Sunday, July 29, 2007

Last Two Weeks

Hi there,

Well its been another quietish couple of weeks.

The picture is of Barmouth Bridge from the Mawdachh Trail.


The first week was work and nothing really happened except for Arriva Trains getting the Cross Country rail route which is currently run by Virgin....my view is that it is a big mistake and it seems that putting fares up will lead to more people going back to their cars. Arriva's customer service is poor and the refreshment trolleys will probably not be available on most services.

Still skint and single. :( Don't mind being skint just got to look for a better paid job.

I read the new Harry Potter book in two days.

This last week, well Monday decided that on Tuesday I would go to Barmouth by train and take both my half-brother and our bikes. Went to Wolverhampton railway station and tried to book tickets. It wouldnt let the woman in the booking office book the 1650 return train. Through up an error. So I rang Arriva on my mobile, and they were adamant the return train was 1750(two hours back to Wolverhampton when in reality it takes three) and eventually said that the train was booked for bikes. If only the dialog box the lady in the booking office got this message instead of an error message. Funny though Jakob Nielsen's alertbox this week was about dialog boxes. This was after my visit to the hospital for the respiratory clinic appt which they said the operation on the back of my throat wouldnt lessen my snoring. :(

Tuesday: My half-brother stayed over Monday night for the early start. We cycled up to Wolverhampton railway station, got on the train. There was a bike there already and there are supposed to be only two. I made room for ours. :) There was no trolley service on the two trains to Barmouth(change at Machynlleth). Pathetic really oh and run by Arriva....surprise surprise. Anyways we got to Barmouth and once I had got some WD40 and sprayed my half-brother's chain with it we cycled across the bridge and along the Mawdachh Trail. Note the far side of the bridge. It had been tarmac'd down to the toilets at Morfa Mawdachh. Anyways we cycled to Doglellau stopping a couple of times for my half-brother to throw stones in the river. At Doglellau, I went into Boots the chemist for some tissues and batteries for my camera after we had a drink and a something to eat. Then we cycled back to Barmouth....had to hold a bike for someone on the bridge near Doglellau while he helped his wife get a bike and trailer across. The bridge was narrow. We then continued on stopping at Penmaenmawr where I had a drink and my brother took a a couple of photos. We got back to Barmouth eventually. Had lunch at the Lion Hotel. Then after a look at a shop across the road had a walk up Dinas Oleu further up than we had been before. Eventually we descended, retrieved our bikes and returnedto the railway station for the trip home. Changing trains twice and on all three there was a bike. So much for having to book. My brother bought his car up and the bike rack. I fitted it to his car and then put my half-brothers bike on the back. My brother then took him home. Note we played trumps 3 times on the train and I won all three games :)

Wednesday, well a quiet day, went to the docs and got prescription for nasal spray. Read a book and didn't do much else. Ooops, went to brother's girlfriend's sister's flat to reload stuff onto her PC. Took a few hours. Apparently it was her motherboard that had needed replacing. It works as she wants it too now.

Thursday - my work colleague dropped my other bike back. I got a new grip shift for my mountain bike which went wonky on Tuesday. Fitted it but it needs tweaking,

Friday, got up read emails, got bored so took return trip to Settle, I managed to read most of the Colin Forbes book i was reading. On the train from Manchester 3 women sat by me slightly tipsy. Kept asking me questions. Eventually after twenty mins they got off. I got home. Long afternoon evening. I like Settle, but need more time to find the footpaths that take one out of the way up the hills. It was three trains there and three back. I walked home from the railway station.

Saturday, half brother came round to do garden and I walked round to the supermarket. That really all I did apart from do some more reading of the book I was trying to finish.

Today, Took the racer out for a five mile ride around an extended block. It was windy. I finished the Colin Forbes book Whirlpool and been chilling most of the day. Thats it really.

The two websites are http://www.energychest.net/ about energy and http://www.hotscripts.com/ which is to do with scripts for websites.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

Thank you. :)

Sunday, July 15, 2007

This week


Hi there readers,


Hope you are well.


I am still single and broke. I have applied for an internal job where i work. Hope i get it especially if its better pay. My boss seems to think I have got it already....but.....I haven't. I have only just applied.


The picture is the entrance to Alnwick Castle famous for being Hogwarts quite relevent really.


This week has been reasonably steady work wise. Cycled to and from work everyday. :)


Must get my road racer sorted out though.


Read magazine articles again and today finished Cross of Fire by Colin Forbes. Its a good book. Very entertaining with his character of Tweed trying to outwit some baddy. Seems a bit farfetched at times. Its a good thriller though lots of twists and turns.


Yesterday I went to the supermarket and today to Essington fruit farm http://www.essingtonfarm.co.uk/ once my brother returned from dropping his girlfriend home.


Watched CSI NY last night. End of the current season :) very good episode. Much more interesting and enjoyable.


Watched an episode of CSI Miami today on DVD from series 3. There isn't much on TV in the UK lately worth watching. Hence the reading and listening to my music.


Oh yeah I forgot I have had four games of scrabble online at http://www.scrabulous.com/ and won all four so far. :) Won't last though.


And my half brother's were round again Tuesday to do the garden. :) Got a fair bit done. The front is looking ok now :) Lets hope its stays that way.


The two websites are http://www.naturalcollection.com/ - shopping website for 'green' products. And http://www.deltaresort.com/delta_resort_intro.html - apparently a resort in Romania. Take a look at both of these and let me know what you think.


Thank you :)


Catch you soon.

Monday, July 09, 2007

The last week


Hi there,

Sorry its been a few days since my last post.

I am still single, skint and suffering a slight back problem on my lower left side plus a touch of hayfever.

As for my last few days, upto last Friday I was working days cycling to and from work. Work was steady all through the week although had the late rush on Friday. lol

Saturday, was quiet, went to the local garden centre and then to the supermarket in my half brother's car while the other one was doing the back garden. :)

Yesterday, took the train too Dawlish for a day trip and away from Wolverhampton for a few hours. I read a book on the train which I never finished as it turned out longer than I expected. The train on the way down was ok, although one carriage had no air conditioning. Not the one I was in fortunately. On the way back, I went in first class with the £15 weekend upgrade :) as the rest of the train was packed. The toilet had no running water though when I tried to wash my hands. I was left with soapy hands. Fortunately I managed to rub it in well enough it almost went. I got a bottle of water just in case I went again rofl.

I did miss the stead train at Bristol....well sort of. I saw it but because I was on the way back to my seat from the closed buffet car i got stuck behind people getting off. I couldn't get my camera quick enough and had to take pictures through the window which I deleted because they were naff, lets just say relfections of the bloke in the seat behind.

While in Dawlish I got my contact lens stuff I forgot the previous day and had a cornish pasty and a piece of apple crumble for dinner from Gay's Creamery. Make your own jokes up I know I did rofl. No chips today.

I did walk to the coastal path the west end of Dawlish and took pictures of some trains and some flower....testing my so called telephoto zoom/macro lens. Didn't convince me in terms of its macro capability. I also practiced with shutter speeds. The further away the shorter the speed, the closer the longer the speed...in sunlight.

Anyway the picture is of one of my ex-girlfriend's cats which I have been left with. Thats it really. Today, I cycled to work, work was busy surprisingly. I the cycled home and caught up on email.

Two websites are http://www.thesmokinggun.com/ - some media website. Take a look and let me know what you thing. And for kids... http://www.brainpop.com/ - its more to do with education but if your a kid it looks fun.

Rant: The record industry is still losing money hand over fist. And keeps whinging about the internet. As they are stuck in the 19th century still I predict, well its almost certain that through their own stupidity they will eventually be bankrupt. The music you want to listen too they dont do and the music they do do you dont want.

Anyways, byeeee for now. Catch you laters.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Sunday 1st July 2007


Hi there readers,


Hope you are well. I am ok, although a little stuffy in the nose area....think its a bit of sinus trouble.


The picture is from Arthor Bog near Barmouth - across the estuary behind Morfa Mawdachh. Let me know what you think of the picture.


As for today. Well I got up, read some magazine articles. Went to the tip and then the supermarket. Spent more than I intended. Had to buy toothpaste, deodarant etc, salt, peppercorns and all the other things I need for most of this week. Ended up with white baps instead of granary ones. :(


Anyways came home(that reminds me, if the water in your car's washer bottle stinks - empty it and then fill it with plain water and add milton sterilising tablets. This should kill the bacteria that causes the stink. Apparently Rovers and Volvos are notorious for this). When I got home I put the shopping away. Read some magazine articles whilst watching the formula 1 grand prix. Hope Lewis Hamilton can get back to form next week.


When this was finished i debated whether to go out on the bike. I didn't due to twinges in my back on the left side. However :) I found the small bike pump which will go on the saddle bag thing thats fits on the back of my mountain bike. So next weekend I might go out for a ride.


I also finished reading Judge and Jury by James Patterson. Excellent story about an FBI agent and a mafia don. Bit farfetched but then aren't most works of fiction these days.


Rated a few more tracks on Itunes and using google spreadsheet to get an average overall for each album. :)


Phew!!! Two websites for you today are http://www.plovers.co.uk/ - to do with birds. Take a look and let me know what you think. The homepage seems ok from a glance. http://www.creevalley.com/ is the second site about a Woodland Trust in Scotland. Colour scheme re font and background maybe a little to conflicting. Let me know if you agree or disagree.


Off to bed in a minute. Will post again soon. :)