OneGuyFromBarlick

It's not quite as cold this morning, the weather station is showing -3.5C. The wind has eased and is coming from the north...I could actually feel a tiny bit of warmth from the sun this morning. The ponies are shedding their thick winter coats at an alarming rate....how daft is that?

What a dreadful ferry trip back. Jersey and Guernsey were fog and snow bound and we were ploughing through it on the ferry. Snow was settling on the decks, visibility was nearly zero and the sea was boiling. Hmm glad to be back. At least there was next to no snow on our drive northwards. The ferry was an hour late but we got home about half past midnight, our normal time more or less.

Wendy, perhaps they know something we don't?

Car due for a service, so I called into the service centre instead of phoning, as I wanted to discuss a few issues face to face.
Just my luck, I got the guy who has obviously developed the art of looking incredibly busy, whilst doing absolutely stuff-all, to it's zenith. It took him forty minutes to book me in for a service! ( date of which is a fortnights time).
He sat typing all sorts of stuff into his computer which had no relevance to anyone. What colour was my interior? What colour were my seats? Huh? ( what difference does it make buddy, I want to have you service it not SELL it?!)
I asked him if he needed to know it had tinted windows and custom pin-striping...( well did he? Cos it does)...and he seemed to get the hint that I thought his questions were getting a bit irrelevant.
He deserves some sort of office award for time waster!

So glad I hadn't called him on the mobile!

Oh...one of the questions he asked me ( at around the thirty minute mark when I was starting to tap my feet) was
" why did you buy the car?"

Couldn't resist...my inner child ( the one with the horns) kicked in and I replied
" we'll...I needed a car for the armed hold-up".

( he typed away for a bit and then said very quietly that he was not going to put that bit in)

Just heard a news item about 'cyber-loafing'. Somebody has made an estimate of how much time each day employees spend doing non-productive things on the web like playing games ar tweeting. The conclusion they came to was that it was too much and the warmer the office and more comfortable the employee the more it was likely to happen. They estimate that the average temperature in offices is 22C and it's too high. So, make the employees more uncomfortable at stand-up desks a la Bob Cratchitt.....

In Colne Library this morning, then I have a huge collection of stuff to recycle this afternoon. Because we live in the remote inaccessible wilds of Pendle we don't get a recycling collection....

My brown bin is almost full. Takes me about 3 months to fill it and I only put it out when I need to.
Enjoying Drummond on the English Man's Food. Fascinating information in there about diet.....

Art this morning, lunch out with a friend, creative writing this afternoon. Hairdressers this evening and a friend round tonight. However some where before Saturday morning I have to write a piece of French about one of my hobbies, for my French lesson on Saturday.

Stanley wrote:Just heard a news item about 'cyber-loafing'. Somebody has made an estimate of how much time each day employees spend doing non-productive things on the web like playing games ar tweeting. The conclusion they came to was that it was too much and the warmer the office and more comfortable the employee the more it was likely to happen. They estimate that the average temperature in offices is 22C and it's too high. So, make the employees more uncomfortable at stand-up desks a la Bob Cratchitt.....

During energy services for RBS,BARCLAYS,HBOS. We were asked to set the ambient temps of premises to 21 degrees C. What we found were temps between 25-28 degrees C. In the winter, staff were dressed as though at the height of summer.
During the height of summer we found staff using the air con in heating mode,because they prefered a warm draft. Even in the most modern of buildings with top notch building management services,staff had found ways of manipulating it. In all cases when an energy survey was done there would be a passage to say that staff interference was losing the company huge sums of money.

My mind goes back to my old AEC Mercury tanker. Good wagon but useless heater and air cleaner inside the cab by my right knee. In winter your breath froze on the inside of the screen. Different world!
Usual Friday visit to the butcher's and keeping busy reading even more about nutrition!

Art today. Live portraits. I really enjoyed it. Lunch out with friends, third time this week. Diet here I come!

Don't do anything too drastic Sue. Just eat less and be patient, it works! I'm back into my 36" waist trousers.
At 13:00 I shall be sat watching F1 Qualifying.....

Visiting Mum and missing F1 qualifying.

Reading new DFE study on reducing risk behaviour in teenagers and watching England show Wales how to grand slam. Nolic

My friend goes away for a month tomorrow so there will be much less eating out. Back to a normal diet and now I am better from my virus I shall be doing more exercise. It should make a difference. Out to another friend for a meal tonight!

Pity Wales showed us the way home Comrade! Bacon butty and Australian F!.

Wales were superb and England lacking in experience. It didn't help us that drunkard Steve Walsh was referring. Notice the long plaster on his arm? Rumour has it that its a tattoo saying "I hate England". The way he penalised our props for doing exactly the same as the Welsh props and made it difficult for us to get a good hit in the scrum lead to most of the penalties. The man is not fit to be a rugby referee. http://www.theweek.co.uk/rugby/52001/ru ... land-wales Nolic

Planning a History Society walk for the Pendle Walking Festival at the end of August. We are going to check out a route which will start at the Youth Hostel, head for Thornton in Craven then return via Booth Bridge Mill. Not a long walk but lots of history to point out.
There are plans afoot to revive the Pendle Marathon for the festival, 23 miles from Earby Youth Hostel to the one in Slaidburn taking in Pendle Hill and Grindleton Fell.

St patricks day today. Though I have no Irish roots, I love the country and its people,so whilst watching the F1 highlights, I'll drink some Guiness and think of celebrations of the past with my many Irish friends.

Paying my Council Tax, getting some milk and then keeping out of this lousy weather!

Going to the History Society meeting (7.30pm New Road Community Centre, Earby) Alan Plowright will be telling us about "John Henry's Journeys in 1879 - Skipton to Richmond". It sounds interesting....all welcome.

Who was John Henry?
( we have a John Henry in our ancestors but it wasn't him)

He was a steel-driving man.......

Posting plastic chickens through the roof of Finlays barn and taking them out through the trap door. We may do the same with the odd pig and cow too along with other farmyard adventures - magic!