21 Jun 2007

Celebratory day

Posted in Life, Work at 7:52 pm by alby

Stuff to celebrate.

  1. Job. Woot.
  2. A while ago my colleague Mary was off to Skeggy. Charlie randomly asked “Can you bring me a humorous sugar willy?” Mary did so. I thought it would be sexist for Mary on her next trip to NOT get me a sugar ladies bit. She has done. And she presented it to me today. Nice.
  3. I met a 98 year old man yesterday. He came in complaining that his leg hurt. I asked “when?” He replied “after I’ve walked for about 2 hours or more”. Impressed!
  4. After losing every single game of scrabble online so far this week I’ve managed to win every match today and my rating just zooms up! Woohoo.  [edit: ah, apart from the last one.]

Have fun.

20 Jun 2007

Update update

Posted in Blog at 12:51 pm by alby

This page is playing up a bit at the mo and I’m not sure why.

It seems that new posts come up straightaway but new comments are taking an age to come through and then they might show up on one screen but not another.

Perhaps it’s spam related but I’m not so sure.

Any WordPress users know any more?

Have fun.

19 Jun 2007

Big news

Posted in News at 7:50 pm by alby

Earth shattering news.

In a world of high drama and tensions between powers with world-ending weapons available.  And the increasing spectre of global terrorism we have shocking news.

There’s a headline on ITV Teletext today which reads, in its entirety

“Queen arrives in pink hat for Ascot”.

I’m assuming they mean “the” queen and not just “a” queen.  Mind you I could envisage Graham Norton in a pink hat.

Sometimes I despair for the world.

Have fun.

Well timed

Posted in Life, People at 1:27 pm by alby

Blimey I thought I could rant.

This is somewhat more impressive.  And I love the comments under the article too.

Have fun.

Hell

Posted in Work at 11:39 am by alby

I really hate interviews!

No really.

16 Jun 2007

Home again

Posted in Reviews, Travel at 6:09 pm by alby

Back home now.

The opera was fantastic despite pretty poor acoustics where we were. We were sat next to the woman doing the surtitles. She only screwed up twice.

The singers were superb except that you couldn’t hear the tenors at times. The leading lady was notable not only for her singing but for her appearance. Madam Butterfly is supposed to be 15 (yeah right) and an unutterable beauty (snigger).

But no matter, the fat girl’s voice did indeed cut the mustard. The bit where she sits and just waits for her husband (who’s been away for 3 years and not intent on returning to this wife, he has a new one) was remarkably touching indeed. Loved it. Oh and she dies at the end. Not uncommon in opera so I hope I haven’t ruined the ending for anyone.

A good evening out.

Back to the hotel to be entertained by a group of drunken lairy scousers getting ready to go out “on the pull”. They were in the next room to us and very noisy re their intentions to “get some pussy” (their words). Are women really interested in people like that? Do tell.

Anyway they slunk back in quite quietly and apparently they’d all been unsuccessful. Who’d o’thunk it?

Home now. Photos are up too (here).

Oh and I poked my head into the hostel where Bri might work but saw hide nor hair of her. Never mind. Hello Bri – why Edinburgh? Lovely enough city but ooh you could have found somewhere with a hint of warmth to it. But popular with the foreigners. Most waiters seem to be Australian and most hostel staff seem to be Spanish. The main girl at our place had a bizarre accent combining spanish and scottish. Intriguing.

Have fun.

15 Jun 2007

Another rainy day

Posted in Travel at 5:05 pm by alby

It were Rosie time last night.  Books well and truly delivered – she’s got one of them and read a further 3 of them so she expects Clurb to be ashamed for expecting her to quite that thinly read.  She liked the topiary though.

Excellent bar at first and very good Indian food afterwards.  Myum.  And cool to meet Rosie and Tom again – food to be planned for Sunday I hear as she’s down in Leicester again for the weekend.

So to today after another cold night. 

It’s heaving it down outside.  Bloody heeell (as K would of it).

The plan was to visit the castle today but it’s rather over-inflated price tag put the kibosh on that.  So to the musea and galleries then (free you see).

The musea were great as well as free.  Loads of stuff including some creationist hating spiel about the nonsense of evolution and the fact that things may have existed more than about 7000 years ago.  Scum the lot of them.

Lost K and K a couple o’times too.

After a long stay there we headed off to the National Gallery of Scotland (so named so you don’t confuse it with the one on Trafalgar Square).  Again hmmm when it comes to “normal” galleries for me.  Too many similar paintings, quite good ones but nonetheless still quite samey.  Give me modern art any day.  Actually there’s a modern art gallery around too but you have to travel a bit to find it.  Only too late did I discover that there’s a free bus from where we were to the modern art one.  Tsk!

So to food – nice steak I suppose, more haggis for the gut-eating Bulgarians.

And we’re off to the opera tonight.  Cheap seats (£8 instead of £30) so not a bad choice.

Ta ra.

Have fun.

14 Jun 2007

Stop the pigeon

Posted in Travel at 5:57 pm by alby

Busy one today.

Set off after a lie-in to go to the castle.  Then decided that the castle could be be tomorrow when I saw the weather forecast.  Today then would be a walking day.

Started with a wander down to the new Scottish parliament building.  Ooh look there’s a nice big hill available to walk up.  So we headed up Arthur’s Seat.  Some grumbling in a foreign language was heard but nothing in English so I assumed it wasn’t too bad for them.

Ooh it gets windy up there.  Nice views though when you could stay upright long enough to admire them.

Down again to the parliament again.  Was going to spend a little time watching the debates but frankly the cafe and loo were more appealing by this time.

Then back into town for a swift gleg at the museum of childhood.  You can guess the contents quite easily.  Ooh some old toys.  And lots and lots of really scary dolls.  Weird folk those Victorians (Tanya would no doubt say that this still applies in Oz).

On t’bus to Leith for a wander over and through HMY Britannia.  Big boat with nice fittings.  As you’d expect really.

On the bus ride back an exceptionally dim pigeon flew straight into the window of our bus (we were in the upstairs right at the front).  Cue K being all “oohhh poor thing”.  I’m more of the mind of “one fewer, one better” when it comes to rats with wings.

So they’re getting ready to go out and meet Rosie and Tom.  I’m ready and sat in the lobby with about a billion mercans and Chinese folk.  And every last one of them has tried to use the PC next to me, despite it being bust.

Have fun.

13 Jun 2007

Coo

Posted in Travel at 4:09 pm by alby

They have internet in Scotland too!

Set off v early and arrived quite early.  Someone really should point out to the Scots that despite it only being 8am you really shouldn’t be able to see your breath in mid-June.  Honestly.

K rather bizarrely seems to have packed for warm weather.  First job was to buy her a fleece.

Hostel’s nice.  City’s nice too.  Probably might have a better review when I’ve seen a tad more. [edit: I've seen a tad more now and it is indeed "nice".]

Have fun.

12 Jun 2007

Katya Pics

Posted in People, Travel at 2:56 pm by alby

Some photos from our time with Katya are now here.

Have fun.

PS There’ll be more when we go to Edinburgh and back no doubt.

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