This year has brought home to me that Christmas no longer holds the magic that it once did. Without children, there is no focus to Christmas, and I have to be honest and say it sucks just a little. So spare just a little thought at this time of year for those people who don't have children, and maybe let some of your relatives in this position spend a little time with your children if you have children so that they can share a little in the real magic of Christmas again.
This post made sense in my head. Honest.
Sunday 25 December 2011
Thursday 22 December 2011
Long summer of war - I hadn't forgotten.
The day job got unexpectedly cancelled today at short notice. Apparently they had too many people allotted for too few vehicles after the icy weather earlier this week managed to write off a vehicle and damage several others. I got caught up in all that, on the M6 between junction 44 and junction 45. However, I escaped without a scratch, thankfully. I was piloting my wacky 44 ton house of fun to Falkirk in frosty weather and it had been raining all the way through Cumbria, much to my surprise. Usually when conditions are freezing rain falls as snow, but on Monday it didn't.
I knew something was up when the vehicles in front of me slowed unexpectedly and swerved. I too had to react quickly to miss the BMW that sat in lane one of the motorway facing sideways and surrounded by broken metal and glass. It had slid at speed along the barrier. In lane three a Nissan pick up came to grief as I watched, slewing sideways and disappearing in a haze of shattered glass and tyre smoke. There isn't much you can do when you are travelling at over 50mph on what turned out to be black ice, and as the rig began to crab, I resisted the urge to apply the brakes - you can't on ice, unless you want to get to the scene of your accident a whole lot quicker. Another couple of vehicles flashed by sideways having their own little accidents and I thought I was going to hit one, but didn't. When I came to a stop I was at an angle across lane one and the hard shoulder with a wrecked car a few yards in front facing the wrong way with its hazard lights on. The driver of that came to see if I was okay, and I was. In the distance a hundred yards back down the motorway there were vehicles strewn everywhere, and nothing else was coming past.
It took him three attempts to light his cigarette as he was shaking so much. The tarmac was really slippery, but I carefully went around my rig with a torch checking for damage. Given the amount of broken car parts I had crunched over, I was amazed that none of the tyres (there were fourteen on my rig) had popped. Bidding the man with the cigarette the best of luck, I headed carefully on my way as flashing blue lights appeared in the distance. As I cleared junction 45 and headed on into Scotland on the M74 I was conscious that there were no vehicles following; I later learnt that the motorway had been shut and I was the last vehicle through. The lorry that had been following me from the same company about half a mile behind took two hours to get through, and met me at Falkirk as I was leaving for home.
Somewhere else in the country another company driver wasn't so lucky and his rig was written off (he was okay) numerous other slippery accidents ensured that several other rigs were off the road for repairs. I was told afterwards that I should consider one of my nine lives to have been well and truly used up, as black ice at motorway speeds rarely leaves vehicles involved in a motorway pile up, especially a 44 ton truck, without even a scratch. I shall use my remaining eight wisely.
So instead of being at work, I'm here at the computer. We went Christmas food shopping at 4am, and I was surprised partly that there were quite a few other people making use of the supermarket not being too full of last minute grocery shoppers, and partly that there weren't more people with such forethought, as it is only two shopping days to go to Christmas. Zoë went to bed when we got back, but I went to bed last night at 6pm ready for a day's work that isn't, so I'm up for the day. I haven't had much chance to do any writing over the last couple of months between working 60-70 hour weeks and doing book signings, so I thought I would use the surprise time well. I've been meaning to take another look at 'Long summer of war' for a long time. I edited it a while ago - over a year as it turns out - and I wanted to come back to it with a fresh set of eyes detached from its creative writing process. The book was actually written between the first two of the stars trilogy, so is of a similar writing style. I've read to page 23 so far, and needed to make only a couple of small changes, so I'm really happy that it's better than I remember. There's still a long way to go to do a full read through and edit, but a part of me is wondering whether this would be a better book to release in 2012 rather than reissuing 'Orb of Arawaan'. That would then give me a little extra time to reread Orb just to be sure it is polished. I'll have a speak with the publisher later in the day and see what they say; I've emailed them a copy of the manuscript too. I have a suspicion that they will whinge "We do sci-fi and fantasy books, and this one isn't". Still, don't ask - don't get.
Saturday 17 December 2011
class 04 shunting
A little something from my work last week that took me to Cheddleton station at the Churnet Valley Railway.
Friday 16 December 2011
A choice
I have been working so hard recently that I have hardly seen the inside of my own house for what feels like months. The fire burns brightly in the new wood-burning stove but the most I often see is the smoke rising from the chimney as I go past, busy working all the hours possible in the run up to Christmas.
Which is why I am so grateful to have the next few days to myself. I am thinking about the next novel but it is not certain what I will be writing. I have several ideas brewing, which is a nice position for a writer to be in, but at the same time it means I have to make a decision that I am not used to.
Do I write the second novel in the 'Orb of Arawaan' series? Do I complete the 'Stars' saga with 'Alone in the Stars'? Do I write one of the other science-fiction or horror stories I have been mulling over for the last year or so? Oh it's a lovely feeling to have so many options but my goodness, this is not a decision that can be taken lightly. Whichever I choose, I will be working on the story for months into the future. Will I like what I produce and want to continue with it? Will the story turn out to be a monster that I just cannot wrestle into something readable? Only time will tell.
In the mean time, here is another short visit to my train shed for you to enjoy. :)
Which is why I am so grateful to have the next few days to myself. I am thinking about the next novel but it is not certain what I will be writing. I have several ideas brewing, which is a nice position for a writer to be in, but at the same time it means I have to make a decision that I am not used to.
Do I write the second novel in the 'Orb of Arawaan' series? Do I complete the 'Stars' saga with 'Alone in the Stars'? Do I write one of the other science-fiction or horror stories I have been mulling over for the last year or so? Oh it's a lovely feeling to have so many options but my goodness, this is not a decision that can be taken lightly. Whichever I choose, I will be working on the story for months into the future. Will I like what I produce and want to continue with it? Will the story turn out to be a monster that I just cannot wrestle into something readable? Only time will tell.
In the mean time, here is another short visit to my train shed for you to enjoy. :)
Wednesday 7 December 2011
A funny old saying
Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat. That's the old saying, not a commentary on the current bird obesity epidemic that is sweeping the nation. Is there really a problem with geese getting fat? It's winter, shouldn't they be flying south to sunnier climates? I don't know.
In the run-up to Christmas, I have some time off from the hectic signing schedule. I'm thinking about how best to start the next novel but I've yet to put finger to keyboard and start tapping it out. When I do, you will all be the first to know how it is going. Well, you'll be first if you don't count Zoë, who I bounce ideas off every now and again. We use one-another as a sounding board. It's incredibly useful when you're writing to have someone you can do that with. Anyway, when I start writing, I will let you know how it is going.
Since there is no writing or signing news for the moment, I'll leave you with a look at my lovely hobby. Here's another visit to the train room. Enjoy!
In the run-up to Christmas, I have some time off from the hectic signing schedule. I'm thinking about how best to start the next novel but I've yet to put finger to keyboard and start tapping it out. When I do, you will all be the first to know how it is going. Well, you'll be first if you don't count Zoë, who I bounce ideas off every now and again. We use one-another as a sounding board. It's incredibly useful when you're writing to have someone you can do that with. Anyway, when I start writing, I will let you know how it is going.
Since there is no writing or signing news for the moment, I'll leave you with a look at my lovely hobby. Here's another visit to the train room. Enjoy!
Friday 2 December 2011
Derby signing today
Today is the Derby Waterstones signing. I'm just about to set off.
Be there or be neither trianguler nor pentangular, but the thingy between them!
Be there or be neither trianguler nor pentangular, but the thingy between them!
Ooops
Bad things to find in a mouthful of cornflakes number 34: your own filling.
Please treat me gently at tomorrow's signing in Derby Waterstones, as I have bad toothache now; especially whenever I eat anything hot or cold.
Please treat me gently at tomorrow's signing in Derby Waterstones, as I have bad toothache now; especially whenever I eat anything hot or cold.
Thursday 1 December 2011
Jenny on trains - and on video!
For the last couple of months, I have been a busy, busy bee but that does not mean I have no time to spend on my hobbies. As you may already be aware, I am a massive model railway enthusiast with a particular interest in the 1970s and 1980s British Rail era.
For many years I spent my writing time surrounded by a small model railway because the sound of the trains running is very relaxing. I wanted to recreate that experience in my new home, so I have begun building a new, and somewhat more ambitious, model railway in my new office.
Zoë is helping me to chronicle my endeavours on my YouTube channel in the form of short videos about model railways and the building thereof. The first episode went live on 13 October and you can see it below.
In other news, I have spoken to my publisher and they have agreed to extend the November special offer on my books into December, so the time has never been better to pick up a copy of my latest novels. You can get both for just £10 direct from the All Mouse Media website.
For many years I spent my writing time surrounded by a small model railway because the sound of the trains running is very relaxing. I wanted to recreate that experience in my new home, so I have begun building a new, and somewhat more ambitious, model railway in my new office.
Zoë is helping me to chronicle my endeavours on my YouTube channel in the form of short videos about model railways and the building thereof. The first episode went live on 13 October and you can see it below.
In other news, I have spoken to my publisher and they have agreed to extend the November special offer on my books into December, so the time has never been better to pick up a copy of my latest novels. You can get both for just £10 direct from the All Mouse Media website.
Wednesday 23 November 2011
Special Offer
My publisher, All Mouse Media, is currently running a special offer on my latest novels. You can buy Bringing Home the Stars and Twinkle Little Star together for just £10, with free postage. If you add the name to dedicate them to in the "special instructions", I'll even sign both books for you!
Just click below to order the books.
Just click below to order the books.
Sunday 20 November 2011
Signing in Manchester
The signing tour continues - it is unstoppable! Today I am signing books in the Manchester Arndale branch of Waterstones. It's a store I haven't been to before and I'm looking forward to it. I'll be there from 1-4pm today. If you're in the area, come and say hi!
Saturday 19 November 2011
Signing in Bolton
I'm signing Twinkle Little Star and Bringing Home The Stars today in the Bolton Branch of Waterstones. We just started and I'll be here until 4pm. Come on down and say hi!
Thursday 17 November 2011
Come hither, to the town hall!
On Tuesday, I met the Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton for tea and a chat. It was a fantastic experience and I am really honoured to have been invited. Zoe and I got a tour of the Town Hall, which was fantastic, and we chatted for over an hour about all kinds of things. As it turns out, the Mayor is an even bigger history buff than we are, so we had a long talk about the effects of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest on European history.
Before we left, I presented the Mayor with signed copies of 'Bringing Home The Stars' and 'Twinkle Little Star', plus a copy of each for Bolton Library. Zoe then took a photograph for posterity.
Speaking of books, I am signing again this weekend. On Saturday, I will be at Bolton Waterstones from 10 am to 4pm, while on Sunday I am at the Arndale Centre branch of Waterstones from 1pm to 4pm. If you are in the area, I would love to see you there.
Before we left, I presented the Mayor with signed copies of 'Bringing Home The Stars' and 'Twinkle Little Star', plus a copy of each for Bolton Library. Zoe then took a photograph for posterity.
Speaking of books, I am signing again this weekend. On Saturday, I will be at Bolton Waterstones from 10 am to 4pm, while on Sunday I am at the Arndale Centre branch of Waterstones from 1pm to 4pm. If you are in the area, I would love to see you there.
Tuesday 15 November 2011
Today at the town hall
I spent lunchtime today with the Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton. I presented them with some signed copies of my books, and further copies for inclusion in the public library.
It was rather fun and they have some very nice chocolate biscuits! I also learnt the real reason why Bolton's crest has an Elephant with a castle on it.
It was rather fun and they have some very nice chocolate biscuits! I also learnt the real reason why Bolton's crest has an Elephant with a castle on it.
Sunday 13 November 2011
Book signings - Bolton and Manchester
On Tuesday I have been invited to meet the Mayor of Bolton as a local author. I've met him as well as three previous Mayor's of Bolton, but never in the capacity of being a local author. It feels odd to be considered noteworthy enough to get such an invite!
Also don't forget that this coming weekend there are two book signings. Both are at branches of Waterstones. On Saturday I will be at Bolton Waterstones signing copies of my books. This has always been a good venue for me and I'm looking forward to making this my fourth visit to the store to do a signing. Sunday sees me at Manchester Arndale at the branch there. This is a new venue for me, though I've done the Manchester Deansgate and Trafford Centre branches before. Hopefully there will be a good turnout as Manchester busies up with Christmas shoppers. What better gift to get than a personalised signed copy of my newest book?
Reviews and feedback from those who have been reading 'Twinkle little star' are coming in now, and I am overwhelmed by the positive comments. It seems that despite the fact that I have to admit I didn't enjoy the writing process as much as for the previous book, the end result is blowing people away! Momentum is building and it is exciting though a little scary at the same time. Hopefully I can make the third (and final - promise!) 'Stars' book better still. Though don't hold your breath, as I haven't started writing it yet. I have, however, written another book which is still in the editing stages with no planned release date as yet.
Also don't forget that this coming weekend there are two book signings. Both are at branches of Waterstones. On Saturday I will be at Bolton Waterstones signing copies of my books. This has always been a good venue for me and I'm looking forward to making this my fourth visit to the store to do a signing. Sunday sees me at Manchester Arndale at the branch there. This is a new venue for me, though I've done the Manchester Deansgate and Trafford Centre branches before. Hopefully there will be a good turnout as Manchester busies up with Christmas shoppers. What better gift to get than a personalised signed copy of my newest book?
Reviews and feedback from those who have been reading 'Twinkle little star' are coming in now, and I am overwhelmed by the positive comments. It seems that despite the fact that I have to admit I didn't enjoy the writing process as much as for the previous book, the end result is blowing people away! Momentum is building and it is exciting though a little scary at the same time. Hopefully I can make the third (and final - promise!) 'Stars' book better still. Though don't hold your breath, as I haven't started writing it yet. I have, however, written another book which is still in the editing stages with no planned release date as yet.
An open letter to bad drivers
Dear prick in the car on the M55 last night,
If you don't want the truck driver from 'Duel' on your rear bumper with their headlights on main beam, then why not try letting them overtake you instead of speeding up when they pull out then slowing down when they pull back in. It got old fast after several aborted overtaking attempts.
As another suggestion, your personalised numberplate alluding to the size of your penis might be better representative of you if you chose to buy something like 'W4 NKR'. Just a suggestion.
If you don't want the truck driver from 'Duel' on your rear bumper with their headlights on main beam, then why not try letting them overtake you instead of speeding up when they pull out then slowing down when they pull back in. It got old fast after several aborted overtaking attempts.
As another suggestion, your personalised numberplate alluding to the size of your penis might be better representative of you if you chose to buy something like 'W4 NKR'. Just a suggestion.
Tuesday 8 November 2011
After the event: Wigan
The book signing at Wigan Waterstones last Saturday went extremely well. I was a little worried beforehand travelling there on the train, but we got there without incident and called in at the shop to drop off some of our stuff before heading off for some breakfast. The train times were a little awkward and we had to get to Wigan an hour early as the next train would have left us five minutes late.
It's been a while since we were at Wigan Waterstones last, though it was a very good venue for me on the 'Bringing home the stars' tour. It didn't disappoint this time either, and I was soon signing books once set up at the table by the door. There was another author in doing signings for a children's book, and we got chance to have a chat. The other author quizzed me about signings (this was her third signing for her first book) and it felt odd to be considered an old hand; though perhaps I am now.
Strangely BHTS seemed the more popular book. This was because a lot of people chose to read that book first, as they wanted to "read them in order" though I was keen to stress that neither book requires readers to read the other, such are the largely self-contained nature of their plots. Still, hopefully a lot of people will be back to buy 'Twinkle little star' after enjoying BHTS. Strangely I only found one person who picked up a copy of both there and then. However sales were very good, and we even went through a few of the extra copies that we took along just in case!
The next signings will be Bolton Watersones on the 19th of this month, and Manchester Arndale on the 20th - see you there! I shall also be doing some promotion work on Tuesday the 15th and have been invited to Bolton town hall to meet the Mayor of Bolton. It's all excitement!
It's been a while since we were at Wigan Waterstones last, though it was a very good venue for me on the 'Bringing home the stars' tour. It didn't disappoint this time either, and I was soon signing books once set up at the table by the door. There was another author in doing signings for a children's book, and we got chance to have a chat. The other author quizzed me about signings (this was her third signing for her first book) and it felt odd to be considered an old hand; though perhaps I am now.
Strangely BHTS seemed the more popular book. This was because a lot of people chose to read that book first, as they wanted to "read them in order" though I was keen to stress that neither book requires readers to read the other, such are the largely self-contained nature of their plots. Still, hopefully a lot of people will be back to buy 'Twinkle little star' after enjoying BHTS. Strangely I only found one person who picked up a copy of both there and then. However sales were very good, and we even went through a few of the extra copies that we took along just in case!
The next signings will be Bolton Watersones on the 19th of this month, and Manchester Arndale on the 20th - see you there! I shall also be doing some promotion work on Tuesday the 15th and have been invited to Bolton town hall to meet the Mayor of Bolton. It's all excitement!
Friday 4 November 2011
Water, Water Everywhere
Yesterday's episode of All over the house seems to be one of the most popular in a long time. People keep telling me its simplicity is brilliant and that it's really funny.
This is the comic in question. Please tell me what you think
I am signing copies of Twinkle Little Star in Wigan tomorrow, in Waterstones from 10AM. If you are in the area, I would love to see you there!
This is the comic in question. Please tell me what you think
I am signing copies of Twinkle Little Star in Wigan tomorrow, in Waterstones from 10AM. If you are in the area, I would love to see you there!
Tuesday 1 November 2011
Let the Signing Tour Begin!
Signing season is upon us once again. This is the part of writing a novel that I always look forward to. It is a chance to get away from the keyboard and meet people who actually enjoy reading my stories. It is a break from the loneliness of writing and a chance to socialise with people.
We are beginning the book signing tour in the Wigan branch of Waterstones on the 5th of November, after which I shall be attending a birthday party for my Mother. It isn't actually her birthday on the fifth but it's the only time the whole family can get together this month so it's a good time for a knees-up. It will be a busy day!
The Wigan signing will be closely followed by a signing in Bolton Waterstones on the 19th and the Arndale Centre branch of Waterstones in Manchester on the 20th. I hope some of you can make it to one of these signings. It would be great to see you all there.
We are beginning the book signing tour in the Wigan branch of Waterstones on the 5th of November, after which I shall be attending a birthday party for my Mother. It isn't actually her birthday on the fifth but it's the only time the whole family can get together this month so it's a good time for a knees-up. It will be a busy day!
The Wigan signing will be closely followed by a signing in Bolton Waterstones on the 19th and the Arndale Centre branch of Waterstones in Manchester on the 20th. I hope some of you can make it to one of these signings. It would be great to see you all there.
Tuesday 25 October 2011
Update on book availability and signings.
Book orders are apparently coming in steadily, though shops have been slow to come back to us with dates for signings. Several new signings are booked though (check website for details). I am also told by one fan that their local Waterstones is currently out of stock due to renewed demand and has a little notice proclaiming more are on their way!
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Water water everywhere (that it isn't supposed to be)
Well isn't that just the rub? You have a builder not coming until the weekend, and the first most savage of winter storms makes the back chimney leak. Each day now I am checking the slightly brown patch as its very slow march from the top corner of the wall in the back bedroom continues. The builder reckons that it's a defect with the lead flashing. I really don't care what it is as long as it gets fixed quickly and before any real damage is caused.
Sunday 16 October 2011
Vroom! Vroom!
I forgot to add that I'm not normally this diligent on a Sunday morning. I'm only up early because I wanted to watch the Korean F1 Grand Prix live.
Books, signings and tiny trains going around in a circle.
I've been a little useless at updating the blog. The main reason has been that I've been away from home touring the country for day-job related work. It couldn't have come at a more awkward time given that the new book has just been launched. However Zoe has made an admirable effort in doing promotion on her own and has already begun the process of booking signings. These should be taking place in the main on Saturdays, though there is one confirmed for a Sunday (Manchester Arndale). We were hoping that there would be some in October, but we're still waiting for one store to get back to us after they asked last month about booking a signing. As usual things are all a little tight on time.
Usually around about now I get asked "when will the next book be out?" Oh you impatient people! Well, I have another book (not the final entry in the 'Stars' trilogy before you ask) written though it needs another draft doing before I'll send it to the publishers and see what they think about it. I haven't had time to write much else of fiction, but I've been thinking over a number of ideas and plots, so it isn't like I'm starved of inspiration. In the next few weeks I'm hoping to reduce the day-job back to four days which should give me extra time to devote to writing.
And finally, I've managed to build into the shed the model railway that I've always wanted, which may also be partly responsible for my lack of writing and promotion time. But still; everyone needs a hobby or two. I mused the other day with Zoe that for some-one who outwardly at least looks and acts rather like a girly femme girl, I have some rather Tomboyish likes and interests. Still, whatever floats my boat. Which reminds me that I haven't had nearly enough opportunity to go sailing this year either. The house move certainly has taken a lot of time and money, but we're resolved that next year we're going to do more holidays with the boat. I just hope that we don't turn into the sort of people who are all talk about what they are going to do, but never actually get around to doing it.
Usually around about now I get asked "when will the next book be out?" Oh you impatient people! Well, I have another book (not the final entry in the 'Stars' trilogy before you ask) written though it needs another draft doing before I'll send it to the publishers and see what they think about it. I haven't had time to write much else of fiction, but I've been thinking over a number of ideas and plots, so it isn't like I'm starved of inspiration. In the next few weeks I'm hoping to reduce the day-job back to four days which should give me extra time to devote to writing.
And finally, I've managed to build into the shed the model railway that I've always wanted, which may also be partly responsible for my lack of writing and promotion time. But still; everyone needs a hobby or two. I mused the other day with Zoe that for some-one who outwardly at least looks and acts rather like a girly femme girl, I have some rather Tomboyish likes and interests. Still, whatever floats my boat. Which reminds me that I haven't had nearly enough opportunity to go sailing this year either. The house move certainly has taken a lot of time and money, but we're resolved that next year we're going to do more holidays with the boat. I just hope that we don't turn into the sort of people who are all talk about what they are going to do, but never actually get around to doing it.
Tuesday 11 October 2011
Buy the book!
Book signings are starting to get booked. Check my website foir details as they are confirmed.
A new page has also gone live on the All Mouse Media site site for people to buy Twinkle little star' post-free from. They ship globally and you can pay via Paypal.
A new page has also gone live on the All Mouse Media site site for people to buy Twinkle little star' post-free from. They ship globally and you can pay via Paypal.
Friday 7 October 2011
Thursday 6 October 2011
'Twinkle little star' is finally here!
Copies of 'Twinkle little star' have finally arrived after several week's delay. They should start to appear in the shops within the next week or so. So everybody get ready for your latest Jennifer Kirk sci-fi fix and get your copy on order with all the usual retailers!
Sunday 2 October 2011
Don't you just hate it when people let you down?
There's been a delay at the printers and book binders for 'Twinkle little star'. They were promised for the end of last week, but that promise has been broken without the printers giving any advance notice or information. If they haven't been received by the end of today, then Zoë has said that she will chase the printers for an explanation first thing tomorrow.
Sorry to everyone who's been waiting eagerly for this new title - we were waiting eagerly too and feel as disappointed to have been let down as you do.
Sorry to everyone who's been waiting eagerly for this new title - we were waiting eagerly too and feel as disappointed to have been let down as you do.
Saturday 17 September 2011
Twinkle little stars nearly on the shelves!
The release of my newest book is imminent. I have the book advance sheets to hand and delivery is expected for the hard copies of the book around the 30th of September.
I'm already getting bookings for signings at branches of Waterstones.
I'm already getting bookings for signings at branches of Waterstones.
Sunday 4 September 2011
Hehe!
Smugness is:
Going into a random bookshop that you have never been to before, and finding two copies of your book prominently on the shelf in the sci-fi section.
Waterstones Arndale in Manchester.
Going into a random bookshop that you have never been to before, and finding two copies of your book prominently on the shelf in the sci-fi section.
Waterstones Arndale in Manchester.
Wednesday 24 August 2011
He won't use a ladder - lassoing the chimney to climb up will be fine.
Sometimes the things that people do to repair their houses beggars belief. Those of you whop have followed the epic refurbishment of our new house will not have failed to notice that we discovered a lot of - how shall we say - bodge it and scarper repairs and 'improvements'. The scariest up until now as the three pin mains double socket above the bath in the bathroom. You know, for when you really want to sit in six inches of water and make toast. Other gems included bare (live) wires in the wall where a socket plate had been removed. Home brew electrics out to the shed that were made of several lengths of offcuts of cables just twisted together and roof leaks at the front that had been repaired by just painting over the splits in the roofing felt with black household paint.
The previous owners of this house seem to have been very much of the school of "if we can't see it, it isn't happening. La! La! La! I can't hear you!". The carport was condemned when we found serious wet rot that was threatening structural failure of the main cross beam that had been hidden by panelling around the beam with thin plywood, wood filler and a lick of paint to hide the join. Under the bath the outflow was leaking due to - as it turned out - the wrong sized washers being used in the pipe fittings. Their response to the leak and the damage caused to the ceiling beneath? Cut out the square of ruined plasterboard and insert a new scrap piece and paint it. Out of sight and out of mind. Of course, the leak was still there, and eventually came right back through the ceiling.
The utility room has become the latest area to receive a full revamp. The roof had suffered from cowboy repairs, and the whole building was not exactly built to a good standard with signs of wet rot. When the builders arrived and got to work they found a few new horrors buried away. The most bizarre was finding that the walls only went to waist height. Above this level, hidden behind hardboard cladding on the inside and some cheap pine clapboard on the outside, there was nothing. The roof was held up by a couple of pieces of two by two and an old window frame (still with glass in but buried behind the home brew 'improvements'.). We've had a real wall built up, with an inside wall added and insulation in between. The lack of insulation in the old utility room was shocking - more so because the combi boiler is in there. Back when we were having temperatures of -16C, the boiler might as well have been outside for what good a thin layer of hardboard could do to insulate it from the freeze.
That wasn't the biggest horror though. Neither was finding that the roof had been patched with old newspapers dated July 1995 so that we know when the cowboys were here. No. The biggest horror was that the electrics had no fuse. Oh, they had a place for a fuse to go, but instead of a fuse the idiots who lived here before had taken the view that a rolled up wedge of tin foil was far better. Basically, there was no fuse to blow. If you had the misfortune to touch one of the bodged bare wires, you were live until the national grid got bored of giving.
The shocking standards of the electrics in this house (all now put right by visits from properly qualified electricians) just shows that it is about time that houses had to be both gas and electricity certified as safe at the point of sale. Forget all this vacuous energy certificate nonsense - let's have a far more useful system that actually stops dangerous homebrew electrical work being passed on to the unknowing who could end up being killed or seriously injured through the previous owner's criminal incompetence.
The previous owners of this house seem to have been very much of the school of "if we can't see it, it isn't happening. La! La! La! I can't hear you!". The carport was condemned when we found serious wet rot that was threatening structural failure of the main cross beam that had been hidden by panelling around the beam with thin plywood, wood filler and a lick of paint to hide the join. Under the bath the outflow was leaking due to - as it turned out - the wrong sized washers being used in the pipe fittings. Their response to the leak and the damage caused to the ceiling beneath? Cut out the square of ruined plasterboard and insert a new scrap piece and paint it. Out of sight and out of mind. Of course, the leak was still there, and eventually came right back through the ceiling.
The utility room has become the latest area to receive a full revamp. The roof had suffered from cowboy repairs, and the whole building was not exactly built to a good standard with signs of wet rot. When the builders arrived and got to work they found a few new horrors buried away. The most bizarre was finding that the walls only went to waist height. Above this level, hidden behind hardboard cladding on the inside and some cheap pine clapboard on the outside, there was nothing. The roof was held up by a couple of pieces of two by two and an old window frame (still with glass in but buried behind the home brew 'improvements'.). We've had a real wall built up, with an inside wall added and insulation in between. The lack of insulation in the old utility room was shocking - more so because the combi boiler is in there. Back when we were having temperatures of -16C, the boiler might as well have been outside for what good a thin layer of hardboard could do to insulate it from the freeze.
That wasn't the biggest horror though. Neither was finding that the roof had been patched with old newspapers dated July 1995 so that we know when the cowboys were here. No. The biggest horror was that the electrics had no fuse. Oh, they had a place for a fuse to go, but instead of a fuse the idiots who lived here before had taken the view that a rolled up wedge of tin foil was far better. Basically, there was no fuse to blow. If you had the misfortune to touch one of the bodged bare wires, you were live until the national grid got bored of giving.
The shocking standards of the electrics in this house (all now put right by visits from properly qualified electricians) just shows that it is about time that houses had to be both gas and electricity certified as safe at the point of sale. Forget all this vacuous energy certificate nonsense - let's have a far more useful system that actually stops dangerous homebrew electrical work being passed on to the unknowing who could end up being killed or seriously injured through the previous owner's criminal incompetence.
Sunday 21 August 2011
A day without the mither.
It's easy to forget how relatively new some technologies are and see how quickly people take for granted something that did not always exist. One of those things is the humble mobile phone. Around twenty years ago, no-one I know apart from my Father had one. Back then, it was something of a brick of a device and had the battery life of a brick in a toilet. Of course, that wasn't too bad as much of the countryside was devoid of any signal that would let it work. At an extortionate cost to ring in or out, the payphone was still King. It was a better device, mind, than the mobile it replaced. That was only mobile by virtue of being permanently attached to his car. The chunky handset hid the fact that the glove compartment was full of electronics, and there was another box of tricks in the boot and an aerial on the rear of the roof.
I used to have twenty pence in change that was for 'emergency phoning'. Most children did. Payphones weren't hard to find either; when I was in Durham there was a cluster of six in the market square alone, and others all within walking distance. Then of course the rise of the mobile phone came, and those awful little devices were soon starting to dictate people's lives. Whereas before people could only ring you if you were by a landline, now they could mither you with crap all day. For the past few years I have detested my mobile, because of the sheer number of people who seem to think they can call it to ask inane questions about things that are not important and that I really don't care about.
So yesterday, I wasn't actually too bothered to find that I had accidentally left the damn think at home when on my way out to pay a work related visit to Daventry. Actually, it made the day rather pleasant. Suddenly there was no constant stream of mithering. No "can you give me a call when you reach Crick?". No "can you call in and visit a customer in Market Dreighton?". All of a sudden it was like working fifteen years ago, and it was just me and the radio and the open road. I quite liked it. Unfortunately I can't get away with leaving my mobile behind every day (I wish I could) but it left me with a feeling that not all new technology is entirely welcomed by me. What was wrong with how we used to communicate? We learnt to ask all the important questions in one go rather than in dribbles throughout the day. We used our initiative rather than always having to phone home for a tinny little voice to spoon feed instructions on how to live our day.
I used to have twenty pence in change that was for 'emergency phoning'. Most children did. Payphones weren't hard to find either; when I was in Durham there was a cluster of six in the market square alone, and others all within walking distance. Then of course the rise of the mobile phone came, and those awful little devices were soon starting to dictate people's lives. Whereas before people could only ring you if you were by a landline, now they could mither you with crap all day. For the past few years I have detested my mobile, because of the sheer number of people who seem to think they can call it to ask inane questions about things that are not important and that I really don't care about.
So yesterday, I wasn't actually too bothered to find that I had accidentally left the damn think at home when on my way out to pay a work related visit to Daventry. Actually, it made the day rather pleasant. Suddenly there was no constant stream of mithering. No "can you give me a call when you reach Crick?". No "can you call in and visit a customer in Market Dreighton?". All of a sudden it was like working fifteen years ago, and it was just me and the radio and the open road. I quite liked it. Unfortunately I can't get away with leaving my mobile behind every day (I wish I could) but it left me with a feeling that not all new technology is entirely welcomed by me. What was wrong with how we used to communicate? We learnt to ask all the important questions in one go rather than in dribbles throughout the day. We used our initiative rather than always having to phone home for a tinny little voice to spoon feed instructions on how to live our day.
Wednesday 17 August 2011
Busy, busy, busy.
There's a new book on its way, and signing invites are already coming in from branches of Waterstones. The book is all finished, edited and about to be ordered from the printers and binders somewhere down south. As a teaser, here's the text I through together for the back cover (not sure if it will be being used exactly like this, as I did it in five minutes whilst on my way out to the day job):
Dead men can’t talk. Dead men tell no tales. That’s what the salvagers always said.
“Do you make a habit of stalking?”
“No.” He thought of Tubs’ message and the Cerberus. “Usually things make a habit of stalking me.”
Now she seemed interested, though it was a fleeting glimpse in her body language that he picked up on. Otherwise, she hid her emotions well.
He decided to lay it all on her, and see what the reaction was. What the hell – if she brushed him off like a piece of dirt, then he hadn’t lost anything. Sooner or later it usually came to that for Dezza.
“I’m here because I’ve got a feeling that something bad is going to happen on this cruise.”
It started out as a holiday cruise of a lifetime. But there were always the nagging thoughts in the back of Dezza’s mind that things weren’t going to be what they seemed. When a voice from the past warns you that something bad is going to happen, it isn’t usually cause for concern. Except Tubs was dead, and the message was clear: the Persia was going to be next.
Dead men can’t talk. Dead men tell no tales. That’s what the salvagers always said.
“Do you make a habit of stalking?”
“No.” He thought of Tubs’ message and the Cerberus. “Usually things make a habit of stalking me.”
Now she seemed interested, though it was a fleeting glimpse in her body language that he picked up on. Otherwise, she hid her emotions well.
He decided to lay it all on her, and see what the reaction was. What the hell – if she brushed him off like a piece of dirt, then he hadn’t lost anything. Sooner or later it usually came to that for Dezza.
“I’m here because I’ve got a feeling that something bad is going to happen on this cruise.”
It started out as a holiday cruise of a lifetime. But there were always the nagging thoughts in the back of Dezza’s mind that things weren’t going to be what they seemed. When a voice from the past warns you that something bad is going to happen, it isn’t usually cause for concern. Except Tubs was dead, and the message was clear: the Persia was going to be next.
Sunday 7 August 2011
Doctor in the house!
It is positively scary the colour of the water that comes out of a Rug Doctor after doing the lounge carpet. What was even scarier, was that the water was still a horrible dirty colour after the second go on the same carpet.
In other news: must train myself to stop calling it a Rug Muncher.
In other news: must train myself to stop calling it a Rug Muncher.
Wednesday 3 August 2011
The dreaming
I thought of Stephanie again today. I played the whole of the LP 'The Dreaming' by Kate Bush, and it reminded me so much of us singing along to it late at night with the turntable balanced precariously on top of the TV in her bedroom. Even down to trying to work out what the backwards lyrics really were.
The irony is that the turntable and LP are the same ones we used all those years ago. Sat in your lap, babe.
The irony is that the turntable and LP are the same ones we used all those years ago. Sat in your lap, babe.
Thursday 28 July 2011
Ear trumpet in the woods.
Crisis over - a new quote means that my books should not take a 75% hike in price (which was quite frankly, ridiculous).
Yesterday I drove to Edinburgh. It was a lovely drive. Or at least, it was until I encountered typical Scottish weather just past Lockerbie on the M74. What had started as a lovely hot sunny day became a deluge of constant unrelenting rain. One question I have for people from Livingston, is what is the huge ear trumpet that sticks out of the woods just before junction 4 of the M8? I have been wondering for some time now.
Yesterday I drove to Edinburgh. It was a lovely drive. Or at least, it was until I encountered typical Scottish weather just past Lockerbie on the M74. What had started as a lovely hot sunny day became a deluge of constant unrelenting rain. One question I have for people from Livingston, is what is the huge ear trumpet that sticks out of the woods just before junction 4 of the M8? I have been wondering for some time now.
Tuesday 26 July 2011
The next book: "Twinkle little star"
Has the price of books gone up dramatically over the last 12 months? I've just seen the quote for a print run of my next book, and it is around 75% more expensive than the last book.
Friday 22 July 2011
A little trip into the M25 ring of fire.
London is a strange place to drive in. I've never actually liked driving there; once inside the M25 ring something happens to other drivers and they turn into the hooligan offspring of White Van Man and Audi Woman.
Now, I imagine there will be a fair few of you who have also driven in London and will be nodding your heads over this observation. Or perhaps you are a seasoned veteran of the capital's road network and just think "typical northern monkey". Well, try making the trip in a 44 ton lorry that is 40 feet long and 15'5" tall and see how many restrictions that there are. Not to mention poor roadsigns. Why is it that the closer you get to the centre, the less information is shown on the signs? I have a map that showed me to follow the A503. It would be nice if the signs would remind me which road that happens to be at the nonsensical junction I have approached. The thought occured to me more than once that a computer game "London rush hour lorry driver" might be a good one for adrenaline junkies. Mind those traffic wardens, cyclists and bus lane cameras.
Finsbury Park is surprisingly a nice place, despite the press it got over That mosque. I can recommend the pubs on the high street and the very friendly chicken/burger bar with the sweaty elephant's foot of Doner kebab rotating in the window. The flame grilled quarter pounder was especially nice after two hours in a down to Earth pub with a colleague. I didn't see a terrorist once.
Now, I imagine there will be a fair few of you who have also driven in London and will be nodding your heads over this observation. Or perhaps you are a seasoned veteran of the capital's road network and just think "typical northern monkey". Well, try making the trip in a 44 ton lorry that is 40 feet long and 15'5" tall and see how many restrictions that there are. Not to mention poor roadsigns. Why is it that the closer you get to the centre, the less information is shown on the signs? I have a map that showed me to follow the A503. It would be nice if the signs would remind me which road that happens to be at the nonsensical junction I have approached. The thought occured to me more than once that a computer game "London rush hour lorry driver" might be a good one for adrenaline junkies. Mind those traffic wardens, cyclists and bus lane cameras.
Finsbury Park is surprisingly a nice place, despite the press it got over That mosque. I can recommend the pubs on the high street and the very friendly chicken/burger bar with the sweaty elephant's foot of Doner kebab rotating in the window. The flame grilled quarter pounder was especially nice after two hours in a down to Earth pub with a colleague. I didn't see a terrorist once.
Tuesday 19 July 2011
Insert faintly amusing post title here.
I have learnt today that Arla foods in Leeds has a nice cafeteria that serves great food. I also learnt they don't take plastic in payment. Oh what a joyous 50 minutes I spent in there trying to ignore my stomach rumbling.
I get to visit the most unusual of places. Today's tally includes the factory where all the bacon in Asda comes from, a rail freight depot in Daventry that suspiciously has no rails, and a factory that makes butter allegedly with a workforce of cows if the adverts are to be believed though I beg to differ having seen the workforce for real. I also drove nearly 300 miles.
I get to visit the most unusual of places. Today's tally includes the factory where all the bacon in Asda comes from, a rail freight depot in Daventry that suspiciously has no rails, and a factory that makes butter allegedly with a workforce of cows if the adverts are to be believed though I beg to differ having seen the workforce for real. I also drove nearly 300 miles.
Thursday 14 July 2011
We live in interesting times - let us not forget that.
I wonder what it would be like to live in the future? No incurable diseases, bakofoil for clothes, food pills, flying cars and robots with personality disorders ("....Danger Will Robinson....!") to wipe our bottoms.
Actually, it is here. It is somewhat of an oxymoron, but we are living in the future. As I sit here on a computer with more computing power than the entire Apollo programme put together (actually, much more powerful than even the electronic innards of the Hubble telescope) and a connection at 20Mbits to most other computers around the globe sipping on my energy drink and wearing clothes made from a variety of hard wearing, low maintenance and comfortable materials reading about a possible cure for cancer on the internet as my personal mobile phone rang I have to admit that we aren't far off a version of the future envisaged by Arthur C. Clarke and his co-sci-fi writers. The flying car, however, is still grounded. But it has heated seats and cruise control so it isn't too bad.
People, we live in interesting times. Remember back to school history lessons where we learnt about things like the industrial revolution, the renaissance, the invasion of Viking hordes, the Great Depression and the coming of the telephone, the aeroplane or the railway. We live in times equally as fearsome for their technological advancement, and maybe we haven't noticed. It's easy to miss when you are exposed to change slowly on a day to day basis.
I remember a world before mobile phones, home computers and the internet. It wasn't all that long ago. It may seem like forever, but in the late 1990s the internet wasn't used for online shopping or downloading films and music. It was in some respects more of a novelty that didn't take off until ADSL broadband turned up and kicked sand in the eyes of all those 33.6 baud modems. To the younger generation: you haven't suffered until you have tried to download something important using a modem on a crackly phone line. In hell, the internet will be accessed via modem, and will be made of Flash animations and bandwidth eating pop-ups that you cannot block.
The rise of the internet alone is more significant to human history than the rise of the telephone, or even the coming of the railways. Look at how much it has changed, so radically and so quickly. We can now buy everything from our home and - in some cases like film, music and software - have it delivered instantly through a tiny cable. We can communicate with anyone around the globe without paying through the nose for it. We can even transfer huge amounts of information by the same way. Back in even the 1990s communication with overseas relatives was done with the Christmas day phone call via a crackly landline that cost a staggering £5 per minute to make. No wonder we never talked much. Now a good deal of the people I talk to every day live overseas yet I can video call them just like that in real time.
In the news recently is word that cancer may be on the verge of being cured. It is strange to think that in time this serious illness that is terminal for so many could be cured by nothing more than a course of tablets. Far fetched? Well remember this: Black Death, which killed around a fifth of the population of Europe, can now be cured by a simple course of penicillin tablets. In time maybe Cancer will be viewed as the Black Death of the 20th Century. It is amazing.
With all the stock markets in flux and commodity prices and inflation going through the roof, my parting comments will by mostly about the Great Depression and the 1926 General Strike and the Jarrow marchers. I didn't think it would take less than a century for the same shit to shaft us all twice at the hands of banker-wankers, but it has. History repeats itself because it seems that no-one in charge ever bothers listening. How true.
And finally, I see the Murdoch empire is starting to collapse. It is intriguing just how many enemies Murdoch and his cronies have made pissing people off through the various media outlets that he controls. They say when you climb the tree in business you should treat people well on the way up. Otherwise, when you fall they all take the chance to kick you to see how far you fall. Murdoch pissed a lot of people off, just like the Maxwells did a decade or more ago. There's a lot of people lining up to take a swing, and to be honest, it couldn't be happening to a more deserving bloke. Murdoch: you may feel free to sit on my raised middle digit and swivel for what you did to people I knew in my time in broadcasting.
Actually, it is here. It is somewhat of an oxymoron, but we are living in the future. As I sit here on a computer with more computing power than the entire Apollo programme put together (actually, much more powerful than even the electronic innards of the Hubble telescope) and a connection at 20Mbits to most other computers around the globe sipping on my energy drink and wearing clothes made from a variety of hard wearing, low maintenance and comfortable materials reading about a possible cure for cancer on the internet as my personal mobile phone rang I have to admit that we aren't far off a version of the future envisaged by Arthur C. Clarke and his co-sci-fi writers. The flying car, however, is still grounded. But it has heated seats and cruise control so it isn't too bad.
People, we live in interesting times. Remember back to school history lessons where we learnt about things like the industrial revolution, the renaissance, the invasion of Viking hordes, the Great Depression and the coming of the telephone, the aeroplane or the railway. We live in times equally as fearsome for their technological advancement, and maybe we haven't noticed. It's easy to miss when you are exposed to change slowly on a day to day basis.
I remember a world before mobile phones, home computers and the internet. It wasn't all that long ago. It may seem like forever, but in the late 1990s the internet wasn't used for online shopping or downloading films and music. It was in some respects more of a novelty that didn't take off until ADSL broadband turned up and kicked sand in the eyes of all those 33.6 baud modems. To the younger generation: you haven't suffered until you have tried to download something important using a modem on a crackly phone line. In hell, the internet will be accessed via modem, and will be made of Flash animations and bandwidth eating pop-ups that you cannot block.
The rise of the internet alone is more significant to human history than the rise of the telephone, or even the coming of the railways. Look at how much it has changed, so radically and so quickly. We can now buy everything from our home and - in some cases like film, music and software - have it delivered instantly through a tiny cable. We can communicate with anyone around the globe without paying through the nose for it. We can even transfer huge amounts of information by the same way. Back in even the 1990s communication with overseas relatives was done with the Christmas day phone call via a crackly landline that cost a staggering £5 per minute to make. No wonder we never talked much. Now a good deal of the people I talk to every day live overseas yet I can video call them just like that in real time.
In the news recently is word that cancer may be on the verge of being cured. It is strange to think that in time this serious illness that is terminal for so many could be cured by nothing more than a course of tablets. Far fetched? Well remember this: Black Death, which killed around a fifth of the population of Europe, can now be cured by a simple course of penicillin tablets. In time maybe Cancer will be viewed as the Black Death of the 20th Century. It is amazing.
With all the stock markets in flux and commodity prices and inflation going through the roof, my parting comments will by mostly about the Great Depression and the 1926 General Strike and the Jarrow marchers. I didn't think it would take less than a century for the same shit to shaft us all twice at the hands of banker-wankers, but it has. History repeats itself because it seems that no-one in charge ever bothers listening. How true.
And finally, I see the Murdoch empire is starting to collapse. It is intriguing just how many enemies Murdoch and his cronies have made pissing people off through the various media outlets that he controls. They say when you climb the tree in business you should treat people well on the way up. Otherwise, when you fall they all take the chance to kick you to see how far you fall. Murdoch pissed a lot of people off, just like the Maxwells did a decade or more ago. There's a lot of people lining up to take a swing, and to be honest, it couldn't be happening to a more deserving bloke. Murdoch: you may feel free to sit on my raised middle digit and swivel for what you did to people I knew in my time in broadcasting.
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Debts, jobs and a new book on the way.
You may have noticed that my blogging has slipped. I hang my head in shame for this. But in my defence, I have been exceptionally busy; doing the day job for around 60 hours a week as well as co-ordinating the refurbishment and improvement of our new house.
So far the library/dining room (of how pretentious it sounds) is done, as is the kitchen, office and bathroom. The back bedroom required nothing, though the front bedroom has changed out of all proportion to that which looked at us with the sad hang-dog look of peeling wallpaper and chintz curtains. All that has gone; swept away to be replaced by crisp clean walls and fitted furniture. The only thing left to do is have the carpets done which comes some time next week.
We're having our house warming party on Saturday. Some might ask why we've left it a month and a half. However the reason is simple: we wanted to be able to show the house complete, done and dusted. We wanted to avoid at all costs a party whose guided tour of the new pad consisted of telling people over and over again "Ignore this; it's going" and "If you can imagine it, we're going to be doing X, Y and Z just as soon as we get around to it". In that matter, we have succeeded.
I suppose those who come on Saturday won't truly appreciate how far we have come in a month and a half. So much has changed, but in a way that I suppose that if you did not see it before you would just think "oh, that's nice" and move on to the next room. Zoë and I will be content in knowing that we've more than left our mark on this new house - and I'm not talking about all the holes we've drilled in the walls (well, those pictures and paintings won't put themselves up you know).
Consequently I haven't had the time to do any writing. However the next book - 'Twinkle little star' is moving ever closer to publication. I've seen the cover, and it looks fantastic. I have a little space cleared on my library shelves for my proofing copy - and there are a lot of shelves in here I can tell you! Fingers crossed that it does even better than 'Bringing home the stars' did. It has a high mountain to climb to do that, but I'm confident for it.
Back to work in the morning. I went back to the other job full-time, for now, because we want the mortgage paid off as soon as possible. I have to admit that after so long in front of the keyboard day-in, day-out it is nice to get out and travel the country again. It also earns a lot of extra cash which comes in handy. I'm a strange person who has never been in debt before until this mortgage came along. I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of a debt, but it was the only way. Up until now everything I have ever bought has been bought outright. Until the mortgage is cleared, it is a necessary evil and a means to an end.
So far the library/dining room (of how pretentious it sounds) is done, as is the kitchen, office and bathroom. The back bedroom required nothing, though the front bedroom has changed out of all proportion to that which looked at us with the sad hang-dog look of peeling wallpaper and chintz curtains. All that has gone; swept away to be replaced by crisp clean walls and fitted furniture. The only thing left to do is have the carpets done which comes some time next week.
We're having our house warming party on Saturday. Some might ask why we've left it a month and a half. However the reason is simple: we wanted to be able to show the house complete, done and dusted. We wanted to avoid at all costs a party whose guided tour of the new pad consisted of telling people over and over again "Ignore this; it's going" and "If you can imagine it, we're going to be doing X, Y and Z just as soon as we get around to it". In that matter, we have succeeded.
I suppose those who come on Saturday won't truly appreciate how far we have come in a month and a half. So much has changed, but in a way that I suppose that if you did not see it before you would just think "oh, that's nice" and move on to the next room. Zoë and I will be content in knowing that we've more than left our mark on this new house - and I'm not talking about all the holes we've drilled in the walls (well, those pictures and paintings won't put themselves up you know).
Consequently I haven't had the time to do any writing. However the next book - 'Twinkle little star' is moving ever closer to publication. I've seen the cover, and it looks fantastic. I have a little space cleared on my library shelves for my proofing copy - and there are a lot of shelves in here I can tell you! Fingers crossed that it does even better than 'Bringing home the stars' did. It has a high mountain to climb to do that, but I'm confident for it.
Back to work in the morning. I went back to the other job full-time, for now, because we want the mortgage paid off as soon as possible. I have to admit that after so long in front of the keyboard day-in, day-out it is nice to get out and travel the country again. It also earns a lot of extra cash which comes in handy. I'm a strange person who has never been in debt before until this mortgage came along. I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of a debt, but it was the only way. Up until now everything I have ever bought has been bought outright. Until the mortgage is cleared, it is a necessary evil and a means to an end.
Monday 4 July 2011
On the cost of old age.
Today I've been listening a great deal to talk about reforms of the costs of care for the old. The essence of what is being proposed is that the threshhold for getting free care may be raised from a paltry £23,000 to £100,000. It surprises me just how readily older people have been shafted up until now. It seems that those who have clearly paid a lot into the national pot over the years through taxes in order to accumulate assets and save up for their future are severely penalised as a result. Whereas those who have not bothered to save at all are rewarded at the end by not losing anything when it comes to paying for the care in their old age. Yes, I know that that is a somewhat simplistic way of expressing it, but there are a lot of people out there who worked hard to amass a future only to have that future stripmined out from under them and in some cases losing around 90% of their assets.
In my own experience I've seen one of my Grandmothers fall victim to this. The powers that be were quite happy to try and take as much as they could despite my Grandfather being alive and well (although old and registered blind). Luckily for him they had had the foresight to seperate their accounts some years before, and they were unable to take his assets; only hers. That didn't stop them trying though. A lot of old people wouldn't have been so strong and would have effectively been mugged by the state.
When you think of the lifetime of taxes that they contributed, it is somewhat scandalous. And there are so many other people in that position too. It is also something that cannot be insured against. Whilst we 'insure' against medical issues through the NHS, and insure our homes and property through other insurance schemes, we are all left at the mercy of old age and the costs that it will bring. I know that I would be furious to find that after a lifetime of paying taxes I would be expected to lose almost all of my assets over the last few years of my life. I have little doubt that many old people feel the same, as they spend their last months or years watching the state happily take everything material that was of value to them.
I strongly believe that it is about time the system changed. In a time of such austerity there may be those who question affording this. But I say that this was money that they were never entitled to, morally. If this country is to be pulled from bankruptcy, it must not be done by taking from the old and infirm.
In my own experience I've seen one of my Grandmothers fall victim to this. The powers that be were quite happy to try and take as much as they could despite my Grandfather being alive and well (although old and registered blind). Luckily for him they had had the foresight to seperate their accounts some years before, and they were unable to take his assets; only hers. That didn't stop them trying though. A lot of old people wouldn't have been so strong and would have effectively been mugged by the state.
When you think of the lifetime of taxes that they contributed, it is somewhat scandalous. And there are so many other people in that position too. It is also something that cannot be insured against. Whilst we 'insure' against medical issues through the NHS, and insure our homes and property through other insurance schemes, we are all left at the mercy of old age and the costs that it will bring. I know that I would be furious to find that after a lifetime of paying taxes I would be expected to lose almost all of my assets over the last few years of my life. I have little doubt that many old people feel the same, as they spend their last months or years watching the state happily take everything material that was of value to them.
I strongly believe that it is about time the system changed. In a time of such austerity there may be those who question affording this. But I say that this was money that they were never entitled to, morally. If this country is to be pulled from bankruptcy, it must not be done by taking from the old and infirm.
Sunday 3 July 2011
Sunburn and steam
I managed to get sunburnt yesterday whilst driving an Alfred Dodman steam traction engine that had just passed its first steam test. It was the first time the engine had moved under its own power.
Saturday 2 July 2011
"Stick it to the man"? I should coco.
I've been pondering the subject of the public sector strikes today, not least because of my own current and annoying dealings with public sector workers of late. My tax code has been messed up, and I currently pay 50% tax because of some nebulous "tax owed from a previous year" that Inland Revenue has failed on four occasions to explain and provide details of. Each time I telephone them, and explain patiently to the call centre drone that the amount of tax they claim I owe amounts to more than I have actually earned, gross, in the last four years. Each time they agree my PAYE amounts have been miscalculated by them, and each time they then fail to remedy it after promising me that it will be remedied.
These people who are mismanaging my tax affairs, are the same people that if the papers are to be believed have been exposed mismanaging the tax affairs of several million other people in this country. I am not alone. These people are also the same people who are anxious to protect their extremely generous pension deals, and the fact that they can retire a number of years earlier than the rest of us onto a pension deal far more generous than most of the rest of us.
It annoys me when I see so many posts on the internet - often from students - trying to rally support for striking public sector workers. I suppose it is always seen as the done thing for students and many of the low paid masses to "stick it to the man" at any opportunity. And when smug-face Cameron and his Liberal tea boy side-kick come on the box, I can see the attraction of sticking it to "the man". However, let us not forget that "the man" that is being stuck at, is in fact all of us as tax payers. Just think for a moment at what this is all about. What these public sector workers - the same incompetents who are mismanaging so many people's tax affairs, and similar incompetence in so many other government departments (see national papers' exposés every week for further details) - are actually whining about is the fact that they want you and me to continue to pay over the odds in NI and tax so that they can retire several years earlier than us with a pension deal far better than us that is all PAID FOR BY US. Just remember that the next time you feel like "sticking it to the man".
Maybe when the civil service delivers value for money and does a hard days work to match all the cleaners, plumbers, builders, bus drivers, call centre operatives and so on and so on, we might entertain paying some extra from our hard earned money for their privilege. But until we see that value for money from them, the public sector does not find favour at this door to skin me and all the other hard working citizens of this country to pay for their cushy retirement.
These people who are mismanaging my tax affairs, are the same people that if the papers are to be believed have been exposed mismanaging the tax affairs of several million other people in this country. I am not alone. These people are also the same people who are anxious to protect their extremely generous pension deals, and the fact that they can retire a number of years earlier than the rest of us onto a pension deal far more generous than most of the rest of us.
It annoys me when I see so many posts on the internet - often from students - trying to rally support for striking public sector workers. I suppose it is always seen as the done thing for students and many of the low paid masses to "stick it to the man" at any opportunity. And when smug-face Cameron and his Liberal tea boy side-kick come on the box, I can see the attraction of sticking it to "the man". However, let us not forget that "the man" that is being stuck at, is in fact all of us as tax payers. Just think for a moment at what this is all about. What these public sector workers - the same incompetents who are mismanaging so many people's tax affairs, and similar incompetence in so many other government departments (see national papers' exposés every week for further details) - are actually whining about is the fact that they want you and me to continue to pay over the odds in NI and tax so that they can retire several years earlier than us with a pension deal far better than us that is all PAID FOR BY US. Just remember that the next time you feel like "sticking it to the man".
Maybe when the civil service delivers value for money and does a hard days work to match all the cleaners, plumbers, builders, bus drivers, call centre operatives and so on and so on, we might entertain paying some extra from our hard earned money for their privilege. But until we see that value for money from them, the public sector does not find favour at this door to skin me and all the other hard working citizens of this country to pay for their cushy retirement.
Tuesday 28 June 2011
The rise of the electronic world
Today I found myself driving through Leicestershire listening to debate about the rise of ebooks being discussed on the radio. It is interesting that ebooks are like the unruly gatecrasher to the party, having been and trashed the music and film parties, it's doing the same for books. Given just how massive the market for ebooks has become, it left me wondering just what I think about the format and why it has become so successful so quickly.
My thoughts aren't entirely flattering. I value physical things, and got into computers in an age where copying things equated to bad and evil piracy (hoist the Jolly Roger, Jim lad!). I've never got over that, and rather resent the idea of paying money for something that does not even give me a physical disk in return. I also love sleeve artwork and liner notes too much. But it seems that I am very much in a minority as most people have become conditioned to accept first their music and then later film and television in this format.
Now that format has reached books, and I have little doubt that these same people will take up ebooks in the same way they took up digital downloads. Why ever not? It's no great leap from one to the other than they have already proven that they don't mind doing things digitally. Of course, people like me who still buy LPs of music for that tactile analogue experience, and get their films and 80s TV box sets on DVD the paper book will never die. But I feel that I'll become a minority with them too.
This digital revolution has democratised publishing of all sorts. Gone are the days when the record industry, film industry and now publishing industry could act as gate keepers and pick and choose what they made available and who they elevated to super-stardom. Now anyone can easily get their work out there. In a lot of cases some people, turned down by the conventional companies and outlets, have stuck up a raised middle digit and done it themselves to such success that they have highlighted the old school dinosaurs as on their way to extinction. It's exciting, and at the same time a little strange.
I don't think paper books will ever truly die; records didn't. What I don't want to see is the price of books go through the roof as they become "trendy collectable items" in the manner that LPs went. I refuse to pay £30 for a vinyl copy of a Radiohead album, and in the same vein I would refuse to be ripped off to the tune of £30 just for the privilege of having a book that doesn't fade when the power does. Still, what do I know? I'm just the old fuddy-duddy with a gramophone on my desk.
My thoughts aren't entirely flattering. I value physical things, and got into computers in an age where copying things equated to bad and evil piracy (hoist the Jolly Roger, Jim lad!). I've never got over that, and rather resent the idea of paying money for something that does not even give me a physical disk in return. I also love sleeve artwork and liner notes too much. But it seems that I am very much in a minority as most people have become conditioned to accept first their music and then later film and television in this format.
Now that format has reached books, and I have little doubt that these same people will take up ebooks in the same way they took up digital downloads. Why ever not? It's no great leap from one to the other than they have already proven that they don't mind doing things digitally. Of course, people like me who still buy LPs of music for that tactile analogue experience, and get their films and 80s TV box sets on DVD the paper book will never die. But I feel that I'll become a minority with them too.
This digital revolution has democratised publishing of all sorts. Gone are the days when the record industry, film industry and now publishing industry could act as gate keepers and pick and choose what they made available and who they elevated to super-stardom. Now anyone can easily get their work out there. In a lot of cases some people, turned down by the conventional companies and outlets, have stuck up a raised middle digit and done it themselves to such success that they have highlighted the old school dinosaurs as on their way to extinction. It's exciting, and at the same time a little strange.
I don't think paper books will ever truly die; records didn't. What I don't want to see is the price of books go through the roof as they become "trendy collectable items" in the manner that LPs went. I refuse to pay £30 for a vinyl copy of a Radiohead album, and in the same vein I would refuse to be ripped off to the tune of £30 just for the privilege of having a book that doesn't fade when the power does. Still, what do I know? I'm just the old fuddy-duddy with a gramophone on my desk.
Wednesday 22 June 2011
On the screen or on the page?
It has been something of a busy few weeks. Apparently, moving house is the easy bit! We now have to pay for this little castle. Consequently I'm doing a lot of overtime at the day job, which in turn means very little time to spend blogging or on the internet. I have to say, I haven't missed it. I have had a lot of time though for mulling over new plot ideas which, as a writer, is a good thing.
Sales figures for 'Bringing home the stars' have slowed a little as the recession has kicked in. Waterstone's branches I've been into to sign at have been reporting a fall off in trade in general, and this can in part be attributed to the recession. According to a report by Amazon, however, some of the drop can also be laid firmly at the door of the rise of the eBook phenomenon. I've blogged before about how eBooks seem to have exploded onto the scene this year following what appears to be the readers having been hot Christmas presents for a lot of people at the end of 2010. 'Stars' is selling well on the ereader formats, so I'm getting my little slice. It isn't as satisfying as paper copies shifting though.
Finally, the spell checker in Google's Chrome browser does not natively recognise the words 'blogging' 'blogged' or 'blogger' - what kind of an oversight is this?
Sales figures for 'Bringing home the stars' have slowed a little as the recession has kicked in. Waterstone's branches I've been into to sign at have been reporting a fall off in trade in general, and this can in part be attributed to the recession. According to a report by Amazon, however, some of the drop can also be laid firmly at the door of the rise of the eBook phenomenon. I've blogged before about how eBooks seem to have exploded onto the scene this year following what appears to be the readers having been hot Christmas presents for a lot of people at the end of 2010. 'Stars' is selling well on the ereader formats, so I'm getting my little slice. It isn't as satisfying as paper copies shifting though.
Finally, the spell checker in Google's Chrome browser does not natively recognise the words 'blogging' 'blogged' or 'blogger' - what kind of an oversight is this?
Friday 17 June 2011
Tuesday 14 June 2011
Freshly baked bread on the breeze.
We live within sniffing distance of not one, but two bakeries. Just over the railway line is the Warburtons Variety plant on Union road that makes all the fruit loaves and tea cakes.It's rather a nice smell to get on the breeze every time the wind comes this way.
Saturday 11 June 2011
Where the house is up to, a trip to Scotland and the Derby signing in a week.
You may have all noticed that my blog posts have become more infrequent than usual. Rest assured that this is simply the product of a house move and the associated building and decorating work that I've been busying myself with. In the last ten days we've added an extra room (by adding a stud partition wall where there had been one in the distant past to recreate the old third bedroom. That introduced a lot of mess, and the need for a lot of decoration. Most of this is now in, and Zoë is moved into her new office.
I let her pick the colour she wanted the walls. Trust her to specifically pick a shade of green that cunningly works as a green screen for doing background effects to her vlog! It actually looks quite nice in the flesh too; especially now the room is fitted out with furniture and her stuff. Hopefully tomorrow whilst I'm away in Scotland on work related travels, she will finish unpacking all the boxes that contain her office stuff that are strewn about the house.
Energy efficiency is something I've mentioned before. With rises in gas and electricity costs a regular occurrence, it makes sense. With this house being the first that I've ever owned, I wanted to make a real effort to head it up the energy efficiency charts towards the holy grail of a category 'A' house. Most people will be familair with the banding system. Any new fridge or freezer will be a good example as they all come with the little banding sticker telling you where the device fits in on the efficiency bands.
For houses category 'C' seems to be average, and the vast majority of properties fall somewhere here. This one was at the very top end of 'D' - somewhat poorer - because of a few easily rectifiable things. All of the easy to do things have been done including adding cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and changing the 100Watt bulbs that were everywhere for far more modest 11Watt energy savers (don't ask - we bought the house from old people who seemed to like BRIGHT!!!). According to the energy efficiency report this should shift us to the top end of 'C'. I want to achieve 'B' rating by the winter, and a new roof (with insulation) above the large lounge bay window will go a long way towards that. I have never seen a house that managed 'A' in the flesh, but I suspect that for a house built in 1927 that would be a very tall order. Still 'B' will be a good target to aim for. When the new boiler and radiators are done, maybe we will go some way to getting there.
Bed beckons as a 2:00am start in the morning will see me on my way to Livingston. On a book-related subject, don't forget the Waterstone's signing that I'm doing at the Derby branch in a week's time. See you there!
I let her pick the colour she wanted the walls. Trust her to specifically pick a shade of green that cunningly works as a green screen for doing background effects to her vlog! It actually looks quite nice in the flesh too; especially now the room is fitted out with furniture and her stuff. Hopefully tomorrow whilst I'm away in Scotland on work related travels, she will finish unpacking all the boxes that contain her office stuff that are strewn about the house.
Energy efficiency is something I've mentioned before. With rises in gas and electricity costs a regular occurrence, it makes sense. With this house being the first that I've ever owned, I wanted to make a real effort to head it up the energy efficiency charts towards the holy grail of a category 'A' house. Most people will be familair with the banding system. Any new fridge or freezer will be a good example as they all come with the little banding sticker telling you where the device fits in on the efficiency bands.
For houses category 'C' seems to be average, and the vast majority of properties fall somewhere here. This one was at the very top end of 'D' - somewhat poorer - because of a few easily rectifiable things. All of the easy to do things have been done including adding cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and changing the 100Watt bulbs that were everywhere for far more modest 11Watt energy savers (don't ask - we bought the house from old people who seemed to like BRIGHT!!!). According to the energy efficiency report this should shift us to the top end of 'C'. I want to achieve 'B' rating by the winter, and a new roof (with insulation) above the large lounge bay window will go a long way towards that. I have never seen a house that managed 'A' in the flesh, but I suspect that for a house built in 1927 that would be a very tall order. Still 'B' will be a good target to aim for. When the new boiler and radiators are done, maybe we will go some way to getting there.
Bed beckons as a 2:00am start in the morning will see me on my way to Livingston. On a book-related subject, don't forget the Waterstone's signing that I'm doing at the Derby branch in a week's time. See you there!
Tuesday 7 June 2011
That wall's all wet.
The plasterer has gone, and the walls are all done upstairs. Now comes the waiting game before we get the wallpaper on the other three walls stripped and get painting. If only moving into an office could be more simple? But it isn't. Still, it will be a lovely new environment for Zoë with lots of hard-wired power sockets (every modern office needs plenty of these) and a hardwired LAN (capable of up to Gigabit speeds) because I hate wires trailing everywhere.
Surprisingly we've come in under budget, so I'll put whatever is left towards decorating stuff. That'll be a new frontier for us both. I know the theory behind this decorating thing I've heard so much about, but the practical side might be a little different. We'll both find out for certain later on in the week!
Surprisingly we've come in under budget, so I'll put whatever is left towards decorating stuff. That'll be a new frontier for us both. I know the theory behind this decorating thing I've heard so much about, but the practical side might be a little different. We'll both find out for certain later on in the week!
Finally settling in under the hammering of many different contractors all at once.
I've finally got the internet back properly! The electrician ran the ethernet cables along under the floors and through the ceilings so that we have a hard-wired LAN in the house to each room. It seems to be working all right.
Moving house continues to be stressful with the steady procession of contractors passing through. You all know me by now to be an OCD neat freak perfectionist, so it should come as no surprise to learn that I am not comfortable until I've got this new house just as we want it. We've had Zoë's office put in, and the plasterers are plastering the walls as I type. By Thursday with the dehumidifier in there we'll be ready to decorate it then it's a big go for moving her stuff in over the weekend. That will clear out a lot of the boxes from elsewhere in the house.
Next I have to arrange for a joiner to do a fitted wardrobe in the main bedroom and shelving in what will become the library/dining room. 'Library?' I can almost feel you thinking. Well, yes. We have so many books and the dining room is so large that we decided "what the hell" and are going to shelve a lot of the walls. Still, it saves us from having to decorate the room.
After all that the builder will be back after his holidays to put a pitched roof over the front bay window, and add a porch there too. Then there's a drive to go in at the front and a carport to go at the side. Ultimately there will also be a new extension at the back, as well as a conservatory, but now we're talking about plans for next year and the year after.
Does it all feel like home? Yes, it certainly does. Despite all the stresses of the move and the work being done, neither of us would ever want to go back to rent-a-hell that was the succession of dodgy rented homes. If I drill a hole in this wall, at least it is MY wall to drill a hole into!
Moving house continues to be stressful with the steady procession of contractors passing through. You all know me by now to be an OCD neat freak perfectionist, so it should come as no surprise to learn that I am not comfortable until I've got this new house just as we want it. We've had Zoë's office put in, and the plasterers are plastering the walls as I type. By Thursday with the dehumidifier in there we'll be ready to decorate it then it's a big go for moving her stuff in over the weekend. That will clear out a lot of the boxes from elsewhere in the house.
Next I have to arrange for a joiner to do a fitted wardrobe in the main bedroom and shelving in what will become the library/dining room. 'Library?' I can almost feel you thinking. Well, yes. We have so many books and the dining room is so large that we decided "what the hell" and are going to shelve a lot of the walls. Still, it saves us from having to decorate the room.
After all that the builder will be back after his holidays to put a pitched roof over the front bay window, and add a porch there too. Then there's a drive to go in at the front and a carport to go at the side. Ultimately there will also be a new extension at the back, as well as a conservatory, but now we're talking about plans for next year and the year after.
Does it all feel like home? Yes, it certainly does. Despite all the stresses of the move and the work being done, neither of us would ever want to go back to rent-a-hell that was the succession of dodgy rented homes. If I drill a hole in this wall, at least it is MY wall to drill a hole into!
Saturday 4 June 2011
A shed roof, leaky internet and a book signing in Knutsford.
I've been offline a lot in the past few days because of internet failure (I think the cable that gets it to this house sprang a leak). However we're back, but very busy. This homeowner malarky is very time consuming! Yesterday I did my first proper bit of homeowner DIY - I replaced the shed roof. Just in time too, as it came on to rain just after I finished.
Today I shall be in Knutsford, signing copies of 'Bringing home the stars' at the Waterstone's branch. See you there!
Today I shall be in Knutsford, signing copies of 'Bringing home the stars' at the Waterstone's branch. See you there!
Friday 3 June 2011
Notes from beyond the house move.
I apologise for the lack of blogging of late. In my defence I have just moved house! The internet is in but the LAN isn't, and won't be until the new office wall goes in on Monday. But we're getting there, even if it does mean that we're surrounded by mountains of boxes!
We had a very successful move, despite Fate's best efforts. The keys were delayed in being released, followed by the removal van breaking down on the morning before it could make the first trip; it held the important furniture that was all supposed to go into the house first. As a result we ended up moving in a jumble and my organised strategies were defenestrated (pushed out of the window). When I came to move my car across it was loaded with boxes of records until it creaked. I was also hitched to my boat on a trailer. Can you guess yet when I had my first flat tyre in years? I had to unload the boot (no mean feat) and the jack positively groaned when jacking the car up because of the extra weight.
I also had to intercept and scrub some furniture as it came because of the dreaded mould issues that we had in the last house. This house is much drier and better but I didn't want to take a chance on transplanting black mould from the last place. That house has been condemned because of it. No-one is allowed to live there until the Landlord has rectified all the issues to an approved standard and the work is inspected. Karma there at least for all the repairs he neglected whilst happily taking our rent money. Here we own the place outright.
I have to admit that owning my own home feels great. There is a difference in feeling about it, and I like it! Of course, I have to get into this DIY house maintenance and improvement bandwagon but then as the Landlord didn't do basic repairs I had to, so I already know how to do some things. Today's jobs though include weeding the garden - we have three to weed. After that I have to go into the loft to remove boarding so that the people coming on Monday to insulate the house can lay the stuff (I'm told they aren't allowed to put it straight over floorboards for some as yet unexplained reason). That makes Monday a busy day, with the builders dividing up a room to create the new office. Still, probably best to get it all done there and then.
And finally, if ever there was any doubts that black mould poisoning was the cause of our illnesses and tiredness, that is now proven. We are getting great nights' sleep and are seeming to manage refreshed on barely five hours a night - just like old times. I have not felt this good since before we moved into the last house.
As a final endnote I shall be doing a book signing for 'Bringing home the stars' at the Waterstone's in Knutsford on Sunday (NOT Saturday) so if you want to come down and meet me and get a book signed it will be a golden opportunity. After this there is only one more signing in Derby that is booked on the signing trail. After that I will try and take a break before the next book comes out and the signing trail starts all over again; probably at the end of August this year.
We had a very successful move, despite Fate's best efforts. The keys were delayed in being released, followed by the removal van breaking down on the morning before it could make the first trip; it held the important furniture that was all supposed to go into the house first. As a result we ended up moving in a jumble and my organised strategies were defenestrated (pushed out of the window). When I came to move my car across it was loaded with boxes of records until it creaked. I was also hitched to my boat on a trailer. Can you guess yet when I had my first flat tyre in years? I had to unload the boot (no mean feat) and the jack positively groaned when jacking the car up because of the extra weight.
I also had to intercept and scrub some furniture as it came because of the dreaded mould issues that we had in the last house. This house is much drier and better but I didn't want to take a chance on transplanting black mould from the last place. That house has been condemned because of it. No-one is allowed to live there until the Landlord has rectified all the issues to an approved standard and the work is inspected. Karma there at least for all the repairs he neglected whilst happily taking our rent money. Here we own the place outright.
I have to admit that owning my own home feels great. There is a difference in feeling about it, and I like it! Of course, I have to get into this DIY house maintenance and improvement bandwagon but then as the Landlord didn't do basic repairs I had to, so I already know how to do some things. Today's jobs though include weeding the garden - we have three to weed. After that I have to go into the loft to remove boarding so that the people coming on Monday to insulate the house can lay the stuff (I'm told they aren't allowed to put it straight over floorboards for some as yet unexplained reason). That makes Monday a busy day, with the builders dividing up a room to create the new office. Still, probably best to get it all done there and then.
And finally, if ever there was any doubts that black mould poisoning was the cause of our illnesses and tiredness, that is now proven. We are getting great nights' sleep and are seeming to manage refreshed on barely five hours a night - just like old times. I have not felt this good since before we moved into the last house.
As a final endnote I shall be doing a book signing for 'Bringing home the stars' at the Waterstone's in Knutsford on Sunday (NOT Saturday) so if you want to come down and meet me and get a book signed it will be a golden opportunity. After this there is only one more signing in Derby that is booked on the signing trail. After that I will try and take a break before the next book comes out and the signing trail starts all over again; probably at the end of August this year.
Sunday 29 May 2011
Now there's a sight.
Today will mostly be spent watching the Monaco Grand Prix, after having taken an old mattress to the dump.
We have no van, and the only trailer has a boat on it. Ingenuity will see a mattress in the Bolton area strapped to the top of a boat on a trailer.
We have no van, and the only trailer has a boat on it. Ingenuity will see a mattress in the Bolton area strapped to the top of a boat on a trailer.
Saturday 28 May 2011
Post Stockport signing and Knutsford signing this coming Sunday.
It's been such a busy week between packing the house up and work that I haven't blogged everything that I probably should. It was the Stockport signing today, and in my haste I completely forgot to announce it! Silly me. I did still get a lot of people come though (some of you must be checking the website, which is good). However the Waterstone's in Stockport asked me to sign up a load of copies at the end, so these are available on a first come first served basis from the shop.
In case events overtake me and I forget to blog about it (the house move is on Tuesday) the next book signing event where you can come and meet me and get a personalised signed copy of 'Bringing home the stars' is at the Knutsford branch of Waterstone's in a break from the usual formula, I will be there on the coming Sunday which is the 5th of June. I believe that I am scheduled to do 11:00am to 3:00pm. I don't often do signings on a Sunday, though I did do one at the Metrocentre and at Darlington which were successful. I look forward to seeing people there!
In case events overtake me and I forget to blog about it (the house move is on Tuesday) the next book signing event where you can come and meet me and get a personalised signed copy of 'Bringing home the stars' is at the Knutsford branch of Waterstone's in a break from the usual formula, I will be there on the coming Sunday which is the 5th of June. I believe that I am scheduled to do 11:00am to 3:00pm. I don't often do signings on a Sunday, though I did do one at the Metrocentre and at Darlington which were successful. I look forward to seeing people there!
Friday 20 May 2011
Signing in Hanley today
I shall be mostly signing copies of my book, "Bringing home the stars", in Waterstone's in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent today.
Thursday 19 May 2011
The Gay Dolphin adventure.
Now I have your attention...
I've just been packing up stuff for an impending house move in a week and a half's time. Amongst my many, many books I rediscovered a first edition copy of a book called "The Gay dolphin adventure" by Malcolm Saville. I have first editions of all of the first three 'Lone Pine' adventures. Interestingly they are amongst the ones in the set that seem to be out of print.
I doubt we'll be seeing the days of children's books with 'gay' in the title for a while. Of course, back then it was a common word for 'happy'. Just quite how happy the dolphin was I really don't know*.
*Yes, I am aware that the book is named after the inn in the story.
I've just been packing up stuff for an impending house move in a week and a half's time. Amongst my many, many books I rediscovered a first edition copy of a book called "The Gay dolphin adventure" by Malcolm Saville. I have first editions of all of the first three 'Lone Pine' adventures. Interestingly they are amongst the ones in the set that seem to be out of print.
I doubt we'll be seeing the days of children's books with 'gay' in the title for a while. Of course, back then it was a common word for 'happy'. Just quite how happy the dolphin was I really don't know*.
*Yes, I am aware that the book is named after the inn in the story.
Wednesday 18 May 2011
Hanley Waterstone's book signing.
Just to let you all know that I will be at the Waterston's in Hanley (part of Stoke-on-Trent) on this Saturday (21st of May). I look forward to seeing people there!
Rain stops play.
It's been a stressful week, and it continues to be so which explains the huge drop off in blogging posts. Suffice to say that we are in the last week of an odyssey into fail that has been the process of buying our first house. It sin't our epic fail, but a catalogue of delays and problems not of our making. This in turn has made it a very stressful experience, and both of us have suffered.
Before we embarked on this I was told that buying a house is the most stressful thing that the average person will ever do in their lives. They weren't kidding. Actually, they forget to emphasise the stress part.
So blog posts may be thin on the ground until we move at the end of this moth and get ourselves sorted. Normal service should hopefully then resume.
Before we embarked on this I was told that buying a house is the most stressful thing that the average person will ever do in their lives. They weren't kidding. Actually, they forget to emphasise the stress part.
So blog posts may be thin on the ground until we move at the end of this moth and get ourselves sorted. Normal service should hopefully then resume.
Tuesday 10 May 2011
Break in; break out.
In a break from normality the car passed its MOT first time without even acquiring any advisory notices. I also had a very interesting philosophical discussion about politics with a gentleman whilst waiting for it to be done, so win-win there.
Last night I had an interesting experience in getting locked out of the vehicle I was driving after having pulled in to check something. I shut the door, and the central locking decided that this was of course a brilliant time to lock the vehicle... with the keys in the ignition and the engine running. It is a known fault with Scania R420 lorries, but that was no consolation as I ended up using a passing Policeman's tyre iron to smash out a side window. There's something quite ironic about breaking into a vehicle whilst a Policeman stands chuckling. It is intersting to note that automotive safety glass breaks with alarming ease. However, I ended up back on the road after only an hour's delay.
This morning I've dropped off requested paperwork with the solicitor. Hopefully by the end of next week we'll get a better idea of how long this whole process will take; I'm looking forward to being in the new house! (As I think anyone else would be in the same situation).
Last night I had an interesting experience in getting locked out of the vehicle I was driving after having pulled in to check something. I shut the door, and the central locking decided that this was of course a brilliant time to lock the vehicle... with the keys in the ignition and the engine running. It is a known fault with Scania R420 lorries, but that was no consolation as I ended up using a passing Policeman's tyre iron to smash out a side window. There's something quite ironic about breaking into a vehicle whilst a Policeman stands chuckling. It is intersting to note that automotive safety glass breaks with alarming ease. However, I ended up back on the road after only an hour's delay.
This morning I've dropped off requested paperwork with the solicitor. Hopefully by the end of next week we'll get a better idea of how long this whole process will take; I'm looking forward to being in the new house! (As I think anyone else would be in the same situation).
Monday 9 May 2011
Blood, sweat and oil.
Car cleaned and pre-MOT serviced. Basically, that means I've dipped the oil, topped it up as well as topping up the coolant and screen wash. I've also given the thing its yearly wash, because I suspect that if the car looks well cared for, they are less likely to look quite as hard at things.
The other big job I've done is rotate the tyres. "But the rotate every time you move it!" I hear you cry. Actually, rotating the tyres is something else. Essentially I moved the front wheels to the backs and vice versa. It's a tiring job to change four wheels on a car! Especially when the mechanic who refitted both rear wheels a couple of weeks ago went a bit gung-ho with his Wayne's-World air gun. Hopefully this will even out tyre wear, as the Volvo 850 is very kind to its rear tyres, but not quite so kind to the fronts. I had Pirelli branded tyres on the backs, but budget ones on the front. The problem I have found with budget tyres is that they wear out far too quickly - the rubber is nowhere near as durable as the big-name tyre company tyres. So rather than let the budget tyres run out in the next year, I've moved them to the back and let the quality rubber hit the road at the front. That should stave off the MOT advisory note I got every year about the previous tyres (Michelins) which actually managed a startling 50,000+ miles over seven years and were 'almost worn out' for the last three years because I do such a low mileage and they were on the back.
Exhaust and front wishbone related bills are still firm favourites for MOT fails. I'm wondering if I get considered a cash cow at times by garages? Still, I've looked quite closely behind the wheels this year so I know exactly what is there and what condition it looks in - it's nice to be prepared.
The other big job I've done is rotate the tyres. "But the rotate every time you move it!" I hear you cry. Actually, rotating the tyres is something else. Essentially I moved the front wheels to the backs and vice versa. It's a tiring job to change four wheels on a car! Especially when the mechanic who refitted both rear wheels a couple of weeks ago went a bit gung-ho with his Wayne's-World air gun. Hopefully this will even out tyre wear, as the Volvo 850 is very kind to its rear tyres, but not quite so kind to the fronts. I had Pirelli branded tyres on the backs, but budget ones on the front. The problem I have found with budget tyres is that they wear out far too quickly - the rubber is nowhere near as durable as the big-name tyre company tyres. So rather than let the budget tyres run out in the next year, I've moved them to the back and let the quality rubber hit the road at the front. That should stave off the MOT advisory note I got every year about the previous tyres (Michelins) which actually managed a startling 50,000+ miles over seven years and were 'almost worn out' for the last three years because I do such a low mileage and they were on the back.
Exhaust and front wishbone related bills are still firm favourites for MOT fails. I'm wondering if I get considered a cash cow at times by garages? Still, I've looked quite closely behind the wheels this year so I know exactly what is there and what condition it looks in - it's nice to be prepared.
Sunday 8 May 2011
A little automotive housekeeping.
I must remember to get the car MOTed this week. I wonder what novel-yet-expensive fault will develop on the way to the test centre this year? I've pre-empted the usual alleged abrasiveness of the road between here and the test centre by replacing my tyres a few weeks ago. I thing either exhaust or front wishbones are the favourite as the garage hasn't tried stinging me for them for a while.
I drive an old car, for reasons that centre around not buying into the environmental BS surrounding "replacing an older car with a newer fuel efficient car helps the environment". No it doesn't. Why? Because the pollution and carbon footprint of making a car would require that car to be run on average yearly mileage for around five decades in order for exhaust emissions to equal manufacturing pollution. It would take me a century to recoup the cost of buying a new car from fuel savings too.
At 185,000 miles on the clock there's still life left in the old girl. It actually passes the emissions test by a very clear margin each year and is well within the limits they allow for it. Driven for economy, a very healthy 41mpg can be achieved, which is still comparable for a new car of its size and comfort. As long as work required at the MOT doesn't radically exceed its nominal value, I would still rather get it repaired than scrap it and enter into an epic odyssey into the unknown of buying a newer vehicle. I know the history of my 1996 vintage Volvo brick, and know that she hasn't been raced, rallied or thrashed into the ground by any of the three previous owners. She also has the advantage that she possesses on board not too much electronic gizmos, so there is much less to go wrong than on a new vehicle.
I notice out on the roads I am not alone sharing these feelings about old cars. I still see a reasonable proportion of vehicles out there that are a similar age or older. Today I witnessed an E-reg Volvo 740 (1987-8) which took me back as my first car was an F-reg Volvo 740. That little hawk was a few thousand miles shy of quarter of a million when I sold it on, and the engine was still as good as the day it left the factory somewhere in Belgium.
I do still hanker for the occasional years where nothing needs doing at an MOT. Given that over the last year I have replaced the radiator, front brake hoses, left side front calliper and two rear tyres, I may just be in with a shout this year. Then again, the cynic in me knows the little Swedish beast will find something to fail on; it's at that kind of age and mileage.
I drive an old car, for reasons that centre around not buying into the environmental BS surrounding "replacing an older car with a newer fuel efficient car helps the environment". No it doesn't. Why? Because the pollution and carbon footprint of making a car would require that car to be run on average yearly mileage for around five decades in order for exhaust emissions to equal manufacturing pollution. It would take me a century to recoup the cost of buying a new car from fuel savings too.
At 185,000 miles on the clock there's still life left in the old girl. It actually passes the emissions test by a very clear margin each year and is well within the limits they allow for it. Driven for economy, a very healthy 41mpg can be achieved, which is still comparable for a new car of its size and comfort. As long as work required at the MOT doesn't radically exceed its nominal value, I would still rather get it repaired than scrap it and enter into an epic odyssey into the unknown of buying a newer vehicle. I know the history of my 1996 vintage Volvo brick, and know that she hasn't been raced, rallied or thrashed into the ground by any of the three previous owners. She also has the advantage that she possesses on board not too much electronic gizmos, so there is much less to go wrong than on a new vehicle.
I notice out on the roads I am not alone sharing these feelings about old cars. I still see a reasonable proportion of vehicles out there that are a similar age or older. Today I witnessed an E-reg Volvo 740 (1987-8) which took me back as my first car was an F-reg Volvo 740. That little hawk was a few thousand miles shy of quarter of a million when I sold it on, and the engine was still as good as the day it left the factory somewhere in Belgium.
I do still hanker for the occasional years where nothing needs doing at an MOT. Given that over the last year I have replaced the radiator, front brake hoses, left side front calliper and two rear tyres, I may just be in with a shout this year. Then again, the cynic in me knows the little Swedish beast will find something to fail on; it's at that kind of age and mileage.
Saturday 7 May 2011
Fire, fun and frolics!
Good news yesterday in that the mortgage saga that has been dragging on for months finally came to completion. We now have a mortgage approved officially, and we can move onto the next step of buying a house which is the solicitor stage. I've impressed upon them the need for speed, as we need to be away from this house by the end of the month as that's when the lease runs out. We actually walked into Bolton to the solicitors to show our documents and to pay to speed up the process as much as we could. Fingers crossed that we'll be in the new house by the end of the month!
Yesterday Zoe and I witnessed a massive fire in Bolton. By all accounts an MOT garage and attached office block caught fire. I doubt there is much left now as I've never seen a building fire so intense. I feel really sorry for the people who, according to Google street view, had houses adjoining the site. Strangely there is very little about the fire online, despite the fact that some thirty firefighters and many engines were in attendance. They even had to lay a hose all the way to a nearby river because of a lack of water. Zoe got some videos for posterity, and these are on her Youtube page.
Given the amount of rain that has arrived here in Bolton, I think we managed to get the trip away to Windermere judged just right. It's just a shame that we couldn't have had the Easter weekend too because of the gas issue (or more accurately - the hole that wasn't filled in by them in time). Still, we got there in the end.
Yesterday Zoe and I witnessed a massive fire in Bolton. By all accounts an MOT garage and attached office block caught fire. I doubt there is much left now as I've never seen a building fire so intense. I feel really sorry for the people who, according to Google street view, had houses adjoining the site. Strangely there is very little about the fire online, despite the fact that some thirty firefighters and many engines were in attendance. They even had to lay a hose all the way to a nearby river because of a lack of water. Zoe got some videos for posterity, and these are on her Youtube page.
Given the amount of rain that has arrived here in Bolton, I think we managed to get the trip away to Windermere judged just right. It's just a shame that we couldn't have had the Easter weekend too because of the gas issue (or more accurately - the hole that wasn't filled in by them in time). Still, we got there in the end.
Thursday 5 May 2011
Sailing at Windermere.
I have just returned from a three day sailing trip to Lake Windermere. We are nicely sunburnt and there were no problems with the boat; it performed faultlessly. Though a fault was discovered with the organic components holding the ropes and tiller that can be explained by lack of sailing knowledge ;)
Friday 29 April 2011
Weddings and a signing in Chester.
Everyone spare a thought today for all those people who got married after having planned their big day months or even years in advance of the one wedding that hogged the limelight. I raise a glass of champagne for you all.
In other news don't forget that tomorrow I will be at Waterstone's in Chester signing copies of 'Bringing home the stars'!
In other news don't forget that tomorrow I will be at Waterstone's in Chester signing copies of 'Bringing home the stars'!
Friday 22 April 2011
When it rains it pours.
One of those curious things I find is that whenever I sneeze, I can smell beeswax polish for a few seconds immediately afterwards. This pretty much always happens, and is regardless of where I am or whatever I am around. I have no explanation for this phenomenon.
The car decided to pop late yesterday evening. Well, doesn't it just pick its moments leading into the Easter weekend where no-one anywhere seems to work). The bottom hose on the radiator was having a wee on the drive after I got back from picking my parents up from the airport. On closer inspection this appears to be caused by a crack in the mounting for the pipe right up against the radiator. Or to put it another way: the radiator which was fitted brand new less than six months ago is defective. That of course means it is a warrenty repair. However, can I actually get hold of the garage that did the work? No. It seems that they have decided to take Easter Friday off.
The legal beagles amongst you will therefore have come to a similar conclusion to me. Namely that I have taken every step to contact them to rectify the defect, and as they are unavailable I have no choice but to either hire a car for the weekend (it would need a towbar to allow for taking the boat up to Windermere, which had been initially planned for today) and let the garage pick up the hire cost. The other option would be to have the car repaired at another garage and pass on the cost, however the original garage would probably then argue that in not having seen the defect, they were challenging that it ever existed. So it looks like the hire option.
Trouble came in threes yesterday, including the fact that the contractors for the gas supplier had managed to maroon my boat behind a pile of Earth despite my frequent phone calls to their office and their assurances that it would be put right. They didn't, and I was left speaking to some poor bloke in Sheffield on the phone at 9:00pm who could not get hold of anyone because they had all disappeared home for Easter until Tuesday. First thing Tuesday morning though some bottoms are going to be kicked, because that's one big hole I have to fill in, and one heavy boat and trailer to drag out of the bushes and back onto the concrete yard surface. If I physically can on my own.
What was the third calamity I hear you ask? Well, that was mortgage related.
The car decided to pop late yesterday evening. Well, doesn't it just pick its moments leading into the Easter weekend where no-one anywhere seems to work). The bottom hose on the radiator was having a wee on the drive after I got back from picking my parents up from the airport. On closer inspection this appears to be caused by a crack in the mounting for the pipe right up against the radiator. Or to put it another way: the radiator which was fitted brand new less than six months ago is defective. That of course means it is a warrenty repair. However, can I actually get hold of the garage that did the work? No. It seems that they have decided to take Easter Friday off.
The legal beagles amongst you will therefore have come to a similar conclusion to me. Namely that I have taken every step to contact them to rectify the defect, and as they are unavailable I have no choice but to either hire a car for the weekend (it would need a towbar to allow for taking the boat up to Windermere, which had been initially planned for today) and let the garage pick up the hire cost. The other option would be to have the car repaired at another garage and pass on the cost, however the original garage would probably then argue that in not having seen the defect, they were challenging that it ever existed. So it looks like the hire option.
Trouble came in threes yesterday, including the fact that the contractors for the gas supplier had managed to maroon my boat behind a pile of Earth despite my frequent phone calls to their office and their assurances that it would be put right. They didn't, and I was left speaking to some poor bloke in Sheffield on the phone at 9:00pm who could not get hold of anyone because they had all disappeared home for Easter until Tuesday. First thing Tuesday morning though some bottoms are going to be kicked, because that's one big hole I have to fill in, and one heavy boat and trailer to drag out of the bushes and back onto the concrete yard surface. If I physically can on my own.
What was the third calamity I hear you ask? Well, that was mortgage related.
Wednesday 20 April 2011
Two more signing dates, and a review.
The signing tour gets longer with more dates added. Zoë confirmed to me today extra dates at new venues Stockport (Saturday 28th of May) and Knutsford (Sunday 5th of June). Both will be held at the branches of Waterstone's. It's certainly new ground as I've never actually been to the town centres in either of these places before.
I also received in the post today a copy of a magazine called 'The Bugle'. It's the magazine that gets sent out to people who used to go to the fee paying school that I went to between 1990 and 1995. It was a little surprise to flick through and see the review of my book in there! It was a very favourable review too, which is always nice for massaging the ego. I'll have to remember to add the magazine to my ever-growing press-cutting pile for future reference. The inclusion of the review may break a few people, on account of the fact that I was in the curious position of having gone to an all-boys (almost!) school. One of those little quirks of fate, that saw two girls in an otherwise all-boys environment. I wonder if any of the other 'old boys' will work that one out? (Probably in between wondering why they didn't make our acquittance more when we were there!)
I've also been told by Zoë that we have started receiving out of the blue invites for doing signings at Waterstone's branches more further afield. This we suspect is partly due to the increased sales, media coverage, and - last but not least - the fact that 'Bringing home the stars' has been taken into Waterstone's core catalogue list of sci-fi titles. At the end of this tour I think that I will have become an expert on cheap or free places to park a car all day on a Saturday and Sunday in far too many towns and cities in the UK!
I also received in the post today a copy of a magazine called 'The Bugle'. It's the magazine that gets sent out to people who used to go to the fee paying school that I went to between 1990 and 1995. It was a little surprise to flick through and see the review of my book in there! It was a very favourable review too, which is always nice for massaging the ego. I'll have to remember to add the magazine to my ever-growing press-cutting pile for future reference. The inclusion of the review may break a few people, on account of the fact that I was in the curious position of having gone to an all-boys (almost!) school. One of those little quirks of fate, that saw two girls in an otherwise all-boys environment. I wonder if any of the other 'old boys' will work that one out? (Probably in between wondering why they didn't make our acquittance more when we were there!)
I've also been told by Zoë that we have started receiving out of the blue invites for doing signings at Waterstone's branches more further afield. This we suspect is partly due to the increased sales, media coverage, and - last but not least - the fact that 'Bringing home the stars' has been taken into Waterstone's core catalogue list of sci-fi titles. At the end of this tour I think that I will have become an expert on cheap or free places to park a car all day on a Saturday and Sunday in far too many towns and cities in the UK!
Friday 15 April 2011
All over the house » Archive » iVant to suck your blood
One for the iPhone nerds out there (you know exactly who you are!)
Thursday 14 April 2011
Deep in thought
A picture taken recently whilst working in Brighton for a change. Zoë caught me unawares, so a rare natural pose!
Monday 11 April 2011
Anyone for a tacky tin of biscuits?
Has anyone else noticed the Royal wedding branded tins of McVities biscuits? I saw them for the first time in the local Co-op. Is it me, or do they look desperately tacky? If it were my wedding they are the very last thing that I would want doing the rounds. It also cheapened the picture a little that I noted it was exactly the same picture of the couple that was used on the front cover of one of the red-top tabloid newspapers.
Friday 8 April 2011
First time sailing
Zoë put up a short video on box-faced-tubester (Youtube) about our little sailing trip:
All aboard the RMS Jennïkins!
Yesterday I went up to Fell foot park at the south end of Lake Windermere in the Lake District. It's an easy enough place to get to from here, and it gave the opportunity to sail my boat under her own power for the first time since she underwent a full rebuild last year. It's wind power, but it all worked quite well. I took Zoë who has never sailed before, but really liked the idea and wanted to give it all a go.
On the first trip up the lake towards Bowness and back we nearly capsized. My Bosun is sail number 3 meaning that it is one of the prototypes built as evaluators to get the contract with the navy to supply a small sailing boat type. It won the contract and eventually their numbers now total more than 3500, and they are still available new. It's quite nice to have a slice of history with the oldest Bosun known to still exist. It also means that the sailing horse arrangements on the transom are somewhat primitive and took some time to get used to with the main sheets unable to change sides every time we tacked or gybed. Luckily I learnt PDQ when water started shipping over the side and I averted a capsize! It did mean that we got wet feet though.
Returning to the slipway the wind conditions are really challenging. The lake narrows between two wooded hills, and the wind can come from several different directions at the same time and change just like that. We had trouble getting to the jetty, but made it in the end.
After lunch and warming up Zoë's wet feet, we took her out for another trip up towards Bowness. However a fitting gave way that held the jib up and we were forced to turn back with only the main sail set. However the wind was energetic and despite this mishap we made good time. Not wishing to have such a hairy landing this time we moored to a buoy out in the marina and took down the sails then paddled back into the jetty.
All in all the boat's first trip out on the water in what could be quite a few years and her first since she has had a new keel, stem post, transom and gunwales as well as a lot of her rigging and a repaint was a great success. We're both looking forward to a repeat trip where hopefully we will be able to get a lot more sailing in as we gain experience with the boat.
On the first trip up the lake towards Bowness and back we nearly capsized. My Bosun is sail number 3 meaning that it is one of the prototypes built as evaluators to get the contract with the navy to supply a small sailing boat type. It won the contract and eventually their numbers now total more than 3500, and they are still available new. It's quite nice to have a slice of history with the oldest Bosun known to still exist. It also means that the sailing horse arrangements on the transom are somewhat primitive and took some time to get used to with the main sheets unable to change sides every time we tacked or gybed. Luckily I learnt PDQ when water started shipping over the side and I averted a capsize! It did mean that we got wet feet though.
Returning to the slipway the wind conditions are really challenging. The lake narrows between two wooded hills, and the wind can come from several different directions at the same time and change just like that. We had trouble getting to the jetty, but made it in the end.
After lunch and warming up Zoë's wet feet, we took her out for another trip up towards Bowness. However a fitting gave way that held the jib up and we were forced to turn back with only the main sail set. However the wind was energetic and despite this mishap we made good time. Not wishing to have such a hairy landing this time we moored to a buoy out in the marina and took down the sails then paddled back into the jetty.
All in all the boat's first trip out on the water in what could be quite a few years and her first since she has had a new keel, stem post, transom and gunwales as well as a lot of her rigging and a repaint was a great success. We're both looking forward to a repeat trip where hopefully we will be able to get a lot more sailing in as we gain experience with the boat.
Wednesday 6 April 2011
My own list of greatest 100 books.
It's been doing the rounds on the internet courtesy of the BBC. The only trouble is that I believe it misses off a lot of superb books at the expense of some dire books that everyone assumes are classics but no-one actually reads. Here is my list:
1. Dune - Frank Herbert
2. Silas Marner - George Elliott
3. Diary of a nobody - Weedon Grossmith
4. Lord of the rings - JRR Tolkien
5. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
6. The magic faraway tree - Enid Blyton
7. Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke
8. Mission of Gravity - Hal Clement
9. I am Legend - Richard Matheson
10. Flow my tears, the Policeman said - Philip K. Dick
11. Ringworld - Larry Niven
12. The Railway children - Edith Nesbit
13. Nostromo - Joseph Conrad
14. Jingo - Terry Pratchett
15. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
16. The stars my destination - Alfred Bester
17. Pavane - Keith Roberts
18. The city and the stars - Arthur C. Clarke
19. Missee Lee - Arthur Ransome
20. Five dialogues - Plato
21. Eagle of the Ninth - Rosemary Sutcliff
22. The fifth elephant - Terry Pratchett
23. The enchanted wood - Enid Blyton
24. Rogue Male - Geoffrey Household
25. Animal Farm - George Orwell
26. Redwall - Brian Jacques
27. Cannibal Adventure - Willard Price
28. Magic Kingdom for sale; sold! - Terry Brooks
29. Joe Millard - The good, the bad and the ugly
30. The thirty nine steps - John Buchan
31. Fanny hill - John Cleland
32. Heir to the empire - Timothy Zahn
33. Five go off to camp - Enid Blyton
34. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
35. Do androids dream of electric sheep? - Philip K. Dick
36. Mars - Ben Bova
37. Sphere - Michael Crichton
38. Christine - Stephen King
39. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
40. Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
41. Magician - Raymond E. Feist
42. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
43. Coot Club - Arthur Ransome
44. Night watch - Terry Pratchett
45. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
46. Moll Flanders - Daniel Defoe
47. Moonfleet - J. Meade Falkner
48. It - Stephen King
49. Red storm Rising - Tom Clancy
50. The Lion the witch and the wardrobe - CS Lewis
51. War of the worlds - HG Wells
52. Blood Music - Greg Bear
53. The Space Merchants - Frederick Pohl
54. 20,000 leagues under the sea - Jules Verne
55. 2010, Odyssey two - Arthur C. Clarke
56. Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson
57. Hunt for red October - Tom Clancy
58. The ipcress file - Len Deighton
59. Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy - Douglas Adams
60. A tale of two cities - Charles Dickens
61. Voyage of the Dawntreader - CS Lewis
62. SS-GB - Len Deighton
63. The time machine - HG Wells
64. 1984 - George Orwell
65. Romeo & Juliet - William Shakespeare
66. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
67. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
68. And quiet flows the don - Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov
69. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
70. Wind in the willows - Kenneth Grahame
71. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
74. Green Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson
75. Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare
76. Orlando - Virginia Woolf
77. Heidi - Johanna Spyri
78. Around the world in 80 days - Jules Verne
79. Behold the man - Michael Moorcock
80. The man in the high castle - Philip K. Dick
81. Winter Holiday - Arthur Ransome
82. Clear and present danger - Tom Clancy
83. Infinity welcomes careful drivers - Grant Naylor
84. Gulliver’s travels - Jonathan Swift
85. The adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
86. Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë
87. The box of delights - John Masefield
88. The silver chair - CS Lewis
89. We can remember it for you wholesale - Philip K. Dick
90. House Atreides - Brian Herbert
91. Mossflower - Brian Jacques
92. Duncton Wood - William Horwood
93. Volcano Adventure - Willard Price
94. Fear and Trembling - Søren Kierkegaard
95. Feet of clay - Terry Pratchett
96. Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper
97. Dialogues concerning the natural history of religion - David Hume
98. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame - Victor Hugo
99. Phantom of the opera - Gaston Leroux
100.Of mice and men - John Steinbeck
1. Dune - Frank Herbert
2. Silas Marner - George Elliott
3. Diary of a nobody - Weedon Grossmith
4. Lord of the rings - JRR Tolkien
5. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
6. The magic faraway tree - Enid Blyton
7. Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke
8. Mission of Gravity - Hal Clement
9. I am Legend - Richard Matheson
10. Flow my tears, the Policeman said - Philip K. Dick
11. Ringworld - Larry Niven
12. The Railway children - Edith Nesbit
13. Nostromo - Joseph Conrad
14. Jingo - Terry Pratchett
15. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
16. The stars my destination - Alfred Bester
17. Pavane - Keith Roberts
18. The city and the stars - Arthur C. Clarke
19. Missee Lee - Arthur Ransome
20. Five dialogues - Plato
21. Eagle of the Ninth - Rosemary Sutcliff
22. The fifth elephant - Terry Pratchett
23. The enchanted wood - Enid Blyton
24. Rogue Male - Geoffrey Household
25. Animal Farm - George Orwell
26. Redwall - Brian Jacques
27. Cannibal Adventure - Willard Price
28. Magic Kingdom for sale; sold! - Terry Brooks
29. Joe Millard - The good, the bad and the ugly
30. The thirty nine steps - John Buchan
31. Fanny hill - John Cleland
32. Heir to the empire - Timothy Zahn
33. Five go off to camp - Enid Blyton
34. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
35. Do androids dream of electric sheep? - Philip K. Dick
36. Mars - Ben Bova
37. Sphere - Michael Crichton
38. Christine - Stephen King
39. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
40. Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
41. Magician - Raymond E. Feist
42. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
43. Coot Club - Arthur Ransome
44. Night watch - Terry Pratchett
45. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
46. Moll Flanders - Daniel Defoe
47. Moonfleet - J. Meade Falkner
48. It - Stephen King
49. Red storm Rising - Tom Clancy
50. The Lion the witch and the wardrobe - CS Lewis
51. War of the worlds - HG Wells
52. Blood Music - Greg Bear
53. The Space Merchants - Frederick Pohl
54. 20,000 leagues under the sea - Jules Verne
55. 2010, Odyssey two - Arthur C. Clarke
56. Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson
57. Hunt for red October - Tom Clancy
58. The ipcress file - Len Deighton
59. Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy - Douglas Adams
60. A tale of two cities - Charles Dickens
61. Voyage of the Dawntreader - CS Lewis
62. SS-GB - Len Deighton
63. The time machine - HG Wells
64. 1984 - George Orwell
65. Romeo & Juliet - William Shakespeare
66. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
67. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
68. And quiet flows the don - Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov
69. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
70. Wind in the willows - Kenneth Grahame
71. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
74. Green Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson
75. Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare
76. Orlando - Virginia Woolf
77. Heidi - Johanna Spyri
78. Around the world in 80 days - Jules Verne
79. Behold the man - Michael Moorcock
80. The man in the high castle - Philip K. Dick
81. Winter Holiday - Arthur Ransome
82. Clear and present danger - Tom Clancy
83. Infinity welcomes careful drivers - Grant Naylor
84. Gulliver’s travels - Jonathan Swift
85. The adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
86. Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë
87. The box of delights - John Masefield
88. The silver chair - CS Lewis
89. We can remember it for you wholesale - Philip K. Dick
90. House Atreides - Brian Herbert
91. Mossflower - Brian Jacques
92. Duncton Wood - William Horwood
93. Volcano Adventure - Willard Price
94. Fear and Trembling - Søren Kierkegaard
95. Feet of clay - Terry Pratchett
96. Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper
97. Dialogues concerning the natural history of religion - David Hume
98. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame - Victor Hugo
99. Phantom of the opera - Gaston Leroux
100.Of mice and men - John Steinbeck
BHTS in WH Smiths
I have discovered that WH Smiths now stock my book. I must go and see if I can actually find a copy on the shelves...
Clicky on the link.
Clicky on the link.
Tuesday 5 April 2011
The Ikea maze.
Dear Ikea,
As much as I appreciate the thought that must have gone into making all of your stores a labyrinth-like maze, I know what I want and I just want to get to where I pay for it. No matter how hard you try, I will not be impulse buying duvets or cutlery canteens. In future, I shall happily use the fire exits to reach the tills rather than be trapped like a lab rat looking for its next food pellet.
Really your store design is infuriating, and you might want to put consideration into giving an option for people who know what they want to just bloody well go straight to the till/warehouse area and buy it. Do not presume that directing me on a two mile walk through three floors of random stuff with no visible means of escape will enthuse me in any way.
Yours, Jenny
As much as I appreciate the thought that must have gone into making all of your stores a labyrinth-like maze, I know what I want and I just want to get to where I pay for it. No matter how hard you try, I will not be impulse buying duvets or cutlery canteens. In future, I shall happily use the fire exits to reach the tills rather than be trapped like a lab rat looking for its next food pellet.
Really your store design is infuriating, and you might want to put consideration into giving an option for people who know what they want to just bloody well go straight to the till/warehouse area and buy it. Do not presume that directing me on a two mile walk through three floors of random stuff with no visible means of escape will enthuse me in any way.
Yours, Jenny
Monday 4 April 2011
BBC/2 Entertain poor judgement
An open letter to the BBC/2 Entertain after I discovered their attempts to package a new Doctor Who release exclusively in a box set with a prior release, thus trying to rip-off fans making them buy two copies of the same DVD.
I was deeply disappointed to learn that in a crass money-grubbing move, the BBC/2 Entertain has packaged the forthcoming Doctor Who release 'Terror of the Autons' with a duplicate copy of 'Spearhead from Space' in this box set. As a long time Doctor Who fan I resent this blatant attempt to charge me for a second copy of 'Spearhead from space' that I am not interested in. Enhanced extras are never worth buying a DVD twice and I, along no doubt with many other fans, will not be buying this release on a point of principal. Judging by the comments appearing on internet sites across the internet, I am not alone in not appreciating this attempt to rip-off fans. I would therefore strongly urge you to release 'Terror of the Autons' separately from a priorly released title.
The fans are not amused.
I was deeply disappointed to learn that in a crass money-grubbing move, the BBC/2 Entertain has packaged the forthcoming Doctor Who release 'Terror of the Autons' with a duplicate copy of 'Spearhead from Space' in this box set. As a long time Doctor Who fan I resent this blatant attempt to charge me for a second copy of 'Spearhead from space' that I am not interested in. Enhanced extras are never worth buying a DVD twice and I, along no doubt with many other fans, will not be buying this release on a point of principal. Judging by the comments appearing on internet sites across the internet, I am not alone in not appreciating this attempt to rip-off fans. I would therefore strongly urge you to release 'Terror of the Autons' separately from a priorly released title.
The fans are not amused.
All over the house » Archive » Changing the clocks
I usually forget about the clocks, and have been known to still be on BST for a few days into GMT. I find the idea of an MP having to creep into the commons to avoid waking the snoozing politicians quite fun (Looking at you, Ken Clarke...)
All over the house » Archive » Changing the clocks
Preston debrief
The signing at Preston Waterstones went really well and it was a good job that I took with me a load of extra books as the shop ran out of stock by early afternoon. We used more than half of the ones that I brought. Top tip for authors doing signings: take extra books with you, because there will be more than one occasion where they come in handy! I was also informed whilst there that the books have been selling pretty well in the time since the last signing back in January. It looks like Preston is a good outlet for my books! By the time I next go back there I'm hoping it might be in the first few weeks of release of the next book and that momentum will have built even more.
After the signing I headed over to some friends' house and chilled out for the evening. It was only walking distance from the Waterstones. It made a change to not have to get the hell out of Dodge right after a signing. I got to finally watch for the first time ever the film 'Predator 2' which is another of those oft talked about films that I seem to have missed until now. It wasn't as good as the first film, but I still enjoyed it. We ended up having quite a fun evening and didn't get to bed until the early hours of the morning.
Sunday allowed a leisurely return trip to Bolton at around lunchtime. I would like to say that I used the afternoon to do something really fun, but instead I cleaned the house from top to bottom. It isn't that the house is grotty - it is not. Those who know me know that I can be a bit of a neat freak. However we have some nice Firemen coming around this afternoon in their fire engine (no this is not a Hen party related afternoon...). The reason is that they will be fitting smoke alarms in Jenny towers. I just don't want them to think that we live in a tip. Gosh, I feel like my Mother now!
After the signing I headed over to some friends' house and chilled out for the evening. It was only walking distance from the Waterstones. It made a change to not have to get the hell out of Dodge right after a signing. I got to finally watch for the first time ever the film 'Predator 2' which is another of those oft talked about films that I seem to have missed until now. It wasn't as good as the first film, but I still enjoyed it. We ended up having quite a fun evening and didn't get to bed until the early hours of the morning.
Sunday allowed a leisurely return trip to Bolton at around lunchtime. I would like to say that I used the afternoon to do something really fun, but instead I cleaned the house from top to bottom. It isn't that the house is grotty - it is not. Those who know me know that I can be a bit of a neat freak. However we have some nice Firemen coming around this afternoon in their fire engine (no this is not a Hen party related afternoon...). The reason is that they will be fitting smoke alarms in Jenny towers. I just don't want them to think that we live in a tip. Gosh, I feel like my Mother now!
Friday 1 April 2011
The Neverending story
Despite having been old enough to have appreciated it the first time around back in the mid 1980s this film was one that I have never seen. I don't know why exactly I missed this one, because I both saw and loved the film 'Labyrinth' in 1986. Today I redressed the balance and settled down to watch 'The Neverending story' for the first time.
I'm 32 now, and I have to say that I found this film boring, long-winded, and fairly transparent in its plot. It actually left me feeling that I have not been missing anything at all in the last two and a half decades. I've talked with Zoë about this and can only come to the conclusion (because she loved this film) that this effect is a product of the age at which we both first watched it. Maybe if I had watched this aged 5 I would have loved it too? Unless that time machine that Tomorrow's World kept promising turns up I guess I'll never know exactly what my 5 year old incarnation would have made of it. I do know that I loved some pretty dire stuff back then which has failed to rekindle the same excitement and love when rewatched more recently.
It made me wonder what I would actually make of 'Labyrinth' if I were to have come to that film for the first time today? Actually, I can't remember the last time that I watched it - maybe it will have lost a lot of its magic if I ever sit down and watch it again?
I'm 32 now, and I have to say that I found this film boring, long-winded, and fairly transparent in its plot. It actually left me feeling that I have not been missing anything at all in the last two and a half decades. I've talked with Zoë about this and can only come to the conclusion (because she loved this film) that this effect is a product of the age at which we both first watched it. Maybe if I had watched this aged 5 I would have loved it too? Unless that time machine that Tomorrow's World kept promising turns up I guess I'll never know exactly what my 5 year old incarnation would have made of it. I do know that I loved some pretty dire stuff back then which has failed to rekindle the same excitement and love when rewatched more recently.
It made me wonder what I would actually make of 'Labyrinth' if I were to have come to that film for the first time today? Actually, I can't remember the last time that I watched it - maybe it will have lost a lot of its magic if I ever sit down and watch it again?
Thursday 31 March 2011
The week that was and will be.
I've been very busy this week. It's amazing how sometimes a week comes up that throws a lot at you, then others give you a little more breathing space to work with. As regular readers of this blog will know we have been struggling with problems caused by the former mortgage provider openly perpetrating disability discrimination. I made a complaint, which they have sent a response completely (and conveniently) ignoring all the points raised, and claiming that they "find no evidence". It turns out that the reason that they found no evidence was because they didn't bother looking as I discovered when I asked them about if they had reviewed the logs of the calls. Apparently looking for these things was something the complaint manager hadn't thought of.
It's all stress and hassle. I was told that marriage and house buying are the two most stressful things anyone will do in their lifetime. Actually, marriage wasn't too bad (though the week before hand got a little touch and go - Ed Byrne shares my views on the planning of marriages). But house buying has proven to be a real Satan's handbag of an affair. Still, we're getting there and within a month or so I should be sitting in my cosy new living room hammering holes in my wall and laughing at this whole episode. I look forward to the time. The holes in the wall, incidentally, are because they will be MY walls as opposed to the walls here which belong to a chap from somewhere in Grimsby.
Tuesday and Wednesday I got an interesting interlude. In my occasional chronicles of the loneliness of the long distance trucker, I do a little rig jockeying from time to time. I haven't done a night out in nearly seven years, but I thought it would make a change. I actually ended up delivering boiler tubes to the Tanfield railway and the Weardale railway for use in steam locomotive restoration. Now if only I had had a camera. Actually, I did but because it's tucked away inside my telephone it took me until Wednesday to realise this.
Those who know me know my aversion to mobile phones. I hate them and have done ever since the wretched devices first turned up. I had top have one for my first job back in 2000, but it didn't mean that I had to like them. That first one was ancient when I got to it and I am very proud of the fact that I have existed on hand-me-down phones and pay as you go sim cards for all this time. Actually, I believe I still have my original number acquired in 2000.
I hate people who insist on calling my mobile in preference to my landline. I give out my landline because I want to be called on it. My mobile phone is for emergency matters of national importance only. I do not appreciate frivolous calls on it because of several reasons. Firstly, I just don't like mobile phones. Secondly, I use old phones that have questionable battery life so having some call centre drone on the line is sucking the life force from the phone that I may urgently need if there is a real problem that does not involve the purchase of double glazing, a conservatory or any device that the drone calls 'premium' but I call 'the golden cock model'. Thirdly I do not have one of those devices for communing with the mothership so if I am driving its ringing irritates me because I cannot and will not answer it. I'm sure that there is a little spycamera in the damn thing because people just seem to know the most inconvenient time to call it like the moment I have JUST PULLED ONTO THE MOTORWAY. I hate you, mystery caller yesterday. If it was important you would have left a message, but you didn't.
Gosh, that little rant went off on one, didn't it? When I figure out how to gain access to my telephone's digital innards I shall retrieve the lovely pictures I took outside a locomotive works in Wolsingham. Until then, don't call my mobile. No really.
Today we were supposed to be in the Lake District on the south end of lake Windermere. Suffice to say that we are not because of a combination of squalling winds, rain and Zoë's workload. We have decided that instead we will chose a day from next week to go based upon what the weather forecast predicts. It's no fun sailing in the rain, and teaching a newbie to sailing in challenging winds will not exactly add to Zoë's potential enthusiasm for a repeat trip on the RMS Jennïkins. Photographs will be taken of the momentous event of the first official voyage.
This weekend I am away as you all know at the book signing in Preston. I have arranged to stay over Saturday night at the house of some friends which eases the journey. I'm looking forward to meeting and greeting (and signing) but go easy on me because I'll be doing this signing on my own for the first time on this tour.
It's all stress and hassle. I was told that marriage and house buying are the two most stressful things anyone will do in their lifetime. Actually, marriage wasn't too bad (though the week before hand got a little touch and go - Ed Byrne shares my views on the planning of marriages). But house buying has proven to be a real Satan's handbag of an affair. Still, we're getting there and within a month or so I should be sitting in my cosy new living room hammering holes in my wall and laughing at this whole episode. I look forward to the time. The holes in the wall, incidentally, are because they will be MY walls as opposed to the walls here which belong to a chap from somewhere in Grimsby.
Tuesday and Wednesday I got an interesting interlude. In my occasional chronicles of the loneliness of the long distance trucker, I do a little rig jockeying from time to time. I haven't done a night out in nearly seven years, but I thought it would make a change. I actually ended up delivering boiler tubes to the Tanfield railway and the Weardale railway for use in steam locomotive restoration. Now if only I had had a camera. Actually, I did but because it's tucked away inside my telephone it took me until Wednesday to realise this.
Those who know me know my aversion to mobile phones. I hate them and have done ever since the wretched devices first turned up. I had top have one for my first job back in 2000, but it didn't mean that I had to like them. That first one was ancient when I got to it and I am very proud of the fact that I have existed on hand-me-down phones and pay as you go sim cards for all this time. Actually, I believe I still have my original number acquired in 2000.
I hate people who insist on calling my mobile in preference to my landline. I give out my landline because I want to be called on it. My mobile phone is for emergency matters of national importance only. I do not appreciate frivolous calls on it because of several reasons. Firstly, I just don't like mobile phones. Secondly, I use old phones that have questionable battery life so having some call centre drone on the line is sucking the life force from the phone that I may urgently need if there is a real problem that does not involve the purchase of double glazing, a conservatory or any device that the drone calls 'premium' but I call 'the golden cock model'. Thirdly I do not have one of those devices for communing with the mothership so if I am driving its ringing irritates me because I cannot and will not answer it. I'm sure that there is a little spycamera in the damn thing because people just seem to know the most inconvenient time to call it like the moment I have JUST PULLED ONTO THE MOTORWAY. I hate you, mystery caller yesterday. If it was important you would have left a message, but you didn't.
Gosh, that little rant went off on one, didn't it? When I figure out how to gain access to my telephone's digital innards I shall retrieve the lovely pictures I took outside a locomotive works in Wolsingham. Until then, don't call my mobile. No really.
Today we were supposed to be in the Lake District on the south end of lake Windermere. Suffice to say that we are not because of a combination of squalling winds, rain and Zoë's workload. We have decided that instead we will chose a day from next week to go based upon what the weather forecast predicts. It's no fun sailing in the rain, and teaching a newbie to sailing in challenging winds will not exactly add to Zoë's potential enthusiasm for a repeat trip on the RMS Jennïkins. Photographs will be taken of the momentous event of the first official voyage.
This weekend I am away as you all know at the book signing in Preston. I have arranged to stay over Saturday night at the house of some friends which eases the journey. I'm looking forward to meeting and greeting (and signing) but go easy on me because I'll be doing this signing on my own for the first time on this tour.
Monday 28 March 2011
Preston Waterstones book signing part 2
This Saturday I will be in Preston signing copies of 'Bringing home the stars' in Preston Waterstones. It was a good venue last time I was there, and I even got to meet Lenny Henry (I never did find out what he was in Preston for).
So come on down and say hello and get your copy of 'Bringing home the stars' signed. Last time I was there they were handing out free sweeties!
Preston Watersones, 11:00 - 16:00 on Saturday 2nd of April.
So come on down and say hello and get your copy of 'Bringing home the stars' signed. Last time I was there they were handing out free sweeties!
Preston Watersones, 11:00 - 16:00 on Saturday 2nd of April.
Testing the water of shillness.
I tried an experiment over the last week, after getting sick of having what I suspected were shill bidders turn up on most things that I put on my Ebay watch list. Instead of 'watching' items, I bookmarked them instead. Two, in fact, and I watchlisted some other items as a comparison.
The result? The watchlisted item attracted 23 bids, and sold for £128.50. The bookmarked only item (so the seller had no indication that I was watching it) attracted no bids and remained unsold at its starting price of £39.99.
My suspicion of seller-related shill bidding just gained some more proof.
The result? The watchlisted item attracted 23 bids, and sold for £128.50. The bookmarked only item (so the seller had no indication that I was watching it) attracted no bids and remained unsold at its starting price of £39.99.
My suspicion of seller-related shill bidding just gained some more proof.
Saturday 26 March 2011
It's nice to see 250,000 people in London generously offering to pay extra tax to save public services.
Having seen news of the protests today against public spending cuts, I am left wondering where those protesting were proposing that the money would come from. The country has been left financially on its knees by years of wasteful spending and poor economic management not helped by various bailouts for the banking and housing sectors.
Zoë quipped that it was nice to see 250,000 people offering to pay higher taxes to pay for services. Of course, the reality is that I suspect that an awful lot (if not all?) of those people want public spending cuts to be cancelled but don't want to actually pay anything extra for this. That then brings us around to how these people think things are going to get paid for. We cannot as a nation borrow more - that has already got us into this mess. To do so would be to fecklessly plunge the country into even more issues saving the problems up and multiplying them for the future when they would again need to be addressed. It really would be selfish and irresponsible to saddle future generations with ever increasing debt.
Discussing this in Zoë's office today I likened the situation to like having to pay a debt run up by your parents or Grandparents without ever seeing any benefit for the money. How would any of those 250,000 people like to find that their parents spent a lifetime spending money recklessly, borrowing to buy flash cars, bling and go on expensive holidays on the understanding that their offspring would pick up the tab. That really isn't fair at all. But it seems that some people (a lot of people) have no idea that there isn't a huge pit of money from which cash can just continue to be shovelled out of. It has to come from taxes, plain and simple. The Labour years were years of covert buy now, pay later. Well, later just came.
I found it irritating to see Ed Milliband on the bandwagon denouncing all these cuts. That is somewhat rich coming from a man who was part of the government that caused all these problems through poor fiscal policy and actions. What a hypocrite jumping on this "no to spending cuts" band wagon when he is one of those directly responsible for the very problems causing the cuts.
Zoë quipped that it was nice to see 250,000 people offering to pay higher taxes to pay for services. Of course, the reality is that I suspect that an awful lot (if not all?) of those people want public spending cuts to be cancelled but don't want to actually pay anything extra for this. That then brings us around to how these people think things are going to get paid for. We cannot as a nation borrow more - that has already got us into this mess. To do so would be to fecklessly plunge the country into even more issues saving the problems up and multiplying them for the future when they would again need to be addressed. It really would be selfish and irresponsible to saddle future generations with ever increasing debt.
Discussing this in Zoë's office today I likened the situation to like having to pay a debt run up by your parents or Grandparents without ever seeing any benefit for the money. How would any of those 250,000 people like to find that their parents spent a lifetime spending money recklessly, borrowing to buy flash cars, bling and go on expensive holidays on the understanding that their offspring would pick up the tab. That really isn't fair at all. But it seems that some people (a lot of people) have no idea that there isn't a huge pit of money from which cash can just continue to be shovelled out of. It has to come from taxes, plain and simple. The Labour years were years of covert buy now, pay later. Well, later just came.
I found it irritating to see Ed Milliband on the bandwagon denouncing all these cuts. That is somewhat rich coming from a man who was part of the government that caused all these problems through poor fiscal policy and actions. What a hypocrite jumping on this "no to spending cuts" band wagon when he is one of those directly responsible for the very problems causing the cuts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
