Summer's Here At Last
March was a false weather dawn. It was a beautiful month weather-wise, with sunshine and temperatures well above the norm.
April and May were wash-outs.
However, Monday saw a turnabout in the UK's weather fortunes, and summer has arrived at last. I've got the David Beckham-esque sandals and linen trousers on. I didn't have time to gloss my toenails though. I'm looking forward to a weekend of BBQs and cool beers. The heady heights of 26 degrees in the sun.
We were out in the garden last night, grilling some sausages and sweetcorn, listening to a summer Ibiza CD, and just enjoying being outside after the days work.
BTW, Vicster gives the thumbs up to alcohol-free Becks. Unlike most other alcohol-free beers, it actually tastes like beer. No nasty aftertaste either.
Digital Cameras = Fun
I'm getting into our digital camera now. They are so much fun. I feel that I can afford to take frivolous shots of random things now, as if they don't work, I can just delete them. I'm not wasting film on duff photos and my shots are getting increasingly adventurous. A couple of the photos from our Brighton trip have really worked: Some ugly old fishing boats and tackle, and a stack of pebbles on the beach.
Having read an article about an artist who creates and photographs natural objects that he has manipulated in their natural environment, I thought I'd try the same. We were sat on Brighton Beach, next to the pier, so I stacked up half a dozen pebbles into a tower and photographed them at close range (with the pier in the background).
I'm naming it "Brighton Rocks".
Vicster reckons its good enough to print out, frame and display for sale in her mum and dad's gallery. It isn't that good, but I'm game for a laugh, and it might sell for 20 quid. That would be a towering achievement.
I'm tempted to upgrade to Blogger Pro so I can start posting some images up.
Friday, May 30, 2003
Thursday, May 29, 2003
Welcome Back
It's been a while.
Exams and the revision they required, plus a Financial Year-end at work, have meant that blogging has been cast aside.But with the exams out of the way, the rickety Blog Bandwagon can restart its one manpower engine and chug gently into the summer.
What Exams?
My final stage CIMA exams. Business strategy papers. Masters-level. Four exams, each of three hours, over the course of two days. 100+ A4 pages of hand-writing. Highly stressful and a real test of time management. Of the four exams, I'm hopeful of passing two of them, but have little confidence in the others. With baby due in September, and retakes scheduled for November, I really need to have passed at least half of them, as revising with a newborn in the house will not be easy.
Results come out at the end of July. Keep your fingers and toes crossed.
Baby
We had the 20 week scan. Everything checked out normal. All the boxes were ticked. We came away with a freaky scan photo, a copy of which is sat on my desk at work. You can see the lenses in baby's eye sockets.
Vic is showing quite nicely now. She's suffering a little discomfort -- from the stretching -- and complaining of a lack of fitting trousers.
Dates
I turned 32. Vic turned 29. We had our 2nd wedding anniversary.
Jacob
Had his eyes tested. He was worried beforehand as he thought the doctors were going to take his eyes out in order to test them.
After the doctors explained that they wre only going to ask him to look at things to make sure he could see OK, Jacob said:
"It's OK... Mummy cut my hair last week and I can see fine now!"
Events
We went to Oxford's hot air "Balloon Festival". It was too windy. As a result, no balloons. Scott rechristened it the great Balloon Fiasco. We saw the world-famous Oxford Inbred Terrier Racing Display Team instead. Seeing those little pups jump through rings of fire made up for the zero balloons. I kept expecting to see a black van pull up... with armed RSPCA SWAT team guys leaping out.
We went to Brighton for Emma's 30th birthday. A cracking weekend. Brighton is great. Unlike most English seaside towns, it's a nice place to visit. I'd expected a nasty cross between Blackpool and Margate, but discovered a clean, trendy and beautiful seaside town, with super shops and a cafe culture. Remove the traffic and it's a place I'd like to live.
"Oh we do like to be beside the seaside..."
Greyhounds
My work sports and social club are off the the greyhounds tonight. Using this as an excuse, I've put trap numbers -- in authentic greyhound colours -- on each of the cubicle doors in the gents toilet.
They look great and offer a saucy gambling opportunity: I just need to install a web cam in there and I could make $millions from gambling internet punters.
"Who will finish first?! Bet now!"
It's been a while.
Exams and the revision they required, plus a Financial Year-end at work, have meant that blogging has been cast aside.But with the exams out of the way, the rickety Blog Bandwagon can restart its one manpower engine and chug gently into the summer.
What Exams?
My final stage CIMA exams. Business strategy papers. Masters-level. Four exams, each of three hours, over the course of two days. 100+ A4 pages of hand-writing. Highly stressful and a real test of time management. Of the four exams, I'm hopeful of passing two of them, but have little confidence in the others. With baby due in September, and retakes scheduled for November, I really need to have passed at least half of them, as revising with a newborn in the house will not be easy.
Results come out at the end of July. Keep your fingers and toes crossed.
Baby
We had the 20 week scan. Everything checked out normal. All the boxes were ticked. We came away with a freaky scan photo, a copy of which is sat on my desk at work. You can see the lenses in baby's eye sockets.
Vic is showing quite nicely now. She's suffering a little discomfort -- from the stretching -- and complaining of a lack of fitting trousers.
Dates
I turned 32. Vic turned 29. We had our 2nd wedding anniversary.
Jacob
Had his eyes tested. He was worried beforehand as he thought the doctors were going to take his eyes out in order to test them.
After the doctors explained that they wre only going to ask him to look at things to make sure he could see OK, Jacob said:
"It's OK... Mummy cut my hair last week and I can see fine now!"
Events
We went to Oxford's hot air "Balloon Festival". It was too windy. As a result, no balloons. Scott rechristened it the great Balloon Fiasco. We saw the world-famous Oxford Inbred Terrier Racing Display Team instead. Seeing those little pups jump through rings of fire made up for the zero balloons. I kept expecting to see a black van pull up... with armed RSPCA SWAT team guys leaping out.
We went to Brighton for Emma's 30th birthday. A cracking weekend. Brighton is great. Unlike most English seaside towns, it's a nice place to visit. I'd expected a nasty cross between Blackpool and Margate, but discovered a clean, trendy and beautiful seaside town, with super shops and a cafe culture. Remove the traffic and it's a place I'd like to live.
"Oh we do like to be beside the seaside..."
Greyhounds
My work sports and social club are off the the greyhounds tonight. Using this as an excuse, I've put trap numbers -- in authentic greyhound colours -- on each of the cubicle doors in the gents toilet.
They look great and offer a saucy gambling opportunity: I just need to install a web cam in there and I could make $millions from gambling internet punters.
"Who will finish first?! Bet now!"
