be with friends – twenty one of us! Should be a good evening and no doubt will turn into something of a pub crawl by the end of the night.

 

  This will be my last real piece of exercise before I go into hospital on Tuesday for my knee replacement (if I say it quickly I don’t worry so much about it). I’ll be in for four days or so (which I’m not looking forward to at all) and then I’ll be off work for a further three months to recuperate. I’ve got friends sorting out piles of books and videos to help pass the time. I’m gonna get a little bell and ring it whenever I need Reet to do something for me. ;O)

 

  Okay, thus endeth the final entry into this journal seeing as AOL have decided to pull the rug. I’m fortunate in that I’ve backed up all my entries in word, pics an’ all but it must be a nightmare for those of you who haven’t kept copies. Thanks a bunch AOL!

 

  Luckily for me I opened a Blogspot journal some time back (two in fact) but haven’t used it yet. Looks like that will now be my new home. I hope to meet up with some or all of you on Blogspot in the near future. So long all, thanks for stopping by and allowing me to visit you all, it’s been a fun few years.

 

  Toodle-pip. x

 

  Oops, almost forgot, here’s my new address: http://waffleandwhinge.blogspot.com/

  (I wouldn’t bother visiting just yet though as I haven’t written anything.)

 

FIN.

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22:59:57 o'clock BST

 

You’d think that after the damp and dismal August we’ve just experienced the sun would be too embarrassed to show its face around these parts but, lo and behold, today was almost summery for a while. And about time too I might add, I am on my holidays after all.

 

  We haven’t gone away this year for a couple of reasons: the funds are running quite low at the moment and, on top of that, we have a host of jobs to get done around the place because in three weeks time (Oct 7th) I’m off to hospital for a knee replacement op that will put me out of action for up to three months.

 

  So, what have I done so far? Well, I’ve been a busy little monkey, let me tell you. On Monday I trimmed the privets. Doesn’t sound like much but I also have to trim the neighbours privets as we take it in turns to do the job. He doesn’t do the tall ones in the second picture though.

 

 

 

  They may not look very tall in the photo but, trust me, they’re about seven feet high and four to five feet across the top. Cutting these buggers is no mean feat, believe me. I have the tools: stepladder; extra long extension cable, and hedge trimmer. The trouble is, the trimmer has a safety feature that ensures you have to use both hands to operate it otherwise it won’t start. In theory it’s a very good idea but, unfortunately, the two handed method seriously limits my reach, especially as I’m already balancing precariously at the top of the aforementioned stepladder. To get over the problem I’ve taped one of the handles into the on position thus enabling me to hold it one handed and reach across the huge expanse of privets whilst desperately holding on to the ladders with the other. It’s not a perfect system but it works and, so far, I’ve still managed not to cut off any fingers or thumbs. There’s another ten feet of those bushes that you can’t see. I have to cut these by sitting on my shed roof as it’s the only way I can reach them.

 

  Once the privets were done I then laid a few paving slabs to put a tool cupboard on. I had some help and supervision for this task from my friendly neighbourhood sister in law. Luckily, I’ve been married for some years so I’m used to taking orders. ;O) So that was Monday.

 

 

 

  Tuesday was a relatively easy day as I was hurting like mad and my knees wouldn’t let me do too much. I did manage to mow the lawn but even then I left Reet to do the strimming afterwards. The lawn is not in very good condition but it’s amazing how good it can look just having a trim up.

 

 

 

  Wednesday was spent back up a ladder but this time I was at my sis in law’s house, putting up some shelves. One of those five minute jobs that ends up taking three hours! But I got there in the end. Back home again and I continued with the shelving theme as Reet wants a couple put up around our own house. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the right brackets for one of the shelves so what was left of the afternoon was spent searching the DIY stores for something suitable. I didn’t find anything though so it looks as though I’ll have to make something up myself. But that will have to wait now until sometime next week because today (Thursday) we’ve been out all day and Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be spent mixing cement and laying some paving slabs on our step in the back garden. I made the step a couple of years ago but have never got around to putting the slabs on top. So now is the time for that little task.

 

  See, I told you I’ve been busy. Not today though. Today we drove to Kent to visit a place called Whelan’s. Whelan’s is the place where we bought the little ornaments in the picture below.

 

 

  More about that in my next entry  though. For now I’ll bid you good evening and remind you that it’s “Talk like a pirate” day tomorrow!

  http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html  (Thanks to Linda for the link.)

 

  Har har me hearties, shiver me timbers, swoggle me horn and toodle me pips! X

 

  (My pirate name: Mad Harry Vane!)

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22:18:13 o'clock BST

Brands Hatch – The Event.

 

Last Sunday I went with my friend, Andy, to Brands Hatch to watch the British Touring cars. We’d expected thunderstorms and went thus prepared but, as it turned out, the weather was pretty kind to us. The odd shower hit us on occasion but nothing to spoil the day. And it was a good day. All the races, save for one, were filled with action. I took my camera, of course, and tried my hand at panning to get some pictures. I tried various shutter speeds to see which gave the best results and managed to get a few acceptable shots.

 

 

 

  As well as the racing we were treated to a few laps by Lewis Hamilton in his F1 McClaren. We thought the touring cars were loud but this machine was incredible. I can only imagine the adrenalin rush the spectators get at a Grand Prix when there are twenty or more of them roaring around the track! That’s him in the last picture, the only one of many that was anywhere near acceptable. Well, in my defence, he was going a whole lot faster than the others! The third picture is none other than Ralf Schumaker  (in the Trilux car) being overtaken by the Red Bull driver.

 

  All in all, it was a good day for racing and a fun day for getting to know my camera a little better. As you can see, there’s still room for improvement. That’s okay though, I’m sure I’ll be going back again next year some time.

 

  In contrast to the excitement of last weekend, the only thing I’ve done this weekend is to go out for breakfast this morning. I had a terrible night’s sleep last night and actually got up at 1am and did some writing. I managed to grab a few winks of sleep around four thirty but was awake again by six. So, after brekkie, the rest of today has been spent dossing and dozing. I can think of worse ways to spend a Sunday.

 

  Tomorrow, I go to the hospital for my pre-assessment to make sure I’m healthy enough to undergo my replacement knee operation. Then from the 15th I’m off work for two weeks holiday. We won’t be going anywhere this year as the funds are so low, and besides, I’ve a lot of jobs to do before I go into hospital seeing as I’ll be out of action for up to three months!

 

 

  And that’s me done for tonight. I’m just off for some jelly and strawberries then I’ll be back to uploadthis, if AOL is behaving itself. Oh, and I almost forgot. Someone sent me this link in the week:

 

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk

 

  Look and laugh.

 

  Tata. x

 

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06:09:48 o'clock BST

Just a quick entry today as I’m off to Brands Hatch in a little while. Hopefully, I’ll have some better luck with my pics than last time. Mind you, we’re expecting thunderstorms today so there’s always the chance the camera won’t see the light of day. Lewis Hamilton will be there today with his F1 racing car. I can’t wait to hear that going round the track.

 

  Oh, I almost forgot to let you know what that picture was in my previous entry.

 

 

 

  Well done to all those who knew it was a loud speaker.

 

  Thanks for all the encouragement regarding my knee replacement. I’ve spoken to several people who’ve had the op and I’m quietly optimistic although I still flinch openly when I think of them ‘banging around’ down there. I’ve got a pre-assessment on September 8th so the operation shouldn’t be too long after that.

 

  Last Sunday I ventured out to Constable Country once more and, this time, I managed to find Flatford Mill. Just like most tourist attractions you come across in this country, it was covered in scaffolding. Never mind, it was a nice couple of hours in the bright morning sun and an enjoyable stroll along the river.

 

  I’ll leave you with some pics and then I’m off to for some brekkie. The last pic is something I made whilst playing around in Phtoshop. All the rest are fairly unedited save for the frames.

 

 

     

  

  

Cheerie-bye. x

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23:44:25 o'clock BST

 

Yippee! I’ve finally finished putting the family magazine to bed. It should arrive at my sister’s house tomorrow where she will photocopy it all many times and send it all back to me. Then I’ll staple the pages together and send a copy to all of my family members. We have a readership of around twenty or so. It’s dwindled slightly due to a couple of family deaths in the last year or so. But still, twenty is better than no readers at all.

 

  Reet passed her computer exam for the CLAIT course. (She was the only one who was surprised.) She hasn’t managed to find work yet, but that’s because she’s not well. Arthritis troubles and ‘the change’ amongst other things! (The person who said men don’t suffer with menopause must have been a single man, that’s all I can say! Honestly, I think I preferred the PMT. ) On top of that the doc has decided she’s depressed and has labelled her ‘unfit for work’ for six months. So now she’s popping HRT pills, anti-depressants and pain killers. What with all my painkillers and blood pressure tablets, our medicine cupboard is full to bursting and yelling for painkillers itself!

 

  I went back to my consultant last week about my knee(s). The recent steroid injection was no better than the last. He suggested physiotherapy. I said I’d tried it and it didn’t help Then he suggested another operation (arthroscopy). I told him the last two didn’t make any difference. Finally, we got to the subject of a replacement knee. Up until now I’d always said I wanted to wait until I retire before I take that route but, to be honest, after more than twenty years of just putting up with the pain, I’ve decided enough is enough. And, as Reet suggested, surely it would be better for me to have a new knee now while I’m still mobile enough to appreciate it. Who knows, by the time I’m sixty I might have other health problems and they tell me they can’t do the op because I won’t survive the anaesthetic. She has a point. So, after a little hesitation from the quack, we finally convinced him that was the way to go.

 

  Now that it’s decided though, I confess I’m more than a little nervous about it. Funny thing though. A bloke phoned work yesterday to have a package redelivered. He said he couldn’t get to Romford because he was eighty and had just had new knees When I told him we were much nearer than Romford he opted to get the bus and come and collect his package. When he arrived I questioned him about his new knees. His response – ‘Go for it, you won’t regret it.’ And, I must say for a man of eighty recovering from major surgery, he looked pretty sprightly to me. He did say one thing that worried me. He told me that because he had asthma they had to operate with a local anaesthetic. ‘It was okay though,’ he said, ‘I could feel them banging around down there, but I couldn’t feel any pain!’

Banging around!! Sod that, they can knock me right out if they have to do it with a mallet.

 

  This could all be happening very soon, two months at most. Which means I’ll be off work over Christmas – again! The trouble is, because I’ve had so much time off this last twelve months, I’ll go down to half pay after the first month. I’m really not sure the funds can take that but what the hell.My health comes first. If we have to live on credit for the rest of our  lives then so be it. I’m quite happy to die owing thousands.

 

  A couple of Sundays ago I went to Southend to get some photos. My friend, Craig joined me for the early morning drive and at 4.30am we strolled around in the damp morning hoping for a nice sunrise over the sea. Alas, due to the rain clouds the sun didn’t make much of an appearance. Nevertheless, I took a few night/morning shots. Unfortunately, my inherent shyness convinced me to leave my tripod in the car and rely on any nearby sturdy object to rest my camera on for the long exposures. Even this might have been okay had I remembered to turn off the built in anti-shake system but I forgot. As a result the photos were disappointing. Most of them looked okay on the camera view screen but enlarged onto my pc monitor the shake was quite evident. Here’s a couple that just, barely, made the grade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Eventually the weather got the better of us and by 6am we’d had enough. We headed back home, detouring to our usual Sunday morning café for a full English on the way. We’re making plans for another early morning jaunt in the near future, and this time I WILL use my tripod.

 

One last picture for you to ponder over and then I’ll make my way up the wooden hill. I wonder if you’ll guess what it is.

 

 

 

 

  Toodle-pip. x

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23:14:25 o'clock BST

 

Well, as suspected, Reet’s been dominating my evening computer time as she’s been learning all about sending emails and surfing the web. Thankfully, this will be her last week at college as they’re stopping the course she’s been on. So later tonight she’ll be kicking me off the keyboard yet again as she crams for her last exam. On Wednesday she’ll have the test. As usual, I’m quite confident she’ll do okay, as are her tutors at the college, but Reet is all doom and gloom. Oh well, I guess we’ll know one way or the other by this time next week. It remains to be seen whether all this effort helps her to find some work or not.

 

  I’ve been struggling to get my family magazine finished this time around. What with the earlier problems with my pc and now my scanner is misbehaving. The software that came with the scanner keeps telling me there’s a problem and it must close. The only explanation it gives is a bunch of codes that I have no understanding of. Yesterday I managed to scan the three images I needed by an alternative route so I can move on with the mag now, thankfully. Still, it’s puzzling me what the problem might be. These things eat away at me and I usually end up dabbling in computereze that I know very little about. Sometimes this achieves the right result and other times I cock it all up completely. So I’ve decided to hold fire on any fiddling until I’ve finished the mag and Reet’s finished her course.

 

  This week I renewed my membership to the local library. (I had my card stolen some time ago, along with a bunch of bank and credit cards.) I was amazed at how much things had changed. The last time I went I was allowed a maximum of three books and one video/dvd. Now, I’m allowed up to twenty five books at any one time! Since I can only borrow them for three weeks at a time I’d be hard pushed to get through half that amount. Still, I had a quick browse and came away with seven, just to keep me going. That’s not the only thing that’s changed. The penalty for overdue books has gone from 4p to 17p per day and, given my habit of forgetting to renew, that could soon cost me a small fortune if I’m not careful. Luckily, another change to the system means I’ll be able to renew online so maybe that’ll help. The books? Well, I borrowed four on digital photo editing. One on Outlook Express (for Reet), A Stephen Donaldson sequel from the Thomas Covenant saga and, on a whim, the autobiography of Rolf Harris. I started on Rolf first since the Donaldson epic is a little heavy going and I’m not getting time to edit photos. So far it’s an enjoyable read with Rolf being just as amiable, gentlemanly and entertaining in print as he is on TV.

 

  A week or so back I was asked to run off a few pictures of my niece all dressed up for her prom night. I ended up taking around thirty photos. My ratio for good shots over bad has improved tenfold since getting my new camera. I’m sure that’s mainly due to the anti-camera shake feature that’s built in. In the old days with my film camera that was my biggest downfall. And yet, even though I knew that, I hardly ever took my tripod with me. That’s because I always felt a little self conscious of it, thinking it made me seem like a pretentious poser. I still feel that way now but I intend to get over it during this rekindling of the hobby.

 

    

 

I’ve sorted the problem of using my old lenses on my new camera too. That was thanks to a great little book I bought. It’s called ‘The Magic Lantern Guide’ By Joe Farace. These are a series of guide books written for specific cameras. Within five minutes of reading it I had solved the problem of my lenses so it was well worth the fifteen quid I paid for it. It’s far more in depth than the basic manual that came with the camera and I can recommend it to anybody who wants to learn more about their own camera.

 

  Last Saturday we went to an eightieth birthday party. A close friend of mine invited us to celebrate with them as we’ve known all the family for many years. And, of course, I was nominated to take a bunch of family photos. I would have preferred to have taken them outside as I prefer the natural daylight. Unfortunately, the garden was small and crowded with chairs, tables and people so we cleared the sofa in the living room and lined up each respective family group for an indoor shot. Despitethe limited space and the flash lighting the results were okay.

    

                          

There’s little point naming these people since you don’t know them but, Anne is my soul mate and closest friend. She’s the one on the left. Regis the birthday boy on the right, holding the little girl.

 

  Then, on Sunday just gone, I had another chance to play with my camera when I went with my friend Andy to Brands Hatch to watch the World Superbike Championships. The trouble was, the weather wasn’t so good and so the races were delayed, stopped and re-run for the best part of the day. I think we managed to see just four races by the time we’d had enough and decided to come home. I did attempt to take some bike shots using the panning technique but, sadly, I wasn’t very good at it. What can I say – those bikes don’t half shift! I did manage to get one or two blurred pics amongst the many shots of half-bikes and empty track. But never mind though, it was good fun trying. I’ll just have to practice my technique a little more for next time.

 

 

   

  I’m sure Andy would know all the technical spec of this beast but all I can tell you is that, apparently, it’s really, really fast.

  And, of course, it wasn't all chic cars and blurred bikes. There was also the eye candy:

                                         

We got a glimpse into the glamorous life of a racing cameraman and, as an added bonus the Red Devils dropped in, literally:

                   

  Next Sunday I’m getting up very early and taking a drive to Southend on Sea, which is about forty minutes drive away. I’m hoping to catch a few sunrise shots. I have my mate Craig coming along this time so we’ll no doubt stick around for breakfast while we’re there. I’m enjoying any opportunity to use my camera at the moment so I’m really looking forward to Sunday.

 

  And that’s me, all caught up once more. Hopefully, once my family mag is put to bed I’ll manage to write more often, but don’t hold me to that one. Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of writing my memoirs. I started this project some years ago and managed thirty two pages before I somehow drifted away from it. Maybe it’s time for another go. It’s so easy to think about these things and never get around to them. I like to kid myself that when I retire I’m suddenly going to develop some kind of self discipline and spend a set number of hours per day, or week, banging away at the keyboard like it was a real job. In reality though I’m a bit of a hit and miss kind of writer and I doubt I’ll ever get organised enough to do that.

 

      Okay, that’s enough from me for tonight. I’ll leave you with an image I grabbed when Reet spotted a rainbow just outside our front door.

      

  Cheerie-bye. x  (What's going on with the fonts in here tonight?)

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23:30:42 o'clock BST

Finally, some time to write an entry. I’ve been very busy lately, trying to finish the latest edition of my family magazine. I’m almost there now, just a page or two more to edit and I’m done. As well as the mag, I’ve had Reet, as predicted,  clamouring for computer time on my pc so she can practice writing emails etc for her college course. I wouldn’t mind but she makes me sit next to her and help. Not that I don’t want to, you understand, it’s just that she’s using MS Outlook for all her emailing needs. I’ve never bothered with that as I’ve always found it to be too fiddly and not particularly user friendly. Also, in the old days the spam was unstoppable, along with the viruses some of them carried. I imagine it must have improved a little by now but I still prefer to use AOL. For all its faults and idiosyncrasies its email facility is more easily accessible and far less complicated to use. Consequentially then, I’m not as helpful to her as she thought I’d be. It’s painful to watch sometimes as she clicks her way around the screen, going the long way around all the time. Instead of double clicking  or right-clicking she highlights and goes to the main drop down menus to look for commands. When I advise her to use the faster methods she won’t do it as it’s not the way she’s been taught. Oh well, I can only hope she gets though this part of the course quickly, then I’ll convert her to AOL emailing and we can leave MS Outlook in a dark and dusty corner of my hard drive where it can dissolve into the ether in its own sweet time.

 

  My last entry ended with me going off to take some photos of the guys from work playing cricket. Sadly, due to the bad weather we’d had all that week,many of them didn’t show up, despite reassurances that very morning that they would be there. Not very nice I guess but that’s people for you. Still, there were six of us, and one of us had brought along a few friends to join in. Then we recruited the skills of two young lads and their grandad who were taking a stroll in the park as we set up. We couldn’t get a proper game going as there were too few of us but we had a little knock around for an hour or three. As it turned out, the weather stayed warm and dry until just after we’d finished so it turned out to be a quite enjoyable afternoon, which finished in the pub, of course. I didn’t take any photos at all in the end as I was too busy joining in to make up the numbers. I did a little bowling and fielding although I couldn’t throw myself into the task as much as I’d have liked since I was too worried that my knee would give out. It didn’t, but it sure ached a lot more for a few days afterwards.

 

  The Sunday after the cricket I found myself awake at 4AM and instead of ensconcing myself at my computer as I usually do I decided to grab my camera and try to capture a sunrise. I drove to a nearby country park and was surprised to find the gates locked. They never used to lock them up at all. And the car park was now pay and display where it used to be free. Since I couldn’t get in it was of no consequence. I was a little worried about leaving the car unattended in the middle of the countryside but I figured there wouldn’t be too many people about at that time of day so I risked it. I parked up by the gates, crossed the car park and strolled down the gravel path to the lake. I was lucky, I timed it just right as the sun was just coming up. There was a light mist rolling across the field and settling eerily across the lake. I stayed for half an hour or so taking photos till the sun was fully risen then made my way back.

 

  When I got home, I just had time to download the pics to my computer before going to brekkie with the lads from work. Then, after breakfast I had time for a doze on the sofa before Reet got up. An enjoyable start to a glorious day.

 

  Cheerie-bye. x

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18:39:30 o'clock BST

I’m back again. My pc is now running smoothly and quietly. It had to be returned for another medical check when I kept getting an error message telling me my cpu fan wasn’t working. (It was.) There was a scary moment when I thought I might need a new motherboard but Tony, the guy who repaired it, managed to sort it out and save me the expense. Fingers crossed that it stays okay this time.

 

  Reet passed her exam, as I knew she would. She’s now onto the next stage which is online communication. Zoiks! There goes my peace and quiet, not to mention my computer time as she’ll soon be evicting me so she can practice. Seems to me we’ll have to get her pc networked up and internet ready VERY soon.

 

  So far the injection in my knee seems to be doing the job. But I thought that the last time and it was back to being a pain within a fortnight. I had most of this week off to rest it – doctors orders. But I went back a day early as they were short staffed. Normally I wouldn’t be so conscientious but, to be honest, I was going a little stir crazy stuck at home. I didn’t have my pc and Rita had the car so all I did all day was to watch tv, read a book (Spike Milligans war memoirs – again), or doze. I got that bored I bought a crossword book, something I haven’t done for years.

 

  Now that I’ve got my computer back I can complete the latest edition of the family magazine. Remember the ‘26 things’ meme I did a few entries ago? Well, I put that in the last edition and everybody must have enjoyed it because I’ve had no less than six other family members send in theirs for entry into this next issue.

 

  Yesterday evening was spent catching up with my journal reading. I have to keep up with that or else I get snowed under with alerts and I don’t want to get to the point where I have to delete them all and start again. This entry is being written just before I go to work. I can’t seem to get back to sleep once I’ve woken up so I find I’m better off getting up and early and doing some writing whilst it’s quiet. I usually have a kip when I’ve finished work so I catch up with my sleep then.

 

  Last Saturday’s barbie went well. The rain held off, which was something of a miracle in itself. It was good to catch up with some of our friends as we’ve been very unsociable these last few months and not seen anybody. What with all the decorating we were doing and all the hospital visits and time off due to my knee ops, we were quickly losing touch with them all. Hopefully, we can now get back to some kind of normality there.

 

 This Saturday, weather permitting, the guys from work are having a cricketing day at a local park. I’ll be going along with my camera so I hope to get a few good shots. And, talking of pictures, I’ve included a few above. There are a couple of our newly decorated living room, since some of you expressed an interest, and there are a couple more from last weekends barbecue.

 

  Oops, look at the time. My lift will be arriving shortly so I’ll have to upload this entry later today.

 

  Cheerie – bye. x

 

  <> Friday evening:  Finally, after three failed attempts, AOL has decided to let me upload this entry. Hope it was worth it. x

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23:54:00 o'clock BST

 

I’m back. I must admit I was getting a little twitchy there for a while. A week without my computer was almost as bad as running out of brandy! I came back to more than two hundred emails although they were shared between three of my screen names. Still, it took me  awhile to get through them I can tell you. The pc is running much sweeter now although it still isn’t perfect and may have to go back to the doc for a little more tweaking. Twice it’s failed to boot up at the first attempt and I think one of my fans is struggling. But it will have to wait. Tomorrow I’m off for another injection in my knee followed by a few days off work so I’ll need it here.

 

  Remember the customer who didn’t like me to say ‘there you go’ when I handed her mail over? Well, she’s been back. I was very polite and made a point of not saying the dreaded words. But when I handed her mail over she accused me of saying it again. Now, on the last two occasions I had been very professional and polite but this time I’d had enough. Especially as I hadn’t said it at all. We had a few words and I ended by telling her I wouldn’t serve her again. She was just about to leave when Phil, the union rep, pipes in. Before long there’s a full blown argument going on. The woman threw something on the floor in temper and Phil asked her politely, but firmly, to leave the building as she was becoming abusive. She refused.

 

  PHIL: “If you don’t leave I’ll have to call the police and have you removed.”

  CUSTOMER: “Call the police, I’ll tell them you are being rude and abusive to your customers.”

  PHIL: “Mr North, [that’s me] will you call the police please?”

  ME: “You’re not serious!?”

  PHIL: “CALL THE POLICE!”

  ME: “You can’t dial 999 for something like this!”