It Makes No Sense...

I know I've written once already today, but now I've had a chance to think about it, there is a little more to say.

1. The bathroom is finally paid for
2. I've paid off a lot of my credit card
3. The Wife has just asked me to get a moth that's bothering her...
4. The new Paul McCartney album "Memory Almost Full" is terrific
5. The new logo for the 2012 Olympic Games is 'interesting'. Plenty of criticism now, but I bet it grows on us
6. But for £400,000 of public money - can I get a refund?
7. I will start editing the new Center Parcs video later this week. There isn't much to work with, so I might have to 'borrow' some footage from previous years

That's all. Just a reminder about little Madeleine McCann. Her parents are doing a sterling job by keeping her kidnapping in the public eye. I personally wonder how much longer the general public will continue to pay any attention. However, with 3 children of my own, I can't begin to understand their pain, but I can appreciate their need to keep up the pressure.

There was a report in the news today about parents letting their children only play out when supervised. One mother said that her son would not be allowed out on his own until he is 13. Mine aren't that old yet, and they are certainly not allowed out without one of us. It's indicitive of the times in which we live, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Please also do not forget Alan Johnston; who this week was paraded on television (although no-one knows how old the video is).

Please remember to pray for their safe return.

Labouring The Point

Welcome to Thursday. Yes, just one day until the weekend. And what a week it's been. Well, actually, it's not been too bad, but I've been so tired...
Anyway.
The bathroom is finally finished, and the boys have christened the bath. There'll be a final photo here soon.
The Baby has discovered he can pull the plug out (something he couldn't do in the old bath). He also managed to climb onto the door of the dishwasher as The Wife was emptying it. She turned around and there he was, sat in a pool of water!
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Shares are doing quite well at the moment. Currently on a high, with a 25% gain (that's £289 in money terms). So, I'm quite pleased.
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Now, what's this about Gordon Brown having to wait 6 weeks before he can officially become Prime Minister. What's the point in waiting. There is no leadership challenge - did you really think there would be - so instead of pansying about, let Tony leave now, and let Gordon get on with the job in hand. I'm not a Labour supporter, I just want what's best for everyone, and letting TB have a prolonged exit is no good for the country.
There, said it.
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Not long until Center Parcs. The Boys are so excited (and so am I).
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OK - Hustle is on TV now - so off to watch some great drama from the BBC...

Bathroom Update

Hi all
Just thought I'd drop by and update you on the progress so far.
With the bath installed, the tiling has been completed, along with feature tiles, and the grouting.
The radiator has been given a new lick of paint, and the shower and screen have been fitted.
The plan for tomorrow is to fit the lino flooring and skirting board.

I've not been too well over the last couple of days, and neither has Number Two. We've both had temperatures, and other symptoms. I have a feeling this could be something we picked up at the pool at the weekend, as that is the only thing we have in common, and none of the others came with.

Anyway, I feel a lot better today, and have also lost 5lbs! I also took the opportunity to do some studying today. I've nearly finished the PRINCE2 course, and will start the case studies in the next couple of days.

Wonder of Wonders

I'm so excited... apparently my course materials have arrived, so now I can work towards my the PRINCE2 foundation exam. It will add another string to my bow - and another qualification on my CV.
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Before I forget, I wanted to tell you about a small show we're going to see next weekend. "The Gruffalos' Child" is being put on at The Lowry, and my cousin is the director of the theatre group putting the show on. Tall Stories has been going since 1996, and has had productions Off-Broadway in New York.

Anyway, they did The Gruffalo, the production of which can be bought on DVD, and now the follow-up story is heading north.

I'm so proud of her, and we're looking forward to seeing the next show.
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The electricians turned up today - so now there is light in the bathroom.
Miracles never cease, and I can't wait to see them.
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The Center Parcs information pack arrived today, so now we can book our activities. The Boys already appear to have a busy schedule, with Fencing and Archery amongst them. Some friends are coming round this evening to have a look and choose.
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That's it.

It's nearly the weekend, so relax and enjoy.

Polling Day

It's voting day, for the local elections. I feel it's important to have a say. We have a democratic right to vote, and even though the choice isn't strong, if we don't vote we can't complain about the state of the political scene. Since I've never voted Labour, I have to choose between Tory or Lib Dems...
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You may have noticed the image on the right, of Alan Johnston, the BBC reporter kidnapped in Gaza. You can click on the image to get more information, and add your name to the petition to get him released.
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I also wanted to report on an amazing day yesterday, for my shares.
BSkyB announced their annual results, which were way above market expectations, pushing their share price up 7%. I sat and watched the value of my holding increase overall by £20 in one day.
OK - so it's not a vast amount, and The Wife brought me down to earth by saying that today they could lose £30! Spoil sport.
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I spent an hour in the gym last night. Had a really good workout - concentrating on cardio exercise, as well as some weights.
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Tiling has begun in the bathroom. Good progress being made there.
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Finally - I've decided to look into laser eye surgery. It would be wonderful not having to wear glasses. And, The Wife is all for the idea. I've requested an information pack and will keep you informed.
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Right then - it's off to work.
Have a good day.

Twice In One Day

I just wanted to report on two things.

1. Today I invested in more shares. In Photo-Me International. They're cheap (75p), and they appear to be on the up. So, we'll watch and see. The Standard Life shares powered ahead, and even Sky didn't do too badly. Tesco, on the other hand, didn't fair so well, and was one of the FTSEs biggest fallers of the day. Stagecoach remained fairly static, as did BT.

2. The bath has now been installed in the bathroom. Maybe that should have been point number one.

That's all.

Payday

Yep, it's the last day of April (where is the year going?) and I got paid today.

What's more, the bathroom has now been painted, and some of the floorboards have been replaced. The plan tomorrow, apparently, is for the electrician to do his stuff, and the bath to be installed.

Then, the tiling, then the flooring. We should really start to see some changes now. But, I've included an up to date pic so you can see where we're at.


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Just watched the latest episode from 'Lost'. Wow. What a great show, and the cliffhanger is terrific. I've just updated my iPod with the latest podcast 'The Lost Initiative'. Fans discuss the theories and the goings on about what's happening on the island. It's totally over the top, but a great listen.
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Had a lovely weekend, and we went cycling in Heaton Park yesterday. Even I got my bike out and went for a ride.

On Saturday, I bought a bike carrier, so we can take the bikes away to Center Parcs. It works out cheaper than hiring them, and also means we don't have to queue for ages.
We also went swimming, so overall, a very keep fit kinda weekend.
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That's about it really. I'm off for an early night. I stayed up and watched "The Sting" last night. A great film with Paul Newman and Robert Redford. If you've not seen it - watch it. The music is also fantastic, with one of my all time favourites, "The Entertainer", played beautifully on the piano.

Sleep well.

Who needs a title - just read...

It's Thursday at last.
Over halfway through the week.
On Monday evening, we spontaneously decided to go to the theatre. There was an Agatha Christie play at The Lowry, called "The Unexpected Guest" and I quite fancied going to see it.
Since I had finished work at 3 o'clock (due to a late finish on Friday), there was no particular rush.

So I booked the tickets, and got seats 6 rows from the front. Excellent view, and the play was terrific. Normally we go to shows, but this was something different. No song and dance, just good, old fashioned acting. And it was very well performed.
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I've decided to give up the spread-betting business. It was not doing my health any good, and it's impossible to concentrate when at work. Still, the shares still exist, and I'll keep an eye on them.
In fact, I can report that in the 8 weeks since I started, the value of my holdings has risen by £100. Not a bad return on investment, with Stagecoach seeing an 18% rise on their own.
Find me a savings account that returns that amount!
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Bathroom is now plastered and looking more like a room. Waiting for the electrician to come and put the lights in.
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So, off to work now. More regression testing - borrrring. Still, that's what we're there to do, so will make the most of it.

Have a nice day

Happy St Georges' Day

Here we go again. You'll notice from the time of this blog, that I'm up early ready to attack another day.
The weather is looking very overcast, although we've come to expect more from April.

Yesterday was my nephews birthday party. He's 2 today. There was a bouncy castle in the garden, and thankfully it didn't rain, so the boys threw themselves around a bit.

My brother-in-law is due to restart the bathroom project, now that his wife is home, with their newborn. She is so tiny (the newborn, not the wife).

I took Number Two for a short bike ride yesterday. Well, he wanted some exercise, and he needs to get more confident. However, I did notice that the saddle is a little too low, so his knees come up to his chin, as he pedals. I'll sort that out next weekend.

Number Three is extremely active now, seemingly being able to get anywhere. Now he can kneel up at the table in the lounge, that area of safety is no longer.
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So last week I forgot to mention my latest fuel bill. A HUGE £700 for one quarter. Followed by a letter from Powergen, telling me that my monthly direct debits were being raised to £287. Ouch.
I called them, and we finally managed on a £160 monthly DD, but I had to settle £200 up front! I know fuel prices had risen (and are about to drop again) but that was crazy. And I gave the readings, so it wasn't even an estimated bill.
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On the spread betting front, I'm not going to get too greedy this week. I have read some articles, done more research, and am going to put a plan in place. Nice and steady.

It wasn't a good week on the shares front either. But by close of business on Friday, the markets had rallied, and now my holding is at its highest point. So, good news there.
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Right, that's a quick update for you. I'm going to gather my stuff togethere, and head off to work.

There'll be more later in the week.

Spread 'em

Quite a lot has been happening over the last few days - not least the fact that my brother-in-law plumber has become a dad 3 weeks earlier than expected. So the bathroom re-fitting is now on hold for approximately a week.
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Place your bets - I wish I had. The Baby successfully chose the winner of this years Grand National, Silver Birch. The odds were 33/1 but I didn't place a bet, so failed to capitalise on his brilliance!

On the subject of bets, I have recently started Spread betting.

This is a method of speculating on a number of things, whether financial, sporting or political. I am more interested in the financial specualtion, and it is great fun watching how the markets perform and taking a punt on what will happen next.

Last Friday I bet (£2/point) that the FTSE100 would go up in value. It was a roller-coaster ride until lunchtime, when things started to even out, and I finished the day £70 up. Not bad for a starter.

I'm using a company called IG Index and they have a training programme called Tradesense. This is a six week course, during which the bets can be just pence, therefore allowing you to get comfortable with the overall concept of spread betting.

Finally - some news on my shares. Not a good week. The market dropped quite low on Thursday, which meant some of the value was reduced. However, Stagecoach bounced back like a trooper.

Hot Stuff (and I don't just mean the plumbing!)

Just In - New photos showing progress of the bathroom.

Here you can see the plumbing for the shower on the wall, and the new pipework for the bath, under the window.

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Malaysian Grand Prix

Phew! That was one of the most exciting grand prix races I have seen in years. The Mercedes Mclarens of Fernando Alonso disappearing into the distance, and Lewis Hamilton as he held off the attack from Felipe Massa, and later in the race, Kimi Raikkonen, was a joy to watch.

It was breathtaking, edge of the seat stuff.

That is what Formula 1 is all about.

With Lewis having taken 2nd and 3rd place in his first two races, I'm looking forward to his maiden grand prix victory.

Roll on Bahrain...

I started by listening to the race on BBC Radio 5 Live (on my digital radio) and watching the pictures on ITV. I then decided to join the rest of the family, and finished watching the race with ITV commentary. I have decided, though, that I will get a couple of cheap 'transistor' radios and take them to the British Grand Prix later this year. I can then hear the whole commentary and know what is happening on the part of the track I can't see (which will be most of it!)

I've not written for a while, so thought I would take this opportunity to play catch-up.

The bathroom work is moving on apace; the first fix is now complete, with all plumbing in place. The ceiling has also been done, and the new loft hatch in place. Next job is to plasterboard the walls.

More photos will be added soon. So watch this space. Well, not this space, but another entry in the blog!!
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It's Bank Holiday weekend, and today we went to Moss Bank Park in Bolton. The weather was scorching (reaching an unseasonal 18 degrees). The kids had fun in the sun, sandpit and on the fairground attractions. Number One Son also had a go on his Heeley's; to the amusement of many.

The Baby had fun crawling everywhere, and discovered that he can climb up steps (although has difficulty coming down, without hurting himself). I sat him in the climbing frame this evening and he enjoyed looking out of the different openings.

Tomorrow we're planning on going to Chester Zoo - the weather is expected to be exceptional again, so should be fun.

It's also the Malaysian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton is 4th on the grid, so fingers-crossed for another fine performance. I wanted to wear my Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes top, but The Wife has decreed that I can't wear 100% polyester t-shirt to the zoo! I don't see why not. Other people wear their favourite football shirts.
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So you're wondering how the shares are looking? Well, it's been an up and down week, but on the whole, progress has been good. But - as I've said before, it's a long-term thing, so let's not worry about the small downs, and hope for the eventual growth.
Mind you - the legal battle between Sky and Virgin could have a nasty effect...

And The Wall Came Tumbling Down

Just a quick update on the bathroom, now that the wall has been removed, we can now see the space we'll have.


It's encouraging, and I've added a photo to embelish the point.

The dark line down the left side is where the wall was, and in the background you can see the outlet for the toilet. Just above the toilet is a window. This wall was the original external wall, before the extension was built, and therefore will, once again, be boarded up.


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As for the weekend. The Wife has worked hard to get the house clean for Pesach, and I've worked hard building a Lego Star Wars Star Destroyer - and yes, I've had to include a photo of that as well...







Okay - so you can't see much - but it took 2 days to build and is worth every penny.

Right. Gotta go. 24 is about to start; then Lost.

Good telly on Sundays.

Bathroom Progress

I said I'd show you a couple of pics of how the bathroom re-modelling is going.
So here they are:

We're already on the second (and hopefully last) skip. The wall has now been knocked down, and I'll post more pictures soon.

Enjoy the weekend.

Catch Up

Last weekend, I had a blast (quite literally) at LaserQuest. It was Number One Son's birthday, and he and a few of his friends battled it out in the smoky and noisy environment of the battleground. And I joined in. What fun.

He had a great birthday, and received some really good presents.

The re-modelling of the bathroom got underway on Monday. Everything has now been delivered; the tiles, the suite, the lino and all the other bits and pieces. A skip now resides on the driveway, slowly filling with the old tiling, suite, and other stuff that we want to throw away.
I'll post some pictures here soon.

The diet was started again. I want to lose some more weight before our holiday. I don't want to look like a beached whale.

I also went to the gym last night and had a swim. Not a long swim, but enought to make me feel better. I got home to find they had called about my membership, so I'll need to follow that up today.

My mobile phone is playing up. It can't latch onto the Vodafone network, and means no-one can get in touch. What a shame!
It also means my beloved TomTom can't communicate to update the traffic status; which I've come to rely on for my journeys to and from work.

Well - must get on and do a days work.

Birthday Countdown

Number One is nearly 7. Can you believe it? We can't! What's more, he's not too well at the moment - I only hope he gets better soon.

He is so excited, and is looking forward to his party at LaserQuest. I must admit that I am also looking forward to it!!

So what else is news. It's been a while since I posted anything, but so much has been going on. The Baby has not been well - and it really knocked the wind out of his sails.
Not to be outdone - Son Number Two decided he wasn't feeling too well either - well, there's no show without Punch.

The bathroom has been delayed by a week, so all the running around at the weekend was in vain. However, now we have chosen a flooring, ordered the tiles and bought the paint etc. So, we're ready to go.

The In-Laws went to see "The Producers" the other evening, at the Palace Theatre. It stars Peter Kaye, and apparently it was fantastic. I'm going at the end of April, and am really looking forward to it.

BIG news. My Wife has actually had her car valeted. It took 2 men about 4 hours! No, only joking. More like 5 hours!! But it is now spotless (and I must have a look before it gets trashed again).

Well, that was a brief update on what's been happening.

Suppose I'd better do a days work. Need to pay for the bathroom somehow.

Sunday

It's early Sunday afternoon, and we're soon going out to visit some friends.

They've recently been doing some major construction on their house (to the extent that they've been without heating and a kitchen for some of the build).
It sounds like something out of Grand Designs, although I'm sure on too small a scale for Kevin McCloud to worry about.

So, we're looking forward to seeing what they've done, as we prepare to start some work ourselves. Not on such a grand scale, I hasten to add, but big enough. We'll be completely gutting and re-doing the bathroom, and knocking down the partition wall between that and the toilet. So, we'll have one large room, with a brand new suite, flooring and lighting.

I'll post some pics whilst it's going on - especially the before and after shots.

I'm sort of looking forward to it! Honest.