I was just tinkering with iMovie and thought that I would share some more footage from when we took a trip on the Norfolk Broads. It just reminds me how relaxing the Broads are. The only real noise was from the breeze on the microphone on the camcorder. This is How Hill, which is on the River Ant.
After chatting about coffee and bears and Coronation Street, I asked that you join the Gadget Show campaign to Wi-fi the whole country even though Norwich was already ahead of the game. I told a couple of jokes that had been lifted from Internet sources and told you how I’d bumped into a friend from uni days via My Space. I also told you about which red wine I was drinking at that time. Kylie added me as a ‘friend’ on My Space, shortly followed by the Scissor sisters and one of the Bucks Fizzes and Pam Ann, all before I decided to pull the plug on it.
I Googled Christmas, had trouble with woollen Tribbles, it snowed and I bought an olive tree. That takes you to February where, I visited Cardiff and went as far as Land’s End before coming back to a job that had a horrible manager that was about 13 years old. I knew this because she asked me, “How many letters are there in the alphabet?”. I then took in a show, ate baked dough balls and emailed a friend in Oz…, Australia, not Emerald City. Then there was a fire down my street, but it didn’t wipe out a 1970s style shopping complex (more’s the pity), but it was okay as the council had decided to knock most of it down next year and revamp the area. One of the lesbians next door mooned me from the courtyard – except she didn’t realise I could see her and it was aimed at her girlfriend anyway.
Talking of moons, around that time, there was a lunar eclipse and the moon went red. I visited Dunwich, then got tonsillitis, drew a cabbage and couldn’t wait until Doctor Who came back on the telly. Easter happened and Australia had a new season of Kath & Kim and I watched “Snakes On a Plane” which was rubbish. My tomato seedlings were strong enough to move outside even though the rocket seedlings died and I bought myself a new camera.
Mum had an operation and went to recuperate with my sister and I took lots of pictures on my new camera. Father Christmas stalked my house with a telephoto lens and I found loads of cool Pam Ann footage on You Tube and then went to see her live. There was a blackbird singing the “Addams Family” theme tune in the garden and then I went to see “Terre Haute” at the theatre. I visited the Kensington museums and saw Kylie’s hot pants and some dinosaurs and then stayed in the hotel that had some radiation problems just a while before. I didn’t take tea there.
I watched another terrible Eurovision Song Contest and was amazed that even Poland didn’t throw a point our way and bought an Apple TV – which is still a pretty cool thing… My friend told me she was getting married the coming year and another friend got hitched that weekend. I had a holiday and read the new Maupin and then decided that my job needed to be changed. Pam Ann made a comedy ad for British Airways and I carved a pumpkin that won me £50 in a competition!
A marketing company read my Blog and sent me a free DVD to say thanks for posting some Pam related Blogs online and then I went to watch the fireworks. The local gay club was turned into a straight disco for the vacuous blonds of the city and then the Blog turned one year old.
I changed jobs and sang “Top of The World” and I asked you to singalong in a karaoke stylee and then continued the theme by dancing to Viola Wills. I told you about the evil British Banks and their way of making money from you using penalty charges as income, had some lovely coffee and took some pictures of my local riverside…
So what now?, well, last night, an earthquake woke me up!
After the last few days of rain, the garden seems a lot healthier. All the plants are big and leafy and it has washed away that dusty layer that April laid. The Triffid now looks as though it’ll soon be walking on its own, but the chillies seemed to have gone into suspended animation somehow – guess we’ll have to wait for some hotter weather for them. We’ve also bought some rock speakers so we can listen to music outside and since they’ve been installed, the rain hasn’t stopped.
I saw my friend Gem during the week. Gem’s looking to buy a house nearby and was quite excited. We had a really lovely night out just chatting and catching up and after looking at my art pages online, has said that she really wants one of my paintings. Cool!
Meanwhile… to ease the Dr Who drought, Sandra sent me a Tardis on Saturday. It’s a little model that makes the dematerialising sound and flashes its blue light whenever your mobile gets a call or text. I love it! It made up for the Eurovision Song Contest and the farce that it was this year. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t really like Scooch, but I do feel sorry for them a little… maybe the whole thing should be renamed the East European Song contest judging by the way the voting went. Even Poland didn’t give us douze points.
I popped over to see mum on Sunday and undid a few jars of pickles for her as she was going mad by not having any grip in her hand to do it herself. It looks like the healing process is taking a little longer than we’d all hoped and I can see that she’s going a little stir crazy. Still, to occupy herself, she went on a mission to find an old photograph of Norwich for us to add to our collection. It’s a picture of Bonds department store, before it became a massive grey concrete building and it’s fab.
I finished work on Tuesday afternoon ready for our break to London over the weekend. We went to see the touring Nabakov production of Terre Haute at the Playhouse and I must say, it was a really amazing production.
We stayed on for a beer afterwards – well, it would have seemed rude not to! Matty was there and it was fab to catch up with him again, so after a couple of pints and after we’d set the world to rights, we headed home.
Also, Mikey sent us an e-mail to let us know what’s been going on on his side of the planet. He’s been poorly, but got a promotion whilst in his sick bed! Cool eh? Hope you’re feeling better soon mate – Have a nice time in Melbourne!
Talking of e-mails, after we saw Pam Ann on Friday, I signed up to her ‘up and coming dates’ e-mail. I just jotted a few notes to say her show was great and to my surprise, she wrote back to say that she’d had a blast in Norwich! I love it when people are nice
The last week has been a blur in slow motion. I’ve still been feeling a bit tonsil heavy and though it’s getting better, it is lingering.
The Russian Big Ballet last Saturday was really very good. It started with a semi-serious half an hour of large ladies performing – well, ballet really (surprise!). Then there was an early interval of 25 minutes. That gave us time for a quick drink at the bar and chat with our friend Matty.
The last portion of the show was very funny. It did lack ballet, but the comedy, dance and overall grace made it a good show to watch. Did I mention that there were also a handful of very toned male dancers too? Mmm, something for everyone I guess. Unfortunately, I think I pulled the woman sitting next to me. She was very intense and laughed at all the wrong bits. Let’s face it – she was the one with all the wrong bits! Bless…
We then stayed at the Playhouse bar for a few after show drinks, met up with Matty and his friend Jill and ended up at ours, drinking till the very small hours. Jill was very funny and had a very nice hat. Jill, you left your hat here, but I can easily send it on to you. Just log on to EBay and type in reference, 18637624… just kidding!
Sunday was obviously slower than I’d hoped and even though we had forwarded through time by an extra hour, I still managed to see my mum for a couple of hours, watch Countryfile and have a hair of the dog for good measure. That reminds me, Dr Who Season 3 is on tomorrow. NICE, but I’m running a book as to whether Sky plus will crash – any advances on ‘yes’?
I’ve also been working flat out on my OCA art projectand you can see some of the masterpieces I created (lol!) here. Can you tell what it is yet?
No, neither can I, but it will keep my lovely tutor Suzan happy for another month.
Here’s something I found on the Internet. It’s a stark reminder that the workplace can be like a playground. Don’t forget kids… telling tales is not a quality that you can put on your C.V.!
When you take a long time, you’re slow. When your colleague takes a long time, they are being thorough.
When you don’t do it, you’re lazy. When your colleague doesn’t do it, they are too busy.
When you make a mistake, you’re an idiot. When your colleague makes a mistake, they are only human.
When doing something without being told, you’re overstepping your authority. When your colleague does the same thing, that’s initiative.
When you take a stand, you’re being pig-headed. When your colleague does it, they are being firm.
When you overlooked a rule of etiquette, you’re being rude. When your colleague skips a few rules, they are being original.
When you please your boss, you’re arse-creeping. When your colleagues please the boss, they are being co-operative.
When you’re out of the office, you’re wandering around. When your colleague is out of the office, they are on business.
When you’re on a day off sick, you’re always sick. When your colleague has a day off sick, they must be very ill.
When you apply for leave, you must be going for an interview. When your colleague applies for leave, it’s because they deserve the break.
Thanks to my friend Ian for this pic. This is me and my flatmate Jo (wearing a towel turban) playing Sonic The Hedgehog till about 3am one night at university. Check it out, I had hair in 1993!
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