2008 as been a big year in my life not only did I reach the milestone of 50 years old its the first time since my school days I haven't had a job. No panic there in itself cos that was my plan after becoming redundant at the end of 2007.
On a irritating note looks like I'm gonna be Ill to see the New Year in, I'm really struggling with a Sore Throat, Headache, aching joints, think I've gone down with a bug.
Money - Well since getting a good opportunity to finish work with a decent pay out its always been a toss up whether the works pensionable income & my other investments & redundancy cash were enough to mean I could perminantly retire. I've monitered my money on a regular basis to see the rate I've needed to use it, on the face of it I seem to have spent more than I had hoped over 12 months. However that isn't strictly true because about half my money is invested in Share based schemes & with the Global Market crash on paper I've lost quite a bit there. However I've not touched them accounts and am optimistic that they will come back over the next two years as the market improves.
Taking these facts into consideration I reckon the jury is still out so I'll not be looking for work in the immediate, thats not saying I'd turn some part time work down should it present itself, however I'm not panicking yet.
Weight Loss - Got to be honest here and say I reckon give or take the odd pound I'm about the same as when I started the year. I've tended to have purges of effort but to be honest my many vacations & a few weaker moments have always stopped my progress. Also I think the poor wet weather we got through the year limited my exercise.
So once again a new year means a new determined and I've put a plan together and I reckon it needs a few extreme measures to get me kick started :-
a) I am giving up beer for the first four weeks of the year (could be tough but a few years ago I did this and it paid dividends).
b) No eating except fruit after 6pm.
c) No biscuits, sweets or chocolate other than the occasional reward when I've done well.
d) Exercise in one form or another every day for at least one hour.
Actually think my proper meal eating is ok its the extras that do the damage.
Travel - Had a great adventure in 2008 having a number of trips away, in fact I counted up the other day and I actually spent between 50 & 60 nights away from home. On my travels I was lucky enough to visit 6 places I've never been before, In America Austin, Kansas City, Houston & San Antonio, in Ireland Dublin & actually in my own country Windsor.
Sure in 2009 I'm hoping to travel a lot again mainly because I love it, love the adventure. However my trips abroad may be limited because of the weak pound against the worlds currencys makes it a very expensive hobby. Thought it was just America & Euro countries but I checked out some Eastern European places I'd like to visit and the story is just the same against their monetery unit.
I suppose the good side is that its great for any industries over here that export and of course tourists are now flocking here for a cheap holiday, it all brings money into our country & may eventually help us out of the recession quicker than most.
So it looks like I'll maybe be having a look around my own country this year, I think sometimes its easy to forget what you have at home.
Romance - 2008 I've been lucky enough to meet a lovely lady "Jane", actually met her through the internet (MySpace) & so far we've got on fantastic and had some memorable times together. Only problem is we live at opposite ends of the country but we are organising regular weekends away together. We already have the first two planned & booked for 2009, in fact she is coming to watch me play Table Tennis in January (if that doesn't put her off nothing will).
Football - Sure everyone who reads my blog knew about my teams problems last season when they were docked 15 points yet still managed to make the play offs only to lose the final. Well we all expected this season with a better squad & starting on a level playing field we would easily get promotion. Well typical of my Club they've been leaking goals for fun & are currently sitting just above mid-table. However we've just got a new manager & he seems to have stopped the rot & is turning things around so optimistic we are again but have some catching up to do.
Music - Actually got some cracking Cd's for my collection in 2008 but there is one I want this year. Don't know if any of the readers remember a couple of years ago when I was in Toronto I found a CD i'd been looking for over 20 years from a little known group called The Photos.
http://whiteroseboy.blogspot.com/2006/10/20-plus-years-searching-is-over-i-cant.html
Well apparently when the group split up in 1981 they had just recorded a new album but it was shelved & put in a vault by the record company. Well after all this time it has been dug out & released in 2008 so if anyone sees it let me know. Its called "Crystal Tips & mighty mice" by the Photos.
The group was dubbed in 1980 as the English answer to Blondie because of their similar styles.
And Remember Everyone have a great 2009
Tuesday 30 December 2008
Sunday 28 December 2008
Christmas Update
Haven't posted for a few days so thought I'd give you an update.
Christmas as been quiet, the only thing I've done too much of is eat & mainly the wrong type of stuff. To be honest December a a whole I haven't really made a lot of effort & know I've added a few pounds. So when New Year arrives I'm determined to jump right back on track but more about that whe 2009 arrives.
I did get a new Digital Camera yesterday in the sales using some money my parents gave me for Crimmy. I've been playing with it, finding what it can do, its a samsung 10 megapixel and so far I'm impressed.
On the morning of New Years Eve I'm taking my Dad to York hospital, he's having a operation for his gallstones. It should only be keyhole surgery and he may come home New Years Day so I'll have to be careful not to drink too much New Years Eve cos I'll have to pick him up.
I am off out for a few beers NYE with my friend Mark, haven't seen him for ages so it'll be good to catch up.
Happy New Year to you all.
Christmas as been quiet, the only thing I've done too much of is eat & mainly the wrong type of stuff. To be honest December a a whole I haven't really made a lot of effort & know I've added a few pounds. So when New Year arrives I'm determined to jump right back on track but more about that whe 2009 arrives.
I did get a new Digital Camera yesterday in the sales using some money my parents gave me for Crimmy. I've been playing with it, finding what it can do, its a samsung 10 megapixel and so far I'm impressed.
On the morning of New Years Eve I'm taking my Dad to York hospital, he's having a operation for his gallstones. It should only be keyhole surgery and he may come home New Years Day so I'll have to be careful not to drink too much New Years Eve cos I'll have to pick him up.
I am off out for a few beers NYE with my friend Mark, haven't seen him for ages so it'll be good to catch up.
Happy New Year to you all.
Sunday 21 December 2008
Done it
Not been a total computor wizzard I've wondered for a while how you make Videos & slideshows to publish on Youtube, well today I worked it out.
Here is my first effort :-
I'm quite pleased with the result (Stephen Spielburg watch out)
Here is my first effort :-
I'm quite pleased with the result (Stephen Spielburg watch out)
Monday 15 December 2008
Spend, Spend, Spend.
I know December is an expensive time for all of us especially with the credit crunch but I've just taken a peep at my credit card statement & reckon I've broke my monthly spending record.
On top of the expected normal weekly Food bills & expected Christmas present spend I've a few extras on there this month. In them extras is three weekends away including the recent trips to Dublin & Stratford upon avon. The third trip is actually the hotel for my next trip at the end of January, I used a website to book which takes the money up front.
Other things on my account this month is the house insurance, two new tyres for the car, a new suitcase I bought & my Mums birthday present. I've also done a bit more motoring this month cos my fuel bill is higher.
Well hopfully all this means my next statement should be a low one, I always pay off completely each month by direct debit as I don't like paying interest. Don't think I'll have much cash in hand over Christmas.
Soon have completed my first year of retirement so I'll be doing a few sums in the new year to see how my planned budget has stood up & make my future plans.
On top of the expected normal weekly Food bills & expected Christmas present spend I've a few extras on there this month. In them extras is three weekends away including the recent trips to Dublin & Stratford upon avon. The third trip is actually the hotel for my next trip at the end of January, I used a website to book which takes the money up front.
Other things on my account this month is the house insurance, two new tyres for the car, a new suitcase I bought & my Mums birthday present. I've also done a bit more motoring this month cos my fuel bill is higher.
Well hopfully all this means my next statement should be a low one, I always pay off completely each month by direct debit as I don't like paying interest. Don't think I'll have much cash in hand over Christmas.
Soon have completed my first year of retirement so I'll be doing a few sums in the new year to see how my planned budget has stood up & make my future plans.
Monday 8 December 2008
Another Enjoyable Weekend
I know all my regular readers will know I've just had another trip away with my friend Jane from MySpace, surprisingly despite putting up with me all weekend Jane is actually still talking to me.
Anyway we agreed to set off from our homes on Friday at a time which will get us to our hotel at roughly the same time. The plan worked and despite both having to travel a fair distance we actually arrived within a few minutes of each other at around 12.30pm. Our hotel was the Stratford Manor about 3 miles outside Stratford upon Avon and we were both delighted it looked really nice.
We actually couldn't book in till 2pm so decided to call in the bar and get a bite to eat & have a good chat. We found the staff all really nice & helpfull I'd dvise anyone to stay there if in the area. When we got in our room that was also very nice so we were pleased.
Friday night we got a taxi into Stratford and the town which is really old fashioned looked really good with all its Christmas lights up.
We had a walk around the town and found a lovely restaurant where we had our meal before a couple more drinks before returning to the hotel. We did have a night cap in the hotel bar before making our way to bed.
Saturday morning we had a lovely breakfast at the hotel, it was a buffet job and there was everything to choose from, certainly no complaints from me.
After breakfast we drove to Warwick to visit the Castle, it was really interesting and a good way to spend a day, you need a good 4 hours to look around. Probably a bit longer if you are following the same Speedy Gonzales & Road runner that we were .
The Castle is set alongside the River Avon & is very picturesque a really pretty part of the world, the weather was nice a very sunny day although cold.
After we left the Castle we found a quaint little tea room where we had a drink & a bite to eat before making our way back to our hotel for a rest & get ready for another night out.
On the evening we again went into Stratford and found another restaurant which again was excellent, after the meal we tried a few different Pubs, they certainly all have charactor & plenty of history.
Sunday morning after we had had our breakfast packed our bags and booked out of the hotel we had a nice casual walk around Stratford before sadly having to say goodbye.
If anyone is interested the rest of my photos from the weekend can be checked out :- http://www.flickr.com/photos/8308363@N02/sets/72157610799096479/detail/
Sadly it'll be just under 7 weeks before we will get chance to hook up again, Jane is actually coming to see me play Table Tennis in the Veterans National League at Swindon, if seeing me in my shorts doesn't put her off nothing will, lol. We already have the hotel booked for two nights, can't wait to be honest.
We are planning many more get togethers, we are certainly getting on so well.
Anyway we agreed to set off from our homes on Friday at a time which will get us to our hotel at roughly the same time. The plan worked and despite both having to travel a fair distance we actually arrived within a few minutes of each other at around 12.30pm. Our hotel was the Stratford Manor about 3 miles outside Stratford upon Avon and we were both delighted it looked really nice.
We actually couldn't book in till 2pm so decided to call in the bar and get a bite to eat & have a good chat. We found the staff all really nice & helpfull I'd dvise anyone to stay there if in the area. When we got in our room that was also very nice so we were pleased.
Friday night we got a taxi into Stratford and the town which is really old fashioned looked really good with all its Christmas lights up.
We had a walk around the town and found a lovely restaurant where we had our meal before a couple more drinks before returning to the hotel. We did have a night cap in the hotel bar before making our way to bed.Saturday morning we had a lovely breakfast at the hotel, it was a buffet job and there was everything to choose from, certainly no complaints from me.
After breakfast we drove to Warwick to visit the Castle, it was really interesting and a good way to spend a day, you need a good 4 hours to look around. Probably a bit longer if you are following the same Speedy Gonzales & Road runner that we were .
The Castle is set alongside the River Avon & is very picturesque a really pretty part of the world, the weather was nice a very sunny day although cold.After we left the Castle we found a quaint little tea room where we had a drink & a bite to eat before making our way back to our hotel for a rest & get ready for another night out.
On the evening we again went into Stratford and found another restaurant which again was excellent, after the meal we tried a few different Pubs, they certainly all have charactor & plenty of history.
Sunday morning after we had had our breakfast packed our bags and booked out of the hotel we had a nice casual walk around Stratford before sadly having to say goodbye.
If anyone is interested the rest of my photos from the weekend can be checked out :- http://www.flickr.com/photos/8308363@N02/sets/72157610799096479/detail/Sadly it'll be just under 7 weeks before we will get chance to hook up again, Jane is actually coming to see me play Table Tennis in the Veterans National League at Swindon, if seeing me in my shorts doesn't put her off nothing will, lol. We already have the hotel booked for two nights, can't wait to be honest.
We are planning many more get togethers, we are certainly getting on so well.
Wednesday 3 December 2008
Cancelled
I'm a little cheesed off with the National health service this week. I was supposed to be taking my Dad to York hospital today for a planned Operation. It was gonna be keyhole surgery and he was expecting to come home again Thursday.
Its actually quite a problem because my Mum is disabled & we have to arrange for her to go in to a nursing home for a week or two while he recovers, normally he is her main carer.
So "sods law" the hospital phones on Monday to cancel his op so we've had to cancel my Mum in the home, its a pain in the a**e. To cap it all they have given him another date 31st December, yes New Years eve, I couldn't believe it.
On another note, I've another weekend away planned this week, Friday I'm off to Shakespere country "Stratford upon avon" where I'm once again meeting up with my friend Jane from MySpace. We will be staying over a couple of nights, on saturday we are planning to visit Warwick Castle which should be interested.
To be honest I've surprised myself how well Jane & myself have got on, things seem to have moved so quickly since we first met. We live at opposite ends of the country and are planning regular meet ups on something like a monthly basis, its what we both want.
Moving on gotta mention my footie team Leeds United who are having somewhat of a blip at present, my blog friend Airliebird just wrote an article about it so I'm not gonna repeat that.
Its amazing though the number of ups & downs my Club have, nothing is ever straight forward and it makes me think why I love my Club so much when the rest of the football world hate us like no other. Hell just look at some of the titles of books wrote about us "The Damned United", "The Unforgiven", "Trials & Tribulations" to name a few.
I actually believe its this hatred that pulls our fans together & creates the 2nd to none best support in football. No we don't claim to get the biggest home attendances (although beat most) its the amazing vocal support whereever we play. I think if we played in timbuktoo an army of fans would find a way of getting there, they follow the club everywhere.
Just check out this support away to Leicester its so typical of our fans take over away grounds with incesscent chanting while the home fans sit in silence :-
Personally I don't get chance to go as much as I like nowadays but going back to the 70's we've just had such a unbelievable away following that actually stuns home fans everywhere into silence.
Its actually quite a problem because my Mum is disabled & we have to arrange for her to go in to a nursing home for a week or two while he recovers, normally he is her main carer.
So "sods law" the hospital phones on Monday to cancel his op so we've had to cancel my Mum in the home, its a pain in the a**e. To cap it all they have given him another date 31st December, yes New Years eve, I couldn't believe it.
On another note, I've another weekend away planned this week, Friday I'm off to Shakespere country "Stratford upon avon" where I'm once again meeting up with my friend Jane from MySpace. We will be staying over a couple of nights, on saturday we are planning to visit Warwick Castle which should be interested.
To be honest I've surprised myself how well Jane & myself have got on, things seem to have moved so quickly since we first met. We live at opposite ends of the country and are planning regular meet ups on something like a monthly basis, its what we both want.
Moving on gotta mention my footie team Leeds United who are having somewhat of a blip at present, my blog friend Airliebird just wrote an article about it so I'm not gonna repeat that.
Its amazing though the number of ups & downs my Club have, nothing is ever straight forward and it makes me think why I love my Club so much when the rest of the football world hate us like no other. Hell just look at some of the titles of books wrote about us "The Damned United", "The Unforgiven", "Trials & Tribulations" to name a few.
I actually believe its this hatred that pulls our fans together & creates the 2nd to none best support in football. No we don't claim to get the biggest home attendances (although beat most) its the amazing vocal support whereever we play. I think if we played in timbuktoo an army of fans would find a way of getting there, they follow the club everywhere.
Just check out this support away to Leicester its so typical of our fans take over away grounds with incesscent chanting while the home fans sit in silence :-
Personally I don't get chance to go as much as I like nowadays but going back to the 70's we've just had such a unbelievable away following that actually stuns home fans everywhere into silence.
Here is a great photo of our fans on a visit to Arsenal (London) in the 70's :-
Anyway to move on I haven't done a music post in awhile so I'll post this - Its Brian Setzer & his 17 piece orchestra with "rock this town" live. If this doesn't get you feet tapping nothing will :-
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