Lee, Ann and I travelled up to Tolethorpe Hall today and met Jo, Janet and Carol there. Nothing like a bit of Shakespeare to send you to sleep stir the soul, and the ‘band of sisters’ bought tickets for a solid dose of culture – an ‘outdoor’ production of The Life of Henry V. Perfect …
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Computer Coaching: 1-to-1
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Another ‘1-to-1′ today working with a new Pupil who has recently left the Army and treated himself to a shiny new laptop. Filed under: 1-to-1 coaching, Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Computer Coaching: Keep Taking the Tablets
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: This afternoon, I ran a pilot session covering ‘getting the most from your Tablet’. If we can get enough pupils, I’ll consider making this a semi-regular class. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Computer Coaching: Maintaining a Healthy PC
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, I began a comprehensive session covering ‘PC Health’. There is so much to cover, I plan to spread the topic over a number of weeks. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
BBQ Time
Believe it or not, this was our first official BBQ of 2015. And you can’t go wrong if Paul and Karen are organising it! All the ‘usual suspects’ were there – Dave, Rosi, Tom and Julie, but John and Trish had to cry-off due to a family emergency. It was the perfect evening for it, …
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Rutland Walkabout
What better way to spend the 1 year anniversary of acquiring the XKR, than by taking it on a slow drive round the county of Rutland? – more specifically, we planned to almost circum-navigate Rutland Water clockwise, and take in as many of the sights as time allowed. It was a gorgeous day – just …
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Stalag Pemberley – The Eastern Sector
David and I tackled the suspected ‘escape loophole’ for Biscuit today, by duplicating the established extra trellis construction from earlier this year, on the east (left) side of the garden, towards Karen and Paul’s. Biscuit Having tried a temporary construction over the past few weeks, we’re pretty sure that’s where she was exiting. David and …
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London – Scorchio!
With the media headlining: ‘country on meltdown’, it probably wasn’t the best day to have planned a visit to central London! Our reason for this madness was to catch-up with one of Mum and Dad’s best friends, Connie, and have lunch together. The added bonus was that with Ann between jobs, she was able to …
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Tablet Coaching: Fire!
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: I carried out some 1-to-1 coaching today for someone who had been given a Kindle Fire for Christmas, and hadn’t used it much since. We covered the menus, and what they do; plus, how to send an email and surf the ‘net. Filed under: Design
Computer Coaching: “And the Byte goes On”
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: With the Monday class now full, it was only a matter of time before we had to launch another class. So, I’m pleased to announce that from July 28th, there will also be computer coaching sessions on Tuesdays too! Places are limited, and after a flurry of signups yesterday, …
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Computer Coaching: Getting the Most from Google Maps
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today we looked at the myriad of features within Google Maps. Filed under: 1-to-1 coaching, Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Goodwood – Festival of Speed 2015
So, here I am on Friday at the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed with Ian H and Paul S. It’s my first visit here to the acknowledged mecca for petrol-heads! Ian and Paul are here Saturday and Sunday too, but my diary hasn’t been quite that generous this year – so maybe next time! It’s a …
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Smart Nephews
Clearly when they were giving out the brain cells, I opted for the express queue, labelled ‘five or less’. Luckily our nephews demonstrated sound judgment, by taking advantage of a BOGOF, and doubled theirs! Seriously though, what a bright generation they’re becoming. Alfie James Palmer. Currently at City University, but lucky enough to have secured …
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Computer Coaching: Customising your PC (Part 3)
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today we looked at the Status Bar/Task Bar and System Tray – and how to customise the icons that appear there. Filed under: 1-to-1 coaching, Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Father’s Day – 2015
As it’s Father’s Day, Ann and I drove up to the oft-visited Fortescue Arms in Billingborough to meet-up with Denis and Bev for lunch. We took the XKR and it returned 23.5mpg for the round trip of 80-or-so miles. Not bad!Ann, Denis and, oh, the XKR!Denis was in good health, as was Bev who’s become …
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Ireland and back – in less than a day!
With Ann currently ‘between professions’, we took advantage of the good weather and drove over to Bedford to meet Denise M for lunch. Our pub/restaurant of choice was The Black Horse in Ireland, a village about a twenty-minute drive from Bedford. I haven’t been there since May 2011, and it hadn’t changed a bit. First-class …
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Computer Coaching: The Next Generation
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: With the current Monday Class now full, I’m considering adding Tuesdays to accommodate new learners. Looks like there might be some demand for understanding Tablets as well. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Computer Coaching in Rothwell
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Whether you are cursing your computer, lingering over your laptop, swearing at your smartphone or having trouble taking the tablet – we can help! Every Monday and Tuesday morning there is a small group of us who get together at the Salvation Army’s Charity Shop in Rothwell to improve …
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Computer Coaching: A Pleasant Surprise!
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: It’s always nice to be appreciated! Filed under: Design
Computer Coaching: 1 to 1
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Due to holidays, it was a small class today. I covered setting up email and using iPlayer. Filed under: Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Life’s a (Kettering) Beach
It was a lovely day here today, so Ann and I met up with David and Val where our plan was to have lunch at The Vines after a walk round Wicksteed Park. Costa del Kettering Considering Wicksteed Park is on our doorstep, we don’t take advantage of its facilities perhaps as much as we …
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5ive’s Indian Summer
‘5ive’ is the name we gave ourselves – a group of Trainers from ‘back in the day’ when we all did work for British Airways, and dinosaurs walked the Earth. There were originally FIVE of us (hence the name), but now we are SEVEN (don’t ask!). We’ve kept in regular touch for over 10 years …
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Swanning in Lamport
Ian, Mags and I met up for our regular three-monthly catchup at The Lamport Swan tonight. I’d quite forgotten how good the food is here, and tonight didn’t disappoint. The service was spot-on too. In spite of us keeping in touch, we seemed to have more-than-usual to catch-up with in terms of each others’ news. …
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Down with Infinity
‘BT Infinity 2’ has been ‘down’ since the early hours of yesterday morning – it returned this afternoon. That’s the longest outage we’ve had since it was installed. Still, things seem to be back to normal…
Computer Coaching: Customising your PC (Part 2)
Auto cross-posted from my WordPress Blog: Today, we looked at the System Tray and the Status Bar. Filed under: 1-to-1 coaching, Delivery, Salvation Army, Skills Development, Volunteer
Downtown with Newton
What a lovely day! The sun is, at last, shining for more than a few hours – so it was time to make the most of it! With the dust blown off the picnic cutlery (and the XKR!), we assembled the essentials and headed off in the direction of NT’s Woolsthorpe Manor.Woolsthorpe Manor As every …
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Windows 10 – soon!
Well, that was a surprise! I powered up my Windows Tablet this morning – and this screen popped up. Apparently, Windows 10 is being rolled-out on July 29th and will be a free upgrade for users of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1.
Green Fingers and Geddington Wedding
We’re really pleased with the way the garden is coming on this year. I can’t claim much of the credit myself – Ann has the green fingers, whilst I do the heavy lifting! In the evening, it was off to nearby Geddington for a Reception following the wedding of Jonathan and Bec. A great evening …
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Bank Holiday Rush
I picked up Lee on Sunday and Nicki joined us today for a lazy Bank Holiday. We’d quite forgotten that Nicki still had our Christmas presents so that got the day off to a great start! I’ve now have some high quality cleaning products for the XKR, so they’ll be put to good use in …
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Cuba – Day 10 (Last Full Day)
My final post from Cuba!!It’s our final full day here today, so one of our last chances to soak up the sun, eat at the Troughery, and try out a themed restaurant. Tomorrow, we’re off to the airport at about lunch-time on an overnight flight – and hopefully in Blighty for Lunch on Friday. We …
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