In The Pink

Our heating has packed up just in time to coincide with a particularly cold spell in Blighty! Actually that is a slight exaggeration. Our heating is on its way out and all downstairs radiators have stopped working, the bedroom and bathroom ones still work so I am going to bed soon! We live in a rented house. It is a private let and so assistance is a little slower than is desired but we have reported the problem to our land lord and some one is coming round to give us a quote on Thursday night. Hopefully the landlords will approve the cost although due to symptoms I fear the problem may be significant. We probably should have raised the matter earlier, like in the summer! We moved in during May and noticed a bottle of heating system sealant in the airing cupboard! We have a nasty suspicion that the radiators need flushing out due to sludge that has built up over a period of years. This house has been rented out for some time and I don't think much money has been spent on its upkeep...

I took lots of sunset pictures in Hastings on Thursday night. I finished work at about 3.45pm. At this time of year light levels prevent safe tree inspection after this time as trees become silhouetted against the sky therefore masking defects. I jumped into my car, headed for the beach and arrived just as this was starting. This is one of my favourites.

My Mum ( AKA Bowledover ) is extremely gifted in a variety of crafts and has recently made two sheep, Shaun and Shirley, inspired by Shaun of 'A Close Shave' by Nick Park, creator of Wallace and Gromit. I just had to post something to direct people to have a look at them as they are just amazing. I do not think she will be taking orders as I know these have been a personal project however please pop over and have a look, they are...well they are perfect and I can hear them bleating as I look at them! Image Credit: WG Popcorn

I have spent too many hours over the past few weeks trying to maintain an Internet connection and then finding that when I can get on line my computer crashes every 5 minutes! It has been most frustrating. Sometimes I cannot get a connection all day but the next day it will be fine and with no explanation. We have asked several technicians who also cannot explain the issue and similarly cannot tell us why our media player is faulty, despite several hours of conversations and upgrades instigated by Microsoft themselves. I have a friend who uses a Mac and swears blind that all of our problems are Microsoft related. We have of course thought about switching but getting a Mac seems to fall into that category of something you have to save up for, even if it is worth it. There are of course a whole heap of other operating systems available and my sister has recently switched to one I had not previously heard of and having gotten past initial differences is getting on brilliantly with it. Doe...

It was a dark and stormy night, and the captain said to his mate, 'Mate, tell us a story.' and this is the story. It was a dark and stormy night, and the captain said to his mate, 'Mate, tell us a story.'...you get the picture! Well it is a very dark and very stormy night, we have snow forecast for the weekend, and the sound of the wind outside put that little ditty in my head. Is ditty the right word, or does a ditty have to have a tune? Anyway the next little ditty has a tune. When we were kids my Dad used to sing or recite us bedtime 'dittys' including that top one which always made us laugh. I am sure he used to put on a pirates voice although that could just be my imagination. It seemed as if he did and it added great atmosphere to the moment. Shortly after remembering 'It was a dark and stormy night' I found myself humming this one which I have not thought of for years and was a favourite of mine. I'll tell you the tale of the Nancy Lee, the sh...

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I have been tagged by Retired and Crazy to post 6 interesting things about myself. Well here they are however if you have another moment to spare the answers that Retired and Crazy posted to this and another meme make for a really good read! I do so love finding new bloggers! Anyway, here they are, read 'em and weep! 1. I frequently dream of vampires, and have done so since childhood. They normally have romantic connotations although I have never ended up a vampire yet! (I have only had one vampire dream with David Boreanaz in it, much to my disgust!) 2. I almost always have a tune playing in my head, a sort of soundtrack to thought. Mostly a pleasant addition to life however occasionally distracting when plagued by a duff song! 3. I would like a beard, and if I could would grow a really long one like the Gibbons boys from ZZ Top ! I would stroke it for dramatic effect and twiddle it between my fingers during moments of high concentration. 4. I love all weather, and all weather ...

The Stripper This is one of my comedy favourites from Morecambe and Wise.

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On 9th November 2007 Miriam Makeba passed away shortly after finishing a concert. In his condolence message, former South African president Nelson Mandela said it was fitting that Makeba died doing what she did best - singing. I believe in celebrating life, and death is a part of life. I have had my moment of sadness, now I am going to put one of her brilliant albums on and dance all night! Miriam Makeba - Pata Pata Miriam Makeba - Amampondo Miriam Makeba- Mbube Miriam Makeba- When I've Passed On