Update

Well to the few people who read this blog. Apologies. I have been very remiss in blogging and I didn't realise people were interested.

Well work, since my last blog, the director for my department has had to resign 'with immediated effect due to personal reasons' I have seen them come and now I have seen another one go. Isn't that always the way? The vice chancellor decided to take early retirement with immediate effect but will continue to get paid until December. What a retirement package! Hope I get that one when I retire at almost 66 (Thats another blog!)

The situation is dire. All the Voluntary redundancies have been announced (My line manager is one of them) Now they are starting on the compulsory ones. With my line manager going I now have to report to my old one although I would rather chew my right arm off, but I did manage to keep the wolf from the telephonists door as they report to me. So I probably have a job for the 12-18 months.I have decided not to worry about what I can't control and stay put until they chuck me out!!

The good news is, I have tennants in my Crewe house who seem really nice so I am better off financially. My health is good. My mortgage is insured and the sun is shining. Oh and there is air conditioning in the office, so thats a bonus.

I spent the day with my grandchildren yesterday. My Dad and I took them out to lunch then over to Epping forest. Sian is now 19 months old spends the whole day running up and down or for some of that energy!

I love it over the forest and recently spent an open day at Copped Hall which I never realised was there. If you live in the area the next open day is 30th of August. My friend took me over there and the gardens are fantastic even if the house is still a building site.

Ok I promise to update more often Hello to everyone. Hope you are enjoying your summer.

Deleted

Well we got the official news yesterday. EVERYONE in the telecoms department is to be 'deleted' in 2010! Quite where the expression 'deleted' came from is anyones guess, but I think it is nasty, impersonal and very rude.

Stranger still was the absense of the managers yesterday, one in particular was absent the whole of last week when the executive group announced the voluntary redundancy scheme and told us we would be told by our heads of departments what the plans were for our department. Well it looks like deletions all around in ISS. I can't quite name names but here is a clue to my distaste: Green Day

Anyone got a job for me?

Lovely Weekend

Well I went to Crewe for the bank holiday weekend and stayed with Sharon It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy the fab weather. I also met up with Les who was moored up at Nantwich on his boat, Valerie. He is a lovely man and was generous with his time and tea, although I did bribe him with a nice cake from Cheerbrooks Les is a seasoned boater now and it was nice to finally put a human being to a blog. A big thanks Les for providing the tea and letting me be nosy. Nice boat. Hope you get the curtains sorted out to your satisfaction. Probably see you again one of these days.

Sharon and I went to dinner one night, Saturday I think, and we found a nice pub but it was quite shocking to be one of only 6 customers. This recession is really biting. The food was delicious and cheap. So come on people, use your local just once a week because once it's gone it's gone. One pub we passed was actually closed!!

Lucky me that I went north (West) as the weather was glorious except for Friday, while the family suffered gloomy skys and rain in London.

It seemed a bit weird going to Crewe and staying at Sharons but my house is ready for renting now and although I went over and mowed the lawns and aired the place, I didn't see much of it and what I did see doesn't feel like mine anymore. Oh well.

Also took a drive out to this place here which is very new but going to be nice. Had a snack there and wiled away an hour looking at the boats.

I hope everyone had a nice Easter, now it's back to work for me!!

From akelamalu
1. Name something you use in the shower. Shampoo



2. Name a product for men. Nivea moisturiser



3. Name something people hate to find on their windshields. Squashed insects



4. Name something a man might buy before a date. Condoms



5. What is another word for blemish. Zit


6. Something you cook in the microwave. Porridge



7. Name a piece of furniture people need help moving. Sofa


8 Name a reason a younger man might like an older woman. They are looking for a sugar Mummy



9. Name something a dog does that embarrasses its owner. Farts



10.. Name a kind of test you cannot study for. Eye Test



11. Name something a boy scout gets a badge for. Who Knows?!


12 Name a phrase with the word home in it. Home is where the heart is



13. Name a sport where players lose teeth. Rugby


14. Name something a teacher can do to ruin a student's day. Give them homework



15. What is a way you can tell someone has been crying. Swollen eyes


16. Name a bird you wouldn't want to eat. A Blue Tit, they are so pretty



17. Name something someone would wear with a hole in it. Tights


18. Name something that gets smaller the more you use it. Lipstick

A Mystery

Recently I sent off an application to my building society for permission to rent my property. Since my Mum died in October I have been spending more and more weekends with my Dad so decided the property could pay for itself.

I filled in the form with a great deal of care, getting important information from my P60 and sent it off. I noticed after a month or so I still hadn't heard a word from them, that is, until I went back to Crewe this last weekend to finish off emptying the place. There on the mat was a letter from the building society.

I opened it and inside was a letter thanking me for my application but explaining that I hadn't filled in section A of the form (The part I most definitely did as I had to find a p60 to do it) and enclosing another form. I looked at the form carefully.

Part A was the ONLY place that identified who I was and my address, so the mystery is this.

If I forgot to fill in that part of the form, how did the building society know who to write to to inform me that I hadn't?

Photo

I spoke about Kay here. I had to publish this photo of her frollicking in the waves of Olu Deniz because this is how I will always remember her. It makes me smile and brings back memories of happier times. I really hope that's where she is now. Thanks to Mark, her son, for letting me have it.

All packed and ready to go

Well that's it then, after this weekend the house will be all packed up and ready for renting. I did have a bit of a false start as the neighbours did say their parents wanted to rent it but then changed their minds and as I was cursing thin air asking whoever why were things made so difficult for me, out of the blue, a letting agent rang. One I had called a few months ago ringing as a courtesy call. So around she popped and it's now in the hands of an agent.

I often curse or ask questions to thin air, but that is the first time I have had such a quick response!!

I thought I would feel sad, but actually I didn't. I have got fed up with the travelling up every weekend and now I will have the time to go on some of the London walks I love so much. I love doing those in the summer and we once went on a ghost walk which was funny/spooky and good value for money.

Course I will be going up to see Sharonon a regular basis, so I will still be able to go to my beloved farm shops.

So here's to the next phase

Homeward bound

Since my Mum died in October, I have been spending more time living at my Dads than going home to Crewe. This works for me mainly because I work in London anyway.

I had my house in Crewe up for sale for most of last year, in fact I put it on the market in March and up until I took it off the market in November I had ONE viewing. I have now made the decision to empty the house and rent it out unfurnished rather than keep paying the bills and not get there very often. So I am off next week to pack up my home and get it ready for renting.

Despite the fact that for the last 5 and a half years I have only really spent the weekends there and the odd week here and there on annual leave, I have loved living there. It is so different from London where I spend most of my time.1 minute across the road is the park (In fact in that photo you can SEE my house). 5 minutes and I am in the country. 10 Minutes and I can find a nice canal to stroll along. There are farm shops and ice cream farms, pubs to get nice cheap lunches and I am going to miss being able to just go there and chill.

Luckily I have my best friend Sharon literally around the corner from my house so I can still go up to Crewe and stay there with her, but it is going to be weird not being able to just put my key in the door.

So think of me next week, packing up boxes (in fact my whole life!) probably sobbing into my porridge.....

EGG on your (in) face

I am the owner of an EGG credit card, I am one of life's naughty people that do not pay off the entire balance at the end of the month. But I am this month!! Oh yes

Anyone who reads this and knows or is an owner of an Egg credit card, I urge you please, to look at your emails and statements. Yesterday they emailed me to tell me that from March my interest rate will rise from 17.9% (Bad enough) to a whopping 21.9% (daylight robbery rate)

So Dear Egg, if you think I am paying to top up your coffers after your parent companies greedy dealers bought crap stocks to bump up their bonuses, you are mistaken. When the interest rates are at their lowest in history I am not going to be party to your profiteering and I hope you go bankrupt!

Let it snow

Yesterday, we had, according to Boris Johnson 'Exceptional circumstances' with regards to the snow. I quote 'The right snow just the wrong quantity'

I woke up yesterday morning in London to about 5 inches of snow. I got up, showered and dressed and as I was doing so they announced on the radio that 'All London bus services had been suspended' Now I knew the trains would be up the creek but I have never ever seen the buses suspended after snow. NEVER! It was purely because the bus services were suspended that I couldn't get to work. I had the routes worked out in my head but couldn't get a bus.

Then later on in the afternoon, there was Boris telling the BBC that he thought he had done a brilliant job considering the exceptional circumstances. Well Boris, you didn't. Not even the war stopped London buses.

Oh and while I am on my high horse, how about a special mention to Camden council who shut the local parks for safety reasons!! Brilliant. Lets hope they have gritted the pavements because if the ones outside today are anything to go by they are far more dangerous than a walk in a snowy park.

P.S Can anyone please tell me why the councils no longer grit pavements?

How the mighty fall

Oh how I laughed yesterday, a friend sent me a link to an old video. As a teenager I was in love with Gerry Shephard he was one of the lead singers with the Glitterband.

They were Gary's backing band but I loved him before they started out on their own and joined Gary's fan club to get information about his band. With a lot of determination, me and my best friend Sharon discovered where 3 of them lived, John Springate, Peter Phipps (Her favorite) and Gerry.

During the summer holidays, we would get a red bus rover and go all over London, one fine summers day we decided to go to south London and pay a visit to our hero's. Gerry lived in a house in Steatham with his Mum and Dad! I remember the name of the road to this day. Gleneldon Road! I was so excited and scared. I was 13 years old and about to meet my hero! In fact I was so scared that I made Sharon go and knock on the door.

After a minute or so the door was opened by his.....Mum!! Sharon politely asked if Gerry was in and she replied rather vaguely 'Oh no sorry, he has just popped up the shop to get me some toliet rolls'!!! Ha I crack up laughing about it now but then?!! TOILET ROLLS?!! GERRY? HE DIDN'T GO AND BUY TOILET ROLLS HE WAS GOD!!!!! I must admit I was crestfallen!

Still, not to be deterred, she assured us he would be back in a little while so we went down to the shops and hung around for a bit, and then went back. Sharon knocked again and this time he opened the door!! Oh wow!! But what did I do? I was so shy/scared/dappy I hid behind a bush until I was coaxed out!! LOL

Sharon was in love with Peter and she never did get to meet him, we went to his house too but he had left a little while earlier and all we did was wake his Mum up as she came to the door in her dressing gown! We did phone her too once and she invited Sharon around for tea as she was so thrilled that someone loved her Peter!!

A few years later we met Gerry and John again after a concert they were both very nice, but sadly Harvey (Who was driving the car Gerry was a passenger in) was too up his own bum to stop long enough to give us his autograph.

Those days are long gone but I do have a giggle about them with Sharon. Great memories!!

Thankyou

I have never been one to go to my family in times of crisis, especially my parents. Recently I have been having a crisis which I was urged to talk to my Dad about. I tried to sort it out myself by other means but seemed to have been thwarted in all attemps (Another blog about that another time)

Finally I had no choice but to go and speak to my Dad. With my Mum recently dying the last thing I ever wanted to do was add stress and worry to his grieving process, but, he was a ROCK!! In fact he made the crisis simply seem like a blip, it even seems to have done something for him too by making him feel useful.

Thankyou Dad. Love you lots. You paid me a compliment by telling me you always thought of me as being pretty 'sorted' I am sorted now and I will be eternally grateful.

Little Miss Naughty

I came across this a few months ago while I was having a clear out. This is Christine aged one with a friends son (They are still friends)Considering she will be 30 this year its quite an old picture. Don't you just LURVE the furniture?.........

One for Akelamalu

I have been asked for a ghost story by Akelamalu This is true and I really can't explain it but here goes.

After the breakdown of my marriage I went with my daughter to live with my parents for about 2 years. At the time they were both working so used to leave the house about 7am in the morning leaving me and my daughter there until about 8am when I would take her to the childminder and go to work myself.

One morning I got myself and Christine ready and as I tried to open the front door I found I couldn't open it, at first I thought it had been double locked from outside by my Mum or Dad when they had left for work but discovered that actually the latch had been clicked up from the INSIDE. The only person capable of doing this was myself as Christine was about 2 foot tall and hadn't yet moved out of her cot although she did walk by then. I certainly hadn't done it. To be honest, at the time I thought it was strange but didn't give it much more thought.

2 days later, my parents went to work as usual, I pottered downstairs after getting ready letting Christine sleep on for a bit (I had a terrific childminder who lived opposite, who would take her in her PJ's and sort her out)I was sitting in the back living room reading the paper and heard a distinct click in the passage. Again I took no notice, its an old house prone to creaks clicks and bangs from time to time.

I went upstairs to get Christine out of bed and as I brought her down the stairs she got very aggitated and started crying 'Tell man to go away, tell man to go away' and was looking at the front door. I couldn't see anyone, but I stopped halfway down the stairs as by that time, she was trying to hide her face under my jumper and was getting very distressed and looking towards the front door and then trying to hide her face again. I must admit this icy feeling came up from my boots as I tried, really really tried, to see what she was seeing. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I tried to keep myself and her calm. I said loudly, 'Go away man, you are scaring my daughter' and then tried to coax her to have another look, eventually she looked around and then smiled and told me the man had gone. I took her to the back living room gathered our things got to the front door and the latch was up locking us in again!!!

That evening when I got home I spoke to my parents about it and my Dad being a total non believer in the paranormal poo pooed the very thought, but I went to the front door and had a quiet word. When Christine had calmed down she described a man with a 'hat like grandads' (A flat cap) bent with a stick and a grimace (She did these actions as she could only describe him simply)

Many years previously the house had been two flats and my Dads brother and wife had lived in the downstairs one which allowed them use of the cellar. My aunt would never go down the cellar as she maintained there was an old man down there. One day she came to visit and she explained that before they took the flat over it was lived in by Old Mr so and so (Sorry can't remember the name) when he died they got the flat and one day she went down the cellar to get coal and saw him picking through the coal himself. She fled up the stairs as she knew perfectly well he was dead!! She described him as wearing a flat cap and bent over with a walking stick. Because he didn't have any teeth when he smiled he looked quite scary.

There you have it, she described the same person that Christine had seen but I take comfort that at least he was smiling at her!! And after my quiet word, the door latch never did mysteriously put itself in the up position locking us in again!!!

Black Hole

Mmmm, So the government is going to bail out the banks AGAIN with our and future generations taxes. In the meantime, the said banks will continue to hound (sometimes to death) ordinary Joe for a missed payment, whilst sitting on piles of hoarded money they were given in the first bail out and bleat that their assets are only worth 30 billion instead of the usual 70 billion. My heart bleeds, but only for ordinary Joe.

Bomb site

Even though I was born in 1960 I still remember the bomb sites left over from the blitz of WWII. We had a really large one at the top of our turning, open to the elements with mountains of bricks and building rubble that, as little kids, we would clamber over and play games.

I look back and find that quite amusing. No health and safety in those days. My sister being 8 years older than me can remember personal things and effects being among all the rubble, but by the time I started playing on them most of that stuff had gone to be replaced by the locals unwanted rubbish. I was banned from playing there, quite obviously it was a dangerous place to play, but play there we did. Once I cut my knee very badly and went running to a friends Mum because my Mum would have given me a terrible telling off. We used to build camps or just root around in it.

Nowadays if that were to happen it would be immediately boarded off with huge notices proclaiming that it was a dangerous place for children to play. In fact, it wasn't until recently that it occurred to me that they were places where people had their homes bombed and where some may have died. I just took them for granted as they were always there. I never used to think about HOW or WHY they were there.

Eventually our favorite debris was cleared away and a new school was built there. My local primary school in fact. So the children continued to play on it and still do where the playground now is. There were lots of stories after the school was built about 'haunted toilets' a story that was doing the rounds even when my daughter attended there. Never saw a ghost, but did once witness along with another girl, the door handle going down,the door opening and then the door handle going back up and the door closing. There was a glass panel in the door and no one to be seen..............................

The uncertainty of it all

To get to the point, my employer is in trouble. They owe a certain government department a shit load of money because someone on high has been cooking the books. Ordinarily, if it were a regular staff member that had 'made a mistake' we would all be subject to a witch hunt and the offending person dismissed. Because this 'mistake' has been made by the executive group they are not going to 'conduct a finger pointing exercise'. Mmmmm wonder why?

It would also seem, that because it has been written in their contracts, they have also received their performance related pay bonuses, unlike a few of the staff that were on a contract that gave them option days (A day off a month for a 45 minute lunch, instead of an hour) that 'perk' has been phased out but the performance related 'perk' can't possibly be!!!

We have a big union meeting coming up on Friday, thats going to be interesting, a lot of the attendees at the last one weren't even union members!! Strking is not going to do any good as we have all been put on alert to voluntary redundancy and then compulsory redundancy. Bet none of the executive group will be made redundant though. Oh well, whats the point in worrying, its only money after all and they do say the devil looks after his own.......
More on the issue here
http://www.thecasscrisis.blogspot.com/

And this is the other half of my family

This is my sister Linda, BIL Ray, nephew Steven and niece Bertie taken at the same place. Poor Steve was the one who was supposed to get married, but didn't. Still he is young free and single now, so if there are any nice young ladies out there.....don't contact me!! He is doing very nicely for himself thankyou!!!

My Family

Well this is a photo you won't see often. Here's me with my daughter Christine, SIL Petrus, Grandson Kai and Grandaughter Sian. It was taken on a weekend in Torquay when we were supposed to be attending a wedding. The wedding was cancelled but the weekend wasn't and all the 'guests' turned up anyway. A good time was had by all.

Lost and Found

A few weeks back I lost one of a lovely pair of earrings that were brought back from Mauritius for me. I was gutted, mostly because I wasn't going to Mauritius any time soon to replace them!!

Anyway, this weekend I changed the bed linen and got out the clean bedding from the time before, put the cover on the quilt, closed the poppers, put the quilt on the bed, decided the far bottom corner needed straightening so flicked the quilt back and there, embedded in the frilly bit was a shiny ring.
On closer inspection, I discovered it was the missing earring, all nice and shiny after going through a thorough washing machine cycle. It had stayed where it was because when I had stripped the bed I had pulled the quilt cover inside out. So now I am going to have to find a way of putting the other one through a washing machine cycle as it is not as shiny as the lost/found one.

Shame really, it would have been nice to have a good reason to go to Mauritius.............