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 .

ZTE FOR ME

Bought a Minimalist leather wallet for £5.99 of Ebay of course I have been using old iPhone 5s case which is getting worn I keep taping it but it is time to throw it away.

I also bought from the supermarket a smaller frying pan to go with the larger one that I  bought the other day I was also thinking of purchasing  a smaller wok as I bought the  large one everyone knows stir frying food is quick and easy and extremely yummy  . Also invested in a decent pair of kitchen scissors and an electric carving knife which make slicing the joints a whole lot easier .

Tomorrow we are going to an antique shop in York to pick up a Westminster chiming clock that chimes the hour quarter past half hour and quarter to hour that Helen bought for £70 of Ebay hopefully we will make a day of it and get to go round York it has been a few months since we have been there.

Another phone i have been looking at is a Zte Axon 7 which apparently sport a wicked pair of front facing speakers  decent battery and camera as well as storage see here it looks the dogs bollocks https://www.zteusa.com/axon-7

CHEESY BUT HOT

SATURDAY
Loving Mexican cheese that I bought I got a block rather than a packet of slices and it is great for burgers or a extra cheese topping on pizza.
Bought four ice cold tins of cloudy cider and I manage to bring three of them in a couple of hours .I and cut the grass done the edges with the trimmer and sucked all the cuttings up with the garden vac then watered all the garden and the pots .
After I had finished I  had a cold shower and a hot cup of coffee.

TUESDAY
A friend we use to work with came over to see us she came with her daughter and her daughters husband after going totally the wrong way they found us they loved where and how we lived so much so the husband offered us £75,000 next year when he gets some money through , i was not there if that was the cash we will have more or less doubled our money should we sell .

WEDNESDAY
Pay day we will do some food shopping and buy some goodies to drink and eat  ,we will also stock up on certain items coffee is on offer,  cider is on offer and i need more coconut ice cream .

Listening to  - Jon Bellion "Human Condition".

ICE FROM JAPAN

IT IS HOT too hot i have to g to work in a sweat red hot office no air no ventilation and uncomfortable we should have air con and free ice cold water .The temperature hit 35 degrees hotter than Spain and Athens .
I count the days until my two week holidays even thou we are going nowhere we will at least have to make it to the coast ,
Still not heard anything about my blue badge for my disabled parking it has been two weeks since my assessment i should hear soon i hope ,

THURSDAY
I have not got my blue badge i scored 9+ I needed a 12+ to get the  badge failed by only 3 points but  I will reapply in a years time.

I found this ice cream in a local supermarket Lidl it is from Japan is served in coconut shells because it is coconut ice cream if it is one thing i adore is coconut ice cream and this is the boss , two half shells for £1.79p what value its taste is gorgeous but of course only if you like coconut .

BEEN THERE GOT THE T-SHIRT

TFIF
I washed the car I hosed it down and washed it with Turtle Wax car shampoo i did not wax it , it is a black car and looks good when it is dirt free specially at night .

I took Pip out yesterday and George our ginger tom cat followed us  he has done this before no big deal , and he knows his way home.This was in the morning around ten o clock it was hot and sunny  , Helen went looking for him at around 21.00 hrs he been out all day no food no water .

He was in a field of rap seed oil plants and was  stood  there crying for some reason not moving he had been there all day , what was going through his head and why he was transfixed there I have no idea why , the farmer had his combine harvester ready to cultivate the field the following day he would have been cat mince .I think George is now down to seven lives .

SATURDAY
Went food shopping bought really nice beef burgers and Mexican chili jalapeno cheese slices to go on top also bought stir fry veg and fresh egg noodles and some quality chicken breast.

SUNDAY
Washed all the windows in the van also washed some of the van or parts of it then i had a shower ,
Drove over to my Daughters house she was colouring Helen's  hair. She was also cooking us Sunday dinner we had roast pork and roast potatoes we also had apple crumble and ice cream delicious.
I think it is the first time we have had Sunday dinner cooked for us other than dining out at a pub or restaurant .

I learned my son has lost his driving  license through drink and driving , his insurance is going to triple when he gets his license back in twelve months has he is still not talking to me i can only guess he is gutted living where he does it  is going to make life very difficult but at the end of the day the law is the law he broke it now he pays the price , I know how bad it feels I have been there done that and got the t-shirt  , I learned from my errors hopefully he will too.

He also has solicitors fees of £900 he was told they could get him off so it was a very expensive night out plus he will have a fine to pay and court costs.

WATCHING - Mr Robot season two.

LISTENING TO - U2

NO CONTRACT ON ME

I phoned my mobile provider Three and cancelled my phone contract which means no upgrade no new phone .
I have switched to a sim only plan which has dropped the cost from £48 a month to only £9 a month and is set for one year  rather than two years .

I have been looking at various phones Leagoo Shark , Cubot and Oppo so far i am favouring the Leagoo Shark with a 6300 mah battery at a cost of around £155 .The Cubot is cheaper and the Oppo 3 about twice the cost of the Shark ,  at the end of the day it is a phone and of course i know own the iPhone 5s i am currently using .

I got sick of being brained washed that you must have the latest phone , this generation , this years model or this years newest  release. I now feel that  it is all hyped advertisements making you feel you are lacking in social status because the phone you are using god forbid is two years old.

If get a Android phone i might look at getting a new Android tablet s well i thought the Google Nexus tablet was a great machine as good as any other model out there for about half the cost of a Apple .

BARBEQUE 2

As far as i can tell my assessment for my blue badge went alright it will be a fortnight before I know if my application has been approved or declined .

Started watching Game of Thrones once again I started on series three so far its been very good seen four episodes it does seem to get better and better , although it is gory and violent the storyline is gripping .

SATURDAY
It is the end of my week off work back to the grind Monday cant be arsed with it , Helen's brother goes back under the surgeons knife his kidney transplant is not working fluid is building up in his body and he is retaining water his arms legs etc have swollen to twice their normal size on of his main senior surgeons is all for operating the other senior surgeon apparently not .

SUNDAY
Went over to my nephews house in Bramley Leeds it was his mother's , my sister birthday mid week so it was decided to have a barbecue this Sunday.
The food was great really nice chicken ,  burgers ,  sausages , and kebabs with chocolate cake and strawberry gateau for desert .
We had the tv on to see Andy Murray win Wimbledon for the second time in his career which was good .
The weather was sunny then cloudy then sunny with intermittent showers of rain but we still had a laugh and a good time .Second barbecue of the year .

HAYFEVER WOES

SATURDAY - Off for a whole nine days and i am going to love every one because i rather be at home than at work .Even if the weather today is no better in fact it is mid morning and it is raining again.

Thankfully in the end we did get quite a bit of sun , went looking at tv's amazing picture quality still think Samsung are great tv's also looked at laptops , dab radio's and coffee machines nearly bought another Amazon fire stick for the bedroom but left it . Went to the Whereby Whaler restaurant for fish and chips we are getting quite regulars .

SUNDAY
My hay fever is back with a vengeance I have not had it as bad as this in a few years my eyes steaming , nose running ,  head thumping and to top it of no Priton tablets. I  drove myself  over to the supermarket the winding roads with major bends is no fun when every sneeze causes a major concern luckily I made it ok and bought the tablets .I really use to hate summer from April to end of August i use to get the dreaded hay fever I use to suffer immensely.

MONDAY
Hay fever just has bad I guess it will be a good twenty fours hours before the tablets I  am taking kick in .

TUESDAY
Hay fever is ok everything seems to be fine no more symptoms
Charlie our friend from Holmfirth called over to drop his girlfriend Katie of for a reading whilst we went to the pub for a couple of ciders.

WEDNESDAY
Power washed all the concrete paths around the van the van is forty foot long and ten foot wide we have quite a lot of the hard stuff to wash down using a nose that gives one  inch width of jet can take a while , I was absolutely soaked my feet and trousers from the knee down was wringing wet  I need it to dry so i can then go over it with the hose and yard brush to get rid of all the debris , that's a job for tomorrow . After I have been for my assessment for my blue badge parking permit fingers crossed if I am eligible then  no more parking woes at work ever again

THINGS GOING ON

Received my Tombow Air press pens I ordered two in the matt black finish  I  have also ordered another one in a clear plastic finish , they are for the price,  quite cool pens which  will write upside down should you need to and will also write on wet paper .

The weather is still totally rubbish it is still very grey , very dull , cloudy but worst of all wet and it is not looking to improve any , the cats and the dog is getting feed up with the weather also .

I have two meetings today at work with HR ( I don't like HR people one little bit ) and works senior management   which i can tolerate quite good ) about two different people one is a person working nights and allegedly he is sleeping whilst he is supposed to be working ,  it is also alleged that he is working two jobs both of which are full time  , how he is awake and functioning i have no idea which makes me doubt that this statement is not true .

The other is about a female worker we feels she is being victimized and bullied by her line manager when she came to our office she was distressed that  much historical and crying . I reckon  that if she had been on a tower block or bridge the chances are she would have jumped I have never seen anyone she distressed and freaked out about being at work

Well three days to work then nine days off annual leave one of the things i would like to do is visit Yorkshire Sculpture Park of course depending on the weather and hopefully go to one of the farm ice cream shops for freshly made ice cream , i am easily pleased .

Helen cashed in a whopping £25 for getting three correct numbers on the Lottery it has been a while since we won a bean  .

Had my haircut at the little green shack again which is called Terry's  , it is near Holmfirth I have been again for the second time only .Don't let appearances decide you he  does a very good cut , He has been located there for years I like to feel i am supporting local business and he must have done hundreds of cuts . And as you can see from the photo  it is literally just a wooden shed or shack  with a waiting area at the back and side and one seat and  basin at the front where you are seated for your hair cutting , which i guess it is all he needs .

MONDAY AGONY

People are pissed about the Eu referendum all i know is this ,  if things stay the same then nothing will ever change ,and nothing new will ever happen what is now will always be and where is the fun in that.

 .Fuck sake we had a vote and we voted the vote to leave was bigger ,  christ grow some balls and act like leaders instead of headless chickens do the job you are being paid and have been elected to do.

 And to all those who now are bitching and crying but who never got of their fat and skinny lazy arses to go to the polling stations to place a little X in a box , wind your necks in and shut your mouths and  cease your bitching , and yes i voted to leave .

Latest purchase of Ebay are two Tombow Air press pens in Matt black finish i first saw the pens on http://everydaycarry.com/articles/pens  web page .

Rest of the week to work then I have a great nine days off annual leave hope the weather improves .

MONDAY
Took today off from work as annual leave totally unplanned  I phoned in this morning as Helen's back is giving her grief and she could end up in serious pain so we are off to see the physiotherapist hopefully if she can get dressed and get in to the car we will get some advise as to what to do .
A few exercises to do and a bottle of pain killers hopefully problem solved . Don't know if it is a plus or not but i will be home to see the England game with Iceland we are already out of Europe hehe.