You're never too old to go to a music festival.
I found this clip on youtube and had to laugh

Although t'old man wouldn't be seen dead at a music festival, I have seen him perform a similar dance in our living room on returning from the pub! LOL

extra
See FK there were others at the gig
Look at the two old geezers at the end...doh

It's been a very strange week but eventually things are falling into place.

The two girls descended upon us on Sunday
For lunch we had a great curry selection with all the trimmings courtesy of the supermarket 'Curry pot'. Nevertheless they ate it with gusto and thanked me profusely as if I had made it myself
I still marvel that I have produced two girls who love their mother...of course they love their mother...why shouldn't they...it's just that sometimes I feel so useless

The arrangements have been made for the funeral and I will be in St Albans Sunday returning home Monday teatime, then it's early to bed ready for our week long trip to Portugal beginning at Liverpool airport Tuesday afternoon.

I managed to wangle my way out of working this coming weekend by filling in on bank holiday Monday. What a shift that was I think all the world popped by, it was heaving
I was getting paid for being there but the customers came voluntary...isn't it rotten when the british bank holiday weather is so bad that the most people could find to do is have a burger and chips in the caff and a scout around the aisles

I should be researching hotels and transport for our vacation in Portugal on 5th June but all I can do is wonder when my friend's funeral will be. I managed to book a couple of nights in Porto before I heard the news of her death.
We won't know when it is until Tuesday eve/wed morn. as all the funeral services etc. are closed down for the bank holiday.

After reading Menhir's post on the chocolate company Mars' decision to backtrack on the change of ingredient in their chocolate I have reprinted the offical email they sent to all the complainants.
My daughter was one of the thousands who officially complained to Mars about the use of animal rennet in their products. This is what they said in the email she received on Wednesday.
-----------

Mum

Below is an email I received from masterfoods after my complaint against their decision to use animal rennet in their foods. Thought you would be interested. It may be a little while before we can use their products as they had already started manufacturing some with the animal rennet, but at least they reversed their decision, all down to me of course!!!!!!

Lulu x
----

From: fionadawson, masterfoods
Subject: Mars UK: Vegetarian
Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 14:11:01 +0100

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for taking the time to contact us in connection with the change of ingredients in our chocolate confectionery and ice cream range.

Please note that after recently changing the source of some of the whey that is used in some of our chocolate products we have received lots of feedback that this decision has made it difficult for some of you, especially those of you who are vegetarians, to continue to enjoy our products. We realise that we made a mistake and we apologise. We have committed that we at Mars UK will ensure that a selection of favourite brands including Mars bars, Snickers bars, Galaxy and Maltesers will be suitable for vegetarians in the near future.

Meanwhile we are currently experiencing unusually high volumes of contacts from our consumers and therefore we hope that you understand that, rather than answer your question individually, we are attaching a list of questions and answers we believe would be useful and help answer your enquiry.

Alternatively you can visit our web site (www.masterfoodsconsumercare.co.uk) for this, and other useful information.

Once again thank you for taking the time to contact us. Please do get back in touch, at the dedicated email address below, if your specific query has not been answered and we will do our best to get a speedy response to you.

Yours faithfully

On Behalf of Fiona Dawson
Mars UK
fionadawson@masterfoods.co.uk

Q1.What are you announcing?

A1.We have recently changed the source of some of the whey which is used in our chocolate products made in the UK from a vegetarian friendly variety to one which contains traces of traditional rennet from animal sources. We have received lots of feedback from consumers and reversed this decision.

Q2.Are you reverting to vegetarian recipes for all of those products that were subject to the ingredient change?

A2.Yes, this announcement means that favourite products - Mars bars, Snickers bars, Galaxy, and Maltesers will once again be suitable for vegetarians.

Q3.You make lots of other brands - what about the suitability of them?

A3.Other products will also be suitable for vegetarians including Minstrels, Revels, and Ripple. However, Twix, Bounty and Celebrations will continue not to be suitable for vegetarians.

Q4.I'm a vegetarian - which products can I eat / should I avoid?

A4.Currently we cannot guarantee that our products contain vegetarian rennet. However, we are starting to change our manufacturing process with immediate effect. We want to get our vegetarian products on the shelves as soon as possible. During this process of changing the recipes we will provide updates on this consumer care website, on a regular basis. If you are not sure about the suitability of our products please call us on 0845 0450042.

Q5.Why did you decide to change the ingredients in the first place?

A5.We made the change to broaden our supply base in order to ensure we could continue to provide our consumers with products of consistent quality in the future.

Q6.Will you now consult with consumers on any future changes to products?

A6.Yes. This change was a mistake and we are sorry that we may have prevented consumers from enjoying the products they've always enjoyed.

I've had a day at home today doing a bit of this ,doing a bit of that.

T'old man's eyes are red rimmed.
Five years ago after growing tomatoes for many years he twigged that it was the yellow flower pollen which was irritating his eyes so he stopped growing them....problem solved, no more red rimmed sore eyes..so when he came home with four tomato plants this year I simply shook my head. "It'll give me something to do " he said "seeing as i'm not working now".
"Couldn't you have grown cucumbers or peppers"? I asked "you'll have to wear safety goggles when you're tending them.
Nevertheless the plants are growing nicely and at last there is a little colour in the garden as some of the seasons flowers have started to bloom.

As i'm bored i've been looking through some past posts and realised someone tagged me with the word "Dork" once way back when.
Below is the Wilkipedia explanation of the word Dork.......whatever could the tagger have meant

Dork is a term of abuse favored by American youngsters, designating
the target as quirky, awkward, eccentric, socially inept or simply of lower status. Similar epithets include nerd and geek. Originally a vulgar term for "penis," the word is often used without any awareness of this sense, as evidenced by its use in the syndicated family cartoon strips Garfield for February 10, 2007 and Big Nate (in the form "dorkus") for January 13, 2007.

The term implies stupidity perhaps less often than it formerly did, and paradoxically can imply an unadmirable (bookish, academic) intelligence, much as "nerd" and "geek" do.

"Dork" is a common slang personal name for the Poser 3 & 4 posable man CGI figure.

Noticed there's not many bloggers on-line...is there a football match on summatt!!lol

The supermarket is also usually deserted when a big match is on. For an hour before though there is a long procession of men (some women) heading out the door carrying packs of beer.

After watching the undercover report on supermarket fresh food departments, i'm afraid nothing surprised me. A department is only as good as the staff it employs, hence if the supervisors are cutting corners then most of the others will follow suit. I remember, ten years ago one of our managers in the deli department got the sack when a whistle blower shopped her for relabelling and redating cooked rice.
I hasten to add that none of the practices shown in the tv programme would take place at my supermarket

kids having fun at Shepley

Those were the days when my kids used to play like that
This band was very entertaining but it wasn't so good when the artistes were trying to do soundchecks in the nearby marquee

The village of Shepley is quite a pretty rural village not far from Holmfirth and the cricket club grounds was an ideal setting for the spawning of a brand new folk festival.
I worked my shifts on Friday and Saturday so on Sunday I decided to make a leisurely bus trip through the West Yorkshire countryside to see how it was fareing.
The first person I saw was a lady I know who stewards at lots of these festivals and before you knew it I had been roped into stewarding at Cleckheaton festival in July (I blogged about my camping trip there last year). The only thing is I don't have any more holiday time to put in at work and working Fridays and Saturdays could be tricky.Where there's a will there's a way though, maybe I can shift swaps or such like.
The ambience at the small festival was very pleasing even though most of the festival goers had gotten soaked through the day before due to the torrential rain. Sunday though was dry although a little overcast.
The afternoon concert took place inside a marquee which felt very warm indeed (cosy) although the artists on stage were feeling it more due to the array of lights beamed on them. The penultimate act was the Lisa knapp band who was suberb with her fiddle playing and haunting melodies so I was wondering if the headliner of this little concert could match her.
I wasn't disappointed though as 'Eliza Carthy and Saul Rose' were the relaxed professionals we have watched them grow into. I remember seeing Eliza when she was just a young teenager following her mother and father around to all their gigs, then later when she sported shocking pink/red hair in her early years of performing. Her northern wit is legendary and she and Saul bounced off each other effortlessly. I have never seen so much sweat pour from a performer (male flamenco dancers excepted) than what poured off Saul this muggy afternoon, you could have collected it in a bucket.
I overheard Eliza's mum Norma Waterson remark to him that he should work on getting himself fit instead of travelling up and down the country selling drugs I did a double take when I overheard this but then I realised that it seems he used to work for a legitimate pharmaceautical company as a salesperson..nice people all of them

Here is a photo and videoclip I took from my front row seat!LOL

btw, she looks more like her mother as the years go by, even their hairstyle is similar nowadays

It's fairly obvious that collecting trolleys in a supermarket carpark is not much of a job for an able teenager but it can be a useful way to earn money whilst continuing with post school studies, so when a group of bouyant 18ish year old lads, milling around the cigarette kiosk start jeering at a young student of a similar age who was collecting baskets, then my heckles rise. Admittedly Dale was looking down at heel and dragging his heels so in a way he was opening himself up to ridicule, nevertheless always being one to support the underdog I had to butt in!!

"What sort of a job is that"? retorted smart guy,
"pushing trolleys! get yourself a proper job"
This instigated his mates to openly laugh while Dale just shuffled by trying to ignore them.
I responded for him and said to smart guy " Do you know Dale the porter?"
"NO" he said
"Then why are you making fun of him and making crass comments"?
"I only said that pushing trolleys wasn't much of a job"
"Yes...and..."? said I
"Well i'm on good money working as a brickie, you wouldn't catch me pushing trolleys" was his reply

I really shouldn't have engaged in such petty conversation but when I see someone unnecessarily bulling themselves up I can't help myself and so sent him on his way with..
"Well one day, young man you might be down on your luck and i'll have a jolly good laugh at you"

NEVER BE ASHAMED OF THE JOB OF WORK THAT YOU DO, IT'S AN HONEST LIVING..ALWAYS STRIVE TO DO BETTER BUT NEVER BE RIDICULED INTO BEING ASHAMED......so says isadora101, store greeter

I've been stood next to the carrier bag recycling container in the foyer and a chap came in and passed me a handful of bags to put in. He must have previously used them for purchases of strong "wet" fish 'cos the smell was foul. My hands reeked and it was difficult to explain to the subsequent customers that it wasn't any fault of mine that I smelt.

Testing

I just wrote a medium length post welcoming myself back to the online world then somehow the flaming post got lost. Anyway it seems like I've got things sorted with my connection at last but I can't stay just now as i've got the dreaded Friday evening shift at the supermarket to work. See you later

I've just booked cheap Ryanair flights to Oporto,Portugal for t'old man and myself to spend a week backpacking in Portugal. It will be Corpus Christie time on 7th June while we are there so hopefully the Portugese will celebrate the day in some style as the Spaniards do.
Anybody any ideas where else in Portugal is worthy of a visit apart from Lisbon?

I read yesterday that a college in York was organising an educational course to equip people with the grisly/mundane legalities of dying.
For instance, the curriculum will include the advantage of making a will, the scourge of inheritance tax, encouraging spouses to openly discuss funeral preferences etc.
I think this is quite a sensible idea for a course 'cos as sure as eggs are eggs, death will come to us all one day. When my own mother died a few years ago, I broached the subject with t'old man which led me to reserving a family plot in the cemetery of the village of our childhood...as for wills etc. I keep putting this off as I presume all our wordly goods will simply be passed across to each other...mmmm...what if we both go together?

I'll have to stop reading the metro on the bus, i've got enough to think about just now thankyou!

I've been dancing three times this week . This little dance troupe of "mature" ladies that I joined before Christmas have been very active of late.
I got to wear my new outfit which I bought in Cairo!!!!! a good job i've lost those few excess pounds I had put on.
We did a performance in a local working man's club for a Darby and Joan club tea and biscuit event, we had 'all on' keeping the old dears awake as one or two chaps kept nodding off.. one rustle of a skirt though and a shimmy of a coin belt soon woke them up. They really enjoyed themselves and as we raise money for cancer research there were lots of lamentations afterwards as almost everyone had at sometime lost a relative through cancer.
Our other event was on Sunday where we attended a special event for an asian ladies group. This was totally different as there was a large hall full of asian ladies and their children who were very much awake. They appreciated our modest attempt at entertaining them as we were all women in it together. They received us warmly and we were given nourishment as a reward, the curries were absolutely scrumptious. There was also an international Bahgra band (the only men at the venue) performing after us so we got to groove along with them!!
The teenager girls really enjoyed their act more than ours...quite understandable really.

She looks like she could be a songstress for the Latvian entry of the eurovision song contest. She has bleached blonde hair scraped back sleekly off her face, her eyebrows are plucked into a neat pencil line. Her flawless made-up complexion complimenting her glossy frosted pink lipstick.
Moving down she wears a chain of gold around her pretty neck, her Tshirt has turqoise sequins embellished across it with a silklike fluorescent pink anorak on top.
I can see her soft young hands, her nails are amazing manicured(if they are real) with pale pink varnish near the cuticles and shocking pink at the tips... she types with two fingers only but is remarkably expert at it.
I wonder which websites she is visiting, is she booking flights, emailing home or more than likely listening to free music as she is wearing headphones. The three young men she arrived at the library with have left now...I wonder what they will do for the rest of the day

Ok..I know, i'm just a nosey old so and so whose got nothing better to think about!!! LOL

Oh Happy Days

Eddie came back on Friday, looking well scrubbed with a clean ironed shirt, his hair was still the same matt of dreadlocks although they were tied a little more securely He hadn't cut his braids from his neck and wrists but decided he would fasten his collar and cuff buttons whenever there were managers around
His mother must have yielded some influence as she came in later that evening to do some shopping
He was placed on the tills where he worked until around 8 o' clock then he was sent to help the lads in the car park.
Saturday arrived....No Eddie....oh dear

My son in law came to upgrade my computer on Friday and a fine job he did too.
The internet was working fine for about half an hour then it disappered completely I have been on the helpline to Orange three times and they have conceded there is a fault on the line and it is now in the hands of their engineers
When will I ever get back online I miss the interaction with my fellow bloggers and besides t'old man's sick of me sitting downstairs and monopolising the tele
He's used to me being in my little box room safe and sound LOL
I must say that the library is getting used to having me around and I am meeting people from all over the world
Sitting here in the library with me are a couple from Ireland, four asians about seven somalians, four east europeans and four other britts. I'd love to know the life history of some of them.
Catch you all anon.

Isadora Xx