365 to 42

Just spent the day shopping at an outlet village, less a village, more a small town and now I’m back and drained of energy. Having being in a lot of the shops the one thing that surprised me was how friendly the staff were, if it was me working on a Saturday and have to answer lots of stupid questions I’m sure I would get quite off hand. Picture today is of a tree, it does not look it but the tree was massive, but when taken in its surroundings it looks so small. ---------------- Now playing: Spandau Ballet - To cut A long story short via FoxyTunes

I think there has been a slight misunderstanding, I've not yet reach my birthday only hit 351 post, which struck me as a good number, but still short of the 365. The big day will be the 14th of February, but thanks for the birthday wishes i will enjoy them when i'm a bit older. I've added lesson 2 to the photo course , hope you like it. Just read a story of a Blogger from Alaska who has gone missing , this prompted me to have a look at her blog and I found this. “daily reminders” “1. there are at least two people in this world who you would die for 2. at least 15 people in this world love you in some way 3. the only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you 4. a smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t like you 5. every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep 6. you mean the world to someone 7. you are special and unique 8. someone that you don’t even know exists loves you 9. when you make the bi...

The 351st post and it seems like only yesterday that I started this thing. The weather here is again very poor so today it looks like I will have to do some house work, still it gets it out of the way for the weekend. Did manage to get some more work done on the photo course yesterday, I sat down to mess with a couple of ideas and ended up writing over 800 words, not bad for someone who less than a year ago would have been daunted by a 2 line email. In fact even writing this would have taken me hours to do. Today we have one of the images rescued yesterday; I loved the texture and repeated shapes, but when scanning through the shots the first time it just did not hold the same appeal. Having return to it, I re-framed the shot and took out most of the colour which highlights the texture and brings back the shapes I liked. ---------------- Now playing: The Prodigy - Breathe via FoxyTunes

Its dark, cold, wet and yak! So I’m taking the opportunity to do house work, only joking, I’m spending my time going over some of the shots taken earlier in the month to see if I missed any really good ones. That’s one of the problems with digital photos you just take so many shots that you have no time to really look at them. Take this month, during a normal January if I was shooting on slide film I would shoot maybe 2 or 3 films, around a 100 shots. This would cost me around £30. This month, given that it’s been quite poor weather, I’ve shot over 600 images; this would have cost me around £160. But the down side is I have lots of images that I have hardly looked at and as I shoot the images unprocessed by the camera, any I do look at need tweaking before they can be used. So today I’ve rescued 3 images that would in all probability have slipped through my fingers, if it had not been such a bad day out side. Today the picture comes from just down the hill from here on the local canal....

In my job I act as a liaison between the customer and some of our back room departments, customer ask me questions or give me instructions which I then translate into directives for the back room staff. After watching the news last night I’ve come up with a great idea, when the customer asked me to get something done I will offer a faster service, using my influence to grease the wheels, for a small sum paid directly to me. What do you think? I bet most of you think this is wrong and that I should be sacked even for thinking it and I would agree, but if you are a member of the House of Lords it seems as if it is quite alright to charge upward of £100k to do just the same thing. The 3 that have been caught out so far seem to think that standing up and apologising makes it alright, wrong, I would lose my job and find my chances of working in a similar position extremely difficult. Being a member of the House of Lords is an honour not a way to make money, the least that should happen to t...

The first lesson of my photography course should be posted tomorrow, if all goes well today. The news here was full of the story about the BBC not screening an appeal for help for the people of Gaza. I started my weekend watching the return of Jonathan Ross, a TV presenter that had just finished a 3 month ban after a radio program he had recorded was aired and was found very offensive by some listeners. This show was broadcast by the same BBC that is now refusing to screen an appeal for aid for families caught up in the war between Hamas and Israel. So it seems that it is ok to broadcast offensive material but not pleas for help, have the moral standards at the BBC dropt so low. To put this into some kind of perspective the other 3 main channels are all screening the appeal. Another picture from the Chatsworth estate, showing a pair of old barns. ---------------- Now playing: Jona Lewie - You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties via FoxyTunes

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. ~Henry Van Dyke No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. ~Proverb Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" ~Robin Williams The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring. ~Bern Williams ---------------- Now playing: Catatonia - Mulder And Scully via FoxyTunes

The first proper walking day of the year, and after just 9 miles I’m knackered. Still its good to put on the rucksack after a 3 month break and head out into the hills We have just repeated a walk we did just after I started the blog last year, see this post , and this time Kep kept a healthy distance between him and the sheep. The walk took us right round the Chatsworth estate giving us a 360° view of the house and it grounds and also fantastic views over the Derbyshire countryside. ---------------- Now playing: Sugerbabes - Sugerbabes - Obession via FoxyTunes

My new project is finally off the ground, I’ve put the first part of my photography course onto my other blog . This is by way of an introduction to the whole thing and hopefully sets the tone for what follows. There are lots of places on line that you can go to to learn about photography, so my aim with this project is to try and remove the snobbery and mystery that seems to surround photography, while helping people get more out of taking pictures. This may be seen as doing myself out of a job, if everyone can do it why employ someone else, on the contrary, the more people appreciate the effort behind a good photo, the more they will value it. The one problem with doing the course on the blog is that it shows the most recent post first, so the start is at the end! As I’ve said this is an introduction, I will try to make the lessons self contained so that people can just use what they need as and when it is needed. ---------------- Now playing: Blondie - Prett...

Good news, even treating all that I heard yesterday as propaganda or at least having a slight slant on it, the merger plans look like being the only way forward. Top of the list of good news is the fact that our CEO is going to head the new company, talk about being in safe hand, if only England had a keeper of his quality. Even thought both companies are working in the same field there is very little overlap in what we do, but we both do what the other has a need for. The values of both companies are very similar and if the merger goes through it will create a very large British ethically based company in an arena normally controlled by profit hungry multi nationals. On the down side there will be jobs lost, but the planning for the merger sees these coming from natural wastage over 3 years and is already had the ground work put in place by careful recruitment over the last few months. So all in all life at work is looking good ---------------- Now playing: Soft Cell - Torch via FoxyT...

I Hate Change, I love to know what is going on and when, I prefer to be in control than not and I really hate nasty surprises. So to find out that the company I work for is to be swallowed up by another group, from the breakfast news, is one way to guarantee a bad start to the day. News of this leaked at the end of last year and we were told that it should not have happened and that if any news of this kind was to be broken the staff would know first. Now my personal confidence is badly shaken in the people who I suppose will be telling me and my colleagues later today that this is all for the good and (hopefully) our jobs are safe. Having said all that, change is life and without it nothing would happen. I have a large amount of faith in our CEO, in times that have seen other company’s struggle he has steered a good route and kept the company very strong and although my personal future may be a bit uncertain I feel that a positive change started from within is better than one forced o...

When they are working right computers are the best, but when they won’t do what you want!!!!!! I’ve just spent the best part of the morning trying to get this picture out of Light room and on to the web, given that I use it every day and there are around 18,500 images on it, it has never let me down, but today it came close. Some of the blame must lie with me; I’ve not backed up my files for over a year so out of 1250 Gig there is only about 300 Gig between the 3 drives. Still here’s the picture, hope you like it. A big day for the USA, and the rest of the world if you think about it, hope all goes well and he lives up to the hype. ---------------- Now playing: Tears For Fears - Mad World via FoxyTunes

Another Monday another start at the Dentist, not the start to the week I was looking for, but it can only improve from here. Dancing On Ice, its my fault that we ended up watching this, last week was the first one and I suggested that it would be fun to watch as the really bad ones would be all over the place. But I’ve created a monster, Caz is hooked. So last night we settle down to watch the girls go though their first routine and very good they were too. Now I hate all these celebrity reality shows, they are just hour long adverts to help boost flagging careers of fading stars and they all have the same formula right down to the one nasty judge. But of all of them the skating one is by far the hardest, having worked closely with professional skaters for 2 years I know the level of fitness and skill that are needed, also the guts to skate backwards at speed, performing jumps and turns in time and in step with your dance partner. These celbs have chosen a very hard path to improve the...

Quote Sunday Every mile is two in winter If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. The last day of the old year was one of those bright, cold, dazzling winter days, which bombard us with their brilliancy, and command our admiration but never our love. ---------------- Now playing: Prince - Sign O' The Times via FoxyTunes

Music, I love it, that why there is a MP3 player on my Amazon gift list (hint, hint, Caz). I the past on here I’ve covered some of my favourite songs and what they mean to me, now I thought I would do the same with my albums. Unlike a single track Albums can rarely conjure up memories of a single moment, they are just too long and contain too many different emotions. For me an album is more likely to be linked to a time, maybe the week or month that it was first played or the time that it became relevant after years of just being good music. My favourite album of all time and by that I mean the one I’ve played the most will come as a surprise, me being a fan of punk/indie/rock, as it is an R&B/Hip-Hop classic. One music commentator said it "balances intelligence and accessibility with an easy assurance, and ranks as one of the most distinctive hip-hop albums of its era.” For me it has great tunes, tied together to form a unique collection. Each track contains more words than ...

Just had to share this shot of a boat down on the canal, it has so much stuff on it. What attracted my eye first was the brace of pheasants hanging over the door way, it was only after I had taken the shot that I saw the chickens in the pen on the tow path. I love to see boats like this, the pretty ones are great for interest in landscape shots, but this is a living thing with a unique personality. Just after this we found ourselves in a canal side pub and over heard one of the boatmen complaining how cold he had been all the previous night, only to find when he woke the next morning he had left the back door wide open. Thanks for all the feed back on what you would like in a photography course, it has been an eye opener. The introduction is now finished and when I get some time I will get it on the other blog. ---------------- Now playing: Suzanne Vega - Marlene On The Wall via FoxyTunes

I’ve started my new project, well started to start my new project. I’m going to write a basic photography course and publish it on my other blog. The idea has been kicking around on a back burner for some time and this week I have started to put together an introduction and plan the layout. There are already lots of course’s out there and trying to make mine different but still relevant is going to be the hardest task. So what would you want from an online photography course? Today’s photo was taken earlier this week, I had decided that it was too cold and horrible out side to go out, so I fired up the wii and made myself a cup of coffee when I picked up a message from Caz on the answer phone, she had had to travel out of Leek for work and reported the light was really good. As her word is law, I put down my coffee and headed out, the result was 3 or 4 picture I would not have got sat at home. ---------------- Now playing: Blondie - Cautious Lip via FoxyTunes

This post came to mind a couple of days ago when I hit my 333rd post, childhood heroes. Not being into sport or pop music my heroes as a child and young teen came from the books I read. Not for me the likes of Batman and Spiderman, my heroes were from real life, men from the war stories I read, normal people in extraordinary circumstances. Even now as I sit here my book shelf is littered with their books and as my main interest is the Second World War you will be surprised how many of the names are German. I think that it’s a very English thing to do to support the under dog and when you look at the war as a whole, even though they were winning for a large chunk of it, the German fighting man did have the deck stacked against him, with a madman in charge of the country and the world largest and most powerful economies against them, they had little chance. My first hero had a very chequered war time career, starting in France in 1940 and ending in Bavaria in 1945 after having fought in ...

Great news, I’ve had a picture posted on another blog, pictures poetry prose , basically the blog posts images from other bloggers and then invites people to be inspired by the photos and write pieces of poetry or prose about them. My shot was posted yesterday just after I had posted so missed out being mention then, but it has given me the chance to read some of the words inspired by my image. It is really great to see my images having an effect on people at a different level than I normally see. After mentioning yesterday that I had a burger maker for Christmas I would like to mention my gift to me, well it was more a collaboration with money from other people as well. Given that your budget was unlimited, so that you could buy just what you wanted, not having to compromise at all for any reason, what would you buy? For me that chance arrive just after Christmas, a combination of the right amount of spare cash, coupled with a fantastic sale offer, lead to me being able to buy a new w...

Now that life has started to get back to normal after the holidays I am getting the opportunity to play with some of my toys, by toys I mean my thoughtful and serious presents. Top on the list, now don’t laugh, is a burger maker . I love to make my own burgers, but getting them all the same size and shape is a bit of a pain, we had seen this at Lakeland and I kept joking that I would want one and now I have. Like all the best gadgets it’s a really simple design, easy to used and does the job perfectly right from the off. I mixed up a large batch of meat to a recipe from one of Carolyn’s books and in 5 minuets had made 10 burgers, all perfect in size and shape, the 2 we cooked came out looking as good as when they went in the oven. Now all I need is some good burger recipes. The photo today is of a stick covered in ice, not something I’ve seen very often, it goes to show just how cold it has been here lately. ---------------- Now playing: The Jam - All Mod Cons via FoxyTunes

Quote Sunday, • "Bous el kalb 3a thimmo la tokhed 7aajtak minnoh" Literal: Kiss the dog on his mouth until you get what you need out of him. • In other words, be nice to those you don't like if you have a business to finish with them. • "Is'al mjarrib wala tes'al 7akeem" Literal: Ask an experienced, and don't ask a philosopher. • Experienced people can know more than those who've read (studied) the topic. • "Lsaanak 7Saanak, in Sontoh Saanak wo in hinto haanak" Literal: Your tounge is your horse, if you take care of it it'll take care of you, and if you offend it will offend you. • In simpler words, watch what you say - your words are always a reflection of you. • "El jar abl eddaar" Literal: The neighbour before the house. • - When you're off looking for a new house , know who your new neighbours will be before you settle in. A good neighbour means a good house. ---------------- Now playing: Nirvana - In Bloom via...

Well the first working week is done and it felt as if nothing had changed, other than the date. The 2 whole weeks away from the grind seem a thousand years ago and the next break seems too far away to contemplate. So what are my plans for the year? My main focus will be to continue to build on my photography, I had a good year last year and think I can do better this one. I would also like to try and write something, maybe an article for a blog or magazine, illustrated if possible with my pictures, I see so many magazines around filled with stories about anything that I feel there could be an opportunity there. At my proper job I think that this year will be the time to move on, hopefully to stay in the same department but in a different role. Personally I need to get fit; my belly’s back and I want him gone before summer. On the blog front I have only a month or so left to do and I will have posted a photo every day for a whole year, I cannot explain what an achievement this will be f...

Kep came back from the vets with a clean bill of health, but he is still on the tablets at a reduced dose. For any new visitors Kep is our blue merle border collie, and the centre of life in our house. He is now 12 years old, but I still call him puppy (amongst other things that I cannot print here) he has been apart of our lives since he was about 7 weeks old and has just recovered from a strange pad infection. Pictures of him are scattered around this blog, due to the fact he is the nearest thing to hand when I need a subject as he sits by my feet whenever I am on the computer. ---------------- Now playing: Jimi Hendrix - Fire via FoxyTunes

Its foggy cold and wet, my only reason to move from my warm desk is the fact I have to take Kep back to the vets. Its only for a check up just to see how his pads are improving as he has been on the tablets for over a month, but we are already seeing an improvement not just in his pads but his whole attitude, its like having a young dog again, he’s even started to get into trouble, something an old respectable dog never would. Today’s photo was a grab shot, taken while out walking just after New Year, it was a cold but bright day and as the couple neared the top of the road I notice their shadow creating a lovely composition. ---------------- Now playing: Guns 'n' Roses - Live And Let Die via FoxyTunes

Ground rush (n) In skydiving, the optical illusion that the ground is abruptly rushing up to meet you. Yesterday I got a similar effect when I made the old joke about being 21 again and then realised that it is nearly the 21st anniversary of me making that joke for the first time! It cannot be 21 years since I was 21, I can remember it like it was yesterday, in fact better than yesterday, yesterday always seems to be a bit of a blur. I sat back at my desk and considered the past 21 years that have just slipped by, where had all that time gone, what had I really accomplished over those 21 years, how did I end up here. The answer is quite simple, I have spent most of the time living for the day, I’m not a great planner, I’m more likely to react to a situation than plan for it, I seem to have just meander through life taking decision when forced on me, just going with the flow and have now woken up to the fact I’m not where I want to be. That’s not to say I’m unhappy, far from it, the bul...

Near to where our friends live there is an area set aside for dogs to run free, a safe place that is well fenced off and with plenty of room for even the biggest dog to go wild. Right in the centre of this large wooded area is this tree and for most of the year that is all that it is, a tree. But for a few weeks it takes on a special role, that of a doggie Christmas tree. A doggie Christmas tree, I hear you ask, yes, a place where dogs can leave notes and cards for all their dog walking friends and even in one case a bag of doggie treat for them to share. The cards read like, from jack (mad black Border collie) to all his friends. A great, if truly mad, idea. Along the great idea route is an advert that is running here at the moment for car insurance, getting away from the normal hard sell it uses the strange idea of a meerkat complaining that people looking for the insurance site are coming to his site, compare the meerkat .com , it so off the wall its brilliant. ---------------- Now ...

First day back to the normal routine, and by 8am I was sitting in the dentist chair, what a start to the new working year! On top of that it has snowed and we have the first really blue sky since we broke up for the holidays, just when I’m stuck at my desk. The news this morning was again all about Israel’s invasion of the Gaza strip, looking at the footage of the ring of steel closing around Gaza city, of all the tanks, armoured cars and guns, it reminded me of the effort the German army put in to clear the Warsaw ghetto in the second world war, if I remember rightly the defenders put up a cracking fight and nearly stopped a vastly superior forces, lets hope the people of Gaza have more luck. As for my hopes for the New Year, well to not miss a post on this is top of my list, with only about 45 to go I cannot believe that I’ve kept this up. I am looking at ways to take this forward after the 14th as I have mostly enjoyed doing it over the past 10 months. But for now its time to catch ...

What a great Christmas and New Year I have had, and it mostly went to plan! First off happy New Year to everyone, hope this year brings you all you need and want. For me it’s gotten off to a great start as I spent it in the company of great friends and in a very pretty part of the world, hence the very short posts over the last few day. A big thank you to all the people involved Caz, Kep and I had a really great time and would not have missed it for the world. Now comes the hard part of cleaning the house, taking down the tree and getting ready for work, still only 6 weeks to my birthday and the end of my commitment to the blog, not that I will close it down but I will change the fact of having to post every day, the pressure of doing that has been immense over the past year. I am looking at a new project that will involve my other blog, but more on that later. Have you made any resolution for the New Year? I have not as I think that they are too easily broken, I aim to complete a set ...

Spent the last few days with friends and have only just got home, so heres a picture to keep you going and a full update on the past few days tomorrow ---------------- Now playing: Adam & The Ants - Young Parisians via FoxyTunes

Given that I like a drink and that New Years eve is the biggest excuses to drink of the year, you will have notice that yesterdays post and today’s have been pre-written, it gives me chance to get my act together. So I hope this finds you as I hope it finds me, having a great start to the New Year and basking in the glow of a great holiday time. ---------------- Now playing: Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit via FoxyTunes

To start a new year is a wonderful and daunting task, it feels as if the sheet is wiped clean and you have endless possibilities stretching ahead of you, but the memories of the past years intrude and remind you that you have been here before and you failed. This year for me is already off to a good start as I have improved so much since last year in so many ways and aim to carry on that improvement to greater heights this year. ---------------- Now playing: The Teardrop Explodes - Reward via FoxyTunes