CHRISTMAS UPDATE

Christmas Eve I drove over to see my daughter and drop presents off  I had a bacon sandwich and coffee before leaving .

Christmas dinner was good the turkey perfect the gammon got a little bit well done the sweet potatoes and white potatoes cooked to perfection , Helen parents slept over for two nights , Christmas day was over in a blink off an eye .
Had a bottle of Jack Daniels honey bourbon with a matching  glass it was  quite nice on its own with ice.
The cats and Pip had plenty off turkey we only ate about half and they had the rest over the following  few days  .

Was sad to hear about the death of George Michael 53 is no age .

Helen had her birthday on the 28th my sisters came over and took us out for dinner , Helen's son Liam and his girlfriend came over to sleep we went to the local Inn we all had different burgers with  fries .

The real Christmas tree is coming down tomorrow we hope to plant it in the garden .Looking forward to  2017 .

Bentley and George are out most of the time Bentley loves his freedom we are also leaving him out in the living room on a night he tends to go underneath the writing bureau to sleep .

Watching "Alaska The Last Frontier " all seasons

TURKEY IN THE FRIDGE

Woke up went to the bathroom turned on the tap no water went into the kitchen no running water went over the road to my neighbour Ken he had no water it took five hours for us to get the water back on . Thank you Yorkshire water .

Well Christmas is looming how fast the year as gone it will be 2017 in a matter of days I am looking forward to 2017 I think it is going to be a good year for lots of people .Hopefully in the first quarter I will have had my hip replacement and will be back at work .

Went out to a farm shop in Holmfirth and bought a turkey breast joint it is just under 6lb in weight and will serve around 8 to 10 people I also bought a joint of gammon to go with the turkey which weighs in at just under 3lb so the animals should be getting plenty of left overs they are chilling in the fridge .

I also bought some sweet potatoes and leek and sprouts all locally grown .

Went to my little green shed for my haircutting it was getting rather long there where a few waiting Helen waited in the car , after we drove over to Skelmanthorpe a small village a few miles from where we live to a boutique shop mainly because we had seen it advertised on Facebook.

Need to buy a few more presents for my grandson and my daughter I need also to get bits of food like deserts and nibbles but all in all we should be full steam ahead for Christmas 2016 .

FROZEN CHRISTMAS

Well Christmas is looming once again and once again we are totally unprepared how this happens every year I have no idea. I say to my self never again next year we will have it nailed and it never happens .We did actually venture  out to day specially to get Christmas cards cutting it fine I know .

I need whiskey and cider a Christmas cake with marzipan  proper loaded mince pies a bottle of port .

I need to buy gift cards and I need to get Helen some brown  leather boots  that she would like .

My Bt pre paid debit card came today with £75 on it will buy a few essentials for Christmas until I get paid in fact it bought us quite a lot I had to register the card to get a pin number so purchases could be made it allowed me to shop anywhere which displayed a maestro/mastercard logo which is just about every major shop or retailer  .

As a result the freezer is quite full bought frozen foods cheese filled bites , meat snacks in pastry parcels ,  chicken satays and kebabs , lamb skewers , larges pizzas , oriental prawns and spring rolls , cheese cakes , mince pies , sirloin steak ,southern fried chicken and onion rings .We still need to get the food for the Christmas day dinner . So it is starting to feel a lot like Christmas .

Bentley our cat went for his last inoculation Friday gone and he is now venturing out . Scary times but so far so good , every hour or so he returns home . He goes off with George our other cat and I do believe George is showing him the ropes and where to go and where not to go , and i genuinely believe he is looking after his welfare , which is great , they usually go out together and return together .

DULL I KNOW

Life is a bit dead one of the reasons it is so  is stale we do nothing new ,  we never go to any new places restaurants , pubs and we don't travel , we have never really had a holiday away  together life is difficult money wise  .

A lot  my wages goes on paying bills and putting food on the table  and the odd meal out .

Helen earns some weeks as little as eighty pounds which more or less pays for her cigs and buys the odd bit off food .

She moans about me having no money and I have a go back about the money she spends on her smoking and the fact that she is not earning  more .

I can only do what I can at the moment I can only earn what I get paid on sick which is a full wage minus unsocial hours money .I cant see us having an outstanding Christmas we have no parties to go to no meals out some old Christmas the highlight will be having  a full blown Christmas dinner with all the trimmings which I know is more than what a lot of people will be having so I guess I should wind my neck in and stop my bitching .

A trip in to work to see the occupational therapist I cant wait .T heir soul purpose is to get means others  back into work by any means necessary. I go this afternoon at half past one they have not asked how I am getting there if I need any assistance or even a  parking permit so I don't have to walk miles , Yet  they know I m off work waiting surgery yet they have not  asked me anything or shown any concerns to my moving ability my basic  ability to walk yet these are working in a health environment and have my interests at heart don't think so. Will continue writing this after my meeting.

Well the meeting went ok it was mainly ticking boxes everything I said I had already told my line manager nothing has changed I am off until I have my operation and I have fully  recovered then when i do go back it will be on a phased return which will be less hours for the first four weeks .

Anyway 2017 is looming and as they say things can only get better so here's counting down to the new year .

THE FOOL

Went to Lincoln Christmas market yesterday it was first held in 1982 with only 11 stalls an estimated 250,000 will attend over the four days it his held on  my hip was suffering half way round I was in pain climbing the inclines and steps really took it out of me I woke up the following  morning in agony I had to take painkillers I guess I did too much walking even though  we did not rush and took a steady pace .

To be honest I went last year going this year it did seem a bit boring the same stalls selling the same goods they had last year which I guess it being a Christmas market you would expect.The park and ride was good value for a car it was £15 and there was plenty off buses laid on to take you to the venue .The bus ride was only a ten minutes if that .

Some of the prices obviously included a great mark up a venison pork and mushroom sausage sandwich which was one standard size sausage in a dry oversized  bread roll £5 no onions  , doughnuts cost £1 each these was t around the size of a standard coffee cup the best value was a brandy coffee for £3.50 , Helen bought pot pourri and two bottles scented burning oil . Oh well  done until next year. When we got back to the car the cars queued up wanting to exit was unbelievable long Lucky we were parked nearly  half way up and got out in fifteen minutes.

THE FOOL ?

THE MEDIEVAL MARKET

The medieval Christmas market cost only  £1 to enter , and  it was extended this year to other parts of the castle the outer sections had canvas tents and straw thrown on to the stone floor to walk on , we bought a small carved little brown oak mouse to go on one of the  inner  door frame of our van .

A REAL CHRISTMAS

Bought a real living Christmas tree only the second one I have every had all the others false there is no comparison real is better  , also got some old fashioned candle lights it is starting to look a lot like Christmas .Even bought some mince pies the first ones this year .

Cooked Irish steak for tea with sweet potato fries potato fries , battered  onion rings and garlic mushrooms , best yet I have some fine horseradish sauce .

Went to see my surgeon surgery is going ahead just waiting for a phone call more than likely in the beginning of 2017.

PACKED UP

FRIDAY
Was up early went out just after seven to get cat food and some petrol before setting off to the vets for Bentley's injection he was very brave never flinched he did not even murmur.
Went over to my daughters house Helen was having her hair cut and coloured , she bought another Amazon fire stick I loaded Kodi on to it  this is a Christmas present for one of her friends

SATURDAY
Went food shopping bought Chinese and Indian food as well as chicken and beef , Helen went to Staples and had 200 business cards printed mainly to hand out at the event she is booked in to do tomorrow , rearranged the kitchen moved stuff around it seems less cluttered .

SUNDAY
The event was a waste of time we set up our table and only had one reading in four hours it was totally dead so we  packed up we were supposed to pay for the hire of the table we left early without paying the £25 cost it would have cost us more than the £20 we had made we did hang some cards out hopefully we will get a couple of people interested .

AGES

I have been off work for what seems like an eternity and I am missing work mates and having something constructive to do and a purpose ,  although it good being off I have to be careful what I post on Face book or where I go ,as there is always someone who will spot you or expect you to be constantly home bound ,and if I am out and about questions might  be asked . Although I still have to go shopping for food and stuff , Helen cant drive so we have no choice.

Overdosing on home cooked stew this is the fourth pot of stew I have cooked in the last week we sometimes have it with Yorkshire puddings and sometimes with dumplings but it is still stew and it still taste better the following day , I should use either use red wine or port to throw in one thing I will buy when I go shopping next is Lea Perrins Worcestershire  sauce ,great for meats and stews there is  no taste like it .

Bentley is booked in the vets to have his initial injections once he has had them he will in a few weeks be able to go out and venture  in to the great beyond the outside no more cat tray hopefully he will be safe and sound.

Have been given a Hp wireless printer from my good friend Ken who lives over the way it even has brand new cartridges in it which is a big bonus checked on Ebay and they are costing around £22.

NO POINT

I really  would like to buy a half decent drone like some or most of the You Tubers daily bloggers own and have in their camera kit either a Dji Phantom or Go pro .

Then I look at where I live and think it would be pointless . I am not near a decent beach with light houses and palm trees or harbour with million dollar yachts best I could do is donkeys and deckchairs in likely filmed in the rain or major capital  city with motorways or a skyscraper skyline .The best I can think I could just about manage  the town hall and the  canals with  green brown  muddy fields with the odd cow and sheep  might as well just use Google satellite , even the weather is useless a sunset over Ferry bride power station don't exactly sell it .

Same as me attempting to do a daily vlog me frying bacon and eggs or cooking porridge for my  breakfast is not great would need some amazing click bait  what else do I do go to the supermarket could do that once what do I have in my trolley egg and beans and porridge milk coffee and sugar .

Mail time be fun final demands and monthly bank statement and the phone bill plus odd Ebay purchase that would bore people to death in no time no matter what click bait I use .
Will never be like Casey Neistat saying that he won't be seeing that he has quit daily blogging wonder if he is selling off his camera and gorilla pod .

Watching - Matt Damon in  "Jason Bourne" and Arran Paul in "Come And Find Me "

LITTLE IMPROVEMENTS

Put a shabby chic cabinet up in the van I took a mirror down which was on a mdf board the cabinet was just a few inches smaller I fixed it into the same line as the screws for the mirror it is well secured it has two wire mesh doors Helen loves it it has been gathering dust i one of  the out buildings for the last 18 months .We also found some wallpaper and we decorated the inside of it looks ok .

We also so bought some tartan fabric to re-cover the window blind and two lamp shades , Helen's mother kindly came over with her sewing machine and did her magic .Little improvements here and there make a big difference next we are going to be dying some cushions well I say we you get the drift .

STEWED

We are going to totally going to get caught out for Christmas again if we are not carefully .We need to start planing on what we are going to do , we need to organize if we are eating at home and if we are dinning in the van who is coming or do we go out ,which as its draw backs I prefer to do my own food.

Got the croc pot full of beef stew it will slow cook through the night we have thrown in leeks ,  mushrooms , swede , carrots and new potatoes we will add in some dumplings tomorrow hopefully  it will be a nice dinner I  would have preferred to use shin beef and oxtail with some red wine or port .

SUNDAY
Cleared the fallen leaves from the main parts of the garden after I was finding it difficult to even walk due to mt hip , I don't know if it is due to me being off work and doing less walking but it does seem to be getting a lot more stiffer as soon as I do any form of work .

MONDAY
Eat the  beef stew that as been slow cooking in the slow cooker  since yesterday it was really good tasty and thick I also did some dumplings which turned out ok too.

TUESDAY
  l cooked  a chicken stew  I put all the ingredients that I use din the beef stew . Helen's parents called round for dinner I also  made  more dumplings I used the same amount of self raising flour 4oz and  2oz  of  suet and for some reason the dumplings where twice the size of yesterdays and I am not sure why , everyone enjoyed them which is the main thing .

WEDNESDAY
i am thinking of buying a X-Box One with Battlefield 1 GAME FOR £219 being at home all day I need more entertainment also I guess gaming can be my new hobby which I am in dire  need of a hobby that will not bore me once the initial out lay of the console I can get games pretty cheap
or borrow games from my daughters boyfriend .

MUFFINS

So far so good the Bt broadband is up and running fine , it did disconnect itself  a few times during the night and  early morning but it came back on in only a few minutes .

Today I went for my ct scan at the Spires in Elland about a half hours drive . The scan itself  took all of 3 minutes , after  it was all done I booked another appointment with the surgeon whom is doing my hip I go and see him on the 29th of this month hopefully I will be given a date for surgery .

My daughter is having her first tattoo well actually she is having her first two tattoos , she would look funny with just the one as she is having her eyebrows done hopefully  they are symmetrical .

We did some food shopping bought enough meat to do a beef and chicken stew along with all the veggies to throw in including swede and leeks we also got suet to male dumplings and eggs to make pancakes .
Also bought some home made tomato and red pepper soup which I garnished myself using black pepper , grated cheese and freshly chopped  parsley served with lightly  toasted English muffins nice.

OUT AND ABOUT

MONDAY
All the BT router came this morning I am not sure when to set it up atm the Sky router is still connected so I guess I will wait until around midnight tonight to use the new BT gear.

Our connection went live this afternoon I connected both Helen and mine mac books or iPads and iPhones the two Amazon fire sticks are not playing ball I phoned BT help desk basically everything should be working at midnight fingers crossed .Web pages are opening a lot faster so we should be sorted .One issue was trying to connect the Amazon Fire stick tv stick I had to enter the new router settings and disable smart set up only then would the fire sticks connect to new the wi-fi hub so far so good web pages seem to be opening faster they have said it will be around three days for it to settle down and optimize  itself.

TUESDAY
Went to Helen's parents house in Bramley Leeds  for tea  we had a roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings and home made apple pie and Jersey cream for desert , I also was given £30 worth of gift vouchers for Next which was totally out of the blue more new jeans I think , we had to leave earlier than we had planned due to the weather looks like it will snow.

WEDNESDAY
Was awake early hours of the morning watching the USA Presidential election results I knew Donald Trump would gain the majority of the votes never say never .
We had snow during the night not loads but it was coming down during most of the morning .
I had to take Helen former doctors appointment just after ten . At one this afternoon I had to go into work for another meeting with my line manager ,  ticking boxes and playing ball they graciously  pay me sick pay whilst I am on sick  so its the least I can do .

FIRE NIGHTS X2

FRIDAY
Bought minced beef , canned chopped tomatoes one red and green peppers  a jar of chilli  sauce and a packet of chili powder , button mushrooms a onion and bulb of garlic and and a large  tin of baked  beans to cook a chilli to take over to our friends house over at Holmfirth on the little street where we use to live for a bonfire party it was a good night my feet got wet and cold but all in all it was a good night all the old neighboughs turned up and we saw them all more or less .
We did not bother with fireworks we just had a bonfire burning , there was even some chili left to bring back home in the croc pot we had used .

SATURDAY
Bonfire party number two this was all for family my daughter and grandson my two sisters two nephews and their partners more chilli along with a bowl of  freshly cooked pulled pork and sausages.
We also  had various fireworks  going off from rockets to Cathrine wheels to magic fountains and air bomb repeaters they were all really good  all in all it was a very good night most of the people who turned up for the indian meal a fortnight ago was there tonight all in all two good nights and the best thing no accidents or incidents .
It was good getting out of the house for two nights running and  meeting up with people is always good specially when it does not happen too often .My sister even gave me five bottles of pear cider to take  home nice one Anne thanks ,

SUNDAY
Our new router of Bt broadband should be arriving tomorrow we go live anytime up until midnight Mondayand  hopefully it is going to be fast with a vast wi-fi coverage it can be no worse than Sky that we have stuck with for well  over a year .

The Savfy 3200 mah  battery case that  I bought  for my Iphone 7 is great it was  defiantly  a very good buy  I have no complaints  , I have only  had to charge my phone once via the mains once  during the last four days .

The gas boiler is playing up again it is on then its off we have heating and hot water then we don't I called the engineer the other day and it sorted its self  out so I cancelled the call out I called them again today this time they can come out regardless

Third night fireworks going off George the cat is safe inside which is good at least he is safe although he is not happy about staying in he likes to be out and about .

SICK UNTIL 2017

Went to see the surgeon who will be performing my hip replacement operation on Tuesday he is first sending me for a CT Scan which is Thursday next week at 10.00am as a X-ray only gives a 2 dimensional image a CT Scan gives a three dimensional image which he wants before he does the procedure to to make sure there is no hidden issues .

I called my local doctors surgery  and they have written  me out another sick note which I will give in at work next week  that will last me until the 31st of January 2017 , which is a whopping  thirteen weeks I have already had seven weeks off work this already there is no doubt the longest time that I will have been on sick during the whole of my working life .

My battery case for my iPhone seven came today from Ebay giving me an extra 3200mah of power which will do for me . Also I was lucky enough to get a grey  Levi t-shirt I made an opening bid of 99p and no one else entered any bids so I won it that also came today .

The elderly lady who lives next door passed away during the night ,  we are all walking towards a finish line sad but true .


Listening to -  "Gnash"

Watching Tv Series -  "Hunted"

Eating - Butter chicken curry and rice

GOOD TIMES

THURSDAY
Went for breakfast at Blacker Hall Farm had a full English with a coffee from there we went to Trinity centre a few miles away I bought some black jeans from Next for £35 I could have done with buying about six pairs  , also  I bottle of No85 aftershave which I tested last time I was in the store it was £8 .

FRIDAY
Drove to Leeds to shop at  Ikea we bought all the animals new blankets bought a star light and a bulb which cost £12 from there we went to McDonald's pigged out end of trip out . Erin stayed over she is going out with Helen tomorrow first thing in the morning they are driving over the moors to Uppermill .

SATURDAY
Helen is out for most of the day so I had a chilled out day went to Asda for a few supplies such as milk, beans, toilet rolls and frozen mash and hash browns and to  the farm shop to get freshly made pork sausages chicken breast steak pie garlic and rosemary potato slices garlic mushrooms and Yorkshire puddings I spent three times the amount that I did at the supermarket .

Liam Helen's son and his girlfriend Nicole stayed over again it is always nice to have people stay we cooked a ham and bacon mushroom tagliatelle with fresh cream and garlic bread high in calories but oh so nice .

We decided to watch "Nightmare On Elm Street " not sure why maybe because Halloween is looming years a ago I thought it was quite scary but watching it again it looked dated the acting was rubbish but it is a great story line.

SUNDAY
We all went to Blacker Hall Farm for breakfast I also bought some Parkin cake for afternoon tea .
In the afternoon drove over to Holmfirth looked in the furniture boutiques some cool stuff .
My sister came over with her husband Al , all in all a very nice weekend .

MISSING THE POINT

I think Helen likes her new phone so we should be sending our iPhone 5s's off by the weekend so we get £160 paid into my bank for both phones Helen's old phone is 100% in many condition there is no marks on the front or back mine is about 90% to  95% we both should get the same .

I don't think I will get a leather case I am thinking of getting a battery case but not a Apple one they are way too ugly .

My lighting headphones won't work in the lighting port of my Ipad mini and i am now wondering if Apple will do away with the headphone jack on the new Mac books that they are launching this week.
I like the look of the new Microsoft studio pcs they look well cool if Microsoft get it right they will convert a lot of people although they are not cheap.

Phoned my old mate I have not seen for years we are hopefully meeting up next week it will be strange years have passed and I know he is doing far better than me financially but never mind I am sure it will be ok I know he will have a flash car I am guessing either  BMW or Mercedes but will see .

There are a few items I would like to buy a stainless still bracelet from Fossil a black leather band also from Fossil . A wash/overnight  bag for my hospital stay/visit  that is when  I actually get a date for my hip op.

Anyway payday is looming I need to stock up on sausages , bacon , chicken breast . fish  and Marks and Spencer's ready meals .

Just wasted my time watching the keynote for the new Mac book by Apple totally disappointed like is that  is that what we have been waiting for or am i missing the point it is  thinner less weight and smaller than the Air book is not what I wanted , and touch bar wow but  like I say am I missing the point . Oh yeah and a new app for the Apple tv think Apple have totally gone off track .

Anyway in Apples favour  below is George my Tom Cat taken with the IPhone 7 camera got something right this year .

ONE MORE YEAR OLD

BIRTHDAY
Made it to here after being born all them years ago we were only given a 50/50 chance of surviving that is my sister and me but survive we did .
Received loads of birthday wishes on face book and I replied to each persons post just to give the thumbs up and a thanks .
The two main people we owe the most thanks to  of course are our Mother and Father who sadly are both passed over to spirit but not forgotten and hopefully still over seeing our daily lives .

Helen bought me a milk warmer which also froths it it is a great machine which is really efficient quick and does what it says on the box impressed , trouble is every time I left my cup unattended the cat  Bentley had a drink .

MONDAY
The new broadband should be up and running on the 7th of November which is quicker than what I was originally quoted yeah.

Bought some Ritz crackers today have not had any for ages had them with cream cheese and roast ham another favourite we had for dinner and tea combined was thin pork pan fried  sausages with buttery mash potatoe and baked beans awesome.

One of my sisters cat died today she got a call to tell her it was laying under one of the cars in the street she is thinking it had been poisoned it was only a few weeks ago Minnie Moo our cat died so I know how she is feeling.

TUESDAY
Helen's new Iphone  7 matt black the same colour as mine is coming today she had a text saying it would be delivered to day instead of Friday which is good she received it at around half past three I think she likes it she has been annoying me going through the ring tones for the last hour then doing all the other alerts for Face book text messages etc etc .

SPICY AND NICE

SATURDAY  -  Changed my ISP from Sky to BT tired of a crappy wi-fi signal and a rubbish router reason I have moved to BT  they  supposed  to have a lot better router  which when I did the comparison they do which gives better wi-fi strength and coverage  , so I have signed up online for a 12 month contract , I am also eligible for a BT reward card for £75 which is good also the package is £4 a month cheaper so hopefully it is a win win situation .

My I- phone 7 is a lot better than the 5s specially if I disable wi-fi I can get a 4g connection which never happened on the 5s all in all I am happy .I have to say the stern speakers are a lot better the photo quality even better , the screen bright and high resolution for us upgrading from the 5s well worth it .

SATURDAY EVENING
We all meet up at eight o clock for the Indian dinner at the Grand Indian Swillington which is around the corner from where I use to live , then  back in the day  was the local watering hole The  Swillington Arms  and a hole it was . My daughter had arranged for my twin sister and me to celebrate our joint birthdays.

Eleven turned up we all had starters and main course which included chicken lamb and fish curries with nan breads different  rice and fries , starters from mixed kebabs , samosas and onion bahjees  all in all the food was great no complaints the waiters excellent the venue was very nice clean and modern a hole not anymore everyone enjoyed the food there was no complaints the even threw in an extra dish popadoms and pickles it was a great evening .I will go there again soon I hope .

GOT 7

Helen bought some diet pills only to find out after she ripped them open once we got home that she cant take then due to her thyroid condition not like I want them thanks all the same .
My oldest nephew cant take the Indian meal we are attending Saturday night although Sue his partner is still attending .

FRIDAY
I should get my new phone today it is midday and I am still waiting to be honest I am not that excited which is sort to strange , but the way I am seeing it is that it is costing a lot of money for something a decade ago I was not that interested in . I think I was more hyped over the LG Viewty I bought after I was on my own and then the  IPhone 3g  8gb the first Apple phone I had.

I watched the Apple keynote for the release of the very first Iphone it was impressive Steve Jobs did a great launch when you look back it was the phone to have , it stood out it was on  its own , now ever phone emulates and copies it there is no originality any more it's all been done and copied don't get me wrong the Iphone 7 is a good phone but it is a case of been there done  that got the t-shirt  the question is do I keep the t-shirt that's sent me or do i return it , we can make and receive calls better but we are still only getting two bars not even capable of hitting 3g where we live ,The screen is a lot better , the volume too I have had force touch for the first time and live photos and it is nice having bigger storage but it is at a price will think about it over the weekend .

Received some documentation and paperwork for the operation I will be having either this year or early next year  freaking me out hate operations and procedures .

KILLED IT

I mowed the grass and  used the leaf vacuum to pick up all the fallen leaves that drop from the oak trees that we have to the front of  us , I did some trimming of the grass verges and boarders after I was struggling to move as my hip was in so much pain , for the first time ever I took 2 x 600 mg of Ibuprofan in a few hours killed it I was more or less pain free .

I just checked my mobile phone account I am already on my new plan 4gb data unlimited texts and minutes my next bill on the 30th is for  £145.99p which is annoying seeing that I have not received my new phone . Also they are working on improving the signal where we live on the 18th which is tomorrow they never mentioned this when we told we could upgrade so we would obtain a better signal  I am tempted  to cancel the direct debit  until I see what improves with the phone I have.

One good thing about being on sick is I am eating at more suitable time I am also getting through a lot more coffee and watching a lot more You Tube .

Midnight and I am in the shower whilst Helen is watching "Shirley Valentine " seen it umpteen times not to want to watch it again .

TUESDAY
Phoned my phone provider to check on delivery date for the iPhone seven they have messed Helens order up she is getting the gold phone which is the last colour she wanted , so they are having to cancel the original order for the phone and do a reorder , she will get hers a week after I receive mine she is not happy but it is only seven days hardly a hardship .
Went for a outing to get fish and chips at Compo's in  Holmfirth village  it has been a while since we have eaten from there . I ended up feeding a cat which I think lives near by I am sure I have seen the same cat before , it was very friendly I doubt it was a stray .

WEDNESDAY
Helen's parents came over from Leeds in the afternoon we cooked a roast beef dinner with Yorkshire pudding they meet Bentley for the first time he was well behaved he is usually kept out of the way , after we all watched "Eye In The Sky",  I have watched it three times now.

THURSDAY
The usual routine get up at half past six to let George out go to the toilet go back to bed for a hour then get up and let Bentley out , make a coffee and a cuppa tea , feed Bentley let George in and feed him catch up on You Tube and Face Book .Ten  o'clock get Helen up she will warm her tea I made her in the microwave , I will get the vacuum and do all of the van then mop out the kitchen floor she will wash her hair I will get the mail if we need any food for the day we will go out shopping and get the necessities for the day e.g. bread milk  cat food and some food for our main meal of the day.
When Helen is working on the phones I will either read or watch something on the iPad using my headphones if Helen has any face to face readings I go in the bedroom and relax with Pip our dog and Bentley the Kitten George is usually out. We usually eat at what ever time and usually go to bed around half past twelve we catch up on You Tube and Face book before going to sleep at around half one in the morning ,

ANOTHER WEEK OFF

Well I have to admit today has been boredom city the weather is absolutely crap its rained all day .
Thank God for You Tube and box sets  , although I did get out to do some groceries cat food , milk drinking way too many coffees , chocolate biscuits and a summer fruit trifle in Autumn all  the essentials especially if you are feline.

We went over to my daughters house mid week Helen had her hair recoloured and cut in to a Bob she did ask me my opinion she asked the question should she grow it or cut it , I gave my usual reply "it's your hair do what you feel is best for you " , I don't ask her advice when i get my hair cut mainly because I am a grown up and can make adult decisions all by myself.

We are all meeting up for an Indian meal a week this Saturday . My twin sister and older sister will be there along with my two nephews and their partners , my Daughter has arranged it all and booked the tables sent the invites out she will be there with her partner. So all in all we should have a good catch up. My Son Guy I think that is his name sadly  won't be there it's been that long since he stamped his foot down and threw his teddy out the cot that I doubt I would want him there , apparently he is now vegetarian because his girlfriend is what a farce what a sheep what a pussy unbelievable  .

Well the weekend is looming when you have been away from work for a few weeks I guess you don't  get as excited over the fact that it is the weekend the two days you have normally been waiting for since Monday morning.

Nothing awaiting delivery from Ebay still waiting for a delivery date for the iPhones i hope it is worth the wait I can see us getting into a slagging match with our phone provider if we don't get a decent enough signal I am pretty sure we will .

7 or 3

Still three weeks until my sick note runs out I seem to have  been on leave forever although I cant say I am bored yet .
Helen as been working and she has done quite a few readings whilst I have been off work she also did a party from seven in the evening until half past midnight .

Bentley the kitten is doing fine and at long last George's eye seems to be improving slowly . None of them seem to be missing Minnie Moo in the slightest which I guess is good but saying that they cant tell us who really knows do animals grief I know some do specially elephants not sure about cats and dogs although they do grief for their owners passing so but for other animals I am not sure.
Minnie is buried her grave in the park and is untouched and is exactly how we left it .

The van that we were  originally was going to purchase  is now having a new roof fitted and looks really good .

For tea tonight we had pulled beef and mushroom open tart with potato and cabbage and bacon followed buy a melting chocolate cake with single cream was very tasty and very filling .

The nights are getting colder the days are not that bad we are still getting quite a bit of warmth and sun during daylight hours .

I cant believe it is nearly my birthday , then Halloween ,  then bonfire night , and  then Christmas unbelievable . Have bought no presents for Christmas although I don't have that many to buy maybe only three or four .

Not getting that over excited about the arrival of the iPhone 7 we have on order which is strange I guess Apple have lost some of their lustre maybe I should not be getting it I maybe having second thoughts O2 have the Oppo 3 .

looking forward to the Beatles film being released as well as Oasis film and a "Street Cat Named Bob" I reckon all three will be excellent .

Listening to - One Republic "Oh My My"

Watching - Casey Neistat vlogging  it on You Tube.

WE LOVE CATS

We received a phone call just before half past one this morning  ,it was from a vets practice in Dewsbury which is only about six miles away. A very kind young lady had dropped of Minnie Moo our little black cat off it is a 24 hour practice , she had been knocked down and found at the side of the road unfortunately dead.

  This young  lady had then stopped her car got out and picked her up then wrapped her in a blanket and took her to the vets .

The vet read then scanned  her and found out she had been  microchipped  and then was able to get our details and contact us .We both got dressed and went to collect Minnie  to bring her body back home this was at around half past two this morning. We buried her in the park we can see from our window  that she frequently played in.

All of our cats go out  they are free to come and go as they wish i frequently get up in the early hours to either let them out or in I don't mind this . We don't have any house cats AS WE BELIEVE it gives them a better life but it is risky butI  cant justify keeping  them locked up 24/7 we are not a zoo and we are not a prison , we love cats.

R.I.P Minnie Moo

TUESDAY

Well, I phoned my manager at work and told him I have a sick note for a month with the potential of another two for a month each oops not my fault I need an operation my hip is shattered I need it replacing sorry if that effects your sickness percentage which is supposed to be under three percent mine will be way off the richter scale .
I went for the meeting it went fine I might be refereed to occupational health but they cant really do a lot until I have been under the knife cant see them offering any advice what so ever .

Bought another Amazon Fire tv stick I put the tv in the bedroom on the wall I bought a bracket for £15 it fitted perfect no hassle three screws and it was done so the fire stick in the living room is now connected to the bedroom tv we now have fire sticks  in both the  living room and bedroom I also bought of Ebay a micro usb to usb 3m lead for the bedroom fire stick  and a two pin power lead also 3 metres long for the tv its self .


Looking forward to the iPhone seven mainly because of more storage and a better camera and hopefully better reception and signal the 5s is letting us down so much you wouldn't think a few years ago it was considered the in phone to have  .

Reading - Malcom X autobiography

Watching - You Tube Casey Niestat

Films - Shallow (was ok 6/10 )

NO BLACKSPOTS ?

Bought some new slippers or mules nothing to do with the hospital I needed them  they are very comfy the other ones are going in the bin that are well past their sell by date they lasted me over a year .Will have to buy some Pj's  for the hospital I am not wear the ones they provide I normally sleep in my boxers and in winter I wear a T-shirt and I will also need  a wash bag for my hospital sleep overs  . I know one thing soon as i can physical walk I will be homeward bound  hopefully no longer than five days which will be four days too long .

Went to the farm shop bought some prime fresh thin long pork sausages which are the best we  I bought steak burgers which are also  second to none and  I bought two packs of chicken breast and two Barnsley lamb chops which where expensive but worth it , along with peas , chips , onion rings , roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings which are all frozen but still great tasting .

Made a call to our mobile phone provider complaining about the reception and service that we get or in our case don't get whilst we are  at home .  Some days I spend two - thirds of my time at home Helen some days which work out most days she spends a full 24 hours  at home so getting no reception or signal therefore not being able  to make and receive calls this is no joke .

They advise us to download their  app so we can make calls and receive calls over our wi-fi , are you fcuking kidding me we might as well cancel our contract and use Whatsapp or Viber  or Facebook .I down load the app anyway and connected to our wi-fi it does work , but I only had to  find out that to answer a incoming call I have to hit the home button then unlock my phone with the four digit pass code then scroll  to the app then open it to get the option of answering the incoming call a joke not happy one bit.

After phoning back and carrying on we were giving the option off a free upgrade to a iPhone seven  we both ordered the Matt black finish 32gb they should get here between the 21st and 24th of October which will be two days before my birthday or one day after so my monthly bill will increase but will still be less then what i was paying before but I will be in a two year contract again which is not what i wanted but this day and age we need phones that work and there was no way I was signing up for a two year contract and getting a iPhone 6s , least we will have the latest phones and we have been assured they will get a reception if not they will be returned .
On the plus we get stereo speakers which are 2x louder than a iPhone 6s a  bigger and faster processor and hopefully  better batteries the graphics and colour is also better a big plus is it is water proof and we get  double the storage but at more cost to us oh well .Cant live life without a phone that we can use hopefully we will no longer suffer from black spots .

SO GOOD TO BE HIP

Went back to the Doctors this morning I have a referral to go see a surgeon about a hip replacement she has seen my x-rays and my hip joint it totalled and it will only get worse , My appointment for this is the 1st of November.

My doctor was going to give me a three month sick note a bit extreme so she wrote me  one out for  a month and of course I will be getting another for a month after that , I am guessing it be 2017 before I go back to work.

On the plus side I will save £400 on petrol  and another and at least  £180 on food , I will save 60 hours travelling back and forth to work .I won't have to worry about parking the car getting a ticket or finding  parking space I have already had three weeks on sick.

On the minus side I will miss some great people when I do get back not sure how many emails I will have to open or what new changes will have been inputted .New faces will have started working there and no doubt old faces left I will have never had so much time off from a job and then gone back to it , going to be so weird and when I do hopefully make it back I will be on a phased return .

A new hip will mean hopefully no more aches and pains easy walking more flexibility and mobility There is no doubt getting a new hip will change my life  and hopefully a new year and a happy new hip.

VAT AND VETS

I bid on a pack of tarot cards that  Helen wanted and won the cards they are costing nearly £38 with delivery I hope there are worth it some of the same cards are being sold for up to £100 a pack crazy .They are The Mythic Tarot by Juliet Sharman - Burke and Liz Green that is the old version not the new version or so I have been told on  good authority.The new ones are a lot cheaper to buy than the older ones .

Got a in store card for Marks & Sparks we can get a whopping 10% of food and flowers we went again today and bought a pizza and sliced potatoes fries some cream and apple and strudel fruit pies .

George goes back to the vets again tomorrow for visit number three I have to be there for ten past ten and I need to settle the vets fees which will be now around £100 his eye is improving fingers crossed it will be fine.The coast was £112 with vat and he has been prescribed some other eye drops from what w have been using for the last two weeks if these drops are better why then was he not prescribed  these  two weeks ago .

Bentley our kitten is possessed he is utterly mad but very cute and playful after all he is only a infant but he  a handful he is but I love him to bits and  he is do very  adorable and I would not swap him ,  but I differently wouldn't want two , one Bentley is more than enough and he eats for two .

Had a peanut butter flavoured milkshake from The Five Guys franchise which was absolutely amazing. It was way  too early to get a burger and fries but if they taste as good as the milkshake was the I will indulge next time i get the chance and well get the full Monty.

I bought  a flick knife hair comb also off Ebay I remember having one years and years ago I bought whilst on a short break in Scarborough and I lost it or had it pinched out of my bedroom by a friend or should I say borrowed anyway came across them by chance on Ebay so I placed a order should get it in the next few days.

M&S NOT S&M

Yesterday we went to the great British food retailer Marks & Spencer"s which sells the nicest food .

I use to go to the one in Leeds city centre on  Friday afternoon when we finished school with my friend Mark and his mother Pearl they use to have their own fish and chips shop one of the best in Leeds.

His mother use to always shop there they could afford to , we occasionally shop  there mainly  because we cant get everything we need from there .We bought a set dinner for two for £10 this was  including a free 75cl  bottle of wine. We went for Peach Garden Rose at 13% vol . Including in our meal deal we opted for two pieces of steak a fresh salad(Helen's choice) and two deserts millionaires shortbread chocolate and cream the best ever and  all for a tenner  .They do some nice freshly prepared meals three for ten pounds which seem to be great value guess where we are going when i get paid going to get a few for the freezer .They are also doing dome Japanese dishes i would like to try and some great looking pizzas . We will still be going to Asda but we want to get at least some of the food we eat from Marks and Spencer's you cant beat posh food.

I am also ordering a wifi booster box from Sky as our wi-fi seems to be getting worse this is only £20 and if it does the job of extending the signal be a good buy .

SUNDAY 

Went to the Trinity Centre Wakefield got a Next catalogue also saw the new iPhone 7 plus nice and the new high gloss black finish not so nice prefer the matt black if i was to get one that is.

Helen is gone to church i am cooking fried chicken and fries and will finish off the rose wine from yesterday .

CHEESE ON TOP

Watched "Into The Wild "again well it has been a few years since we watched it , still enjoy the music the ending still haunts us but that's something that cant be changed .

Updated my iPhone 5s to the latest iso without any hitches the phone seems fine and does no way resemble a expensive paperweight I have also downloaded Sierra for my mac book but so far have not installed it .

I am really craving pulled pork sandwiches chocolate fudge  cake with pouring cream and vanilla milk shakes with ice-cream , i have had no pear cider for fcuking ages and not had a proper Sunday lunch for weeks it is not good enough I need feeding bad roll on payday .

The kitten Bentley is doing fine he has his moments and jumps on George our ginger tom when he is not noticing him stalking him , to be fair George is rather very tolerant to say  that he is still having antibiotic eye drops administered  in his eyes twice daily but the treatment  is working and his eye is clearer and opening wider for longer periods and is only now slightly red this is going to cost me around £110 in vets fees when I get paid .

Friday tomorrow and i have been off sick nearly two weeks and it has flown by still get next week on sick.

FRIDAY
At last I finally managed to install OS X El Capitan I the updated it again to the latest OS Sierra both Macs are now installed with the latest OS cant see how it is a major upgrade apart from Siri and a few changes to maps and photos it is hardly a years work Apple get your finger out of your arse you still cant cut copy and paste why ?.

Cooked Shepherd pie with peas and carrots with mash and and beef mince plus we had Yorkshire pudding i put cheese on top before throwing it in to the oven Helen disagrees with the cheese I think it should have it on , as  it tastes better in my opinion .

TWO TOO HIP

I self certified off work for last week due to hip issues Friday afternoon I  phoned my Doctors up this mid afternoon and they had plenty appointments left vacant , but was giving a sick note for two weeks thats not being seen by any doctor or medical practitioner and  the only time that I  had to go  to the surgery was to pick the two week sick note up. So unbelievable but who is complaining not I .

I am going to try and do something productive like updating my journal do some calligraphy writing and maybe some sketching like copying simple tattoo ideas or line drawings I also want to finish reading  two e-books and one audible book .

SATURDAY
Drove Helen to York Poppleton to be exact for her psychic workshop a snip at £40 for a five hour course no wonder we are always skint .

It ended up being six hours and there was around forty people there that £1600 that £266 a hour not bad the ladies delivering the session use to work for the Nhs earning £50k a year thats about £26 a hour spot the difference I would settle for the £26 an hour.

Will I was waiting I ate 2/3 packet of chocolate digestive biscuits and a banana milk shake went for a short walk to stretch my legs , listened and nearly finished a audio book Dave Stewart's "Sweet Dreams" and  watched some You Tube and listened to some Bob Marley tunes .

On the way home we got chicken  , fresh noddles and fresh stir fried veg for tea all done in the wok in around fifteen minutes .
I don't know if it was because i was sat in the car too long in one position put the old hip seemed to be aching more than usual , oh well two weeks to rest it .

NEVER SAY NEVER

sTUESDAY
Sheet lighting all over Yorkshire we were  driving back from the hospital after having my x-ray it was bucketing down a very torrential down pour.

THURSDAY
Went to the vets with George our ginger Tom cat his left eye is injured we think through fighting he has damaged it before and it got better on its own.This time it has been closed a bit too long so a trip to the vets was arranged .The vets are letting me pay when i get paid at the end of the month he has a lever and infected cornea I was given some eye drops and take him back next Tuesday.
Left the fridge freezer door open so ended up taking everything out and defrosting the whole unit, lucky we out the bowl inside and a bath towel which contained all the thawed out ice .

FRIDAY.
The rain has come back with a vengeance it is teeming it down with great force and power it did not last long .
Helen wants us to sell the static home and move back to Holmfirth back to the cottage on Upper Bank End Road but she wants to buy it if we can get it at a knock down price I cant see it but I have said it before never say never .
We are opening to get a smart meter fitted in the van so we can get free gas on a Saturday if they can do it that is .

HOT DAYS

Tidy the garden cleaned the gutters out from all the fallen debris , it has been a uneventful weekend .
Looking forward to next weekend already as much has I am already looking forward to pay day again.
Bentley our kitten sits with me all the time he loves cuddling up he is a great little cat and he is growing fast .
Washed the car once again I  have never washed any car so much has I have this little Fiat .

Went over to see Helen's son Kris to see Oakley he is not crawling yet but guessing it won't be long .

MONDAY
Guess i did too much over the weekend specially yesterday because i had to Phone in sick at work I also booked an appointment for  an x-ray at Dewsbury Hospital for Tuesday at 19.10 , I will phone in sick Tuesday and most likely for the rest of the week until I get my x-rays sent back to the doctors and we have had a consultation as to what is going on  .

September and it is getting hot which is good anything which keeps winter at bay is good a Indian summer would be bliss Tuesday is supposed to be the hottest September day in 55 years .

Been watching Casey Neistat vlogs on You Tube what an amazing life style makes my life seem so dull.

Listening to - Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers

Watching - Jason Bourne

LEFT TO MY OWN DEVICES

The roof of the van is being bombarded with acorns and twigs from the oak trees that surround our van every few minutes one will hit the roof because it is metal it is like throwing dried peas in to a tin bucket .
More leaves and twigs come down each day looks like summer is finally over which is good because we can cook big pots of stew and dumplings in the slow cooker .

This year once again is flying by  , my son is still refusing contact with me so I and time is passing he is still not grown up what a child he really needs to man the fuck up.my daughter is also pissed off with him because he did not get his mother anything for her birthday he did not even wish a her a happy birthday she took him to work in the morning because he is banned for drinking driving and he never acknowledge her birthday in any shape or form , he needs to be careful he does not end up out on his arse.

Apple iPhone 7s plus and air buds will cost us in the uk £1078 that is £919 for the 256 gb phone and £159 for the air buds wow what a cost hate to think what it would be on contract over two years .First time in nearly eight years that i have only paid £9 for my mobile phone now that I am on sim only plan .

Going to spend the day in York a week this Saturday Helen is going to a psychic work shop I will be left to my own devices in the centre of York cant wait a hog roast sandwich and a pint .

DYING FOR A DRINK

Went to the doctors surgery to see about hip replacement surgery this morning first thing that i need to do is go for a x-ray to see what the damage is I have to call on Tuesday to arrange an appointment should take a couple of weeks to get the results then we take it from there.

Helen's son Liam is spending the weekend with us we need to get some food for dinner I fancy carbonara or decent stew and dumplings.We cooked carbonara with smoked ham and double cream and tagliatelle  pasta.I also bought mushroom pattie and chicken and chirizo pattie and a loaf of tiger bread .

After I let Liam cut my hair it has not been that long since i went to the barbers but I let him cut the back and sides he did it really good to say he only started training a few weeks ago ,  it is grade one which is short but years ago I did have it grade one .

Helen drove the little Fiat 500 about a mile she was nervous but made no major mistakes she needs to get use to the gears and the pedals as the say practice makes perfect .

Monday the sender of the two year old text that I only  read a couple of weeks ago phoned me ,  after I left a message with his receptionist at the company he owns  I have learned  a load of interesting facts and information about people we use to knock about with it is amazing how many have died through drinking themselves dead not good .Hopefully we will meet up in the near future hopefully over a curry .

RUSTY WINGS

THURSDAY
No barbecue three today it as more or less rained from one o clock onwards its poured down .
The new kitten Bentley is ace as always George and Minnie both hiss and growl at him he just wants to play and he constantly runs around and climbs the furniture and curtains in a nice sort of way. He sleeps all through the night he has a wicker basket that his is bed .

FRIDAY
TFIF and payday which is always a good day in the month will fill the car up get some supplies and essentials I also thinking of buying a panini press for quick hot sandwiches like chili chicken sour cream and rocket , meatballs cheer and cranberry another favourite .If the coffee is still on i will get another three jars . I need shaving foam hair gel and i have seen some black toothpaste i want to try out .
I nearly went to Five Guys at Meadow Hall but I deemed it better to go to the supermarket and get my own burgers cheese and fries .
Bought Helen a Pandora necklace and matching ear rings which was not planned it was  more or less a spur of the moment gesture I thought it would be nice to get for her.

We did go to to Orlando's Italian restaurant I ordered lasagne and Helen ordered the carbonara the food was excellent it was our first visit but we both decided we will go back .

SATURDAY
Had another hair cut from the little green shack by Terry the barber it was empty I parked up and was in and out with in twenty minutes.
Had another Chinese stir fried for tea did nothing much else .

SUNDAY
Erin stayed over we watched "The Conjuring 2 " which was not that bad I always find my self jumping at the music which always seems to go loud really quickly which always makes me jump and I find that there is nothing more terrifying then evil clowns and nuns for some reason they freak me out not that there was any clowns in this film .
Bought a set of rusty metal Angel wings to stick in the candle .

BARBEQUE X2

Wednesday it is now  midweek of my second week off work it is all down hill to Monday i go back on a bank holiday which means no managers about which although they are ok most of he time they are still managers , I don't need managing thank you .
I mowed the grass  on both sides of the van then I did the edges and verges  with the trimmer when done I then vacuumed up all the leaves and debris.After this I washed all the windows then the car got washed again this is about the forth time i have washed  it in the few weeks that we have owned it.

Had another Barbecue this time we had corn chicken legs and burgers and some veggie skewers all went down a treat out friend Erin bought most to the food and we have strawberries and cream to finish off a can of Kopparberg pear.
Helen and Erin went to spiritual church i did not want to join them so  I had a shower and chilled with the cats , the kitten and Pip .

The photo below was taken this morning as I was driving out of our gates going  to the farm shop to get sausages for breakfast which I have to say are the very best cooked well done in the frying pan with olive oil served in a bread cake or roll with English mustard optional  .

Watching - Bastille Day

Listening to  - Viola Beach

2 YEAR OLD UNSEEN TEXT

MONDAY
Went to my daughters house in Allerton Bywater as Helen was having her hair re-coloured again by my daughter she did it last time and Helen was well happy . My daughter gave me a I-pod touch to load up with music for her as the laptop she owns  is a dead she bought the iPod of eBay for £10 what a bargain it is in many condition although it only holds 8gb of data it is a great bargain old tech is cheap and can be like new she bought to go on a Polaroid dock she bought at a knock down price because it has a 32 pin connection hence the older model of  iPod touch .

Listening to the English band Viola Beach new  album and it is full of great tracks  sadly the all died in Sweden when the car they were travelling in went off the road and  in to the canal and they all was drowned along with their manager .

The Kitten Bentley is a crazy little dude he amazes him self the table and dining room chairs have become his climbing frame but saying that he has done zero damage he tends to keep his claws in .

My daughter is arranging a birthday get together for my twin sister and me we are all meeting up for a wicked Indian meal near to where I use to live in the mining village of Swillington.

I saw a text from Facebook messenger it was dated in June 2014 it was from an old friend that I have not seen  or had any contact with for years but why now ? why  I  had seen the message and previously it was over two years old  I have no idea I cant explain why it took so long for me to see it i have no explanation what so ever it was not good news , it was basically  to tell me that another friend  that he both knew had gone out for meals and drinks and this person and his girlfriend lived with me and my girlfriend for a good six months the message was basically to tell me that  had died the previous night his girlfriend had  left him two years previous and he more or less had drunk himself to death I was shocked unbelievable he would have been a couple of years younger than myself.
I replied to the message and have not heard anything back i also tried to ring him he did not pick up not sure if i ever will but it would be nice to catch up and to ask him  what other mates we both knew it he had any information on them .

Decided to cook tea on the barbecue it was that hot we did not have loads of food we cooked some steak and pork . Sausage . onion and pitta bread the end .

NEW KITTEN

SATURDAY
Well, two cats is never enough we had to go out and get another one this one is called Bentley and he is beautifully marked white and grey stripes he is very lively and although  totally only twelve week old kitten is  not phased out by the other two cats and our Jack Russell Pippa.
The dog is also  fine with the new kitten she as always had and infinity with cats and never yet hurt one she  does the odd growl usually if she is eating a bone or chew but apart from this she is fine .
The only concern or issue is with George our Tom cat he can be a little feisty  at times and might not tolerate the little ones playfulness .

SUNDAY
Bentley the kitten split although the night he never stirred once until morning we have been playing with him all day he is quite a character and very playful so far so good he has fir right in.

One more week of work i have seemed already to have been of for ages next week will fly bye hopefully if the weather predictions are correct it will be hot , which will make the week go even quicker .

AT HOME

Well  my first week off work and the weather apart from today has been awesome really warm and hot but today Friday failed miserably it is  grey and wet as i type this .
We went to Pugneys park with Pip we bought a mattress for her to lie on the back seats hopefully will be easier to keep it clean the council now charge to park your car £1 for one hour £2.50 or if you want to stay over four hours £4.00.

Tried a new fish shop called Barracudas although the fish was no way that size you got a decent portion plus they had picnic benches outside to sit and eat which we did it was hot they also had umbrellas .

What else have I done nothing we have done daily shopping getting food as and when we need it , Helen wants me to make a chunky wooden kitchen table and get rid of the mahogany one that we are currently using that is in the pipeline .

Helens driving lesson was cancelled today for some unknown reason she was looking forward all week and one hour before her lesson she received a text message to say it was postponed , I offered to take her out in thee Fiat she declined .

We are have a table booked at a local Inn The Kaye Arms http://kayearmsgrangemoor.co.uk Helen went here a while back with her Mother and Father i think it has had a full refurbishment from the link it looks ok and the menu is mostly what you would expect from a local Inn.

I have also been catching up on some Vlogs and Mr Robot season 2

TINNED FISH

SATURDAY
Went to an antique emporium near Wetherby they had some interesting stuff and a load of tack but it was worth a visit i bought this rusty looking lantern fish for £12 .It will sit on the toilet shelf frighting anyone who's not seen it before should put it floating in a water filled glass jar .

On the way home we stopped at the Wetherby whaler that is the Wakefield one  and not the Wetherby one  regardless where they are they are all named the Wetherby Whaler we had a couple of fish and bread cakes for tea .

SUNDAY
Had a run out to Saddleworth bought the cats and dog all new collars and a yellow flowering plant boring day .

TIME OFF X 16

Work the rest of this week then I have sixteen days off annual leave I doubt that we will be doing the much but at least having no work is a blessing as long as the weather is on the summer side rather than the autumn side  and there is cider in the fridge all will be good .
The little white Fiat 500 is running good we manage to sort out the Windows Blue & Me I loaded a usb drive with a load of tracks such as Level 42 , Simple Minds , Depeche mode  Echo and the Funnymen and New Order just to name a few and it will play them but it keeps repeating the last track unless you manual change tracks .

Next week is supposed to be the hottest days of summer which if right means my first few days not at work I will be basking in heat and sun .

Helen has booked another driving lesson this Friday one a week is better than none a week .

A LITTLE DRIVER

FRIDAY
Well today I have driven our current car to work and home again for the last time tomorrow we get our little white Fiat 500 with only 24,000 miles on the clock .I have informed the insurance company and I have gone online to my bank and cancelled the road tax for the Suzuki Swift which saves me £12 a month , this car is only 330 for the year .

I emptied all the car of our belongings from the boot , side panels , rear panels and the glove box amazing how much rubbish accumulates we even had a frying pan in the boot as well as  three back bags a Makita tool kit Stuff  magazines loads of carrier bags two Ikea blue bags  and a blanket and my Bench jacket , numerous pens and lighters and five pound coins under the drivers seat .

SATURDAY
We were  up and out of the door for half past nine the last journey we would make n the Suzuki we got to the dealers on time the transfer only took twenty minutes and before we were sat in the new car and driving it of the forecourt .First stop petrol station i filled it up to the top cost me just over £25 we have enough juice to complete 464 miles . Next stop Halford's to get some black rubber mats for the  front and back foot wells  , I will get the polish and tyre cleaner next time unlike the Swift this car sports alloy wheels.I have to say this car drives great gear change is easy I was unsure  with the gear stick being half way up the dash but it is fine.

WHITE CARS AND PENS

WEDNESDAY.

Midweek so after today it is all downhill to the weekend I have always loved the weekends although growing up I did  use to hate Sundays there was no shops open even town was shut due to Sunday trading laws we were made  to go to church as we went to a  Cof E School and  we were never allowed to play out , the telly programs never started until midday it might have even been later ,then the only programs aired were  farming or Songs and Praise and Sunday also meant  it was getting nearer to  school on Monday which was a total waste of time.

The finance is now  in place for the little white nifty Fiat 500 and as far as I am aware  the car dealership will be paid out sometime during today and we should be picking up the motor this coming Saturday hopefully the weather is  bright sunny and  hot we might even get to the coast for some sea air ice cream and fish and chips .

Helen booked a driving lesson this Friday with a new driving school her first lesson is at ten she needs to be more committed and this time  see it through to the end so she can legally drive  the car how long this will take no idea but the amount of lessons she has had previously should put her in good steed she has also decided to stick to a manual shift automatic cars are hard to get most dealerships don't have them in they are too and far between unless you are ordering a new factory built car .

Since being with Helen we have had numerous cars including a white Renault Laguna , a black Freelander , a silver Beetle , a black Nissan Juke and a black Suzuki Swift my favourite was my Freelander all were manual gear change .

I have order another two Tombow Airpress pens this time in white , the shop I get them from is half the price of any other seller and they can cost up to £25 plus  from some sellers  mine cost me £3.45 each how come the big price difference I am not sure .

RETRO 500

We maybe getting a little white Fiat 500 it is the same year has the Suzuki we are driving but it has only done 24,000 miles where our car is in the region of 67000 miles and  that is a whopping difference a newer  model with 17,000 miles on it was £2000 dearer  so it was really  a no brainer .
This is also cheaper on road tax will do more mpg which is a big plus and we have been approved for credit unlike before .

One of the things we like is it is quite retro looking and we will have electric wing mirrors the Suzuki are manual operated which is a major pain in the arse plus the key is a flick in and out which is also a blessing .
All things going well we should be able to get it this Saturday or early next week after next week i am on leave for 16 days hopefully we will get to the coast .

KEEPING TIME

SATURDAY

Set off from Flockton to go pick up and pay for the Westminster clock and of course to see it and hear its chimes for the first time that had  Helen bought through the week off Ebay .
The morning was very sunny and we headed for the A64 bound for the city of York to Kirkbymoorside .There is a roundabout after all the exits for York there is three or four that you always get tail backs it is controlled by traffic lights and it takes forever some times no cars will get through it can take a hour to do a few miles today was no better .

The turn off we needed was the one for Castle Howard you drive past the impressive Carlisle monument this is called the straight it is around 6.5 km long .

This road has to be one of the best drives it is just so grand and impressive and of course straight you drive past an obelisk and two further gates that will only allow one car at a time to pass through .

We kept driving on this road there is no need to rush there is so much to see and it is always quite we had one car pass us the coming way.It would have been great to get out of the car and take some photos these ones here I took off the Internet and our not my own .

About half an hour later we had reached our destination of Kirkbymoorside a small Yorkshire village .We parked up easily there was no charge for parking and  the shop was only  a few hundred yards away it was still sunny and it seemed hotter here  it was just after one in the afternoon we meet with Paul the owner and he showed us the chime mechanism and wound the clock up ,  there is three winding holes and it is shaped like Napoleons hat I have to admit it did sound real grand it has a lovely tone and the chime is made by five striking hammers . After we had paid he took off the pendulum weight you should always do this when transporting the clock and we took it back to the car then we went for dinner at the Lemon Tree fish and chip shop which is a take away and restaurant we ate them outside on tables on the pavement and i have to say they are really nice fish and chips and the curry sauce is to die for.

We took the scenic way back and we stumbled upon The Star Inn at Harome it is a Michelin star restaurant after already eaten we decided to stop for a cider Helen had a tea the gardens was lovely it was well maintained and they grow a lot of their own veggies to use  and serve in the restaurant .

Helen drinking her cuppa tea i had a cider the beer garden was well kept they also had a roof garden i think food is quite expensive but it did look nice but small portions i quite like the Jeepers Creepers character too.

After leaving the Star inn we continued our journey home once again we went through a market town we have never stopped off at before so we park up we were now at Helmsley we spent a our looking at some of the shops and had a walk up to the castle not sure how old it is we did not do the tour as it was getting late and we was going out for a meal with our friend Erin so we made tracks home .

We made it home in time for supper and we went to one of the Vintage Inns the Sovereign all three of us had the mixed grills which was filling and cooked to perfection another great meal two in one day after eating this i just wanted to go home and chill out .

Helen and I about to tuck in after a long day we both need this i have to say i cleared my plate should have got bread and butter with it .

The clock above the fire place in its new home chiming away happily keeping time .