Posts archive for: October, 2006
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A wee joke for a Sunday evening
@ 29/10/2006 – 19:20:18
A burglar breaks into a house. He sees a CD player that he wants so he takes it.
Then he hears a voice "JESUS is watching you". He looks around with his flashlight wandering "What The HELL Was That?".
He spots some money on a table and takes it......Once again he hears a voice " JESUS is watching you".
He hides in a corner trying to find where the voice came from. He spots a birdcage with a parrot in it! He goes over and asks " Was that your voice?". It said "YES".
He then says "What's your name?". It says "MOSES". The burglar says " What kind of person names his bird moses??"
The parrot replys "THE SAME PERSON THAT NAMES HIS ROTWEILER "JESUS".
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Well that's the seventh week of the diet over...
@ 29/10/2006 – 08:51:13
And 10 Ib lost to date. So plodding along. Haven't seen any real difference apart from a slight receding of the giant belly. Oh well. The weightwatchers meals are great though, I thoroughly recommend them. Or Sainbury's do their own brand with the number of calories on the front. Don't bother with the nimble bread. It's only half the calories because it's half the size and half the thickness.
I may take a walk later in an attempt to do some exercise. It's not raining at least. And there may be some nice autumn colours to look at.
I hope you are having a good Sunday,
Gil xx
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Simone is annoyed with me, Jack Harkness and stupid blog editing...thing...
@ 25/10/2006 – 19:29:46
Ah, Sat Nav is great. I have a small Garmin sat nav thing that you plug into the cigarette lighter/power point in the car and sucker her monitor (little face) to the windscreen. Yes, she is a she (which will probably explain the following) and is brilliant. She often chimes the words 'you have arrived' with some ceremony when I pull into the magically available parking space outside my destination. I swear she is suppressing a smug laugh. I have named her Simone.
However, today, she was not so pleased with me. Me and a colleague had to go to Perth, and we rented a Renault Clio. Anyone familiar with that sporty little town car knows that it has a ridiculously sloping windscreen, totally unsuitable to sucker Simone's face to. After some protests, she was able to swivel her head reluctantly in my direction on the side window. Postcodes were entered, she started calibrating. However, my initial expectation of the journey did not go as planned. This isn't the usual way to the Forth Road Bridge - where is she taking me. I assured my colleague, however, that my faith in Simone was absolute and I would go wherever she told me. And she did not fail me. Somehow (with no trafficmaster installed) she took us the way that avoids most of the roadworks. God bless you, Simone. I could almost hear a triumphant snort when I said ' oh how silly to doubt you, Simone.'
But then I had to pay the toll. And I wound the window down quickly without thinking. Simone went flying and hung over the steering wheel in a rather depressive state. It not being the form to hang around at toll booths and over large bridges, I had to leave her there for a while. Her anger was clearly expressed soon afterward, however, when she said 'satellite coverage has been lost'. She may as well have said 'you're on your own now, you evil face killer'. I did manage to ressurect her back onto my side window after a while though and she calmed down and started to 'recalibrate.' Phew. Got to all destinations without incident. Simone, you're a star, However, I am just being wierd now, so I'll talk about...
Torchwood! Watched a double bill last night and it was really good. The character I liked the least, though, was Jack Harkness! I'm sure he'll develop, but I can't put my finger on it just yet. It may have been hindered from me seeing his character before on Doctor Who, but I'm sure he'll develop. I did like Gwen though, she was excellent. The show is a bit like Angel, but with less sophisticated (ie, expensive) - what's the word? Cinematography for TV - production techniques and camera work. I will be wathcing on Sunday night. There's a promise of a cyberwoman to come in later episoides.
Lost this post about five times switching between html and back to normal text but mostly because of randon parser errors (whatever they are) so spontaneous comedy has all gone I'm afraid. Probably for the best. So I'll leave you with a pic, for the hubster if he's listening:
Gil xx -
Gilraen's 'First ' List
@ 25/10/2006 – 17:46:13
As borrowed from Sarah...
First...
Crush? Matthew Dorrell, at primary school
Kiss? Proper? I think his name was Ian, at a roller disco at 14 (God, my Dad reads this)
Person you said "I love you" to? First proper boyfriend, at 18.
Address? The same one that my parent's still live in.
Job? Baby sitting. At 13 (!). How times have changed.
Car? Blue Volkswagon Polo, C Reg (old C Reg)
Record? Make It Big by Wham on casstte
Movie? At a cinema, my Dad took me and my sister to see Clockwise in 1986 with John Cleese. The second was Pretty in Pink, which I loved. The first movie we ever got on video (VHS) was either Crocodile Dundee or The Goonies.
Alcoholic drink? It must have been some of my Dad's home-made wine.
Foreign holiday? An A-Level French exchange visit to Bordeaux when I was 17.
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Sat at the computer with a cup of tea in my dressing gown...
@ 24/10/2006 – 16:57:41
Evening peeps,
Nice and comfy Tuesday evening. Weather now turned - dark mornings, ice on car. After a very frustrating day at work yesterday, today was not as bad. My boss, a buffoon most of the time, was actually not too bad today and we were less confrontational. We agreed that we have very different styles of management, both with rooms for improvement. He tends to under-organise and I tend to over-organise (he chose his words very carefully, believe me). So not too bad today.
Going to catch Torchwood tonight - I've heard good reports. The BBC seem to be whacking them out these days, don't they?
Well, I suppose I'd better finish on a picture. Evening all,
Gil xx
This is a stolen caption, but you get the gist...(PS - Not my cat btw! Polo would never allow it!)
PPS - I'd love the title of this post to be 'sitting at the computer with a glass of champagne in a negligee', but I'd only be fooling myself as well as you.
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Well that's the sixth week of the diet over...
@ 22/10/2006 – 10:45:37
And another Ib down.The food and (especially) the alcohol were creeping back in, so the hubster is on strict instructions not to bring any more in to the house. He says things like - 'it's a screw top' - hey, it doesn't matter if it's a screw top, cork top or the top is welded on. It doesn't stop me wanting a second glass, then a third...So no more. Back on the wagon.
I've also been shopping, so plenty of fruit and salad in the fridge. I've also brought some of those weightwatcher's frozen meals. They're actually quite nice and will keep the old calories down. I have succumbed to TV advertising also and purchsed some 'nimble' which is low calorie bread (less than 50 cal a slice). But that may be just because it's smaller. But I'll try the loaf, I do miss my bread.
I also appear to be No. 11 in the Top 24 Blogs. How did this happen? It must have been a quite night. I used to think that these things were compiled from a) no of posts and b) no of comments on those posts. Maybe not. It may be it has been just a quiet week-end. I'm not complaining though.
And I missed both Robin Hood and Torchwood last night. Completely forgot they were on. Going to have to do some serious BBC 3 repeat watching I think.
Had a quick look at tealover's blog this morning about dreams (good job I wasn't eating my breakfast) and I, too, had a wierd dream. I was part of a con team in the future who were conning the government out of loads of money by telling them there was evidence of an ancient civilisation on another planet. It was quite a tense psychological thriller-esuqe dream. At one point a helicoptor was chasing a plane at low level and we were watching from a high speed train. The train stopped and we ended up in Nazi Germany and were (obviously) scared to death because we thought that we would get shot because we were clearly not German. However, it turned out they thought I was a children's author (with my entourage) who was turning against the allies and was spying for the Nazis. No, hang on, this is a later dream once it had morphed into something else. There were zombies a little later on. I often dream sc-fi novellas. Should write a few screenplays one day. I do often think it would be great to screencap scenes from dreams though. Would make a very twisted art exhibition.Wishing you all a Happy Sunday. Man, did I have a lie in today. I blame Polo the sleep-hex cat. Strange he woke up at exactly the same point I did - or was it the other way around?
TTFN, Gil xx
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Lord of the Rings spoof
@ 21/10/2006 – 18:39:57
Here is the funniest spoof I've ever seen...hilarious.
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One Day In History
@ 17/10/2006 – 20:22:46
Hi All - after seeing a few mentions of the 'One Day In History' blogging pow-wow I decided to do an entry. But I fear it was too long for what they wanted and maybe a little too reflective. So here it is for all those who want to read it. I'm afraid I got a little carried away...........
A fairly average day with a fairly average stress level. My husband is an airline pilot and was called away to work tonight so I am here blogging with my cats and a glass of wine. His car had to go to the garage and he got called from a home standby so I had to come home a little early so he could use my car. It's OK for me to do that, but him? Imagine the next time you get a flight: '...I'm sorry Ladies and Gentlemen but this flight is delayed because the pilot's car is in the garage...'. It couldn't be helped, cars break down. No matter, he'll be there in a couple of hours. So I’m working at home tomorrow, but it's nothing to fill me with enthusiasm or drive. I need a new challenge, and I need one soon. I'm looking forward to him coming home tomorrow though. We can sit and chat about our respective days, however mundane, we'll chat about anything! Or play silly games on the computer.
So why am I doing writing this 'One Day In History' blog? Hmmm...
I remember my Dad's first computer in 198..3..was it 84? It was a ZX80 and worked with a tiny portable black and white television set with something called a green screen which was effectively a piece of green film that covered the screen of the TV. I have no idea why we needed that. My Dad was an engineer so built the power supply to it all himself and he kept it in the office of his workshop – not the house. It was a new toy back then. Not a part of everyday life. The first thing I did on it was write a programme that wrote the same lines of text over and over again on the screen. I thought it was magic. I'll never forget the line of code '10 CLS'. Back then if you wanted your computer to do anything you had to programme it yourself. Bill Gates was probably a spotty college graduate at this time dreaming up God only knows what. We doubled the memory of it later on by attaching a big black box almost the same size as the computer (which was about half the size of a normal keyboard today, maybe even smaller) to the back of it. It seemed to take 10-15 years for technology to move forward, but in the last 5 years it has accelerated far beyond what Mr Sinclair would ever have imagined. By the time your new computer has come home from the shop it is obsolete. Whenever you find out you can do something amazing on the Internet, the next time you try it you want it to work faster. People don’t even capitalise Internet any more, it’s just a common word, like telephone.
To be able to communicate with anyone in the world who wishes also to communicate with you, I think is pretty amazing. All with anonymity, all with the knowledge that you can be whoever you want, say whatever you want and share what little life you have with the rest of the world. Much like this Day of Blogging. Why do humans do what they do? And why do they keep wanting to communicate, to keep in touch with each other, to share with each other and be a part of everything? Simple. Because we can. It's as if it is all we have ever wanted to do, now that we have the means to do it. The Internet.History is not only my passion but my career choice. I love looking back at time and seeing what the human race was capable of. And not all of it was good, that much is certain - there's a date in the 21st century calendar that will be in history books for centuries. The person who said history will teach us nothing was lying. Our past is what defines us as a race. What we do in the future - be it 10 minutes, 10 days or 10 years, that is what our future selves will define us by. How we act today and tomorrow will define how people perceive the human race at the beginning of what may become known as the 'Technical Age'. Whatever you are doing NOW you will one day be part of a chapter in a history book. Something to think about.
But I digress...
Today is 'One Day in History'. My day has been fine. I hope that whenever you are, your day is fine too. And for the record it is my friend Piggy's birthday today. Happy birthday Piggy. I think I’ll send her an e-mail.
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Weddings in beautiful places
@ 15/10/2006 – 07:51:20
Before the winter is upon us, I'm just going to reflect what I'll be up to next summer. I thought I would share with you the four places where I am going to be at weddings next year, if only to show you there are many beautiful places in the world. I am gobsmacked by the beauty of these places (weddings in Nottinghamshiore, Yorkshire, Camdridgeshire and Dartmoor respectively) and I know that all these weddings will be absolutely superb...
Wedding # 1 - March, Woodborough Hall
1086
Woodborough is included in a large estate given to William the Conqueror's son, William Peveril.
The Manor on the site of Woodborough Hall belongs to one of three Saxon thanes.
THE NORMAN CONQUEST
Thanes lose their land - Ralph de Woderburg takes over Ulchel's Manor.1336
Land and Manor pass to the Strelley Family.1660 - 1670
Building of the present Hall for Philip Lacock.1842
Mr John Ingall Werg buys Woodborough Hall1852 - 1894
Mr Mansfield Parkins buys the Hall (£4500).
A third storey is built replacing the tiled and gabled roof with heavy slate. Heraldic stained glass window installed on stairwell landing.
Wedding # 2 - April, Allerton Castle
Allerton Castle - The ancestral home of Lord Mowbray, Segrave and Stourton, the premier Baron of England. Rated Grade I by English Heritage, it is the most important Gothic Revival stately home in England. Steeped in history, in the eighteenth century the property was owned by Prince Frederick, the Duke of York, brother to King George IV. According to local legend, the Hill on which the Temple of Victory stands, once known as Arbour Hill, is the one mentioned in the nursery rhyme 'The Grand Old Duke of York'.Wedding # 3 - July, Jesus College Cambridge
The College was founded in 1496, and it originally consisted of buildings taken over from the nunnery of St Mary and St Radegund: namely the chapel, and the cloister attached to it; the nuns' refectory, which became the college hall; and the former lodging of the prioress, which became the Master's Lodge. This set of buildings remains the core of the college to this day, and this accounts for its distinctly peaceful and spacious character, which sets it apart from all the other Cambridge colleges.
Wedding # 4 - August, The Two Bridges Hotel, Dartmoor
Built in 1794 as a coaching inn at the opening of the trans-moor turnpike, the property was originally called 'The Saracen's Head'. It only gained its present name in the early 1900s with the modern road being completed in 1931.Can't wait for all these events. There may also be a famiy christening thrown in there for baby Rebecca. I'd better get shopping on those English Rose country summer outfits. And just in case you were wondering, this is where I got married in 2004...
There'a a big dent in the other side where Cromwell blasted a canon against it in the Civil War. It didn't get through though!Hope you enjoyed the pics and are suitably jealous!!
Right. Now time for another cup of tea. TTFN xx
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Well that's the fifth week of the diet over...
@ 15/10/2006 – 07:08:30
And the status quo has been observed, whch hasn't come as a surprise to me. So back on track (and the gym) next week.
Also - you turn your back on a clean basket of washing for 5 minutes....
Darn...
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Hagrid's Hut
@ 13/10/2006 – 06:30:03
I really hope that the person who owns this house doesn't have a blog here and sees this or they'll set the dogs on me next time I walk past. But I'll take the risk.
Presumably a self-build down the road, some people really are Potter-mad (sorry Hobbit, but I know you'll appreciate this one!). I love it, and yes, it does have Hagrid's Hut written on the side:
PS: Have to go to work now, but the cats are tempting me to take a sickie and lie in bed. The evil Hex-casters!! At least it's Friday. See ya tonight bloggers x
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Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding though the forests of ...er...Eastern Europe...
@ 11/10/2006 – 20:21:28
Hello fellow TV watchers,
I did, in the end, watch Robin Hood on Saturday night as the people who were staying with me wanted to watch it too. Like Tim Burton's version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, I couldn't decide whether I liked it or not, so I will try it again on Saturday to see if it develops.
Being in my profession (much like policemen with the Bill I suppose) I had to start biting my tongue (a full face of make-up in the 12th century? She's having a laugh ain't she? Ooh - it's 1192, that means they've got 7 seasons to get through before John ascends to the throne...etc, etc) but I soon realised that this wasn't the point of this show. The point was to give the kids a laugh on a Saturday night and not bore everyone to death with historical detail. No fear of that...
The script was very contrived, the acting a bit hammy and the plot (towards the end) straight out of Prince of Thieves. I was waiting for Christian Slater to come catapulting over the wall. And Much is very very annoying (clearly got PTSD - oh, how any BBC drama can make parallels with today's world, aren't they clever - I am sure that someone made a poignant remark about religious war).
Oh, and the cheesy arrow noises between each scene - just no. At one point the action all got a bit 'lock stock and two smoking barrels'.
But I think I've got to see the Little John fight - I hope I'm not too disappointed.
So here's a sum up of the characters:
Robin
A cheeky chappy, far too chirpy to play a man who's just come back from a bloody war. But good eye candy, a unanimous decision by the females in the room. Wouldn't get anywhere near a shopping mall with that hood, though. Needs something devastating to happen to him to make him into a mean and moody chap. No-one likes a hero that's too happy, BBC.Much
Needs a slap.Marian
A 12th century post-feminist city chick with an attitude and a stick of liptick. They'll drag out the on/off romance between her and hood-man for at least three seasons, then it will jump the shark and we'll all get bored. Also needs a slap.Sheriff
Hilarious (well, pretty much what I expected).Guy
Has a hunch. Desperately needs a personality. And a haircut. Also good eye candy though. We girls did enjoy looking at him.Will Scarlett
Looks about 12 years old, Ray Winstone he is not.
His Dad has one hand and over-acts a bit (or is it the rest of them under-acting?)
Allan A Dale
Who? Local con man. Will betray them all but come good in the end after revealing himself to be a double agent. Has silly facial hair. Must have had beard trimmers in the 12th century (stop....!)Where's Friar Tuck? Can't be that daft bloke at the end.
Ah well, all harmless fun.
Speak to you all later,
Gil. x
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Well that's the fourth week of the diet over...
@ 10/10/2006 – 18:21:14
...and another 2 Ibs down as my ticker says.
Had a bit of a relapse at the week-end, but back on track now. Have still to venture into the gym to 'have a look around' before I actually attend. I'm just going to have to take the plunge...
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The Hooded Man...
@ 07/10/2006 – 16:52:16
Hi All,
Have just put on my Clannad CD soundtrack of Robin of Sherwood to get me in the mood for the new Robin Hood series. I've got visitors tonight, so I may not be able to see it. Thank Heaven's for BBC 3, eh? Let me know all your thoughts on the new series, those who are going to watch...
Ah, Mr Praed...
I always had the hots for the blonde-haired Guy of Gisburne myself - but then I was about 13, so I think you can forgive me that.
