I'm thrilled to be part of this project by WM Recordings, an online independent music publishing group. Yours truly was asked to make the sleeve art which I was happy to do. I've only listened to part of the album but it sounds great and look forward listening to it at my leisure.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Slap Dab Cabbage
My Dad used to say this from time to time long before the advent of DAB radio. I walked into town today and one of the things I bought was aan optical lead for the DAB radio so that I could plug it into the MD recorder and record onto the dozens of minidiscs I bought at the boot sale. I had this brainwave and I wondered why I hadn't thought of it before. Also got a puncture repair kit from Argos for Archie who has a flat tyre. Bobby Zimmerframe has just started wailing on TV so will return to this later.
That was great. Those idiots booing him when he played his electric set in '66. Some very funny moments too standing outside a pet shop and making up some improvised poetry using the writing on the posters outside. Brilliant.
What else I got? I got money from bank (twice). Posted a packet at post office. I got Moby Dick. I got A House With Flying Daggers from the library. I got a flying library from the bank. I got a Moby post office. I got a house with a flying packet. I got you under my chin.
The gasman cometh in the morning to replace the old one with a grand spanking new one. A digital gas meter? Bright shiny gas meter. I don't really know why but I expect it will charge us more for the gas!
I got a very heavy bag so had to get the bus home. Plugged in all the wires and it worked perfectly. Great!
That was great. Those idiots booing him when he played his electric set in '66. Some very funny moments too standing outside a pet shop and making up some improvised poetry using the writing on the posters outside. Brilliant.
What else I got? I got money from bank (twice). Posted a packet at post office. I got Moby Dick. I got A House With Flying Daggers from the library. I got a flying library from the bank. I got a Moby post office. I got a house with a flying packet. I got you under my chin.
The gasman cometh in the morning to replace the old one with a grand spanking new one. A digital gas meter? Bright shiny gas meter. I don't really know why but I expect it will charge us more for the gas!
I got a very heavy bag so had to get the bus home. Plugged in all the wires and it worked perfectly. Great!
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Day trip to North Wales.
At last, something to write home about! A nice day out with our old chums Tony and Penny to Talacre beach, on the mouth of the River Dee, North Wales. Such a great place with a little lighthouse , dunes and soft clean sand that stretched for miles. We took the kite that Tony and Penny had given us and after much assembling and string unknotting managed to get it aloft where it look very splendid against the blue sky. We had a picnic by the dunes and watched the dogs and people walking by and the other kites in the distance. The windmills on the horizon kept changing colour as the light hit them - from white and then dark grey so they were almost invisible.
One the way back we stopped off at the remnants cloth place for tea and cake whilst Penny and Hazel went shopping for bits of cloth.
Today it was sunny so the boot sale at Weaverham was pretty packed. I got a big stack of minidiscs for a fiver. Foolishly I bought a minidisc player a couple of years ago on the strength of getting some discs of old 78's that someone had promised me. I got a couple but they fizzled out and it's been idle ever since. So nice to have a all these to play on it. A strange mixture of 80's disco and dance tracks upto more recent things by Oasis and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Archie sounded keen to hear the latter.Also found some old postcards including a pillar box with arms and legs. Hazel got some too and a pile of Deakin crockery for 20p. She's pulled a muscle in her back and so hobbling around like an old lady going "Ooh" and "Ouch" every so often.
One the way back we stopped off at the remnants cloth place for tea and cake whilst Penny and Hazel went shopping for bits of cloth.
Today it was sunny so the boot sale at Weaverham was pretty packed. I got a big stack of minidiscs for a fiver. Foolishly I bought a minidisc player a couple of years ago on the strength of getting some discs of old 78's that someone had promised me. I got a couple but they fizzled out and it's been idle ever since. So nice to have a all these to play on it. A strange mixture of 80's disco and dance tracks upto more recent things by Oasis and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Archie sounded keen to hear the latter.Also found some old postcards including a pillar box with arms and legs. Hazel got some too and a pile of Deakin crockery for 20p. She's pulled a muscle in her back and so hobbling around like an old lady going "Ooh" and "Ouch" every so often.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Blogging train late again!
Sorry, i seem to have been neglecting my blogs just lately, especially this one. The truth is I havent really been doing anything out of the ordinairy. The usual collaging, internet,music,shopping, cooking, etc. The collage here is another made for the iRobot group at Flickr.
I walked into town Wednesday to get a few things we were running out of- apples, bananas, milk etc. My arm had stretched about three inches by the time I got the heavy bag of shopping home! I can now pick up any dropped coins I find in the gutter without much bending!
Archie has a new piece of Spanish guitar to learn. Seems the teacher is moving away from the pop and rock stuff to more serious tricky work now. Archie seems to be coping with it quite well. He's getting another animation ready for the Exposures Film festival in Manchester soon. He just recieved a DVD of last years "Show Reel" of the best stuff which his "Light The House" is on. It's been sent round to schools and colleges all round the country so he's dead chuffed.
I walked into town Wednesday to get a few things we were running out of- apples, bananas, milk etc. My arm had stretched about three inches by the time I got the heavy bag of shopping home! I can now pick up any dropped coins I find in the gutter without much bending!
Archie has a new piece of Spanish guitar to learn. Seems the teacher is moving away from the pop and rock stuff to more serious tricky work now. Archie seems to be coping with it quite well. He's getting another animation ready for the Exposures Film festival in Manchester soon. He just recieved a DVD of last years "Show Reel" of the best stuff which his "Light The House" is on. It's been sent round to schools and colleges all round the country so he's dead chuffed.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Wizzle, Pizzle and Drizzle.
On a robot kick just lately and making paper robots and this new collage for Flickr iRobot group that i started. There are robot groups but they are a bit messy with all kinds of odd stuff that's not related to robots as i see them. I like the old fashioned "nuts and bolts" robots that were made into tinplate toys in the 50's and 60's. Also those rubbishy ones from old Republic and Universal serials of the 40's and 50's that I remember as a kid at Saturday Morning flicks.
I should have a few links here but it's such a faff to do. I might come back later and fit them in if i have time. A little robot that would do it all for me would be a great idea. I'll make one out of this old cereal packet and some sticky backed plastic!
yesterday was a bit of a wash-out bootsale wise. There were few stalls but mostly full of old toys and not ONE robot amongst them!
Not even any records for Boot sale Sounds blog. There I did one.
Hazel and Archie cycled over to the organic farm shop to buy some eggs later on when the drizzle stopped. It's a lovely ride up a country lane and not far from us. She said the vegetables looked "a bit sad" so she didn't buy any. Big frowns on the potatoes? They bought a tea and ice cream and sat looking out over the valley and the little church beyond. I should go too but my bike still has a puncture from about two years ago and the inner tubes need replacing. I prefer to walk anyway.
Archie is off to the opera in Nantwich today. Its a special school trip. he can wear what he likes and is to take a packed lunch. I have strict orders not to put cream cheese and lettuce in the sandwiches!
Its Hazels first day back at college and the joys of moulding those new recruits into the creative folk of the future.
The sun is shining so I'm walking into town to get some shopping and see what the charity shops have added over the weekend.
I should have a few links here but it's such a faff to do. I might come back later and fit them in if i have time. A little robot that would do it all for me would be a great idea. I'll make one out of this old cereal packet and some sticky backed plastic!
yesterday was a bit of a wash-out bootsale wise. There were few stalls but mostly full of old toys and not ONE robot amongst them!
Not even any records for Boot sale Sounds blog. There I did one.
Hazel and Archie cycled over to the organic farm shop to buy some eggs later on when the drizzle stopped. It's a lovely ride up a country lane and not far from us. She said the vegetables looked "a bit sad" so she didn't buy any. Big frowns on the potatoes? They bought a tea and ice cream and sat looking out over the valley and the little church beyond. I should go too but my bike still has a puncture from about two years ago and the inner tubes need replacing. I prefer to walk anyway.
Archie is off to the opera in Nantwich today. Its a special school trip. he can wear what he likes and is to take a packed lunch. I have strict orders not to put cream cheese and lettuce in the sandwiches!
Its Hazels first day back at college and the joys of moulding those new recruits into the creative folk of the future.
The sun is shining so I'm walking into town to get some shopping and see what the charity shops have added over the weekend.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Mail artist at work.
Here I am in 1992 surrounded by our clutter in Lambeth Walk. We used to clear the table to have meals in those days! I have a room of my own now which looks very similar if slightly smaller. At least i don't have to clear the table every five minutes. probabaly why its in such a state!
A proper photographer, Roger Birch, took this photo and several others (see Flickr) for an obscure book published by the British American Arts Association called "The Artist In The Changing City". The photo they used was a much nicer one of Hazel and me holding Archie, who must have been a few months old at the time.
I walked in to town and back yesterday and popped in the usual shops, the post office, the bank etc. Asked in the library about Ben Zander? that Hazel wanted to know about. She's going to a talk by him in Liverpool tomorrow. He is one of them motivational speakers apparently but it's all about being creative. She thought it might help her teaching.
I got a couple of cheap DVD's including Master and Commander. The woman in the charity shop asked if we had surround sound and I said no. Oh, that's good she said because she watched it at her brothers house and all you could hear was "BOOM!' and "BANG!" etc.
Found a nice website that has dozens of paper robots to print out and make up. I made one in the afternoon. It looks great. I started a robot group on Flickr on the strength of it. I might make another later though our printer seems a bit low on the yellow ink.
mizio-s.hp.infoseek.co.jp/top_e_robo-t.html
A proper photographer, Roger Birch, took this photo and several others (see Flickr) for an obscure book published by the British American Arts Association called "The Artist In The Changing City". The photo they used was a much nicer one of Hazel and me holding Archie, who must have been a few months old at the time.
I walked in to town and back yesterday and popped in the usual shops, the post office, the bank etc. Asked in the library about Ben Zander? that Hazel wanted to know about. She's going to a talk by him in Liverpool tomorrow. He is one of them motivational speakers apparently but it's all about being creative. She thought it might help her teaching.
I got a couple of cheap DVD's including Master and Commander. The woman in the charity shop asked if we had surround sound and I said no. Oh, that's good she said because she watched it at her brothers house and all you could hear was "BOOM!' and "BANG!" etc.
Found a nice website that has dozens of paper robots to print out and make up. I made one in the afternoon. It looks great. I started a robot group on Flickr on the strength of it. I might make another later though our printer seems a bit low on the yellow ink.
mizio-s.hp.infoseek.co.jp/top_e_robo-t.html
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Sunday fun and games.
Only one boot sale today, over at the High School in Hartford , about three miles away as the starling flies (they are hundreds gathering for a mass exodus!)
I found two tin toys that I'd seen before but they were expensive for reproductions. They were cheaper this time round so bought them. They are ducks who ride round in circles with propellers on their heads ( one has his missing). Made in China like most things these days.Also got "Shaun Of The Dead" on DVD and a book to cut up for collage. Hazel got some ARP tunic buttons and a bowl of tin badges. Most were pretty new but a couple of older ones of interest which will appear on her BLOG no doubt.
Archie didn't get anything and went round with a face like a someone on the X Factor who's just been told they haven't got any talent.
Hazel has gone off there again to take her Mom and sister to get some gaudy nick-nacks and ceramic what-nots.
Hardly any records to sift through sadly so Boot Sale Sounds will have to rely on old stock.
I found two tin toys that I'd seen before but they were expensive for reproductions. They were cheaper this time round so bought them. They are ducks who ride round in circles with propellers on their heads ( one has his missing). Made in China like most things these days.Also got "Shaun Of The Dead" on DVD and a book to cut up for collage. Hazel got some ARP tunic buttons and a bowl of tin badges. Most were pretty new but a couple of older ones of interest which will appear on her BLOG no doubt.
Archie didn't get anything and went round with a face like a someone on the X Factor who's just been told they haven't got any talent.
Hazel has gone off there again to take her Mom and sister to get some gaudy nick-nacks and ceramic what-nots.
Hardly any records to sift through sadly so Boot Sale Sounds will have to rely on old stock.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Back to school
Archie's second day back at school today. He took his guitar just incase there was a guitar lesson - he seemed unsure. Hopefully he'll settle back into the old routine again.
We went to the flea market in Crewe this morning. I was hoping for some vinyl treaures but all I got was a PC game ( Mall Tycoon) for Archie who enjoys anything with Tycoon in the title. Also "Animals" the Ricky Gervais DVD for a quid. Hazel also dodnt find much- just a small reel of Coronation Ribbon.
It was quite a nice sunny morning so surprised there weren't more stalls there.
The council men are digging up the pavement over the road again after filling in the previous holes a couple of weeks ago! How do they do it? They must go for special lessons in time wasting! One of them is pushing a wire down the hole and joining it up to the new lamp posts. I excpect someone else will come along in a couple of weeks to dig it up again so they can switch it on!
We went to the flea market in Crewe this morning. I was hoping for some vinyl treaures but all I got was a PC game ( Mall Tycoon) for Archie who enjoys anything with Tycoon in the title. Also "Animals" the Ricky Gervais DVD for a quid. Hazel also dodnt find much- just a small reel of Coronation Ribbon.
It was quite a nice sunny morning so surprised there weren't more stalls there.
The council men are digging up the pavement over the road again after filling in the previous holes a couple of weeks ago! How do they do it? They must go for special lessons in time wasting! One of them is pushing a wire down the hole and joining it up to the new lamp posts. I excpect someone else will come along in a couple of weeks to dig it up again so they can switch it on!
Monday, September 05, 2005
September Collaging
Have been busy the last couple of days making these collages for Dietmar and Anne's assembling mail art calendar project. They need 24 pages 10.5 x 14.5 inches. They will compile them into a calendar and each participant gets one by the end of the year so you can use it for 2006. I think it's a great idea but a lot of work! Dietmar and Anne have always made some stunning work for projects of mine in the past so thought it about time I sent them something I'd spent a lot of time on.
Yesterday we went to the boot sale at Witton Albion football club which was quite busy and more stalls that usual. I found a few cheap CD's, mostly from covers of old MOJO magazines- punk and garage bands of the 60's. Also two vinyl LP's- one of cockney songs by David Kossoff and another by a a duo called "Strange Folk" from the 80's that I'd never heard of. Listening to it now I can see why!
Hazel got some plants and a T-shirt and Archie found a fly splatting gun which fires a "net" by a spring mechanism.
In the afternoon we had a walk over at Marbury and a picnic by the lake as the weather was so hot. There was a Side Saddle horse display in the arena bit ( by the information centre) and women in fancy dress told us about the history of side saddle riding and four of them trotted round to some odd rap music which didn't really go with the clothes!? The microphone made her sound like a wheezing asthmatic which didn't help!
Archie was delighted to find out later that he didnt have to go to school on Monday and he had another day of holiday left!
Yesterday we went to the boot sale at Witton Albion football club which was quite busy and more stalls that usual. I found a few cheap CD's, mostly from covers of old MOJO magazines- punk and garage bands of the 60's. Also two vinyl LP's- one of cockney songs by David Kossoff and another by a a duo called "Strange Folk" from the 80's that I'd never heard of. Listening to it now I can see why!
Hazel got some plants and a T-shirt and Archie found a fly splatting gun which fires a "net" by a spring mechanism.
In the afternoon we had a walk over at Marbury and a picnic by the lake as the weather was so hot. There was a Side Saddle horse display in the arena bit ( by the information centre) and women in fancy dress told us about the history of side saddle riding and four of them trotted round to some odd rap music which didn't really go with the clothes!? The microphone made her sound like a wheezing asthmatic which didn't help!
Archie was delighted to find out later that he didnt have to go to school on Monday and he had another day of holiday left!
Friday, September 02, 2005
Walk to Neumann's Flashes
A pleasant stroll down the old Marbury road thats been closed off for some years now and turned into a footpath with access to the new walks around the "Flashes" or man made lakes which were once something to do with the salt mining industry. Lots of bird hides and fences with viewing slits to watch the wildfowl and other birds that use the reeds and water etc. Very few poeple around despite the beautiful weather and still the school holidays. Amazing to have such an idyllic nature trail so close to the town centre- you'd think it would be packed with people. We saw one family, one man walking his dog and one woman on a bike in the whole hour we were there.
I cleared my table a bit today you'll be glad to know so making collages is a bit easier- I even made a new one and overcame my fear of the Pritt-stick!
That sky was very Norwegian looking today with little white fluffy clouds dotted around, but I'm sure it wasn't quite the blue seen in this photo!
I cleared my table a bit today you'll be glad to know so making collages is a bit easier- I even made a new one and overcame my fear of the Pritt-stick!
That sky was very Norwegian looking today with little white fluffy clouds dotted around, but I'm sure it wasn't quite the blue seen in this photo!
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Unlucky for some!
Here we are at hole number 13- better known as Soggy Prestatyn.
Going there was a doddle compared with coming back. We only missed one turn off and ended up in Mold. Took us about an hour and twenty minutes to get to the North Wales coastal resort (hah!) which is mostly a big sandy beach with assorted car parks dotted along behind a big sea wall- some seedy cafes amd a swimming pool/leisure complex. Still, it was the seaside and Archie enjoyed the digging and the paddling until the rain came down and we sat in the car for a bit looking at the sea and the rain. Eventually it stopped and we went to play crazy golf. Then the rain came again and so we played about half the holes and decided to quit whilst we were still ahead. We got a free ticket to try again sometime. Fat chance!
Getting home was a nightmare in the rain and only the barest map directions. We stopped off at Abberkan for tea and look round the cloth remnants and seconds. Hazel bought some cushion material. Then off again to find the way home only to find the huge bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal near Birkenhead instead! Retraced our steps and eventually with much bad luck found the centre of Chester ( dog nose how we managed this?) and total gridlock that lasted what seemed like hours. Anyway, we made it home and now it doesn't seem so bad. We will laugh about it tomorrow! hah Ha!
Going there was a doddle compared with coming back. We only missed one turn off and ended up in Mold. Took us about an hour and twenty minutes to get to the North Wales coastal resort (hah!) which is mostly a big sandy beach with assorted car parks dotted along behind a big sea wall- some seedy cafes amd a swimming pool/leisure complex. Still, it was the seaside and Archie enjoyed the digging and the paddling until the rain came down and we sat in the car for a bit looking at the sea and the rain. Eventually it stopped and we went to play crazy golf. Then the rain came again and so we played about half the holes and decided to quit whilst we were still ahead. We got a free ticket to try again sometime. Fat chance!
Getting home was a nightmare in the rain and only the barest map directions. We stopped off at Abberkan for tea and look round the cloth remnants and seconds. Hazel bought some cushion material. Then off again to find the way home only to find the huge bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal near Birkenhead instead! Retraced our steps and eventually with much bad luck found the centre of Chester ( dog nose how we managed this?) and total gridlock that lasted what seemed like hours. Anyway, we made it home and now it doesn't seem so bad. We will laugh about it tomorrow! hah Ha!
Pannini and Chips
We took a load of Archie's old toys and junk he had decided he didn't want anymore to the charity shop. The manager is a tranvestite, at least we think he/she is? She has a very deep voice and needs a shave.
I walked around town and went in all the other charity shops but didnt find many bargains. I was hoping to make up for Mondays boot sale disaster (it rained and I looked like a drowned rat!) but only found a DVD of a film called "Happiness" which I'd never heard of but had some critical acclaim according to the sleeve notes. Also found a double tape of old wartime humour, most of which I had already.
For lunch we went to the pub in Plumley as a belated birthday treat. Hazel's Mom wasn't feeling very well in July so we didn't have the traditional pub lunch. After waddling out after a huge platefulof pannini and chips ( Audrey and Doreen had the cod) we went to a the Hidden Nursery to look at plants and flowerpots. Audrey and Doreen bought some big gaudy orange flowering droopy plants I forget the names of. They had to be laid down in the boot and risked having their flowers cut off when the boot was closed!
Then home to collapse on the settee. That pint of bitter I had at lunchtime wasnt a good idea, it just makes me very sleepy.
Added more to new Boot Sale Sounds blog, which is looking pretty good though I say so myself.
I walked around town and went in all the other charity shops but didnt find many bargains. I was hoping to make up for Mondays boot sale disaster (it rained and I looked like a drowned rat!) but only found a DVD of a film called "Happiness" which I'd never heard of but had some critical acclaim according to the sleeve notes. Also found a double tape of old wartime humour, most of which I had already.
For lunch we went to the pub in Plumley as a belated birthday treat. Hazel's Mom wasn't feeling very well in July so we didn't have the traditional pub lunch. After waddling out after a huge platefulof pannini and chips ( Audrey and Doreen had the cod) we went to a the Hidden Nursery to look at plants and flowerpots. Audrey and Doreen bought some big gaudy orange flowering droopy plants I forget the names of. They had to be laid down in the boot and risked having their flowers cut off when the boot was closed!
Then home to collapse on the settee. That pint of bitter I had at lunchtime wasnt a good idea, it just makes me very sleepy.
Added more to new Boot Sale Sounds blog, which is looking pretty good though I say so myself.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Mmmmmm! Fish and chips!
It's cooking now as I type this. Archie is just showing me some easter chicks trapped in a cardboard egg. What came first the fish or the egg?
How long is a piece of string? How high is up? etc.
What has been today's highlights?
Went into town and discovered more reductions at the Booksale shop who sadly are closing down soon. Bought a Josephine Baker CD for 75p! It has some nice french songs on it that will probably end up on my new BLOG at some point. Just podded some fresh peas. They should be done by now so better go.
How long is a piece of string? How high is up? etc.
What has been today's highlights?
Went into town and discovered more reductions at the Booksale shop who sadly are closing down soon. Bought a Josephine Baker CD for 75p! It has some nice french songs on it that will probably end up on my new BLOG at some point. Just podded some fresh peas. They should be done by now so better go.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Oh Mr. Porter!
Crash! I was woken at 2.30a.m. by what sounded like a tipper truck full of ming vases being driven into the bay window. Nobody else had woke up so I assumed it was just a dream but went down stairs in Hazel's pink dressing gown just incase it was burglars and the sight of me would frighten them away! I found piles of broken crockery and glass all over the quarry tiled kitchen floor- one of the shelves in the kitchen cupboard had collapsed and the contents had slid out making a lovely mess to clear up. I waited until morning though as I was still half asleep and didn't want to cut myself.
No bootsales today - none we knew the whereabouts of anyway. So After breakfast Hazel took Jackie to Matalan and Archie & I stayed at home.
Later we drove to Crewe and dropped Jackie off at the railway station after a few detours around Crewe's notorious one way, roundabout obsessed streets.
Peter Sellers/Temperence 7 - Ukulele Lady
Sol Hoopii - There's Nothing Else To Do
These You Send It files are available for seven days or until exhausted.
No bootsales today - none we knew the whereabouts of anyway. So After breakfast Hazel took Jackie to Matalan and Archie & I stayed at home.
Later we drove to Crewe and dropped Jackie off at the railway station after a few detours around Crewe's notorious one way, roundabout obsessed streets.
Peter Sellers/Temperence 7 - Ukulele Lady
Sol Hoopii - There's Nothing Else To Do
These You Send It files are available for seven days or until exhausted.
Friday, August 19, 2005
Old bottles, packets and cheese toasties.
Juts back from a nice trip over to Nantwich and a rummage in all the charity shops and lunch in the deli that has the old packaging and shop museum bit at the back by the resturant.
Found a double Cd by Mungo Jerry for 99p which cheered me up- Hazel wasn't impressed! I suspect it's a remake of Ray Dorset and some other people going under that name. I havent listened to it yet.
Archie bought a very annoying Voice Distorting machine which makes him sound like either a dalek or a demented pixie depending on which setting you put it on. He wandered around Nantwich with it in a bag and the microphone sticking up over his t-shirt so that he could annoy all and sundry with variations of both.I think I shall be hiding the batteries very soon!
Hazel bought a bag for the beach- indeed, it seemed to have most of a beach still attached to it!
Hazel's old chum Jackie came too and she spent ages trying on clothes and not buying anything.
Afterwards we drove over the Dagfields on the way to Stoke and browsed the antigue barns. Found a nice old side table with two drawers that the computer will fit on nicely. A bit pricey but we haven't seen one we like so bought it. The chap delivered it for free and it arrived about 30 minutes after we got home! It's great to have a proper table at last and get rid of the folding card table and the school desk that had the printer on. Now we can see the bookshelf again and can get our knees under this table which has castors on so it can be easily moved if needs arise
Salt Pastiller packet found in Hamar in Norway..
Found a double Cd by Mungo Jerry for 99p which cheered me up- Hazel wasn't impressed! I suspect it's a remake of Ray Dorset and some other people going under that name. I havent listened to it yet.
Archie bought a very annoying Voice Distorting machine which makes him sound like either a dalek or a demented pixie depending on which setting you put it on. He wandered around Nantwich with it in a bag and the microphone sticking up over his t-shirt so that he could annoy all and sundry with variations of both.I think I shall be hiding the batteries very soon!
Hazel bought a bag for the beach- indeed, it seemed to have most of a beach still attached to it!
Hazel's old chum Jackie came too and she spent ages trying on clothes and not buying anything.
Afterwards we drove over the Dagfields on the way to Stoke and browsed the antigue barns. Found a nice old side table with two drawers that the computer will fit on nicely. A bit pricey but we haven't seen one we like so bought it. The chap delivered it for free and it arrived about 30 minutes after we got home! It's great to have a proper table at last and get rid of the folding card table and the school desk that had the printer on. Now we can see the bookshelf again and can get our knees under this table which has castors on so it can be easily moved if needs arise
Salt Pastiller packet found in Hamar in Norway..
Sunday, August 14, 2005
I can't really a fiord it.
Sorry for the terrible pun. I have been waiting to use that one for the last fortnight!
Went t a car boot sale at Verdin park this morning as the sun was out temporarily despite some cheeky grey clouds creeping along close behind.
Got a few old photos in a book shaped box that splits in two and some smaller ones in an album. £2 for each which i thought a bargain. I can't help but think what they may have cost in Norway. An arm and a leg I suspect. I did buy an old postcard at an ANTIKK shop in the countryside, just outside Hamar. It cost me 30k which is about three quid. I wish I'd bought some more but it seemd a bit extravagant at the time - watching the pennies.
Also got a 1973 Topper annual for Archie but he already has it.
Archie got a big stack of Simpsons and Futurama comics so he was happy as Larry (whoever he might be?) and Hazel got a small tapestry/sampler thing in a frame she's going to sew into a cushion cover.
Archie has gone off to his friend Jame's house for the afternoon. Hazel is reading the sunday papers and I'm catching up with the blogs and e-mails. A pretty typical sunday with the clouds getting greyer and the rain coming again.
Went t a car boot sale at Verdin park this morning as the sun was out temporarily despite some cheeky grey clouds creeping along close behind.
Got a few old photos in a book shaped box that splits in two and some smaller ones in an album. £2 for each which i thought a bargain. I can't help but think what they may have cost in Norway. An arm and a leg I suspect. I did buy an old postcard at an ANTIKK shop in the countryside, just outside Hamar. It cost me 30k which is about three quid. I wish I'd bought some more but it seemd a bit extravagant at the time - watching the pennies.
Also got a 1973 Topper annual for Archie but he already has it.
Archie got a big stack of Simpsons and Futurama comics so he was happy as Larry (whoever he might be?) and Hazel got a small tapestry/sampler thing in a frame she's going to sew into a cushion cover.
Archie has gone off to his friend Jame's house for the afternoon. Hazel is reading the sunday papers and I'm catching up with the blogs and e-mails. A pretty typical sunday with the clouds getting greyer and the rain coming again.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Holiday memories.
Luckliy we missed the BA strike fiasco that afflicted the Heathrow bound flights and managed to get home without too much upset. Poor Archie though was picked out whilst going through the metal detector gate thing. Turns out he had some metal strips in his trainers which he had to take off and put through another conveyor belt gadget much to his embarressment. If this wasn't bad enough they found his spud gun in his ruckrack which we'd forgotten all about and they had to confisgate it which really upset him. On the ingoing trip we had four spud guns in our big luggage and the metal strips in his shoes didnt even show up! Typical. Still its reassuring they are on the ball in Oslo at least.
My ears didnt hurt on the way back either which was good. Going, they were very painful despite the special earplugs I was using.
In Oslo we stayed at the Savoy Hotel which sounds very grand but is quite ordinairy by Norwegian standards. It is slap bang in the centre of Oslo just a short walk from the Nasjonnalgalleriat which is the equivelent of the Tate in London. You can walk to most places of interest or take the short boat ride to the peninsula where most of the big museums are- like the Folk Museum, The Viking Ships Museum, the Kon Tiki Museum and the Polar Ship ~Museum. We did that last time we went to Oslo four years ago so this time we did the castle, the Film Museum, the Vigeland Museum and Sculpture park and the Historik Museum. Our feet ached quite a bit after all of these I can tell you! We had a short boat "mini-cruise" around the fiord too which was fun which lasted about 50 minutes with a guide telling you about the places of interest and the islands in the fiord.
My ears didnt hurt on the way back either which was good. Going, they were very painful despite the special earplugs I was using.
In Oslo we stayed at the Savoy Hotel which sounds very grand but is quite ordinairy by Norwegian standards. It is slap bang in the centre of Oslo just a short walk from the Nasjonnalgalleriat which is the equivelent of the Tate in London. You can walk to most places of interest or take the short boat ride to the peninsula where most of the big museums are- like the Folk Museum, The Viking Ships Museum, the Kon Tiki Museum and the Polar Ship ~Museum. We did that last time we went to Oslo four years ago so this time we did the castle, the Film Museum, the Vigeland Museum and Sculpture park and the Historik Museum. Our feet ached quite a bit after all of these I can tell you! We had a short boat "mini-cruise" around the fiord too which was fun which lasted about 50 minutes with a guide telling you about the places of interest and the islands in the fiord.
Friday, August 12, 2005
Lake Osen, Norway.
Just back from a lovely holiday in beautiful Norway. Stayed with our friend Esther and her three children at Hamar and for a few days at the holiday home Esther's mother has on the shores of Lake Osen. It's a most idyllic place and we were very priviledged to be able to stay there amongst the lonesome pines.
The photo does not do the view justice really. We had two of three days of drizzly rain but mostly the weather was perfect for walking and exploring the region, climbing hills and picking berries etc. Archie and the kids had a great time in the tree houses they had built and swimming at the sandy beach about 15 minutes drive away. The lake itself is long and thin like a scottish loch and about 18 miles long by a mile wide. No monster has been sighted but rumours are rife!
We also spent a couple of days in Oslo going to museums and art galleries and doing lots of window shopping ( the only sort we could afford! Norway is very expensive!)
What a beautiful place though and the people are so helpful and friendly.
The photo does not do the view justice really. We had two of three days of drizzly rain but mostly the weather was perfect for walking and exploring the region, climbing hills and picking berries etc. Archie and the kids had a great time in the tree houses they had built and swimming at the sandy beach about 15 minutes drive away. The lake itself is long and thin like a scottish loch and about 18 miles long by a mile wide. No monster has been sighted but rumours are rife!
We also spent a couple of days in Oslo going to museums and art galleries and doing lots of window shopping ( the only sort we could afford! Norway is very expensive!)
What a beautiful place though and the people are so helpful and friendly.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Willy-wonka-hula-wicky-wacky-woo
We went to see the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film this evening which was better than we thought. The sets and special effects were certainly more impressive but what was lacking I think was some good novelty songs with some hawaiian guitar and ukulele's! That loud disco/heavy rock stuff just sounded so crass and noisy.A lighter touch was needed. Two hours seemed abit long too and to get the next lot of punters in they stopped the film as the credits were rolling which I thought was a bit mean.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Flickr Broadcasting Company
This is a collage for the Collage Kids group theme of "music" that I started the other day.
Went for my scan yesterday and all is as it should be so much relief all round. It was amazingly quick and only took a total of 15 minutes. In London I would have to wait at least two hours before being seen! I'd taken a magazine and a book to read but they weren't needed. Hazel and Archie came with me and waited in the park, playing on the swings and watching the house martins zooming around the field at knee height catching airbourne insects.
Today was Hazel's birthday so we went to Crewe flea market to celebrate and bought a few odd and sods. Hazel found some interesting metal gadgets including a voltmeter which will no doubt end up on her BLOG very soon!
I got a video of the Straight Story by David Lynch about an old geezer who takes a 300 mile trip across America on a motor mower.
Hazel took her sister out to the town this afternoon and borrowed the" Speak Norwegian" tape from the library that she's ordered. It's very complicated and throws you in at the deep end. We would preferred some easy words and phrases first!
Full of vegetable curry now from the Bengal Doodah over in the next village. We tried their take-away service recently and they were very good and so as it was Hazel's birthday we went again and now feel very full!
Harry Korris,B. Vincent & C. Frederick - Out In Indiah
Tommy Handley - It's That Man Again
These You Send it files are available for seven days or until exhausted.
Went for my scan yesterday and all is as it should be so much relief all round. It was amazingly quick and only took a total of 15 minutes. In London I would have to wait at least two hours before being seen! I'd taken a magazine and a book to read but they weren't needed. Hazel and Archie came with me and waited in the park, playing on the swings and watching the house martins zooming around the field at knee height catching airbourne insects.
Today was Hazel's birthday so we went to Crewe flea market to celebrate and bought a few odd and sods. Hazel found some interesting metal gadgets including a voltmeter which will no doubt end up on her BLOG very soon!
I got a video of the Straight Story by David Lynch about an old geezer who takes a 300 mile trip across America on a motor mower.
Hazel took her sister out to the town this afternoon and borrowed the" Speak Norwegian" tape from the library that she's ordered. It's very complicated and throws you in at the deep end. We would preferred some easy words and phrases first!
Full of vegetable curry now from the Bengal Doodah over in the next village. We tried their take-away service recently and they were very good and so as it was Hazel's birthday we went again and now feel very full!
Harry Korris,B. Vincent & C. Frederick - Out In Indiah
Tommy Handley - It's That Man Again
These You Send it files are available for seven days or until exhausted.
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