We left at around 7.45 to meet Nicki in Stratford. The weather looks cold and misty but that won’t stop us doing what we do best – shopping! We got to Stratford around 8.45 – Nicki arrived soon after. We parked up and had a mooch around the town. We stopped off at a couple …
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David and Val round for Lee and Bertie’s final meal
The tile sounds quite dramatic, but that’s not what was intended! 🙂 Lee and Bertie return to their caravan home on Sunday and we thought it would be nice to have David and Val round to dinner, so they could say good-bye (until January 2009). We decided to keep the food simple – It’s Friday …
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Birthday Blog – The Cats Three Years Old
Biscuit and Bon-Bon celebrated their third Birthday today. Whereas this time last year, we were saying that Biscuit is the more sociable-one, Bon-Bon is turning into a real ‘cutie’ and is becoming almost the same.. They still hate being bathed and now when we take them to the local beauty parlour for their six-weekly ‘service’, …
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Anti-Social Geek!
I spent most of today re-installing everything on the laptop. It all went pretty smoothly with only a few minor niggles. By 9pm it was all working fine and seemed to be faster too – but maybe that’s my imagination!!!
The Old Bakehouse
We went to The Old Bakehouse in Rothwell tonight for our normal monthly ‘eat-out’ with David and Val. It was SUPERB!!! Great food and great hospitality too – I definitely think we’ll be going back there again…
Today’s ‘Top-Techy-Tip’
I used the Laptop today at a client’s workshop – all was fine. By the time I got home and began to empty my bag, I noticed everything was a little damp and that included the laptop! Anyway, all seemed to be OK and then the hard disk started to make a clicking sound. The …
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Trish’s 50th
Off to the Cricket Club tonight as we’ve been invited to Trish’s 50th Birthday celebration!
The Earth moved…( a bit!)/Omid Djalili Live in Cambridge
Wow! Woke up at 1am to the sound of the whole house shaking. Felt like an earth-tremor of some sort. When I got up later, BBC News 24 had reported an earthquake around Grimsby. A scary moment as we don’t get them that often! Off to see Omid Djalili at Cambridge Corn Exchange tonight. We …
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The Blue Lagoon
I met up with Mags and Ian after work at ‘The Blue Lagoon’ in Stratford-upon-Avon as part of our normal three-monthly get-together. It felt like we hadn’t seen each other for ages and there was a lot to catch up with. Food was good, but not excellent. Service was efficient but maybe a little slow. …
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Lee into Hospital/Bye-Bye Jaguar
Wow! An early start for both of us this morning. At 3.55, we could hear moans and groans coming from Lee and Bertie’s bedroom. Ann comforted Lee whilst I rang for an ambulance. At that point none of us were sure what the problem was! 09.05: I heard from the hospital. Lee and Bertie are …
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Preparing the Jaguar…
I spent some time this morning clearing out the Jaguar, in preparation for it being picked up on Monday. It also got a trip to the local car-wash for it final wash. it’ll be a shame in many ways to see it go. The smoooooth engine was a real bonus. It’s going to make the …
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Tom and Julie moved house
Well, in many ways, it’s a sad day. Tom and Julie are moving house! Although they are only moving round the corner, it does seem like the ‘end of an era’. No more walking round to theirs now, we’ll have to take the car!
Bye-bye Jaguar s-type (Well almost!)/Replacement XDA/Spoiler Alert!
This time yesterday, I learned that if I was going to get the full market value for the Jaguar, then I’d have to sell it. That was quite a shock as I thought Jaguar Finance would handle the equity related to the payments. Today, Kevin from Sytner came round and bought the car on behalf …
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Problems? No, what we have is opportunities..!
OK, work out the opportunities then… Ann’s PC stopped working. No power. Changed the fuse, no difference. My PDA stopped charging… Jaguar Finance were a pain in the ar* regarding the trade-in value for the car… Pass the Anadin please…time for an early night!
Drop Mum home + Jaguar’s new identity
I took Mum home today. We had an excellent run. Two hours there and two hours back. No hold-ups in either direction – Perfect! The preparations for the new car continue… The replacement registration number has now arrived so I can put own plate ‘on retention’ until the new car has arrived. The replacement registration …
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Mae and Denis for lunch
Mae and Denis came for lunch. Bev couldn’t make it as she’s in hospital – as a customer this time, not an employee! She’s currently out but going back in on Tuesday.
Trojan! + Valentine’s Day
I’m not 100% sure how I acquired it but I seem to now be home to the very popular ‘Vundo’ Trojan. A nasty piece of work that creates random-named dll files and hooks into your Browser. The result? Lots of hard disk activity, random adverts appearing for no reason and a very sluggish PC. After …
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Mum staying for a few days
Ann picked Mum up from home as she’s going to be staying with us for a few days. What a horrendous journey – there and back!! Ann left at 9 and didn’t get back until 3.30. Both were frazzled when they arrived. It seems that were a few accidents in both directions that screwed up …
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Steve and Denise’s for Dinner
We went to Steve and Denise’s for dinner tonight. Gill and Chris were there too. Sausage and Mash plus trifle and bread and butter pudding!! Yum Yum!!! We had a great time and got home around 11.30pm.
Lunch with Steve S
Met with Steve S for lunch today and headed off to our normal haunt – Hobson’s Choice – in Kettering. It was pretty busy and it looks like they’ve changed the menu again!!! The food was good though. Steve seems to be quite busy at work – he’s sold his Jaguar and replaced it with …
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Ashes to Ashes – Series 1 – Episode 1
The first episode was transmitted tonight. Given all the hype surrounding it and a few tidbits on the web and TV from the BBC, expectations were high. Having just watched it, it certainly ‘pushed all the right buttons’ for me. The BBC had done a great job in recreating the feel of the 80s and …
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Lazy-ish Saturday
Ann took Lee shopping to Fosse Park. After I got back from the hairdresser’s I spent a couple of hours tidying up the garage. Then, I spent a bit of time raking the lawn. If it turns out half as good as last year, Andy from Lawn Doctor will have done a great job! We’re …
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Meal with David and Val
Well, we’re back into the routine of going out with David and Val for our regular meal out once-a-month. This time, we’re going to Loch Fyne in Elton, (providing the weather improves! We’ve had sleet, rain and very strong winds!!) The meal was great and we got home around 11 after tea at theirs…
New car – the countdown begins
I guess it’s a bit of a ceremony for me but as soon as I know there is a new car coming, I go out and buy a new set of plates for it. Essential – no! Required – no! ..just the start of the process… 🙂
Ashes to Ashes – More clues…
Those all-knowing Digital Spy have an update on the new series! Not long to wait now…
New Car 2008
Well, here we are, at that time of year again, where the decision is made about the car that’ll see me though the next three years or so. After a lot of agonising over exactly which model to have and a lot of help and advice from my good friends at Volvo, I’ve decided to …
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Removing the protective film from the Jaguar
Took a drive to ‘PaintShield’ in Grantham today to have the film removed. I guess it’s been a worthwhile investment considering it’s been on there since 2005. I think I might have left it on there, but I wasn’t sure what Jaguar Finance would say when they took the car back now the finance is …
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Film – Sweeney Todd
We picked up Jo and Janet and headed for the 6pm performance of ‘Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ I wasn’t sure what to expect especially as it was a MUSICAL. I was pleasantly surprised as JD has quite a good singing voice and the other main characters had too. It was pretty …
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Roy and Sue’s for the weekend
We drove over to Roy and Susan’s in Ramsey, for the weekend.We arrived around 3 o’clock after a pretty straightforward run. It was a great opportunity to try out the TomTom Sat Nav ..and I’m pleased to say it worked fine (after a spot of bother locating the satellite). Lauren and Janine are certainly growing …
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New car?
Well, it’s been a difficult few months trying to decide what car to have next. Initially, I thought I might get a Volvo. They were especially attractive given the discount offered to Suppliers like me. However, after testing their top-end diesel – the D5 – I was left disappointed, mainly due to the noisiness of …
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