Mystic's Adventures In Modern Blogging

Stargazing

2012-01-17T08:27:00.001-08:00

The BBC is running it’s live Stargazing show again this year. It started yesterday and finishes tomorrow. I quite like the fact that it will encourage people to look up at the night sky and hopefully marvel at how awesome the universe is.

I’m lucky enough to live in an area where the back gardens are shielded from most of the street lighting, and on a clear night, once all the motion sensitive security lights go out there’s a fine view of the night sky.

To this end I spent Friday and Saturday night in the frosty night air armed with my camera and tripod to try out the “starry sky” setting on my Lumix FZ45.

Clicking through for the larger images is recommended

The plough.

Orion

Last night we went on a BBC Stargazing event on the Mersey Ferry the Royal Daffodil. This involved an hour an half trip on the River Mersey. On board was a number of astronomers from JMU to answer any questions while we free to wander around looking at the sky. One of the drawbacks to stargazing from a boat in the middle of a river at night is that is has to be illuminated for safety so there’s was probably more light pollution out there than there is in my suburban back garden. However it was a great experience and I did get a rather snazzy photo or two of the Liverpool Waterfront.

Good bye 2011.

2011-12-30T09:48:00.000-08:00

What can I say about this year? Well there's been a lot less "bat-sh*t crazy" stuff going than 2010, thank goodness!

I've enjoyed the year mostly. Sure there's been some downs but in general things have plodded along and occasionally been awesome. I suppose you really can't ask for more than that.

I feel like I've been under the weather a lot since the summer, but maybe I'm on the up finally. I could do with more time out for myself so will strive to achieve that next year. I may even disappear somewhere on my own for a few days. Now that would be a huge leap!

I was disappointed I gave up on the photo-a-day project so I may give it another go. I've signed up to blipfoto which will help keep photos in order for me if I do it. The page is here http://www.blipfoto.com/mysgreen

I'll be whittering about 2011 musical exploits on www.sisterblueird.co.uk before year end. And there's already plenty on the agenda for 2012.

Here's to the New Year!

Blogaday 30 - The End

2011-11-30T13:15:00.001-08:00

It's the last day of November and therefore the last blog of my little Blogaday-athon.

I've quite enjoyed it. It's been fun trying to come up with stuff and to post every day whether I felt up to it or not. I may do it again at some point. (Possibly February as there aren't as many days! Haha!)

Thank you to everyone who has read every day. Apologies again for taking up timelines along the way.

It's extra nice to end on a high after two days of seeing so many friends in Liverpool. There's been a lot of love in the city - thank you to everyone who called in to say hello. (Extra special thanks to Donna for bringing some of the ceremony for George to me. Also to Ellie for Bourneville chocolate bar *knowing wink* - next year it's you, me, a bottle of scotch and CFG sweetie!)

I will of course still be posting blogs (look out for some on Sisterbluebird.co.uk as there's a few gigs to round off the year) just not every day.

Cheers!

Blogaday 29 - George

2011-11-29T00:19:00.001-08:00

Anniversaries are times for reflection. It's hard to believe it's been ten years since George Harrison passed away, and so much water has flowed under the bridge since then.

Today I have to be in work, but we will be playing George's music all day. At at 11.30am I will add my thoughts to those who are attending the ceremony at the Anglican Cathedral here in Liverpool. The idea is to celebrate the life of George and that's a fine philosophy!

So if you can, play your favourite George tunes and remember the Quiet one with the wicked sense of humour and a passion for guitars and racing cars.

I make no apologies for using this footage from the end of the amazing Concert For George concert from 2002. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. I'll see you in my dreams...Love one another.

Blogaday 28 - Final questions

2011-11-28T13:37:00.001-08:00

Do you have any carpet at all in your house?
At home there is lots of carpet. In Liverpool I have a purple carpet in my room.

Don’t you love it when lotion smells all yummy?
Indeed.

Did you ever notice that ‘non-scented’ hairspray actually has a scent?
No. I don’t use hairspray.

Which are better: Carnivals or Festivals?
Either/or really..

Do you like penguins?
I do.

How do you like your coffee?
In a morning, .

Is love a mind disease?
Disease usually implies cure.

Sex- Before wedding or after?
Depends, what time is the vicar due?

What’s your main worry at the moment?
Jez - EVERYTHING!! .

Were you upset at the death of MJ, or did you not care

I was interested in the way the rolling news channels covered it, but I am uneffected by his passing.

Would you rather kiss the last person who texted you, or your most recent ex

I don't know how good a kisser Ellie is, or if she would mind snogging me so erm...pass!

What is the next concert you are going to?
Deep Purple tomorrow!

Who was the last person you called on your cell & why?
Stephen, to check postage.

Who was the last person you complained to?
I moaned to a mail order company, who ignored my moaning, but the stuff arrived.

What’s the most annoying song at the moment?
That 1Direction one.

Do you own any Tupac albums?
nope.

Do you wear an eye-mask when you go to bed?
No.

Are you high maintenance?
I don't think so, other opinions may vary ;-P.

What’s your favorite older movie?
It's A Wonderful Life.

What was on the last CD you burned?
Erm....pass, I work on stick drives these days darling!.

Are escalators really necessary? Can’t we just walk up the stairs?
Handy when you're carrying stuff though.

Inner beauty; out of everyone you know, who holds the most?
That's a toughie, all my close friends are beautiful inside an out.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve EVER seen?
watching my niece growing up is the most amazing thing ever!.

Are you sexually attracted to any musicians?
Some, but not all ;-)

What mythical creature would you like to have as a pet?

Pheonix

Where would you like to live?
Venice or by the seaside.

Where do you live?
Good question!! :-/

What makes you think someone is skanky, automatically?
usually when they open their gob and garbage falls out..

What makes you automatically like a person?
I don't automatically like people, I quietly judge them till they pass all the barriers to friendship! ;-)

Who is the last person that was at your house?
Me.

Do you like standing in front of fires?
No I prefer sitting in a comfy chair in front of them.

Are you a fan of seafood?
Not sure it's a fan of me at the mo.

Last book you read?
The Marty Feldman one by Robert Ross.

Blogaday 27 - Carl Palmer

2011-11-27T09:02:00.001-08:00

Last time I was at the Academy the security couldn't be more helpful, however on this occasion they seemed to have very little patience and as I arrived at the venue had just turfed everyone out into the cold to queue up for half an hour. Not sure why the union bar wasn't open but it would have made a few bob before everyone went in. Then when we did get in we were left milling for a second not knowing which bit we were going to, which seemed to annoy the security people. Some actually signs to the different sections would be really handy you know!

Venue griping aside this was a really entertaining night. Me and gig buddy had a pint or two and browsed the merch stall before the show began. The merch seemed really reasonably priced. I forked out a mere £30 and came away with a t-shirt, a signed drum head and a pair of drumsticks. The venue wasn't packed which made it possible to get a good way down towards the action. I'm usually slightly shorter that the rest of the audience so I'm used to a limited view at standing gigs. Nobody pushed and nobody shoved, it was quite lovely.

Opening with the familiar "Welcome Back" section from Karn Evil 9 the set list moved through a selection of well known ELP pieces. The sound from trio was tremendous. Closing your eyes you would have been hard pushed to believe there was only a guitarist, bassist and drummer on that stage. Paul Bielatowicz made some amazing sounds on his guitar, pulling the best "rock guitar" faces I've seen in a long time. And bass player Simon Fitzpatrick was also superb, particularly during his bass solo bookended by "Take A Pebble"

Carl Palmer, as you would expect, was faultless on drums, and percussion and big old gongs! He really looked like he was having a ball up there on stage. The tour is to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Pictures At An Exhibition. The band did their own version of the piece, which although obviously not exact (there is no keyboard player or vocalist) was an excellent piece of work of itself. We didn't stick around to meet Carl afterwards, instead it was out into the chill November air to head home after a thoroughly entertaining night out.

With thanks to Paul Dean for the photos of the set list and my gig booty!

This entry was also posted in my music blog www.sisterbluebird.co.uk

Blogaday 26 - Television

2011-11-26T08:55:00.001-08:00

I have bought a TV. It's a wee little one, well 16" anyway. It's got a built in DVD player and USB port so that's all cool.

It's for my room in Liverpool. At the moment I watch TV through my laptop but that's no good if I want to do anything else on there, and the DVD drive is on the way out.

It's HD too, but the only advantage of that on such a small screen is that I can plug my android tablet into it.

Going to set up and check it out tomorrow before taking back to the Liverpool. No time now as I'm off to see Carl Palmer this evening. I'll give you three guesses what tomorrow's blog is likely to be about. ;-)

Blogaday 25 - Nearly

2011-11-25T16:01:00.001-08:00

I am starting this before midnight so it still counts okay?

I am home for the weekend and I have so much to catch up on I don't know where to begin.

It looks like tomorrow is going to involve some gadget upgrading so I expect I will be swearing at the netbook a lot. But the reward is getting to see Carl Palmer that night.

I've already cursed about creating back ups. Files have taken so long to transfer that it's eaten a big chunk out of my night.

A better blog tomorrow I promise, but right now I need to sleep. It's been a long week.

Blogaday 24 - Thanksgiving.

2011-11-24T13:55:00.001-08:00

It's Thanksgiving in the USA, not a holiday we Brits share but it's quite a nice holiday. It was Donna who pointed out that it's a holiday about being with friends and family and celebrating gratitude rather than it being about gift giving etc... Dani called it "Happy Count-your-blessings Day" on twitter too. Now I like the idea of a holiday like this. I'm not a big fan of holidays invented to sell cards and gifts but I would approve if one was invented over here to just give thanks. A nice feel good holiday with no gifts. It's unlikely to happen so I'm going to lig in on the American celebrations!

This year I am thankful for my family who are simply brilliant! My neice is growing up so fast that it's now quite scary, but she's a good kid and I'm proud of her. My mum and dad are and always have been strong, loyal and supportive. I am grateful for all the amazing adventures I was allowed as a kid, everything I got away with and all the things I didn't, all the stuff that let me grow up with sense of individuality, a head full wild nonsense and sense of joy and wonder that still prevails today.

I am thankful for my friends. My close friends are amazing and I am so grateful to have them in my life. I'll spare blushes by not naming names ;-) I adore each and everyone of them and celebrate their diversity and individuality. I just wish I could see some of them more often. Also I love everyone I interact with on a regular basis online, despite the fact I may never meet most of them I am often overwhelmed with the kindness and generousity of spirit from so-called "complete strangers" The fact that I haven't actually met some of my favourite people in my social circles in no way detracts from the fact that I view some of them as valued and trusted friends.

I am thankful for my job. It's tiring and at times completely soul destroying and sometimes I am surpressing the urge to runaway and hide from it, but there are some lovely days and it pays for my nasty gadget/comic book/prog habit.

I am thankful for the music that plays such a big part of my life. It soothes my soul and puts me back on track at the most turbulent of moments.

I am thankful for the freedom to be myself.

Blogaday 23 - Tasks

2011-11-23T14:35:00.001-08:00

I really shouldn't start things later than planned. Nothing goes well! Just had a minor panic that my hard drive had died. I got it working again though.

I am currently trying to select some music to go on my Galaxy Player. I have just bought it a shiny new 32Gb micro SD card to upgrade from the 16Gb one. That's twice the music! Actually I'm not likely to fill the card just yet but I thought I would take the opportunity to refresh the music that is on there and add a bit more to it. I wish I travelled more at the moment, that tends to be when I get to listen music. Sadly the 20 minute journey to and from work doesn't give me much time to really listen to stuff and I end up playing the same familiar stuff over and over because there's no time to get into a new album etc...

Anyway, must get on with it, or at least as far as getting the files onto a memory stick.

Blogaday 22- Giving Up.

2011-11-22T12:35:00.001-08:00

I've decided to draw a line under my photo a day project. I've not updated it since 25th October. It's more than likely I've not actually taken a photograph every day since. I did fairly well and I'm not giving it up easily. It was fun to try and do it.

I'll be honest it had kind of got in the way of selecting lots of photos from days out etc... so it will be nice to get back to that.

I only take photos for fun, I don't think I'm great at it, but sometimes I like the results.

Anyway, here's a couple of my faves that I have taken recently.

My PhotoBlog

My Flickr Account

Blogaday 21 - Monday

2011-11-21T14:54:00.001-08:00

What a strange non-day. I feel like I have sleep walked through most of it. When the highlight of the day is making baked potatoes for tea you know there's not a lot going on.

I have a fuzzy headache. Please don't let it be a cold.
I'm hoping for a less fuzzy tomorrow so I can attempt something more interesting. Good night.

Blogaday 20 - Phew!

2011-11-20T13:44:00.001-08:00

Well it's been a long week. Actually it feels like it's been two weeks, but it hasn't. I don't think I've been in charge for so many days out of the week before. (Five out of seven.) I'm hoping that everything has gone okay when the paperwork is done. I think it has and although tiring and challenging at times, it's largely been fun.

Having already worked the weekend, the coming week is going to seem long too, but at least there's less pressure as I'm not in charge at work, and I may even get some proper sleep!

Talking of sleep, I tihnk it's time for bed.

Blogaday 19 - Mmm...

2011-11-19T13:39:00.001-08:00

I seem to be running out of steam. I think it's more lack of time to prepare things than anything. Concerted effort from tomorrow I think. I will lock myself away and get on with things.

So, erm..here's more questions.

What’s your favorite animal?
I like Penguins.

Is technology overrated?
Nah Tech is cool.

Does it bother you when people beg?
Do you mean street beggers, some are far to aggressive.

Are you one of those people who are always cold?
I don't like the cold, but I'm not always cold.

Have any bad addictions?
Yes.

When was the last time you shaved your legs?
I confess it was last week before the Yes gig.

Do you know someone who is blind?
Not that I can recall.

When was the last time something bothered you?
I'm always bothered.

Would you drink blood if someone paid you?
I drink my own when I cut my fingers, but I don't think I'd drink the blood of someone else

Do you eat out a lot?
Not really

How often do you grocery shop?
When I need stuff.

How many cook books do you own?
A good few.

What is something of which you need more in your life?
I'm quite satisified at the moment, maybe some more time.

Which aspect of your daily routine takes the most time? What do you do?
Work. Eight hours a day, that's a hefty chunk of day.

What thoughts do you have regarding the upcoming holiday season?
Once it's December it's Christmas, baby!!

Do you enjoy buying gifts for others, or could you do without this?
I love buying stuff for others when I know they are going to love the gift!

When was the last time you could not do something you wanted to do?
I couldn't go to the Buggles gig.

Do you prefer to keep a clean workspace, or are you somewhat messy?
I live in organised chaos!

When was the last time you had a bit of a meltdown, and what caused it?
Lawks! I can't recall really. Probably over Beatle week as usual.

When was the last time you felt exceptionally relaxed?
I cannot recall. How bad is that?

Who is the most attractive female celebrity in your opinion?
Ooh difficult one, can't think right now.

What food do you love to pig out on?
I adore to eat massive amounts of roasted courgettes and leeks.

What would you say to your president/prime minister if you could?
Explain everything, right now, without consulting a spin doctor!

When is the last time you wrote a real letter?
Erm, it was this year, just can't remember when.

Do any celebrities share your last name?
The first male presenter of Blue Peter had the same surname as me.

What color are the walls in your bathroom?
Green at home, purple here.

Did you ever steal anything before?
Before what? ;-)

What would you do if a teacher hit you?
Sharp left hook!

Would you give Obama a fist bump?
Well it would be rude to leave a dude hanging.

What was the last thing you bought?
Leek and potato soup for my lunch.

The creepiest, most disgusting insect in the world is:
I loathe gastropods.

Blogaday 18 - Trailer!

2011-11-18T15:07:00.001-08:00

The trailer for the Doctor Who Christmas special was released today.
It makes me smile.

Can't wait for Christmas day now!

Blogaday 17 - Oops Nearly!

2011-11-17T15:38:00.001-08:00

Almost forgot to blog today. I will have to type fast! Haha!

Today was another busy day at work. The new cupboards are almost finished. The place does look quite different. Things are in the process of being painted to blend in.

I still haven't got a really good night's sleep, but I seemed to be less shaky today. I am, of course, wide awake right now when I should be asleep, but I am off tomorrow so I shall have a lie in I think.

I have such a lot of other stuff to do but I think I need to take some time out and relax tomorrow. I think I'll read comic books, go for a little walk and maybe do some cooking. All nice and theraputic and all to the accompaniment of music for sure.

So no I shall stop listening the The Wombles on the mp3 player, switch from my skullcandy headphones to my little earphones and curl up with a music video or two on the android tablet.

Blogaday 16 - Pressies!

2011-11-16T13:42:00.001-08:00

Far too tired to write anything properly, but a post is a post right?
Here's my gifts from Switzerland (Stephen went to see Bob Dylan there this week). I got a cool pair of Batman & Robin finger puppets and a Cowbell!

See the full gallery on Posterous

And now, I'm off to try and catch up on my sleep. (Or watch videos on my android tablet for a bit till I finally drop off.)

Blogaday 15 - even more questions

2011-11-15T14:33:00.001-08:00

Are you good at dancing?

- only when drunk. Or at least I think I'm good at dancing when drunk!

Ever met someone named “Guy” or “Buddy”?

- I don't recall.

If there was a zombie apocalypse, what would you do?

- sing this -

What do you personally think the world needs more of?

- love, sweet love.

Do you have a favourite pair of shoes?

- currently my Karrimor walking shoes, most excellent for work!

What is something that you are looking forward to this month?

- Well I was looking forward to seeing Yes, but done that. So now I'm focussed on seeing Carl Palmer and Deep Purple.

Have you ever had surgery? If so were you scared?

- I had a tonsilectomy, and yes.

Do you like skittles or M&M’s?

- M&Ms

How do you normally style your hair?

- I just leave it to it, it's going to do what the hell it likes anyway!

Why aren’t you outside doing something fun?

- Because it's 10.15pm and it's dark!

Long or short hair on guys?

- Oooh difficult one, longish, and preferably blond at the moment.

Favorite breakfast food?

- Potato cakes, or hash brown.

Do you draw on yourself?

- Nope

What did you do the last time you couldn’t sleep?

- I didn't sleep.

What was the last thing you cooked by yourself?

- Spaghetti on toast, I was dissapointed.

Favourite amusement park ride?

- don't do rides.

If you could play any instrument, what would it be?

- any instrument would do, I keep trying and remain subbornly musically talentless.

Do old people make you smile?

- 8-D Hehe!

How did you wake up this morning?

- not very easily.

What are you excited about?

- Still buzzing about the Yes gig. It seems views on the gig are mixed, but I enjoyed it lots.

Who was the last person you danced with?

- Probably Ells.

What’s your least favourite thing about the internet?

- all my friends live there!

What is the worst thing a teacher has done to you?

- Can't recall anything.

Are you a fan of Drake?

- Francis? John? Charlie?

What was the last YouTube video you watched?

- This one -

What does your hair look like in the morning?

- it varies.

Do you think political correctness has gone too far?

- possibly in some cases, but it's better than blatant sexism/racism/any other isms.

What is the last charity you donated to?

- can't remember.

What moisturiser do you use?

- Not often.

Do you keep your fingers on the home keys when you type?

- nope

Have you ever had a bonfire on the beach?

- nope

Are you skilled when it comes to working in the kitchen?

- I can prepare edible food, just not today.

Are you good at buying gifts for people?

- I like to buy gifts for people, I hope I'm good at it.

Would you consider yourself to be generous?

- with my time certainly.

When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?

- I don't know, probably while watching Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Going anywhere next year for vacation?

- No plans so far.

How many dresses do you own?

- not many.

What bothers you more, cigarette smoke or cigar smoke?

- Ciggy smoke.

Do you know anyone who is a germaphobe?

- probably.

Have you ever had a “thumb war” with someone?

- perhaps

When you were little, what movie did you watch over and over?

- can't remember.

Do you know what you want for your dream house?

- yes

Is there someone that likes you and won’t leave you alone?

- nope.

Has an animal ever taken a strong dislike to you?

- not that I can recall.

Do you have a lucky or special coin?

- erm...no.

Do you find you have a lot of notebooks that aren’t close to being filled?

- yes.

For you, does comfort or fashion come first in dressing?

- comfort!!!!

Have you ever seen a walrus?

Not in real life, no.

Side note: - Am I halfway through? Yay!!!

Blogaday 14 - Yes

2011-11-14T15:04:00.001-08:00

(also posted at www.sisterbluebird.co.uk)

I just checked the date that the tickets for this show were purchased - 15th December! I think 11 months is probably the longest I have waited for a Christmas gift. Still, as far as I'm concerned it was worth the wait.

This was my second Yes concert. Both have featured "new boy" Benoit David. First time it felt like he was trying to fill a Jon Anderson shaped hole, but this time was different - backed with a huge chunk of new material he appeared more confident and like he was trying to win the audience over.

The set list featured four tracks from the new album including the epic Fly From Here which I will come back to later. The first new track bought about a minor evacuation to the toilets (I've seen this before at gigs, and they all end up running back to their seats because it's nearly always a popular one that follows a new one) which is a shame as that was the point that the whole thing really hit its stride. On the whole I found the new material to be the real stand out moments in the set. Not that the rest was bad, far from it, but I just felt the new stuff was somewhat better. Fly From Here was was captivating from beginning to end. So much so that you really didn't seem to notice how long the whole thing was. By the end I felt breathless from the drama of it all rather than exhausted from the length.

Throughout the concert I became quite enthralled by the choreography involved with Steve Howe's guitars. The tech had the moves down to a fine art, moving the right instrument into place at the right time. Let's get down to the highlights shall we - all personal opinion of course!

Second song in was Tempus Fugit. It's one of my favourites and it as pretty damn cool to get to see Geoff Downes playing on a track from the Drama album. (In fact the only downside of the gig was the we got Heart Of The Sunrise rather than Machine Messiah, not that Heart of The Sunrise was shabby in anyway.)
The afore mentioned Fly From Here, with added bonus points for a video guest appearance by Trevor Horn on the accompanying footage projected onto the screen behind the band.
Into the Storm - another one off the new album which easily slotted into the set among the better known songs.
Geoff Downes on keytar. There was already a plethora of keyboards on stage, that's never enough right, so he strapped one across his chest. Made my day!

The set list was fleshed out with plenty of classics tunes that wouldn't go amiss on a Best Of compilation, including Starship Trooper which is another personal favourite if you haven't gathered that from the name of this music blog.

After the obligatory encore of Roundabout it was off out into the night, clutching my new band shirts, to get the coach back to Liverpool ready for work the next day. Both the to and from bus journeys on Monday featured Yes on the mp3 player.

Many thanks to Stephen for taking the photographs and letting me use them.

Blogaday 13 - Owl

2011-11-13T08:12:00.001-08:00

Take a look at this little beauty!
Mum got to have him perched on her arm yesterday for a small donation to the bird sanctuary that is taking care of him.

Blogaday 12 - Gadget

2011-11-12T13:00:00.001-08:00

I have a new gadget. It's an android tablet and it's slowly growing on me.

It's taking a bit of getting used to but so did my galaxy player.

I have spent the afternoon downloading apps for it and hopefully a nice micro sd card will be arriving soon so I can load some movies etc onto it.

Go go gadget girl!

Blogaday 11 - Friday

2011-11-11T14:59:00.001-08:00

It's been a long week. Next week may seem longer. But it's the weekend at last.

I am without netbook this weekend as I travelled light to come home. So currently doing everything on the galaxy player. However I did pop onto dad's computer and ordered a new gadget which I should be able to pick up tomorrow.

More then.

Blogaday 10 - Kesey

2011-11-10T00:37:00.001-08:00

It's ten years since the passing of Ken Kesey. While many think of him only as the author of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, to me he is all about the Merry Pranksters.

If there was a book that has changed my outlook on things, it's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe. It was pure chance that I read it and at first it was so hard to get into but once I got into the rhythm and style of the piece I was hooked on the lives of this bizarre bunch of people on this crazy old school bus led by this guy who refused to be pigeoned holed.
Take the drugs out of the equation - which the Pranksters themselves strived to do in the end - and the lesson from the Pranksters is to let your freak flag fly. If you see the world differently that should be okay, not something to be ashamed about.
I was privileged to briefly occupy the same space as Kesey. I didn't get to meet him, people were all over him. I hung back and met several Pranksters, and looked at the bus with a sense of wonder while Mathew Street stuffed shirts chuckled and called it all "whacky."
My most memorable Kesey moment came after seeing him on stage later that day. A young girl was hanging around the stage door looking for Mountain Girl. She wanted her to sign a Grateful Dead book for her boyfriend. Trouble was, she didn't know who was who. We had been hanging out with Mountain Girl during the day so I made the introduction for her. I was getting a flyer signed by Pranksters after the show, and this young girl took it from my hand and disappeared into the crowd gathered by the bus where Kesey was signing. Moments later she was back and my flyer had been signed. I didn't ask, she just did it, wordlessly, as a thank you. To me that was the power of the Pranksters and Kesey. For a moment we were all on the bus, and the world was an amazing place.
So thank you Kesey. You didn't make me who I am, but you and the Merry Pranksters made me realise it's okay to be who I am.
(And thank you Stephen for letting me use the bus photo, and for giving me my first copy of Electric Kool Aid Acid Test in the first place.)

Blogaday 09 - More Questions

2011-11-09T13:39:00.001-08:00

Do you ever buy CDs anymore?

Of course I do. MP3s are all very well but I've seen too many hard drive deaths to rely on the techology. I may only use the CDs to rip the tracks to a computer, but then it's put away safely in case of accident

Do you miss a lot of school or work?

I missed a lot of high school, I don't miss much work.

Have you ever been ice skating?

Nope!

Name me a few things you are thankful for.

VJ, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and my family and friends.

When was the last time you slow danced and with who?

It's so long ago that the details are lost to history.

What do you think is a waste of money?

There's so much in this wasteful disposable social climate. Things just aren't made to last these days.

What colour was the last dress you wore?

*tries to remember last I wore a dress* It was probably black. Or had flowers on it.

Did you get hyped up over Christmas?

I do. I love the magic of Christmas and I love giving people cool pressies.

Where do you buy your jeans at?

Wherever sells ones with ample arse room.

Do you think you get enough exercise?

Nope.

Have you ever eaten at a Hard Rock Cafe?

I have.

Which sports do you follow?

Football

What made your day today?

A Spanish chap came in with his mum and she spoke no English so he translated for her and she was so happy to be in Liverpool.

Do you have a maid that cleans your house?

No!

Who is your best friend of the opposite sex?

Stephen

Do people call you by your last name?

Nope!

Blogaday 08 - As promised

2011-11-08T14:31:00.001-08:00

Well the new cupboards are in.

The posters will live above them on shiny new boards. It's all jolly exciting. Looks like there's more "modifications" to come too.
In other news, Graham Linehan popped into the shop today. He seems very nice.
Sorry about the short post, I promise to try harder from now on.

Blogaday 07 - Work at Work

2011-11-07T13:50:00.001-08:00

Monday was even more of a chore than usual today as we are having new cupboards and posterboards fitted at the shop. This has involved having some of the old cupboards removed.

Hopefully it will all be complete by the end of tomorrow and I can post a photo of the shiny new stuff.
Other than that the highlight of the day was having crispy duck pancakes for tea.
Just ordered some comic books simply because I can, and lots of 32 gb memory doodads (a stick drive, an SD card and a micro SD card)
All a bit dull really, but not every day can be rock and roll eh?!

Blogaday 06 - A weekend at home

2011-11-06T08:57:00.001-08:00

I appear to have spent most of this weekend asleep, so much so that you wouldn't think that I recently had time off to catch up on things. Waking hours have been spent on technical things, some of which are driving me insane, but most have come together in a way that gives a sense of enough satisfaction with my own work.

I'd like to use my weekends to catch up on reading and listening to music or watching movies with my family, but more and more they seem to be about sleeping longer and better in order to get through the week.

Still I did get to hang out with VJ a little bit and I like to be at home. Sunday nights and Monday mornings bring about terrible bouts of home sickness.

Blogaday 05 - Some questions

2011-11-05T09:34:00.001-07:00

Do you ever wish you had a theme song that played when you did something awesome?
In my head there is!
Have you ever killed somebody in your head?
Yup!
Have you ever had a dream so realistic you had to think whether it really happened?
Yup!
Have you played random notes on a piano and had them actually sound good?
Nah, I remain stubbornly musically talentless even accidentally.
If you had/have a kid would you ever let em get a tattoo?
Once they were 18 they could do what liked really.
What is your fave thing to have for dinner?
food!
Have you ever licked a pole?
I don't know anyone from Poland.
Has your hand ever gotten slammed in a car door?
Yes. It hurt.
Are you allergic to grass?
when it's cut
What is the first thing on your To Do List for this month?
write these blogs
Is there an album you can’t wait to be released?
Yes - I cannot wait for a new release from Honeybug!
If you could own a store, what would it sell?
stuff people really really needed so business never wavered
What was the last thing you recieved via mail?
a dvd
What about via instant messenger?
I don't use it
Have you eaten any chocolate today?
no, which may be the cause of the headache I have
When is a time someone would NOT want to be around you?
mornings
What was the last thing you wrote about?
mornings
Are you wearing pyjamas?
not right now
You have the album Nevermind, right?
Nope!
Any concerts coming up that you want to go to?
I have tickets for all the up coming gigs I want to go to. I'm clever like that!
How long has it been since you have been to a concert?
It appears to have been since July!
How are you different today than you were yesterday?
older and wiser
How would you describe your mood at the moment?
swinging!
Have you ever eavesdropped on someones conversation?
usually at work
Have you ever shoved stuff under your bed to make your room look clean?
*whistles innocently*
Have you ever tried picking up an item with your foot?
all the time
What would you do if you became an overnight celebrity?
cash in!
What was the last thing to blow your mind?
my photo of the moon
Do you think putting paper in a shredder is fun?
meh!
What makes you feel sensational?
not much at the moment.
What toys did you play with in the bathtub as a kid?
A duck, a yacht and nail brush shaped like a bath.
When was the last time you sang along with a song? Which one was it?
Probably at work, lord knows what it was.
Have you ever wished you had a different name? Which name would you choose?
nope.
Do you own any figurines? Of what?
I have some comic book figures
Do you prefer travelling alone or with people?
alone
What sort of things do you have bookmarked in your internet browser?
soc nets
What was the last book you read?
Just finishing a biography of Marty Feldman
Don’t you just hate taking showers in the winter?
No, we have central heating.
Do you say “epic fail” a lot?
no
How personal does a question have to be so that you won’t answer?
I don't know
Did you eat your Wheaties this morning? What was for breakfast?
I had muesli this morning.

Blogaday 04 - In Gratitude

2011-11-04T04:46:00.001-07:00

Blogaday 03 - X Men First Class

2011-11-03T01:36:00.001-07:00

I finally watched X Men First Class last night. It's a cracking little film.

I'm not sure what I was expecting but it surpassed any I may have unknowingly had. It kept wonderful visual continuity with the other X-Men films and fleshed out character backgrounds that had only been hinted at or been part of brief flashbacks. (I'm not up well enough on the comic books to compare stories from there.)

The casting was superb and the script had some great throwaway lines. The best line however came from a certain cameo, as not everyone has seen the film yet I won't go into detail, but I'm sure those who have seen it will know which bit a mean.

I guess there's enough scope for a sequel to the prequel, and if they make it as good as this it would be something to look forward to.

Blogaday 02 - Five Songs

2011-11-02T01:26:00.001-07:00

This is a recurring blog thing that does the rounds every now and again. Basically you list five songs that currently seem to inhabit your ear space. They don't have to be your favourite songs or even by your favourite artists. They are simply songs that currently rock your world, or have special meaning, attached to recent events or just persistant earworms that play in your head at inopportune moments.

Here's mine! If you do your own let me know where you've posted it so I can go and have a look.

Johnny And The Monorail - The Buggles

This is probably my favourite track on the album The Age Of Plastic. I like the simplistic line "oh my my you are so sci fi" because everything sci fi back then had a monorail! ;-)

And You And I (Alternate Version) - Yes

Available as a bonus track on the CD of Close To The Edge, this version never fails to send shivers of sheer joy down my spine. I can't quite put my finger on how it does it, but I'm glad it does.

Blinded By The Light - Manfred Man's Earth Band

A fairly simple song elevated to loftier proportions by the arrangement. It features of lots of my travel playlists.

Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins - Leonard Nimoy

A cash in on the popularity of Tolkien? It's about as Un-Spock as you can get and I quite like it, however it would be nice if it didn't burrow into my head quite so often!

Nightbus - Matt Stevens

The first track on the latest release from Matt Stevens grabs you straight away. To me it sounds like a modern reworking of a long lost classic TV show theme probably involving spies and pithy comments. Check out Matt's music at www.mattstevensguitar.com/

Full credit goes to Tim at Where Worlds Collide who usually starts off the wave of Five Songs posts, I hope he doesn't mind me going first this time. My past Five Songs posts can be found in the archive at my music blog www.sisterbluebird.co.uk

Blogaday 01 - Introduction.

2011-11-01T01:33:00.001-07:00

So the plan is this - I aim to try and blog every day in November. I apologise for taking up your timelines, feeds, lists etc...but the normal intermittent service will resume from 1st December!

Why? Well, why not? It's a further excercise in discipline and achieving something I set out to do. (Like the photo a day project on my photo blog.)

Thankfully there are a few things coming up this month that should mean I have things to actually write about.

I may fail to post every day, but I can but try. And with a bit of luck it will encourage me to update more right across my blogs.

Wish me luck!

An experiment

2011-10-29T05:30:00.001-07:00

I'm using my posterous account again after quite some time in order to post to my private and public blogs simultaneously whenever I have a post to go to both.

Also testing how easy the android app for posterous is to use.

So you can effectively ignore this post. Cheers!

A Challenge

2011-10-26T03:19:00.000-07:00

As a glutton for punishment I have decided to set myself a challenge. I will endeavour to post a blog every day for the whole of November. The posts will all be posted here, but some may be cross posts for my other blogs where applicable. My photo a day project doesn't count.

Wish me luck and sorry in advance if I dominate your RSS/Blog feeds.

All Tie-dyed up and no place to go!

2011-10-21T16:32:00.001-07:00

Well I’ve been busy and revamped some of my blogs today.

This one has a tie-dye thing going on. I guess that’s where my head is at at the moment.

I’ve also given www.sisterbluebird.co.uk and www.mightymysticgirl.co.uk a bit of a face lift.

There has also been a lot of reading today. I want to do some book reviews. Hard to know where to publish them though.

Anyway, it turns out it’s tomorrow already so I think it’s time to do a little more reading before sleep.

New Look

2011-10-21T06:11:00.001-07:00

Simply because I can, I shall be revamping and relaunching this blog by the end of this week.

Quick Catch Up

2011-10-05T06:55:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it feels like I haven't got enough hours in the day, at least not if I want to sleep as well. Hence a lack of blogging. Who knew all this responsible adult malarky was such hard work eh!

Anyway. I had a smashing birthday a couple of weeks back. It was probably the best birthday I've had in a long time. My parents crashed my birthday my lunch! Apparently the look of happy surprise on my face was a picture!

Work has been a been tiring lately and I've been having trouble sleeping. I don't think I have fully recovered from Beatle Week to be honest. I have booked some time off for this month though. I just need to work out what to do with it.

Soundtrack of My Life

2011-09-17T09:34:00.001-07:00

Stick your music player on random and apply songs as follows -

Opening Credits: I Feel The Earth Move – Carole King
Waking Up: The Jungle Is Jumping – The Wombles
First Day of School: I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down – Elvis Costello
Falling in Love:Catch Us If You Can – Dave Clark 5
Fight Song: Down At The Barber Shop (Singing In Harmony) – The Wombles
Prom: Just A Song Before I Go – Crosby Stills & Nash
Life:Volare – Dean Martin
Mental Breakdown: 21st Century Schizoid Man – King Crimson
Driving: Blaze Of Glory – Bon Jovi
Flashback: You Should Be Dancing – The BeeGees

Getting Back Together: It’s only Money – Cliff Richard
Wedding: Vault 101 – Kirby Krackle
Birth of Child: Workin’ For A Livin’ – Huey Lewis & The News
Final Battle: Tangled Up In Blue – Bob Dylan
Death Scene: Love Is Like A Butterfly – Dolly Parton
End Credits: It’s Seem A Pity – Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky Mick and Tich.

Make of that what you will!

September already?

2011-09-15T06:48:00.001-07:00

Beatle Week has been and gone. Did I mention a calm before a storm in my last post? Me and my big mouth! There was heavy rain the night before the auction and the shop got slighty flooded. Most people were up working at the auction but Emma, Beth and myself were able to get the shop cleaned up and open by lunchtime! Phew.

The event was okay. The highlight for me is getting to see friends but I'll be honest I was so worn out that I didn't really have the energy to enjoy it that much.

I got a tax rebate not too long ago so I spent it on a new camera, you can expect lots more photos of stuff high up on buildings and extreme close ups of flowers and bugs! Looking forward to giving it a work out at gigs at some point in the future too.

I've had a bit of an odd week this week. I've had a bit of a cold and don't seem to be able to shake it off completely. This seems to be leaving me feeling a bit deflated and out of sorts. I always bounce back, it just feels like it is taking longer than usual this time.

posted from Bloggeroid

Lately it occurs to me, what a long strange trip it's been...

2011-08-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

For various reasons there have been moments of reflection this week. Some were fun, some not so much. But the outcome has been the same and that is that luckily I am who I am meant to be and where I am meant to be. And that being largely directionless doesn't actually mean you'll get nowhere, after all if you don't know where you're going any road will take you there.

A friend from college recently uploaded some photos to facebook. I was looking at one in particular where I was wearing jeans and a hoodie and realised I'd gone to work that morning in jeans and hoodie. Some would see this as a lack of progress maybe, or hanging on to something of the past. I see it as proof I've always been me, take me as you find me, if you don't like it then bugger off. I showed the photo to a friend I've only known a relatively short while, she reckoned I looked pretty much the same then as I do now. An awful lot of water has passed under the bridge in the two decades since the photo was taken but fundamentally I am the same person. And that person is mostly quite nice, but I do take a lot less crap from others these days.

The last few weeks have been hectic as we finalised the listings for the Beatles Auction and sorted out the catalogue ready to go off to print. We've also been trying to sort out the stock ready for the onslaught of tourists in the coming weeks. (There's three cruise ships due in on top of already increasing tourist traffic and, of course, it's nearly Beatle Week.) Now we've reached a sort of lull. We're on top of just about everything, and anything we're not is actually out of our control. I panic about Beatle Week every year, but this year I seem to be looking towards the point where it's over rather than freaking out about it. Perhaps the leg injury I am carrying is making my more philosophical. It's certainly making me slow down and not over do things, as well as making me appreciate my wonderful staff even more as they have been taking on some of the duties I can't manage. Just a couple more weeks and I can get the rest I'm meant to be getting. (I'm off this weekend and plan on not moving very much, it may not make me completely match fit for the event but it will mean I'm not useless.)

I am not realising how tired I am, so I'm trying for lots of early nights, but usually end up reading into the wee small hours. Last night, thanks to a complete stranger online trying to embroil me into matters I couldn't give a flying fig about, the exhaustion and recent stress gave way to a migraine but I managed to sleep it off completely.

I'm sat on the bed right now, and will shortly be settling into my jimjams and snuggling under the duvet, hoping this calm continues before the storm of the Bank Holiday...and beyond that everything lies stretched out ahead on a long road of contentment leading me to wherever I'm meant to be, even if it that's the place I've always been.

Here's to tomorrow, and tomorow, and tomorrow....

Just a quickie!

2011-07-22T04:34:00.001-07:00

I’d like to say how exciting this week has been but it is really is nose to the grindstone time in work. There’s a lot to get done for our forthcoming Beatles auction. I have to say we have some bloody fantastic stuff going up for auction this year. I have my eye on a couple of the cheaper pieces.

I won’t witter about them here – just go and take a look at the Shop’s auction blog if you are interested.

There has been a little retail therapy lately

The two Doctor Who books are signed by Terrence Dicks, Chris Achilleos and Frazer Hines. I got the other four in this batch of releases unsigned a couple of weeks ago. The CDS are White (featuring Alan White of Yes and The Plastic Ono Band fame), Jon Anderson’s new offering which seems fairly interesting and a Tom Lehrer compilation with DVD. Can wait to give them all a listen. Finally I treated myself to a Kindle. Don’t worry I’m not about to abandon books, but it is very handy for reading on the go. At the moment I’m loving the fact that I can read pdf files on it. So I’ve read my Misery Loves Sherman download and am currently reading Ian Prowse’s thesis on the Christy Moore and his place in Irish Music. Fascinating stuff.

Not sure how much I will get to blog over the coming weeks. Summer is not a period when I get much free time. It’s likely that any spare time will be spent sleeping! Haha!

The End of my Holiday.

2011-07-16T08:35:00.001-07:00

I am back in work tomorrow, giving Stephen a day off so it's not a huge long run of consecutive days for him.

Yesterday I went off into town for lunch with Donna at Cafe 31, then we walked up to the Walker Art Gallery to take a look around. I'd never been before. It was pretty amazing to see the pieces that were on display in Liverpool for free, including famous works such as When Did You Last See Your Father.

The picture is of a Degas painting. It’s always stunning to stand in front of paintings and see the brush strokes, some how the paintings come to life better than seeing them in a book.

We were both amused to see lego versions of two pieces of famous modern art on display.

The pictures were taken on my phone and therefore aren’t great, but they show Tracy Emin’s bed and Damian Hurst’s Shark.

After finishing our trip round the gallery, we had cool vintage style soft drinks in the cafe area before heading homeward.

It had been a fun couple of days but obviously it took a lot out of me. This morning I couldn’t get up and had to cancel hanging out in order to stay in and rest ready for work tomorrow.

The summer is the most busy time in the shop so it was good to take some time off beforehand. There’s a lot to be done from Monday onwards but at least I’ve had time to recharge a little.

Thursday–A Day Out in Liverpool

2011-07-15T02:49:00.001-07:00

I decided to use some of my time off to do some tourist stuff in Liverpool. There’s so much in the city and I’ve only seen a fraction of it despite spending so much time here.
I dragged my friend Donna along with me. I say dragged, but she was actually a more than willing victim.

First on the agenda was a Yellow Duckmarine Tour.

This is basically a bus tour around the city centre, showing some of the famous landmarks Liverpool has on offer. But then, the former D Day landing vehicle drives right into the dock and takes you on a floating tour of the Liverpool docks. Awesome!

The tour was very entertaining, and I even learnt one or two things I didn’t know. The tour guide and driver/Captain were very friendly. The driver offered to take our photo before the tour and the guide leant a helping hand in getting off the Duck at the end when the steps were a bit wet and slippy.
We followed this with a look around the Maritime Museum. It’s free to go and wander around the many floors of this fascinating place. It houses the Slavery museum and a collection of artifacts from the Titantic as well exhibitions about Maritime art and Customs and Excise.
A visit the to gift shop led to purchasing a stuffed, cuddly rat. Well it amused me!

It was lunch time so we popped into the Pump House which has had a bit of a refit since I was last in there (which, admittedly was a few years ago). The food was lovely and reasonably priced, and the service was very friendly. There was an offer on puddings so we decided it would be rude not to take them up on it! The chocolate and walnut brownie with mint choc chip ice cream came highly recommended by the bar staff and it was so yummy that for a while all Donna and I could do was nod at each other in approval!
Over lunch we suddenly realised that we may have enough time to go on the Mersey Ferry. During the day they operate a tourist cruise that takes a slightly longer, rounder route with a commentary explaining the buildings along the waterfront on both sides of the Mersey. The rest of the time the ferry operates a more direct commuter route.

We made it in time for the last of the tourist tours of the day. The weather was fabulous so we were lucky enough to get a seat on the upper deck outside in the sunshine.
The ferry offers the best view of Liverpool waterfront, as well as a chance to see the gorgeous river side views on the other side of the Mersey.

After a fantastic day, mostly spent of the water, we headed back into town for a quick drink at Cafe 31 on Mathew Street before heading home. I was shattered by the end of the day, but it was worth it. I have no idea how Donna managed to go out to the Cavern Club later, I really don’t.

Full set of proper photos by clicking here.

Scotland July 2011

2011-07-13T06:26:00.001-07:00

To say I was looking forward to this weekend away from it would be an understatement. It was hard to believe that it had been a year since I had been to Scotland. Partially this was due to work, partially to personal demons that were well and truly kicked in the butt and laid to rest. Let’s leave it at it being a truly wonderful feeling to have my parents take me away for a much needed break without having to put up with judgemental guilt trips from small minded individuals.

Moving on…

When we arrived at the site there was a thunderstorm going on. These foreboding clouds were right by the pitch where we parked the van. The heavens opened and rain fell in buckets.

After tea and sorting out my bags, my parents popped me across to Ni’s house with some beer. I’m glad I got to see Ni at least on this trip. Beer was drunk, music was played and listened to, and much, much talking was done before tiredness got the better of me and it was time to sleep.

Mum and Dad picked me up after breakfast en route to Stirling Castle. The park and ride bus was held up by an army band. There was bagpipes, brass instruments, big drums etc, and quite a crowd to watch. As the bus was able to move on the driver let some of band on the bus for a lift up the hill towards the Castle.

This amused us all on the bus especially as they kept waving to the others who were left to walk up to their waiting coach!

The Castle was great. We didn’t rush around it, just ambled taking it all in.

The weather remained lovely for most of the visit, and even when there was a brief shower, it was quite welcome and it meant we were able to cool down. We tramped around the whole castle. I took lots of photos, there’s a link to the flickr set for the whole trip at the end of this post.

The Royal chambers had been reopened just days previous by Her Majesty The Queen. These are bold replicas of the original ceremonial chambers in the Castle.

I do confess my favourite bits were all the canons, and the rather rude statues on a wall in the open courtyard.

After a long day wandering around the Castle an early night was in order.

Sunday was a quiet day. We went food shopping and drove around a little, but mostly we sat and read or listened to music. Shortly before the evening meal, Dad and I went for a short walk to the end of the long drive leading to and from the site. Of course, we took photos as we wandered.

There are Icelandic horses(?) in the field to the side of the site. They all have very pretty manes, but I took a photo of one that looked like it should have been in a hair metal band!

After we got back and ate, we noticed that the field in front of us had a new occupant. When we arrived there was two Highland Cows in the field, they were now joined by a new born calf!

Sunday evening was spent watching Paul on DVD. I knew my parents would love it and we all laughed our heads off throughout.

Monday arrived far too quickly, but we squeezed plenty in before we set off for home.

Not too far from the site was Rosslyn Chapel. The place was amazing. I took lots of photos of the outside which was fabulous, but inside was breath-taking. The masonry work was mind-blowing. No photography was allowed on the inside and it’s hard to find the words to describe it. The heavily carved interior contained so much detail you could probably spend a whole day there taking it all in and still spot more if you went back again. I felt quite over-awed by it all.

There’s a lot of renovation work going on at the Chapel at the moment. I’m sure the popularity garnered from it being featured in The Da Vinci Code has lead to a swelling of the coffers to get the work done.

The last stop of the day was Castlelaw Hill Fort. This involved a short walk up a steepish incline to get to the site. For the first time I used a walking pole and it really helped in hauling myself up the hill. The Fort and Earth House probably looks fairly dull to most visitors but I loved this subterranean dwelling with what is possibly a grain store.

And with that it was time to hitch up the van and head back to England. Despite having managed to fit an awful lot of stuff in, it really felt like the days had flown by. On the drive home I began brushing up on Scottish History ready to plan out a trip for later in the year!

Complete Set Of My Photos On Flickr.

Mystic's On The Road Again

2011-07-08T02:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I am on the road to my weekend away. I know it's very sad but I am sat in the back of the car with the netbook and my mobile internet dongle. I am trying to utilise the time to get a bit of writing done really, though I may just sit back and enjoy the ride shortly. (Motorways aren't exactly exciting though are they.)

So the caravan is home for a couple of days. It's been a while since I've been away in the van. It will be strange going to Scotland and potentially not seeing everyone, but at the same time I really need to get away and rest mostly. I have promised myself that I will get to visit again before the end of the year.

There are books, there is music and there's no real rush to do anything. That'll do nicely.

Here We Go! Here We Go! Here We Go!

2011-07-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

Just about to settle down and get some kip. I've set up the new internet mobile dongle so I can keep up while I'm away in a field in Scotland. I'm considering being very geeky and having the netbook in the car while we travel. It will be very strange not having a connection on the Galaxy Player, I've grown very accustomed to that little bugger. Still it's loaded with much tunage and is a handy "quick" camera.

I have been looking forward to this trip for ages. Even if it pours with rain (which is likely) I don't care. The idea is to rest and relax and recuperate properly.

I have to be up early in the morning so sleep is most definitely in order!

Weekend at home.

2011-07-03T02:18:00.001-07:00

After a hectic couple of weeks I have spent the weekend at home. I've had a stinking cold coupled with quite bad hayfever but the latter complication hasn't stopped me enjoying sitting out in the garden enjoying the nice weather. In fact yesterday I actually nodded off out there out there for a bit. It was so lovely im the fresh air listening to my favourite tunes and not fretting about things.
Just had coffee and breakfast out there and now it's time for a bath and then probably a quick game in the garden with VJ.

posted from Bloggeroid

Holidays and Purchases.

2011-06-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

Today I pencilled in the dates for a break in July. Pencilled because I'm not sure what I'm doing yet. It's a sizable chunk of time, but flexible too, as I am still me and too soft by half.

To celebrate I went out and bought a new pair of walking shoes.

They seem okay, will have to try them out at some point locally to make sure they are comfy and not going to suddenly rub or anything. I plan on there being some walking during my holiday. (Even if I'm spending time at home and just hop on a train somewhere for a wander.)

Took care of a huge blister on my foot this evening. Didn't even realise it was there. I think it's due to the very cheap trainers I bought. They feel comfy when I put them on but after a day on my feet I am in agony! I may go back to where I got the walking shoes from and look at their trainers.

I may go and look at pedometers in a bit. It's not a health kick by the way it's just getting out and about, the pedometer will be more for curiousity.

Anyway, things to do.

Oops

2011-06-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

Have I really not updated since April? Oh dear!

Well International Pop Overthrow came and went in May and there's been a couple of gigs I think. You can catch up on my music blog by clicking here.

I've been working hard, both at the shop and on other things. And the rest of the time has been spent trying to sleep or catching up with life things like laundry and stuff.

However I will try harder. Stay tuned.

ETA - I've edited this post via an app on my Galaxy device. Let's see how it works out.

Stuff

2011-04-27T05:42:00.000-07:00

I've actually updated a few blogs! I know it's a bit of a shock isn't it.

First of all - as I posted previously I have a new gadget. I have written a review on my Blog of Geekery.

Then I had a short adventure "over the water" in Birkenhead to see Rick Wakeman in concert.

And finally I rounded off the Easter weekend with a short walk in the Gardens and graveyard around the Anglican Cathedral. A few photos can be found here with a link the rest of the set on flickr.

Still doing well on the A Photo a Day for a Year front too - you can see those here.

Anyway, currently I am nursing a painful Achilles tendon. Rest is required, so shortly I am off out into town to go and see the Solid Silver Sixties Show at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall! I'm going to be sitting down for most of the show and will be hopping in a cab afterwards so it shouldn't be too bad.

Giving the Galaxy Player a work out.

2011-04-22T04:43:00.001-07:00

Okay, I admit it. This is on of those annoying test posts because I have a new gadget. I plan on doing a review at some point but I can't do that without giving it a rigorous work out can I?

Anyway, I'll just attach a photo and then you can go back to whatever you were doing. ;-)

Break over.

2011-04-13T14:35:00.001-07:00

Well my little break is over and I am back in Liverpool now till probably May.

I didn’t get to the science museum. I got up in plenty of time but felt rubbish and achy all over so went back to bed for three hours. Even then I still ached most of the day. A nice hot bubble bath helped, but some more warm sunshine would have helped more I reckon. Ah well.

Today I mostly packed to return here. However I did manage to do a bit of baking. I’m a passable if lazy cook, but I fancied making pies. I made a meat and potato one for our evening meal here, and an apple and cinnamon pie for dessert. Nice work if I do say so myself.

I have to get up in the morning and return to work. Time to put those new shoes to the test! Doing an extra day on Saturday too. If I have the energy and inclination I may take off the river front on Sunday…or I may just sit here and read.

Talking of reading, I ordered The Essential Punisher Vol 1 as a treat, I may have a little read of that before I go to sleep tonight.

And on that note, I bid you all good night. May your dreams be awesome and tomorrow be bright!

A bit of time off

2011-04-11T05:01:00.001-07:00

It’s Monday and I’m sat at home at the table on the netbook, and not leaning on a counter watching the rain fall in the street outside and wondering what I should get from Cafe 31 for my lunch.

I’ve been off since last Wednesday, but it’s taken till now to feel like I’m actually getting a bit of a break. I’ve been trying to remember the last time I took any reasonable amount of time off and I think it was last July when I went up to Scotland.

The weekend was lovely, with sunshine and everything. I’ve been sat in the garden watching the birds on the feeder and generally enjoying a bit of warmth. Sadly his morning it is bucketing down with rain. But I got a bit of a lie-in and I’m not on my feet for eight hours dealing with people who seem to think I’m a lower life form simply because I work in a shop. (To be fair not all customers are like that, but an awful lot of them are.)

So, not really done much with my time off. I’ve been out and bought shoes that should be nice and comfortable for work over the summer. My nice springy soled orthopaedic shoes finally wore out last week and stopped being comfortable. I found two nice pairs of reasonably priced shoes with adequate arch support and comfortable soles. It took me about ten minutes maximum. I do not shoe shop like a girl. I do, however, have very sensitive feet so if I find shoes that instant seem comfortable I am impressed and buy them.

I have had time to be geeky and have been sorting out the laptop. I’ve taken a lot of unnecessary stuff off it and tidied up a few old files etc… Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to like the router here at home. It will connect to the router itself but that’s it, no connection beyond that to the internet. It’s got us all flummoxed! Never mind though, I got a fair bit done, and I can spend sometime updating software when I get it back to Liverpool. (Hopefully anything we’ve done to get the connection working doesn’t affect the connection there!!)

We are currently awaiting the arrival of a British Gas engineer for the annual boiler service. This and the weather means that there’s no real plans for today, but tomorrow I’m hopeful that we are off to the Museum of Science and Industry. It’s the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s trip into space and they are letting off rockets to celebrate, also I just discovered that Tuesday is one of the days that they operate “baby” so I get to be geeky and see a very early computer in action. Plus the new Revolution section is now up and running, can’t wait to see that. MOSI is probably my favourite museum ever, if you can’t tell!

In other geek based news, I’ve started using getglue.com. Not sure how long it will be before I get bored/forget to check in regularly but I’m there and my user name is mysgreen.

filling in time

2011-03-25T04:30:00.000-07:00

1) List five things you can see without moving

1. A netbook 8-P

2. A neon bulb.

3. Customers browsing.

4. Various Beatles souvenirs.

5. the whole of the World Wide Web! Haha!

2) How do you style your hair?

I don't style my hair my hair styles me.

3) Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?

Dictionary, to spell the words I don't need a thesaurus for.

4) Who killed Nanna Birk Larssen?

????

5) What are you wearing right now?

clothes.

6) What's one gluttonous thing you like doing?

eating chocolate by the truck load.

7) What are you thinking about right now?

I'm wondering why customers like to invent things that don't exist then seem upset when we don't have them.

8) Dog person or cat person?

Dog person, but I seem to spend more time with cats than dogs lately.

9) Write the first word that comes to mind.

Transmogrified.

10) Would you be horrified if your partner/family/friends saw your browser history?

Not particularly - it's why they invented incognito browsing ;-)

11) A project you want to finish? Just one? Short term or long term?

All of them!

12) What are you doing this weekend?

Hopefully not very much.

13) How are you? Truly?

I ache, I'm a bit grumpy and am suppressing sociopathic tendencies - the usual really.

14) What did you do today?

So far - I spoiled someone's day by dragging them into work, I came to work, had a banana milkshake and cheese on toast, leant on the counter for a while, filled this in.

15) What are you looking forward to the most?

At the moment it's International Pop Overthrow in May in Liverpool - because there will be friends I love to bits in town!

16) Last thing you did?

Typed the answer to question 15
17) What are you doing tomorrow?

Hopefully I'll be spending sometime in the garden enjoying some sunshine.

18) What is your dream occupation?

Not having an occupation!
19) What is your favourite kind of pie?

Apple - made by my mum.

A trip to Sefton Park

2011-03-13T16:01:00.001-07:00

IMG0136A
Originally uploaded by mysgreen
Went off to Sefton Park for a couple of hours this afternoon. Donna was my partner in crime for the adventure.

It was cool. So nice just to wander around and not feel hassled.

I managed to leave my regular camera in the shop on Friday, so borrowed one of Stephen's old ones. Sadly it jammed after a few photos. Ever resourceful I did have a digital video camera on me that takes still photos, albeit not as well my regular camera, and my mobile phone camera. The full set of photos (minus a couple of personal ones) here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mysgreen/sets/72157626132995347/

But I thought I'd share this carving here, just for the hell of it. Would have loved to have taken more photos of it but two seconds after I took this it was covered in small children.

Anyway, sitting here in bed listening to Just A Minute. (Second time I've randomly listened to the show on iPlayer and discovered that Rick Wakeman was on the panel.) A new work week beckons, let's see if I can finally strike a balance and get through this week without getting knackered! (or getting a migraine!)

How long? Oops!

2011-03-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

Oh dear! I've let things lapse a bit round here haven't I? I shall endevour to post here much more often, well at least regularly.

Image by mysgreen via FlickrI am currently ploughing through The West Wing on DVD. I'm up to season three and simply loving it all over again.
It feels like catching up with old friends, and it feels good. By the time I've finished obsessing though, Donna (my friend, not the WW character) may regret providing me with the DVDs! Haha!

On a more serious note I had a cracking migraine over the weekend. A proper one. Knocked me right out and meant I missed the Teddy Bear's Picnic for George Harrison's birthday. I am slightly worried as I had a milder migraine attack the week before while I was at home. That o
Image by mysgreen via Flickrne only lasted a couple of hours, while the last one lasted all day and the after effects knocked me out for the next day too.

The Photo a day project is going okay, though I have just remembered that I've not taken one for today, I'd better rectify that shortly.

Lots of other stuff going on, working on relaunches for two websites - one my own and one not. Items are already arriving for the shop's auction in August so I've been updating the Auction Blog with stuff on a regular basis.

I'm hoping to be going to to the High Voltage Rock Festival in July, the line-up looks pretty damn good and I have never been to a music festival that lasts more than one day. Saving like mad to afford it, it's going to be good!

I think that's about it for now. I promise to try and post more often. Time for sleep shortly, still trying to get the hang of mornings!

Homeward Bound

2011-02-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

On the train heading back to Liverpool after a good weekend hanging out in the Midlands.

Twas cool sitting up late, talking b*llocks and watching lots of Prog stuff on DVD with Paul. (Though I am still recovering from the Rock Aid Armenia DVD which was the first thing we watched on Friday.)

It was also jolly nice to be socialable with Jason, Andrea, Mark and Joyce (hoping I've remembered names there) on Saturday in Birmingham. That was one nice chicken, leek and ham pie. I may have to look up the chain to see if there's one near by.

The weather looks a tad dreary for the trip back. Ah well. I think the weekend was just the tonic anyway, feeling mellow and reasonably content. And the shuffle function just offered me a little Sigur Ros. Don't mind if I do! 8-) (Yes I know the photo shows something else, that was when I started this post.)

The weat

On the road, er, rails again

2011-02-04T10:46:00.000-08:00

I only went and bought a cheap mobile to use when travelling. It has good battery life so I can save my Palm treo for calls etc. So no need to share the number.

Currently on a train that'll be stopping at Crewe next stop. After that I need to concentrate because I'm getting off at Stafford. Nearly missed the bus stop on Wednesday because my mind had just switched off.

Anyway I'm off to visit Paul J for the weekend. He's shown a passing interest in ELP so I'm on a mission for at a semi prog conversion! Haha!

I am armed with beer. Be warned those who frequent my social media streams, there will be drunken postings!!!

Right at Crewe now, need to pay attention!

I need to do a bigger catch up by the way, but it can wait while I have a well earned weekend of beer and music.

Look! More procrastination!

2011-01-26T15:07:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry, not quite ready to go to sleep but too tired to write an actual entry...soooo here's more questions. (Cheers Jill!)

Would you rather watch or play sports?
Watch, let other people get sweaty and wear shorts!

Would you like to live in Hollywood?
Probably not.

Do you have anything pierced other than your ears?
Not even my ears are pierced any more.

Did you have a favourite Carebear?
There was one that used to have two hearts, I'd have had that one cos it's obviously a timelord bear! But the modern version of it (Love-a-lot?) just has a bigger heart on it now that the other hearts on the bears.

Do you overuse the word awesome?
Occasionally.

Nobody likes to be labelled…so how would you describe yourself?
Me!

Do you find keyboardists sexy?

At the risk of giving the keyboard players I know the wrong idea...I find talent in general sexy! ;-)

What is your favourite Disney movie?
The Cat From Outer Space.

Does your bedroom represent you?
Both bedrooms are a complete mess...so erm..yes! ;-)

So what’s really on your mind right now?
I'm currently mentally talking myself out of backing up the music drive tonight, it will take far too long, I should leave it till tomorrow.

Do you currently have a tan?
I am mostly pale and uninteresting.

The last person you spoke to on the phone: What did you talk about?
Twas VJ and we talked about Grandpa.

Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction books?
Non-fiction.

What flavour was the last bowl of soup you ate?
It was in a takeout cup not a bowl but potato and leek.

What’s your favourite dessert?
Ice cream probably

Do you call it hug, cuddle or something else?
HUGGIIIIIIE!! It actually depends on who I intend to hug.

What colour are your pets, if you have any?
They are invisible coloured.

Do you think that everything is better when it’s spontaneous?
I need the security of a back up plan at times.

The bands / other workers in hotels: Do you ever think that they must really hate their jobs?
Probably, as they have to deal with the millionth stupid question/request/remark.

What if life was like a musical and everyone sang to explain themselves?
As long as it was a rock opera not something like feckin' Glee!

What do you carry around with you on a daily basis?
iPod, camera, phone and a whole sackload of emotional baggage! ;-P

Would you rather take a picture of yourself of have someone else take it?
I don't really like having my photo taken, maybe it's better someone takes it when I'm not aware I have a camera pointed at me (Not like a stalker or a pap though, that would be strange!)

What was the last thing that frightened you?
Stuff too horrible to contemplate cos it scares me every single day..

Name something you wished you liked, but you just can’t:
Most of the general population.

Would you rather live in a crowded city, or in the middle of nowhere?
As long as there was a road for deliveries and an internet connection I would take the middle of nowhere in a heartbeat!.

Do you express yourself through your clothing? If so, how?
I express my complete disregard for all things fashionable. ;-)

Are you the type that prefers kisses or hugs? Why?
Hugs! Less germs!

Would you stop cease being friends with someone if they started smoking?
I don't think so.

What is the longest you can go without using the internet?
On a normal day, I'm permanently hard wired to the net! Haha! Could I go without for a while, yeah probably, maybe a day-ish.

Is there something you are a lot better at than other people? What is it?
I am the best me there is.

What did you dream about last night?
I can't remember.

Do you tend to remember your dreams, or forget them?
Bit of both

Is there any dream you’ve had that was especially vivid and memorable?
There's a few..

What reasons do you have to be proud of yourself?
I get up for work every morning and those who know me well know that I am not a morning person. It's a struggle every day but I do it! I have never been overdrawn. For someone with "no responsibilities" I am a very responsible person. I still haven't completely lost my marbles, despite the best efforts of other people and the world in general.

Random iPod thing

2011-01-14T07:46:00.000-08:00

I am bored. Here's a silly set of questions again.

Set your music player/iPod on shuffle and use each track to answer the questions below.

(it's stupid and random but I'm going to start chewing the counter top soon!)

How am I feeling today?
Love Shine (Yes)

erm? what?

Will I get far in life?
Glad That I Live I Am (Rick Wakeman)

I'll take that as a no shall I?

How do my friends see me?
No Good Trying (Syd Barrett)

Is that I'm No Good, trying - or that it's no good trying ??

Where will I get married?
Without You (Nilsson)

True! I'm marrying noone!

What is my best friends theme song?
Duchess (Genesis)

Not at all!

What is the story of my life?
Concrete and Clay (Unit 4+2)

City bound for all eternity *sigh*

What is/was high school like?
Prostitute Poem (Gong)

?????????

How can I get ahead in life?New Pony (Bob Dylan)

I need to run away on a horse?

What is the best thing about me?
New Amsterdam (Elvis Costello)

That's where people go to escape me! Haha!

How is today going to be?
Hideaway (Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick and Tich)

It's like it's READING MY MIND!!! ;-)

What's in store for this weekend?
Little Guitar (Jon & Vangelis)

Is this a sign to reach the uke of the shelf?

What song describes my parents?
Attention Not Required (Richard Snow)

Aaaw! That seems a tad harsh!

What song describes my grandparents?
Bad Penny Blues (Humphrey Littleton Band)

Harsh for most of grandparents I think.

How is my life going?
This Song (McFly)

Is this a sign that I am not George Harrison?

What song will play at my funeral?
Maple Leaf Rag (Emerson Lake & Palmer)

I'm going to hold you to this!

How does the world see me?
True Love Tends To Forget (Bob Dylan)

I get that impression, yes!

Will I have a happy life?
Little Lamb Dragonfly (Paul McCartney & Wings)

Aaaaw! That song makes me smile

What do my friends really think of me?Tubas In The Moonlight (Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band)

I expected no less from you all! ;-)

Do people secretly lust after me?
Emotional Winter (Anathema)

So only for warmth then?

How can I make myself happy?
Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Lloyd Price)

No hope there then eh?

What should I do with my life?
Morning After (Mar-Keys)

Erm...what?

Will I ever have children?
My Big Best Shoes (Tommy Steele)

An old lady who lived in a shoe? I think not!

What is some good advice for me?
Keep On Running (Spencer Davies Group)

Nuff sed!

How will I be remembered?
Whatever Happened To True Love (Huey Lewis & The News)

Ok?

What do I think my current theme song is?
Confidential To Me (Bob Dylan)

apt

What type of men/women do you like?
E-Musik (Neu)

I do know a few musicians via the internet?

What does your man/woman love about you?
December 63 Oh What A Night (Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons)

Doubtful!

What song do you secretly love?
My Sentimental Friend (Herman's Hermits)

Aaaw! I do!

What do you want to do tomorrow?
Rock 'N'' Roll Star (Oasis)

oops, my groupie tendencies are showing again! Haha!!

A photo a day for a year

2011-01-12T08:54:00.000-08:00

I'm doing one of those 365 photos thingimabobs.
I'm up to day 12 so far which is good for me! ;-)
You can see the daily results at my photoblog though I'm also posting the links on various social media places I frequent (tumblr, twitter, facebook)
Hopefully I will encourage me to find vaguely interesting things every day.

Ten to One (more questions sort of)

2011-01-11T15:59:00.000-08:00

Ten things you want to say to ten different people right now.
1. You are the most amazing person I know and you are going to have an great life.
2. Your misery is your own creation and you will never escape it with that attitude and I'm not sure you actually deserve to.
3. I don't actually like you very much, but that's because you're a bit of a knobhead.
4. I am so glad I don't have to put up with you any more.
5. You are making a serious mistake and alienating people you will want to turn to later.
6. For crying out loud, get over it you whiny two-faced lying hypocritical talentless bitch.
7. One day I'll get to hang out with you and it will be awesome.
8. I still want my tin back you ignorant tw*t!
9. You confuse me, but I do like spending time with you.
10. You intrigue me greatly.

Nine things about yourself.
1. I should be asleep right now
2. I really do actually like prog rock and comic books. (I also like other stuff though, don't pigeon-hole me)
3. One foot is half a size bigger than the other but I can never remember which one it is.
4. I talk in my sleep
5. I wear kiddies socks, cos most grown up ones are boring or too big.
6. I am currently listening to Emerson Lake and Palmer
7. I think I'm addicted to the Hot Chocolate from Cafe 31 on Mathew Street.
8. I have never been overdrawn.
9. I can drive, but I don't.

Eight ways to win your heart.
1. Don't bother trying, I have given up on affairs of the heart.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Seven things that cross your mind a lot.
1. Am I screwing this up?
2. I wish I wasn't so bloody tired all the time.
3. How do you reverse the polarity of a neutron flow??
4. I'm pretty sure I should find that strange...
5. What would happen if I just.....
6. where did I put my phone?
7. Why aren't girl's clothes more practical and have pockets!!!!! Grrrr!!!

Six things you wish you’d never done.
1. I wish I'd never let my guard down.
2. I wish hadn't drunk quite so much in the early 90s.
3. I wish I hadn't tried to skip in my wellies when I was kid.
4. I wish I hadn't left my tin behind
5. I wish I hadn't messed up my A-levels, twice.
6. I wish I hadn't gone on that holiday
.
Five people who mean a lot.
1. VJ
2. Mum
3. Dad
4. Ellie
5. All my amazing friends! ;-)

Four turn offs.
1. Knobheads
2. Ego-centrics
3. Liars
4. Hypocrisy

Three turn ons.
1. blond haired bass players/guitarists/singers from the 70s
2. waist coat wearing smugglers from a galaxy far far away
3. hat wearing whip wielding archaeologists from a bygone era.

Two smileys that describe your life right now.
1. 8-P
2. \m/

One confession.
I have had beer this evening (on top of painkillers earlier!)

Random Questions

2011-01-11T15:18:00.000-08:00

Do you dry your dishes with a tea towel or leave them to air dry?
Air dry, unless I need them quick.

Do you believe schools are used to indoctrinate children?
Schools are just exam factories now, no joy of learning, so sad.

What did you dream about last night?
Ice lollies. *big grin*

What did you eat for breakfast today?
I didn't have breakfast today, today was a day of general queasiness.

What is your favourite mythical creature?
Phoenix

5 horse sized ducks or 50 duck sized horses?
Ickle horses!

Pen or pencil?
Depends what I'm doing really. Either.

Apples or bananas. Discuss.

Of the two I prefer bananas - fabulous in milkshakes for hangovers.

If you could have a super power, what would it be?
oh but have super powers! ;-)

Where would you like to spend your retirement?

I'm either retiring to Southport or somewhere near the Norfolk Broads, and the sooner the better. ;-)

Cats or Dogs?
I'm a dog person, I'm allergic to both though didn't know I was allergic to dogs till I didn't have one. However, just lately I seem to spend more time with cats.

Who’s the most beautiful person you know?
VJ, without a doubt - beautiful soul, beautiful person.

What do you think is your most attractive feature?

Physically I like my shoulders, I am also a bloody lovely person when you get to know me.

What celebrity would play you in a movie about your life?
Eddie Izzard (running joke about me and transvestitism)

What TV show makes you laugh the loudest?
Mock The Week and Buzzcocks nearly do me in with laughing, and Not Going Out is a guilty pleasure.

If you could have everything you ever wanted in life but it meant giving up the internet forever, would you?
But the internet is everything I ever wanted!

Do you consider yourself a good dancer?
I only dance when I'm ratarsed or no-one's watching. I am not a good dancer.

Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate.

Would you rather vacation at the beach or in the mountains?
I'm not a beach type, I enjoyed the mountains when I went to the Poconos

If you could be a star athlete in any sport, which sport would you pick?
Dunno, which is the least energetic???

Would you rather own a luxury yacht or a private jet?
A Luxury Yacht, which I would call Raymond. 8-)

Who was the best teacher you’ve ever had?
Mrs Ballard, 2nd year Infants.

What do you think is the best way to defeat terrorism?

Just getting on with things. There aim is to terrorise, if you just go about life as normal they don't win.

What do you think was the greatest invention in your lifetime?
The sinclair C5 (that may not be a serious answer)

What website do you spend the most time on?
Twitter.

If you were stranded on a desert island, which one person would you bring with you?
Whoever looked the easiest to cook.

Where’s your favourite place to buy clothes?
There's a clothes shop near Stephen's that does larger sized clothes that don't look like sacks.

End of Year Post (sort of)

2010-12-30T16:14:00.000-08:00

I was going to do a big old look back at the year, but it's raking up things I'd pushed aside and moved on from and basically meant acknowledging things whose existence I no longer wish to acknowledge. So rather than go down that path again let's just say that 2010 was a year when I got things put into sharp perspective for me. Through the honesty and love of some amazing friends I got through the sh*tty bits and focused on the positive. I changed in several ways, but I didn't let certain things get in the way of my usual nature and I made some brilliant new friends and realised how much every one of my friends, new and old, meant to me. To all who stepped up when I needed you whether it was with emotional support or just plain distracting silliness - you are amazing people and I owe you so very much. I can no longer bring myself to care about the kind of people who twist things and play stupid games, life is better without that sort of behaviour going on, it's freer and so far so very much more enjoyable.
So I'm thankful to have positive energy at the end of the year. My love goes out to those who have ended the year with sorrow, as does the hope that things improve as the New Year progresses.
My New Year plans involve spending time with my family and I am looking forward to a year full of friendship, frivolity and fun. Are you with me? 8-)
Happy New Year everyone
See you in 2011.

If I were...

2010-12-30T14:48:00.001-08:00

If I were a month, I’d be September
If I were a day of the week, I'd be Sunday
If I were a time of day, I'd be lunchtime
If I were a planet, I'd be Uranus
If I were a sea animal, I’d be an anemone
If I were a direction, I’d be North
If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a battered old comfy sofa
If I were a liquid, I’d be brandy
If I were a gemstone, I’d be a sapphire
If I were a tree, I’d be a Yew tree
If I were a tool, I’d be a screw driver
If I were a flower, I’d be a freesia
If I were a kind of weather, I’d be a tornado
If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a bass guitar
If I were a color, I’d be green
If I were an emotion, I’d be "blah"
If I were a fruit, I’d be a melon
If I were a sound, I would be the sound of the monsters in your wardrobe
If I were an element, I’d be wind *parp*
If I were a car, I’d be a classic mini that didn't quite work properly.
If I were a food, I’d be a fruit cake.
If I were a place, I’d be Southport
If I were a material, I’d be some kind of manmade fibre.
If I were a taste, I’d be pear drops
If I were a scent, I’d be Karma

And so that was Christmas!

2010-12-27T14:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas is over with for another year, all that's left is to finish off the last bits of choccies and save a bit of booze for the New Year.

As I was being driven back to Liverpool it struck me that it all went deliriously smoothly when you consider we had no water at all on Christmas Day. The pipes had frozen and we couldn't quite find the source to point the fan heater in the right direction. (Not for the want of trying, the hall was nice and warm!) Our neighbours filled pans for us and a large plastic bucket we'd been using for the laundry, and we set to. Dinner was cooked with no problem, we were able to offer warm drinks and the last thing we did before we sat down for the meal was to put a large pan of water on to heat up in order to do the washing up. Seriously, those family members in the living room would have been hard pressed to notice we had no water if we hadn't mentioned it. Although to be fair they were going to notice when they went to the loo. Still, dinner for seven was prepared with very little of a hitch without any running water whatsoever!

I've already posted about my pressies. I'm busy ripping my Argent CD box set to my laptop ready to stick it on my iPod.

I think the highlight of Christmas for me has been VJ staying over. Christmas Eve we settled down to watch a Goodies episode and then we read a Christmas edition of the Super Hero Squad comic book. I'm treasuring these moments as sullen teenagedom can't be far away. Christmas morning saw us watching another Goodies episode while we opened the goodies in our stockings and waited for mum and dad to get fan heaters in place to try and get us some water. VJ was wonderfully appreciative of all her pressies and was quite happy to wait for Nana to arrive for dinner before opening the gifts from her.

Boxing Day was basically a pretty lazy day, the fire survived the night so was made to last out the day. Games were played on the Wii and random nappage occurred. I was also given the opportunity to nip off and quietly watch the Doctor Who Christmas episode on my own as I'd been helping get Nana home while it was on the day before. Oh and we finally found the frozen bit of pipe and thawed it out that morning so we had water again! Yay!

Now I am back in Liverpool for a few days to work before returning home to let in the New Year (weather permitting) with VJ, and probably watch more Goodies episodes with her!

Christmas Pressies

2010-12-27T07:15:00.000-08:00

Here we go -
Big box of chocs, Everton Socks, Everton Bowl, Everton Duck, Everton book, Norman Wisdom DVD box set (so amused, my friend did the interviews for the commentaries!), Iron Man T-shirt, Crabbies Glass and Chopping board set, Hello Sailor, Stig on a rope, Argent CDs, plus (not pictured) Bill Bruford's Autobiography, Mountains Come Out Of the Sky (book about prog rock) and still to come - a Marvel flight bag and a Marvel overnight bag.
Oh there was a couple of smellies too.

Will catch up shortly, just packing for my return to Liverpool.

End of Year questions.

2010-12-16T08:42:00.001-08:00

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you. Hahaha!

Erm...got a proper full time job.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Didn't make any, won't be making any, but I do have a few aims for 2011.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I gained another relative somewhere along the way.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
I lost people this year, but no-one overly close.

5. What countries did you visit?
Scotland!!! .

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
More trips to see my Scottish chums, more fun with my mates (not that 2010 lacked this)

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Beginning of May. I started work full time and the next day they took VJ into hospital. Both v. scary.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Surviving.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Just for a change I don't think I've failed at all this year. I've a lot to be proud about.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I have had a cold forever, but that's about it.

11. What were the best things you bought?
My netbook, cheap coach tickets to Scotland, tickets to a myriad of gigs.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
All my gorgeous friends.

Also my sister who proved herself to be a better person this year.

13. Whose behaviour appalled you?
All the knobheads I've had to deal with.

14. Where did most of your money go?
I'm proud to have blown most of it on having a bloody good time at gigs, on trips with friends, comic books and geeky gadgetry!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Mostly gigs, and things to do with my mates.

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
There's probably a whole soundtrack....

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier, definitely happier. It's a been a while since I've felt good.
ii. thinner or fatter? About the same, though I was thinner for a while, this cold snap put a stop to that due to comfort eating
iii. richer or poorer? Technically richer.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Spent more time with VJ, and visited more chums.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Getting worked up over idiots. Vomitting.

20. How will you be spending Christmas and/or New Year's?
Christmas will be with my family. New Year I don't know about yet.

22. Did you fall in love in 2010?
I never fell out.

23. How many one-night stands?
none

24. What was your favorite TV programme?

I loved Doctor Who this year (I love it every year, but am so enjoying Matt Smith in the role.)

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Yes.

26. What was the best book you read?
This year - Keith Badman's Marilyn Monroe book. (I may be biased!).

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I've listening to so much new (to me) music this year I couldn't begin to pick one.

28. What did you want and get?
Contentment, and I think I got there.

29. What did you want and not get?
An escape route, but it turns out I didn't need one..

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
Toy Story 3.

31. What did you do on your birthday?
I can't remember. I probably spent it at home.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I don't know really. More sleep..

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
same old same old.

34. What kept you sane?
My beautiful friends. Beauty isn't skin deep, it's some deeply embedded in a person's soul and I'll lucky enough to be surrounded by beautiful souls.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
As ever I have spent most of the year wishing for a time machine to go and find Greg Lake during the 70s..

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
most of them

37. Who did you miss?
Mostly The Ramones. 8-P

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Technically I think we met before this year but Donna is made of awesome.

Meme nicked from Ian on LJ

2010-11-26T12:05:00.001-08:00

1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth?

Cough medicine, the good stuff that tastes horrible.

2. Where was your profile picture taken?

Mmm...as I'm cross posting this there's no definitive answer really. My profile pics are usually taking in my room or in the back of the shop, or the bathroom because the lighting is good. Or they are beautifully crafted piece of artwork by Daneila!

3. Can you play Guitar Hero?

I have never tried but I'm guessing I'd be rubbish.

4. Name someone who made you laugh today?

Alun Parry did with this brilliant parody http://parrysongs.co.uk/go/2010/11/comedy-song-folk-star/.

5. How late did you stay up last night and why?

I went to bed around midnight, I was watching Chuck.

6. If you could move somewhere else, would you?

Yes.

7. Ever been kissed under fireworks?

Nope, what an odd question, is it meant to romantic or something?

8. Which of your friends lives closest to you?

Stephen lives in the same house as me most of the week.

9. Do you believe exes can be friends?

Stephen lives in the same house as me most of the week.

10. How do you feel about Dr. Pepper?

It's a drink, I have no emotional attachment.

11. When was the last time you cried really hard?

Right now I can't remember, this is a good thing cos normally it's a regular thing.

12. Who took your profile picture?

Probably me.

13. Who was the last person you took a picture of?

Probably VJ.

14. Was yesterday better than today?

Yes, I got out of bed yesterday and was able to go to work.

15. Can you live a day without TV?

Yes.

16. Are you upset about anything?

I'm upset that I had to make Stephen go into work today, but it's not the end of the world, just me beating myself up over nothing really.

17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?

I am last person to speak to about the subject.

18. Are you a bad influence?

I do my best!.

19. Night out or night in?

Depends really, at the moment I'm more inclined to nights in, for tis the season to be a knobhead if you're out and I can't be arsed putting up with it for the sake of a quick drink.

20. What items could you not go without during the day?

At least one cup of coffee, my phone, my ipod.

21. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?

VJ.

22. What does the last text message in your inbox say?

‘Okay, will do.’

23. How do you feel about your life right now?

I feel fine, things could be better, but then again they could be much worse.

24. Do you hate anyone?

There are certainly people I would happily set fire to so I could refuse to piss on them.

25. If we were to look in your facebook inbox, what would we find?

Lots of stuff I should have deleted but can't be arsed.

26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?

Depends whether I took too uch cough medicine I suppose, I just sort of guessed.

27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before?

Before what? No, no one has, because I'm not.

28. What song is stuck in your head?

Worryingly none at the moment. I don't like it when there's no music stuck in there. 8-(

29. Someone knocks on your door at 2:00am, who do you want it to be?

I don't want it to be anyone, why would someone be knocking on the door at 2am? I could only be bad news!

30. Wanna have grandkids by the time you're 50?

That would be a negatory.

31. Name something you have to do tomorrow.

Damn, Ian beat me to the best answer!

I have to go out into the cold world and get some more cough mixture probably and painkillers.

32. Do you think too much or too little?

Definitely too much.

33. Do you smile a lot?

Probably much more than some people may think I have a right to 8-)

Wordle for this blog

2010-11-24T15:42:00.000-08:00

Waving! (Not drowning)

2010-11-23T08:12:00.001-08:00

Well not drowning yet...the current about of snot I'm producing my have another idea though!

Blimey it's been a while. (Unless you're on my LJ where I've actually posted for a change!)

Let's see! I've finally updated www.sisterbluebird.co.uk with some reports of giggage. I'm still lost under a pile of CDs that need commenting on. And there are books coming out of my ears!

I have had a couple of lovely weekends with my family. Last weekend involved a fair amount of Dad's Army episodes, a few games of Battleships and a couple of Goodies episodes all with my niece. (Her choice of entertainment too - costing me a fortune in DVDs!!! Haha!)

Had some fun with my bank stopping my card. Ended up calling into a branch to see what was going on. I was put on the phone with a young lass from the fraud department who seems to be having trouble distinguishing between withdrawals and deposits! I bet she's popular on nights out! ;-) Anyway sorted now, and I'm back to Christmas shopping with a vengeance!

Loving my little netbook. I'ts dead handy for sticking in a bag and taking to work. Battery lasts about the day. (Being connected to the shop wifi drains it faster I guess.) It means I can update the shop blog quicker too. My laptop was getting a bit cumbersome, but it will still be the main computer for doingmost of the donkey work on. Bought a TV tuner for it too so will setting it up as part of the entertainment centre in my room in Liverpool soon. (Once I stop coughing long enough to get things done! Ha!)

The winter is attempting to take it's toll but I am currently keeping the SAD blues largely at bay. Some of the help is chemical but I'm pretty sure the lovely friends I have in my support helps a fair bit. I love how you are all there for the blips as well as the highs.

I have a few concerts booked for the end of the year and into next year. I may post about them separately as this is getting a bit long.

More soon!

This is just a test.

2010-11-09T00:42:00.001-08:00

Sorry about this. I'm just testing my settings for posting out links to my public blog.

Normal service will be resumed after this post *fingers crossed it works*

Ponderings

2010-11-08T15:21:00.001-08:00

In amongst my regular ponderings on the intense and stupid unfairness of everything in life at this time of year, I've been reflecting on a few things from the past 12 months.
I am certainly not the person I was this time last year. For start I'm content that I exist.
Also I've grown a lot, and fast. In recent months I've learnt so much.
There's a huge difference between child-like wonder and childish behaviour.
You need to walk away from relationships that stifle and stunt your emotional growth.
Some people will remain bullies and others are terminal victims and only individuals can break that cycle - "pack animals" cannot.
The length of time you have known someone does not determine the depth of a friendship.
Responsibility comes in many forms. As does power.
Some things take a long time to heal, others are relegated to the depths of the lost and found box of your mind very easily.
And the people who simply accept you as who you are and don't foist opinions or fandoms upon you but do engage in proper discussions and conversations rather than competitions over who can shout the loudest, are quite possibly the most awesome people in the world.
I look around at my close friends and feel very content. And by close I don't mean the nearest, there are people who are thousands of miles away who are close and beloved friends. I just wish so many of you weren't so damn far away. (And in the case of my UK buddies, that trains were as cheap as coaches!!)
Mostly I have survived another year and have improved along the way, when if you had asked me this time last I probably would have doubted that I would have made it this far, certainly not if you told me everything the last 12 months has thrown at me. Encouragement and healthy home truths from people I love and respect have helped, as have all the pieces of advice about my health and everything else. I appreciate each and every one of my friends, and I hope they know that.
Everyday seems to mean improvements, there's the odd set back, but in general - it's all gravy! 8-)
Proper catch up post full of news *will* be forthcoming this week. And I'll finally update my music blog properly too!

It's been a long time, now I'm...updating my blog! 8-)

2010-10-27T17:09:00.001-07:00

I really should be fast asleep by now, but I wanted to do an update because I keep forgetting. I'm usually far too tired when I get in from work at the moment, and then I waste the time when I'm unable to sleep by playing games on my iPod.

So I'm going to use the time a bit more constructively tonight. Besides last week was bloody amazing.

I should be updating my music blog very soon with tales of Anderson/Wakeman, Robert Plant and Steve Winwood (although the memories of the latter is a bit vague, couldn't see much so settled for getting merry with my best mate at the back instead) Still - quite a line up. There's photos from the Robert Plant gig on my flickr account here. (Stephen got some lovely photos too, and some great shots from the Anderson/Wakeman gig - we were front row! Eeep!) I'm off to see Anderson/Wakeman again in November in Manchester. Can. Not. Wait!!

I've been improving lately. I'm taking something to combat the problems with SAD and it seems to be working. Huge thanks to my friend for recommending the stuff. I don't think I'd have made it to the gigs last week without it! Now if I can get a handle on the whole being sick every other morning or so I'll be laughing!

Insomnia comes and goes. Some times I need more sleep than others. This week is tiring. Tuesday I was on my own in the shop and it was a very busy day. I'm working all weekend this week too. I should have Monday off though. Whether I'll rest or not is another matter. I am eager to take more photos. I would like to get back up Southport before it gets too cold too. (Still gutted I couldn't get there to see the snow after last Christmas!)

I am falling far behind with my comic reading. Maybe that will be how I spend Saturday night, snuggled on the sofa with a pile of comic books!

It's nearly November, I get to go home the first weekend in November, even though it's only a couple of days. I could do with a break away before Christmas. Trying to organise a gig to go to December, but may also attempt a trip to that London or something, as well as trying to get up to see all my Scottish chums before they next come down here to visit me. I missed hanging out with them during the October holidays.

With a bit of luck I'll be getting a netbook very soon, that should make keeping up easier as I can carry it with me more often. As there's not much wrong with this laptop I'll use it for watching TV and multitasking with both machines! (I'm such a geek I scare myself sometimes! Haha!!)

I have to be thinking about waking up in six hours so perhaps it's time to settle down with some tunes and drift off to sleep. *fingers crossed* Thursdays can be busy (it's usually Japanese tour group day) but I may take the computer in on the off chance I get to type up my gig reviews.

I promise to make a concerted effort to update the blog more often now I'm feeling more optimistic.

Whenever life gets you down....

2010-10-01T00:35:00.001-07:00

I'm going to have to openly admit that things have really brought me down lately. The colder, darkening days haven't helped, and sadly since they will get worse so will my ability to get up in the mornings.
Anyway, I need to stop moping. This little bout of misery has lots of causes, not just the weather. I am constantly tired, not sleeping well as my body keeps fighting to revert to it's natural sleep pattern which doesn't really fit in with a working lifestyle. I'm not going to see my family for a whole month as various commitments are keeping my in Liverpool for the next five weekends. I am also worried that the upcoming run of a gigs is going to finish me off energy wise! Still with the line up, it's a hell of a way to go! 8-)
The wee small hours bring both paranoia and revelations. I chose to only listen to the revelations. The latest late night wisdom was born of paranoia. I have been accused before of being rat-like in fleeing sinking ships...but surely this a better trait than being the immovable iceberg that brings about the demise of a good ship. And besides, someone's got to be in the icy waters to rescue the victims of the iceberg when complacency has led to a lack of life boats!
Choices are important at the moment. I could opt for the super whiney path of moaning about how dull/hard/annoying work can be, but I really am trying to keep that to a minimum. There are always choices. I chose to remember that I now have money for things. I chose to remember that I am contributing, giving back. I am able to treat myself when I need cheering up. I don't have to agonise over which comics I can afford this week. I can go to concerts out of sheer curiosity rather than having to be selective in case someone I really wanted to see toured and I'd blown my dosh on someone I may not even enjoy. So when days are mundane and/or frustrating for whatever reason I remember that I am actually doing something I do pretty well, it may not be an important job, but I am important to that role and to the shop as a whole. Besides whining all the time makes Jack a duller boy that all work and no play.
I am very much aware that there's a difficult time ahead for me, significant anniversaries and all that, so it's even more important that I make the choices that get me through each day.
So, even though I feel like crap right now, I have to get my act together and get ready to go to work. I'm in charge today.
Oh and one last thing!

Don't be fooled...

2010-09-21T13:18:00.001-07:00

Don't be fooled by the mild melancholy air to my last post. It was written from a mellow and positive perspective.
I've done a lot of pondering due to the recent birthday, assessing the year that's gone by. The good far out weighs the bad. I have incredible friends, and their love and support is a never ending source of amazement and joy. I have truly awesome family from where I can draw such great strength and support too. Having shed a lot of emotional baggage in the last twelve months I have seen my confidence grow, looked at my priorities and have come to the conclusion that life is too short to put up with crap.
Fate and Destiny don't get the final word. They may chose the destination but I get to pick the route and the in-flight entertainment! ;-)

You can buy seclusion but you can’t buy peace...

2010-09-21T00:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had a mild revelation and shared part of it on twitter.

As I posted it I thought that Fate and Destiny had intervened back then and put me firmly back into my place.

Shortly after that it however, the lyrics of an ELP song came to mind

"Now I don’t expect your sympathy. This is what and where I want to be"

And it's probably true, certainly in the spiritual sense.

"With a planet stare and a guiding star, you can only be what you think you are. If I didn’t approve it remove it, I’m coming through"

I am doing what I do best, and I am beginning to feel content with that. Not "settled" and certainly not "grown up" but definitely accomplished.

"I don’t need a periscope or second sight to see nothing lasts forever" or make hay while the sun shines! ;-)

"And I’m dirty, mean and unworthy, this is true" - (but if I believed that I wouldn't have been emancipated from feelings of oppression by a myriad of people who have passed through my life.)

Time to go to work.

"It comes unrelentless. I’ve tried so hard to prevent this, but nobody loves you like I do."

Birthday Weekend

2010-09-19T06:11:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm 38! Only a couple more years till ol' Mephisto gets my soul! Haha!

I've had a lovely few days. Started off with the pre-birthday silliness of Friday in work with Donna. We listened to 70s music including the Wombles and The Osmonds. Lunch arrived on a silver platter with a birthday message from Jules at Cafe 31 and there was dooughnuts! Yay!

I got an awesome personalised card from Brian and Jacqui, a lovely gift basket of goodies from Rosie and some Lush stuff from Ells.

It was a day of giggles and good company.

See the full gallery on posterous

After my tea my mum and dad came to take me home. I got to open presents that evening as Dad was off to work early the next morning.

Top Gear giftage from my parents and Eagle giftage from Donna (she got me the Best of the 60s annual, I treated myself to the Best of the 50s one!)

See the full gallery on posterous

Saturday was spent doing really very little. I got a nice lie in, eased in to the day slowly and loved all the messages from all my friends. I got very soppy and sentimental to be honest, but I do hope that each and everyone of my good friends know how much they mean to me. The love and support I've had from so many has meant the world to me lately. (See, I'm getting all soppy again now!!)

After Dad got home from work we went for VJ and she helped cook my tea on the raclette. She also helped to decorate the Apple Crumble was had for dessert. As you can see she was very witty with the number on the candle! Haha!!

I ended up going to bed at 9pm because I was so full of food and I think things caught up with me. I was awake again by midnight so I sat and read comic books for a while before nodding back off again. Now it's Sunday and I think it's time to attack that gift basket with gusto as an indoor picnic! *grin*

I'm feeling relaxed and less exhausted than I have been since Beatle Week. Later I'm going to use the Lush stuff and have a nice long soak in the bath before heading back to Liverpool this evening.

Spooky synchronicity

2010-09-17T14:17:00.001-07:00

I can't use the word coincidence for this, as I'm not sure I believe it was. So I'm putting it down to synchronicity.

A couple of night ago I had an strange dream. In the dream my family were celebrating my Granddad Frank's 96th birthday. I was sat on a sofa and they brought him in, shuffling a bit and with a bit more meat on his bones than I ever remember him having. They had brought him from a home or something. There was a strange dark marking on his face apart on his forehead, he told me this was where I could give him a birthday kiss. He as really glad I managed to get to the party.

The dream was quite vivid and remained stuck in my head afterwards. I couldn't fathom it out. For a start my Granddad has been dead for over 20 years, his birthday was in February and he wouldn't have been 96 this year. Odd!

Fast forward to this evening. I came home to my family for my birthday weekend. I've not long walked in the door when my mum goes to the fridge, reaches out and bottle and with a cheery "Happy Birthday" hands me a bottle of Alcoholic Ginger Beer - specifically Frank's Alcoholic Ginger Beer!! Mum commented on the name as I just stared at the bottle for a bit. I asked her when she bought it. The answer was a couple of days ago! I don't quite know why but I simply started crying. I welled up trying to explain why I asked. After composing myself I managed to recount the dream.

How freaky that we both ended up with Granddad on our minds around the some time.

I still don't quite understand the dream, but I'm less worried that it was dark omen now. In fact maybe he trying to wish me happy birthday, who knows.

Two Go Mad In Southport - (now with Videos)

2010-09-12T07:49:00.000-07:00

Initially I was planning a trip to Southport with my friend Donna before Beatle Week. However I was ill that weekend and we had to postpone it. So yesterday we finally headed off towards the seaside.

First of all, I got soaked simply walking from the front door to the end of the street where I was being picked up. I looked like a drown rat when I got in the car! The rain was pretty heavy, but it began to clear as we continued our journey.

First stop was the Botanic Gardens in Churchtown, just outside Southport. Due to a wrong turning I did suddenly find myself looking out of the car window and spotting The Richmond pub. Blimey, it had been a while since I'd been there!

We were on a mission, but got distracted by the lovely surroundings and the birds and other animals that were there.

Our mission was, of course, to go to the Botanic Garden Museum to see the Dan Dare stuff they had on display.

Okay I admit it I was pretty pleased to see the stuff!

Donna asked about the location of the Dan Dare bust that had been rehoused in the Botanic Gardens after being removed from the town centre. She was told that it had been taken away for restoration work, and since more restoration work was due on the building near its location they were keeping it in storage till all the work was done which may be some time next year. We plan on going back to see it at some point, plus there is more to explore in the gardens.

After driving into Southport itself, it was time for Fish and Chips before jumping on the tram along the pier.

On the short journey we spotted some stilt walkers on the bridge. They even started dancing as they went along.

I shot some video but I need to edit it and all that jazz. I'll try and post it as soon as it's done.

At the end of the pier we could see Blackpool Tower in the distance. And if you look closely you can see the Big One at the Pleasure Beach too.

There's a Penny Arcade at the end of the pier which has all kinds of old machines in it. You change modern money for large old fashion pennies and off you go. There's one armed bandits, puppet shows, shooting games, What The Butler Saw machines, and fortune telling booths.

We spent ages in there and spent a few quid playing the games. It was good fun and the children that were there were loving it too.

I had my fortune "read" and also got a lifelike X-Ray picture! Amazing!

We strolled back down the pier enjoying the fresh air. It began to rain as we approached the end of the walk, but it didn't last long. In fact it had stopped by the time we got to the first shop we went to to buy a toy donkey and a tea towel to take back for Stephen.

We wondered along Lord Street for a while. I went to find the flower shop to buy my psychedelic rose (a tradition started by my friend Becky) but the shop didn't do them anymore (in fact I'm not sure it was the same shop as I'm sure the one we found was a couple of doors further up.)

Book shopping proved painful when I dropped a heavy tome on my foot, but it all seemed fine at the time and I had no trouble walking on to other shops and finally back to the car. However later when I got in and took my shoes and socks off I discovered a lumpy bruise on my foot and a small one on my toe which felt like it dislocated when I tried to wiggle it! Still quite sore today actually.

I want to extend a huge thanks to Donna for driving me around and indulging me in my search for Dan Dare. And for my birthday present too which I can't have till Friday when I see her next.

Here's my Dan Dare goodies from the trip.

Added later: I have done the videos.

Silent footage from the Pier, but worth it for the stilt walkers at the beginning.

Birds at the Botanic Gardens (with sound)

Testing the mobile device

2010-09-08T03:21:00.001-07:00

I am just testing my new (to me) mobile internet tablet thing.

It's a bit erratic but I think I am slowly getting used to it.

It would be nice if it remembered all my settings when I switched it
off but it will do for now. I am considering a further move to the
dark side and getting an ipod touch as a mobile wifi device thingie.

Any way, I should be working not messimg with this. 8-)

Some Quick Questions

2010-08-25T00:24:00.001-07:00

What song are you currently addicted to?

I am currently being a tad more healthy in my musical habits and not obsessing over any one song, although when I need a boost it has to be Video Killed The Radio Star.
What's your favourite season?

Silly season! Ha!
Actually I love autumn. Not too cold and pretty colours.
What's the latest movie you watched?

Latest as in most recent release? The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnasus.
What is the one skill you wish you had?

I wish I was musical. Alas I don't seem to be able to carry a tune in a bucket.
What's your current fandom/obsession/addiction?

Marvel, Everton, and gadgets.
What's your favourite musical instrument?

I love most instruments. I'm a sucker for percussion.
What web sites do you always visit when you go online?

Statcounter, LJ, Facebook and Twitter

What was the last thing you bought?

I've just bought the new Iron Maiden album in the limited edition tin, a Punisher tshirt and a new gadget. *whistles innocently* - oh wait! Not a rude gadget! A gadget of geekery!
If you won 10,000 bucks today, what would you do with it?

I'd fritter it away of tech junk, music, dvds and comic books.
Favourite time of day?

Late at night

What's the last thing that made you happy?

Just had a lovely weekend with a friend. And going to see lots of friends this weekend. My friends make me happy. 8-)
Do you want to learn another language?

I'd love to learn Italian

Five things you can't live without.

Laptop
Phone
Music
Books
My friends

(questions nicked off Zoe)

I thought I'd test this out.

2010-08-23T16:27:00.001-07:00

Sorry folks. Just getting reacquainted with posterous.com. I'm testing the email settings from my phone. I doubt I'll use the email function that much but you never know eh. It could be a good way of keeping up to date on the move at least. I am testing the picture attachment thingie too. The photo is me in the White Star posing next to a framed Dukla Prague football shirt (sadly not the away kit! Haha!)

And now as it is long past midnight I shall go off and get some kip ready for the morning. Good night!

Posted via email from mysgreen's posterous

A Lovely Weekend in the Midlands

2010-08-23T14:30:00.001-07:00

I had a fabulous weekend visiting my friend Dave. It was a very welcome break from all the Beatle Week preparations.

First of all we went off to Bridgnorth and had fish and chips in a box, sat by the river sheltering from the rain under some trees.

After we'd eaten we walked to the train station to see a steam train. Yes I grinned like a little kid!

Next we went to Ironbridge. I hadn't been since I was at school. We had ice cream...yummy mint choc chip for me and Dave had raspberry ripple. I bought some tacky souvenirs including a tea towel for Stephen and then we went back to the house where I introduced Dave to the wonder of Bellini cocktails before embarking out to the pub.

Unfortunately I wasn't very well and had to leave after only drinking half my pint. It turned into a fairly nasty migraine but I'm sure the 12 hour sleep did me the world of good. 8-S

Before I had to get the train the next day we drove off to look at the ruins of Dudley Priory. Fascinating stuff (we looked it up on wikipedia while we were there as there were no information boards anywhere.)

The rest of my photos can be found at this flickr set here.

See the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from mysgreen's posterous

Woohoo!

2010-08-22T08:42:00.001-07:00

So, posterous.com now has a timezone thingie! Yay!

I may go back to using it more often now when I want public blogs to be cross-posted to my private LJ.

I've set it to UTC, which in GMT which means it'll be an hour out for half the year, but it's better than being a good few hours out.

Hurrah!

Posted via email from mysgreen's posterous

In preparation....

2010-08-15T04:45:00.000-07:00

After a week involving lots of lifting, moving, folding and rolling I spent most of yesterday in a fair amount of pain while I recovered. I've really got to keep an eye on this sort of thing. It's all very well doing my best to get things to run smoother over Beatles Week but I have to remember my own limitations. A lot of the aches are stress related but the stress isn't about work, it's about doing too much and then getting knackered and letting everyone down at the crucial moment. I can do the Convention in my sleep, I've been doing it for long enough - I think this is the 19th year I've done it.

By the way, for all those asking, the sleeping is much better now I'm removed several negative and restricting aspects from my life. The positivity is usual very high, it really is just exhaustion from work and worrying about that that is taking its toll at the moment. I can't express how much I love you all for your concern and support though.

Onwards and upwards is a bit of a theme with a lot of my friends at the moment, I am loving the positive vibes. And I'm loving the honesty expressed too, I know there are several of you I can rely on to keep me on a good path and will tell me (with such wonderful affection) when I'm a bit off the mark, I am one lucky gal!

So...plans! Well Beatle Week looms. It's a lot of hard work and there are so many aspects of it that I hate, but they are over shadowed by the fact that I get to see so many of my friends in one place. This year I really cannot wait to see people, with several deserve big squishie hugs!

I am waiting for more details about the forthcoming Buggles gig at the end of September. That should be awesome. Also now have tickets for Robert Plant in Liverpool in October. (October is going to be quite a month for gigs now - Scaffold, Manfreds, Anderson Wakeman Project, Robert Plant and Steve Winwood)

The current lack of a decent data signal on my phone in work is driving me mad. I hope I'm not missing too much that is going on with my friends. If I am, then I do apologise. I also apologise for flurries of posts from the bus in the morning and the evening. 8-)

I have a tumblr account for posting on the go. Signal permitting I'll try and post bits there over Beatle Week. You can find it at - http://mysgreen.tumblr.com/

I do doubt I will keep up well over the event to be honest, but will attempt to take photos and footage where I can.

Oh and watch the press this week for details of us selling Lennon's loo in our auction!

Well that's enough of a catch up for now. I have to go and attempt to get organised ready for the oncoming storm. 8-)

If you have a spare minute...

2010-08-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

Children's Charter petition
Help Diabetes UK campaign to get children with diabetes high quality care and support.

Some of you will know that this is something I care quite a lot about for family reasons. That is why I have signed this petition. I feel that certainly educational establishments should be better educated regards diabetes, and maybe the public in general. I have been appalled at recent encounters of ignorance regarding the condition.

I’m not asking you to sign the petition because you are my friends, I have no wish to make you feel obliged because you know me, it’s up to you if you sign it, and would encourage to only do so if you agree and feel strongly enough about the subject, However if you were feeling so inclined I would like to encourage to pass the information on in case you know people who may be interested in signing it.

Thank you for reading.

Home!

2010-08-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

I came home yesterday evening. Feels like forever since I've been here.
I slept like a log last night and had a good lie in too.
I am making the most if it, as I won't be back here till September.

I went to visit my Nana today, it was good to catch up. The conversation turned to mobile phones and mine was discussed a fair bit, was it a computer as well? Well it sort of is I suppose. I took a photo of her and sent it to my tumblr account. She seemed impressed.

I then provided great amusement by completely failing to open the stairs door. It has been rehung so it opens the other way for safety (basically the other way round if anyone fell down the stairs and the door was shut it would be impossible to get to them.)

So, the plans for the rest of the weekend are - not doing very much, washing some clothes, a long soak in the bath, having a bit of a barbecue with my sister and niece and then making sure I have everything I need for the next stint in Liverpool.

Let's catch up!

2010-08-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

Soooo!

It's been a busy few days. I have been working with Beth in the shop while Stephen has either been working on auction stuff or away watching some theatre.

The highlight was probably the nice young chap with the boy who was not his son. (I think he was his uncle actually - though I don't know why he threw in the fact while we were chatting) who told said young boy "see I told you Liverpool was full of beautiful people" when I gave the lad a free badge or two as it was his first trip to Liverpool and he was a burgeoning Beatle fan.

Wednesday morning was another one spent mopping out after heavy rain caused a bit of flooding in the shop. On the whole a bit of a rubbish day, but made much better by an Argentinian tourist with a cool sense of humour at the very end of the day.

Today was another busy one, I guess this is par for the course for August.

I get to go home tomorrow evening, it's been a while. And it will be my last trip home till after the Beatles Convention - which is rapidly approaching! Eeek!

I'll be honest...

2010-08-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

..I sometimes forget the amazing healing power of music.

It's taken a new set of headphones and a night time regime of taking time out to lie in dark and just listen with a decent amount of volume - enough to blot out the world and most conscious thoughts.

Music brings contentment and soothes the scattered remains of my fractured soul, and who knows, eventually there may be something to collect when the devil turns up for his due in a couple of years time.

downtime

2010-07-31T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm hopefully going to be altering this page, there's still going to be a blog but I'm going to build other stuff around it. This may mean that the blog will go offline for a bit. Depends on what I plan to do really. http://www.planetmystic.co.uk will definitely change.

Anyway, for now I've removed a few widgets off this page and bunged my twitter feed up instead. Hopefully I shall have a nice and constructive day tomorrow if these stinking cold germs will go away haha!

Oh...and there may also be downtime on my other blogs while I sort things out.

quick catch up

2010-07-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

I have a stinking cold, the damp of the shop hasn't helped. I am sulking because I was going to go to Wolverhampton to see Dave for beer and giggles this weekend, but will be staying in Liverpool instead, probably lolling about on the sofa feeling sorry for myself. Boo!

Spent Wednesday doing pretty much that, and watching the original Karate Kid for the first time ever - a much better film than I expected!

It's been quite hectic in work though, I'm knackered and aching. Only got tomorrow to get through though.
And today was fun! Yay!

I'm just having a lager in honour of Daniela's birthday, cheers sweetie! xxx

And then I'm off to bed.

More soon, sorry for not keeping up well.

Oh and I'm back on tumblr - http://mysgreen.tumblr.com/

My Little Sister!

2010-07-24T16:01:00.000-07:00

It's my sister's birthday today. I'll not embarrass her by saying how old she is, just in case she's a bit hung up about it. She shouldn't be, she'll always be younger than me.

Here we are in a rare photo of us together taken last Christmas.

So, over the years we've fought like proper sisters do, hardly ever see exactly eye-to-eye on anything, have very different tastes in most things and hate it when people tell us we look similar!

However! Right now, under her current circumstances I could not be more proud of my little sis! Both her and her daughter (my beautiful niece) have recently been diagnosed with, separate, medical conditions. Both manageable, but both affecting daily life. I won't go into the details on my public blog as I know neither of them would probably appreciate it, but initially my niece's condition involved some hospitalisation, and despite the fact my sister is pretty much in constant pain of some sort or other she was by her bedside for every night of her hospital stay. And since she has come home my sister has had to deal with managing my niece's condition and adjust a lot of things in their routines and habits.

So I would like to publicly declare my pride in my sister for coping with it all so well (she's not alone, we are a pretty tight support system), raising a damn fine kid with a keen sense of right and wrong, and being a pretty marvellous sister a lot of the time (even though I don't say it often!). Despite the fact our relationship improved when she left home, we are close and I wouldn't upset one of us, because the other will hunt you down!

Love you sis! Have fabulous day! xxxxx

Floodage!

2010-07-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

So, not long after I posted my last blog on my journey home I got a text saying the shop had flooded. What a lovely event to return to work to!

It seems that a blocked grid and extremely heavy rain had caused water to seep rapidly into the shop. It was still happening the next day when I got there, scuppering clean up operations.

here's the blocked grid in question.

Here's the ongoing mission to suck up all the water.

After a serious amount of buck passing the council cleaned the grid and the water people cleared the drains in the hopes that the next bout of rain doesn't mean a re-run!

stinky, sludgy stuff they scoop out of the grid.

Luckily nothing was severely damaged. Even the damp smell is subsiding, and the shop is drying out thanks to a couple of de-humidifiers running over night ever since.

Mind you, after a few days cleaning up then catching up with all the other work that was put on hold for it, I could do with another holiday!

Homeward Bound

2010-07-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

My coach has just left Carlisle bus station. I am kind of glad I slept through that bit on the way up. Anyway, pretty church bit just by bus station so that's the photo for this post.

Yesterday was spent shopping. We went up to Glasgow and a mall thing there. I got some Marvel tshirts, some DVD boxsets and a couple of books plus a pressie for my neice. Then we went to Ikea to get a TV unit for the house.

The rest of the evening was spent playing Trivial Pursuit on the XBox.

I packed this morning and was taken for the train to Glasgow to get my coach. I have another 3 hours to go before I get home. And there it's a quick turn around after some food and back to Liverpool for work tomorrow.

I've had an awesome time. I hope Ni and everyone realises how much I love them and their company. I've had a couple of very low moments (privately) this trip but their friendship stopped me hitting the self destruct button. Can't wait till I can plan to go back.

Weekend of joy

2010-07-19T05:23:00.000-07:00

After spending Friday dead on the sofa, I was fully recovered for the weekend.
Went off to Edinburgh for drinks with everyone, and it turned out it was pretty much everyone which was awesome. I hadn't seen some people for years! Blimey!
There was fabulous Italian food, not too much booze actually, lots and lots of laughs and giggles. We went to the Voodoo Rooms, quite a posh place for me haha! Then it was back to Erin and Neil's for the night. It was getting light and birds were twittering outside the window when I finally rolled into bed.

Sunday was spent hanging out watching the Twilight films. I can't say they were impressive but they were very easily mocked by us all so that made them quite entertaining. 8-) I also had my taco virginity popped when teatime rolled around. It was almost midnight when we got back, just time for a quick game of trivial pursuit before bed.

Certain revelations that occurred when I foolishly opted to look at rebuilding recently broken friendships have made me realise that I had done the right thing, but sadly led to a massive slump in my spirits this morning. But I know I shouldn't let actions of the pathetic shake my faith in other people. I have the most amazing friends all over the world.

So, last full day here, another long coach journey ahead tomorrow and then headlong into the preparations for Beatle Week at the shop.

('’)

Lazy day

2010-07-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a long day!
I think I was awake for 22 hours. And not only did I travel up to Scotland via a fairly uncomfortable bus, but I also ended up going for a big a long walk after I got here. Not complaining about the walk though, I got to see squirrels and deer, and you know how I love my wild life!
For some reason I can't upload photos tonight, but I'll share them soon.

I was really sick in the night though, well the early morning really, so have taken it really easy today just lying around on the sofa while Ni has worked on music stuff.

('’)

On the road.

2010-07-15T05:52:00.000-07:00

I am sat on a coach at the services at Tebay (I think).
The rain is pouring down but the sun is shining.
I'm watching The Cat From Outer Space on my iPod. There's about another three hours travelling at least and my ass is already numb.
Actually, the bus was late so there may be longer to go before Glasgow. But that's okay. I'm hoping the rain will ease off for the short trot to the train station at that end. I'm also hoping the Crunchies in my bag make it despite the heater being on far too high. (Making me a little travel sick to be honest, thank heavens I've not eaten much.)

Ooh we're off again!

Catch up and future plans

2010-07-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I go on my holibobs. This fills me with joy.
I cannot wait to see my friends again. I don't care if it rains, shines or even bloody well snows, it's the company that counts.

I start my trek fairly early in the morning, bus out to the coach station, coach to Glasgow, train to Falkirk. I think it's a good 7 hours or more of travelling in total. Worth it though. I love the friends I will see, and spending time with them is better than any pill, potion or tonic that can ever be offered to lighten your soul.

Last weekend I met up with a friend from twitter before he moved away. It was one of those cool moments where conversations from the net just continued and it didn't feel like two strangers. I quite like it when things go like that. After all, the internet is a powerful means of communication, probably far more effective and quicker than letter writing in the days of old. Well it is when used effectively.

After I get back from Scotland it's full steam ahead for the onslaught of Beatle Week. I'm hoping to utilise any free weekends well, taking time out for myself to preserve my sanity. The shop is getting busier and busier and there's so much to get done. Today was a long day, made to pass pleasantly due to working with my friend Emma. We finally tackled the badge drawers and got them into some kind of order as well as restocking stuff, general tidying and serving the continuous stream of customers.

After weeks of turmoil, I have consigned the recent troubles to the past, it's over. Previously when friendships have ended I've felt that there was a massive hole left behind. Not this time, once over the initial disappointment I have come to the conclusion I couldn't care less. It's pretty refreshing actually. I have far more important things to be getting on with.

('’)

Another new chapter, another clean slate?

2010-07-10T04:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, there's still some tinkering to be done, but I'm liking the new look for now. I may change the look of some of my other blogs in the next few weeks too, but in those cases the contents will probably remain.

It's mostly this blog that under goes a bit of erase and rewind from time to time.

('’)