We’re off to join Karen and Ralph for the weekend in Matlock, then tonight, we’re going to Hardwick Hall to solve one of their murder mysteries.We left about 9am and got to theirs just after 11 – a good journey! We had a lazy lunch of Indian nibbles and then whilst the girls went off …
Read More
Month:October 2010
The Shuckburgh Arms, Stoke Doyle – yum yum!
We’d all had very busy weeks, so it was great to be able to meet-up with D and V for a meal. This time, we chose The Shuckburgh Arms in Stoke Doyle near Oundle. David had had it recommended to him, so we thought we’d give it a try. On arrival, we noticed it was …
Read More
Laptop sorted!
Trish popped round with her (very nice) laptop. I managed to sort out her Facebook access problems, delete a phantom account, sort out her email address and generally have a tidy-up. All-in-all, it went very well. I loves compooooters! 😁 Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until …
Read More
Another busy Sunday!
Remember when Sunday was the day of rest? No, me neither! More’s the pity! 🙁 Ann spent most of the day in the garden trying to rescue us from the ever-invasive weeds and then planting out bulbs for the Spring. Meanwhile, I was in the office trying to get ahead for the week because I’m …
Read More
TV: ‘The Event’ (Channel 4). What the..?
If you liked TV series such as: ‘X Files’ and more recently, enjoyed ‘Lost’, (before they padded out the series too much and spoiled it with such a c*** ending), then take a look at Channel 4’s new series, ‘The Event’ (which started last night – 9pm). A passenger plane that disappears just as it’s …
Read More
Wine or Chocolate?
Which is nicer: Wine or chocolate? Can’t decide? How about a wine bottle MADE of chocolate? – Perfect, just perfect!!! Thanks girls!!!! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together …
Read More
DVD: Centurion (Blu-ray)
Ahh, a good day, but a busy one. I had a speedy journey back (from the school), and arrived home around 5.30. The girls had bought me a chocolate bottle of wine with ‘Mr Chairman’ piped on it – excellent! We then sat down to a good meal of steak and chips with a glass …
Read More
Me – as a piece of furniture!
As if writing the yearly school magazine and designing/maintaining the ex-pupil website wasn’t enough, the attendees at today’s AGM have voted me in as the new chairman of The Old Croydonians’ Association – ‘ The OCA’. So that’s THREE jobs now! On the plus-side, the role is a challenging and exciting one, and gives me …
Read More
Pie + Wine = Perfection!
Nicki joined for tonight and plans to stay for most of Saturday. Although primarily, the mission tomorrow is to shop, I wanted to to have a quiet word with her about my plans so far, for Ann’s surprise birthday ‘do’ next year. Nicki’s going to making the cake – that’s brilliant, she’s so talented! Lee …
Read More
Test
Just a test Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words …
Read More
Cinema: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
I’ve just learned that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is coming to the big screen on December 9 – just in time for Christmas. That’s excellent news, as I thought the first two big-screen adaptations were simply brilliant!! Written in 1950, by C S Lewis, and published in 1952, Lucy and Edmund Pevensie together …
Read More
That Syncing Feeling
Most of us have more than one PC these days – you’ve probably got one at home, and the other is your laptop or netbook. On each of those PCs you are probably using email at different times for different things. I’m the same, and the major frustration for me, is that some emails that …
Read More
A Decisive Day
The day started with a quick trip to [ssshhhh!] to start the ball rolling for Ann’s surprise 50th Birthday celebration next year. Then it was off a local Letting Agent in Kettering with Lee to attempt to avert a domestic disaster! It would appear that the previous tenant had been a bit naughty, fallen behind …
Read More
Cats
We popped down to Jo and Janet’s to give Jo her birthday present. We couldn’t help noticing how much their ‘kittens’, Wilf and Oscar have grown! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in …
Read More
Chichester for the day
Morning reader! After last night’s lack-lustre meal in the hotel’s restaurant, we were hoping for an improvement at breakfast. It wasn’t to be! Ann opted for poached eggs and bacon, whilst I went for the Full-English. Mine wasn’t bad, but Ann’s bacon meant we didn’t need a trip to the shoe-repairers! Still, at least we …
Read More
Long Weekend: Bognor Regis (Friday)
We drove down to the south coast today to meet-up with Sharon and Ian – and to make a long(ish) weekend of it. We’re home Sunday afternoon and we’re going to drop-in and see Mum on the way back. The weather steadily improved on the way down and we arrived at The World’s End pub …
Read More
TV: The Apprentice
The sixth series of The Apprentice started tonight. Any similarities between the contestants appearing on the show and real human beings is entirely coincidental! With each series, the contestants’ behaviour seems to be more extreme and their ever-increasing sized egos almost needs a house of its own to stay in!!! Now, I know it’s good …
Read More
Christmas Cards – The Sequel
I’ve been like a man possessed here today. I’ve finished writing all the business cards (around 150), AND, I’ve begun to write the personal ones too (I found some non-business designs in the loft from last year). The only thing that’s stopped me being a real sad-s**, and finishing those off as well, is that …
Read More
Christmas Cards
Well, if Tesco’s are selling their Christmas stuff already, surely it’s OK to start writing my Christmas cards isn’t it? I reckon just like last year, we’ve got around 250-300 to write, so maybe it’s good to try and get ahead. In fact, thinking about it, I think I’m slightly later this year getting started!!! …
Read More
Business Blog
For a while now, my business blog has been sitting happily on a WordPress, domain (WordPress provide our free blogging facilities). However, for visitors, it must have seemed a bit strange to suddenly be whisked away from the main SPA Ltd site, to a page hosted elsewhere. I’ve therefore been thinking about how, technologically speaking, …
Read More
Tech Alert: Facebook App for Windows Mobile
If you’re a fan of Facebook and you have the official ‘app’ from Windows Marketplace on your smart-phone, you will no doubt be cursing the fact, that recently it’s developed a fault and stopped automatically updating changes to your friends’ status. The work-around has been to log-out of the app and then log-in again. Hardly …
Read More
RIP: Norman Wisdom
Star of stage and screen, the comedy legend that is Sir Norman Wisdom, died today, aged 95. Famous for playing the underdog, and someone who made falling-over, an art-form, I remember him best for the 1953 film Trouble in Store, (which I think, earned him a BAFTA). In the film, he first uttered the line: …
Read More
I Feel Like Chicken Tonight!
Well, this afternoon actually. Ann and Lee sorted out a superb roast-chicken-with-all-the-trimmings lunch today. There was just enough for around 5000 people, but between us, we made short work of it all!! There’s only one thing left now, to complete the perfect Sunday afternoon, and that’s… zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in …
Read More
Chardonnay and the Security Suite!
All-in-all, the installations went well, but I do believe that there is an unwritten ‘law’ – probably called ‘The Law of Sod’, that kicks-in just when you are least expecting it!!! Our story begins…I downloaded the 2011 version of the new AVG Security Suite with a view to sequentially installing it on all the PCs …
Read More
Lunch in Peterborough
I met up with Alison W, an ex-business colleague from my days with Nokia. Just to make a change :), we planned to meet at John Lewis’s in Peterborough. The last time we got together was in January and just like then, JL was pretty busy in the store itself and in the restaurant. I …
Read More