I can't believe I was talking to bloggers about blogging
...everyone else I know tells me to shut up 'cos they're sick of hearing about it.. and they think it is weird that I want to meet a bunch of strangers...but do you know what? .....
they were one of the nicest bunch of strangers that I ever met and that's no lie!

I was so excited at actually meeting folk from blog that I was like a school girl going on a first date instead of the mature woman of the world that I really am (ahem)! The last time I was this hiper was when I was on the plane to meet the spanish family I stayed with for the very first time...the poor girl who was sat next me on the plane that time didn't know what had hit her.
I only got home a couple of hours ago and have managed to read the other's accounts and I must agree with everything they have written....except when GB slandered me and said I knocked back three bottles of Carlsberg....it was only appleade, truly....what the heck will I tell 'em at my next AA meeting
And the inimitable Safriz called me elegant..moi thanks sweetie

I just want to say that all the hype that surrounds Meno is not unfounded as she really is one of the most warmest, generous, kind, laid back people you could hope to meet...and she definitely does have a degree in 'hugging'
Every other person present, each had a special quality to bring to the blog meet and the conversations were wide and varied with lots of laughter smattered in between intakes of breath.

I have managed to take a few nice photos but I won't post them unless I know that the others have no objections to me doing so.
In the meantime here's a small flavour of the Manchester curry blog meet.

In contrast with yesterday i've had a pleasurably busy day today
The morning was spent at the U3A (university of the third age)
spanish language group.
We don't learn much but I spent half the class listening to an 80 year old, rather eccentric old lady telling us about her trip to Mexico last week, she is on her last legs physically but her spirit is high, she plans to visit Burma next!

Cue phone call from friend darn sarf to tell me that she has arranged the rental of a flat in Nerja for a month for the two of us next january/february..so another thing less to think about

This afternoon was spent with another group of ladies at my friend K's dance class. It is the last one 'til next year so it was laughs all the way.

I then arrived home and had seperate phone calls from my two daughters, both were work related.

Poor Lulu(the eldest) a senior nurse has had a suicide on her ward and seeing as it is an acute mental health ward she has been fortunate that this is the first she has to deal with...she now has to deal with all the inquiries and coroner's court stuff etc

While Bella...the youngest phoned to tell me she was successful in obtaining her 'ideal' job (she had the interview last week)..the only snag is that it is at the opposite end of the country and she will have to leave Manchester..this will be a wrench for her, but if you've gotta doit

Anyway, I can't stop on here prattling on about out or nought, i've got to be up and about tomorrow morning, i've a coach to catch and a blog meet to go to

See you

...and what else have I been doing all day as well as idling my time away on the computer?
I cooked a dinner of fish in white sauce, green beans and buttered potatoes for me and t'old man,
I brought out the small travel bags (which i'd not long since put away) and started filling them up again ...and then while t'old man was engrossed in the goings on in government, via TV and radio, I idled away even more time staring through the landing window into next door's "garden".
It may be suburbia but this guy is insistent on living the 'Good life'

The hens were well-behaved and let me take pictures of them but the squirrels were busy playing 'chase' up and down the trees for me to take some of them....well I did take one but it came out a bit dark and I couldn't make out if the squirrel was going up or coming down the tree.

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YOU'LL NEVER HAVE A DIRTY SCREEN AGAIN!

A planned two-day strike by more than 1,200 bus drivers in Manchester has been called off.
Stagecoach drivers in the city were set to stage walkouts on Tuesday and Thursday this coming week in a protest over pay.

That's a relief then as the demand for taxis might have been great on Thursday and then I might not have got to the blog meet on time *phew*

Well, one way or another i'm going to enjoy Thursday

Now that xmas is almost upon us the number of thieves caught has risen lately. The canny rogues who usually steal razor blades and batteries to sell on have been taking seasonal orders.

That's the third thief we've had stealing perfume this week so why have they put the stock on an open shelf instead of keeping it in a glass cabinet like it was last year.

I put on my "glad rags"(fancy dress style ), dragged my aching bones out the door and had a very enjoyable night at a Greek restaurant in Dewsbury.
My friend 'K' has only been teaching Belly dance for a few months but already she has drawn in a nice group of ladies to indulge her passion.
She arranged the dinner last night and about 40 women showed up in all sorts of weird and wonderful outfits.........for the wildest West of Yorkshire that is

I managed to nab myself a nice young waiter (well, for a photo at least) and almost fixed him up for a date with 'K' ......and why not...doesn't she look great?

The restaurant are considering holding belly-dancing evenings in the future to compliment the bouzouki evenings that they already hold and they practically offered her a job!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LONEMUM

..and seeing as you're not having a party, I thought we could gate-crash this Tibetan celebration

I woke up yesterday morning feeling rotten, headache and a sickly feeling as well as my hip and back aching.
I have had a relatively pain-free summer so one gets a little complacent but when I think back to last winter when the inflammation around my back was at its worst, then I worry.
Flamin' cold damp weather..the bane of my life .
I have reached for the anti-inflammatory tablets, perhaps a little prematurely but i'm thinking "nip it in the bud before it gets any worse".
Tomorrow I should be going to a Greek restaurant with a large group of ladies and was looking forward to the 'Zorba the Greek' dance and the plate smashing.
Anyway hopefully things will be under control and my aches and pains will subside..if not I will still go but just 'eat' and watch every-one else making a fool of themselves

Three boxes of beer for £20..the bargain of the year is back stacked in the foyer again.
Every second customer was buying some...
On Friday night four asian looking men came in each pushing a seperate trolley.
They hastily filled them up with 12 boxes each and went off to seperate tills.
Now in the past it has been proved that small shopkeepers DO purchase goods in bulk when these very special offers are on so the whisperings from the kiosk soon went round that they were were buying for resale.
Although the store has a limit of how many boxes (12 in this instance) one can buy, there is very little one can do if there are a few individuals buying at the same time.
Off they went only to return five minutes later with a grin and one said to me
"here we go again" as he started loading up a second time.
He seemed quite a pleasant chap so I smiled at him and said "Hey, this beer must be cheaper than at the cash and carry."
"It is" he replied "or I would be buying it there".
"Ah, but" said I "are you going to leave any for the ordinary customers"?
"We are ordinary customers " he protested
"Never!, You must have a shop to be buying all that lot"
"I wish I did" was his response but no he was quite emphatic about that.
He then put his hand in his pocket and flashed his West Yorkshire Police card.
he was an off-duty officer.
"Well what do you want this amount of beer for" I enquired
"We're having a party..do you want to come?, there's about four hundred people coming" ..."Oh", I said "I've got something on, I wish i'd had more notice.
Apparently the party is for Dilawi the Hindu celebration  and is taking place this Sunday.

Apart from that, I have been introduced to our new security staff...a 63 year old spikey, silver haired lesbian who has just recovered from a hip replacement operation and a 24 year old cuddly bear sort of a lad who walks around with headphones on and wouldn't say boo to a goose in his 'out of work' life.
They join the longest serving member of the team (all of six months experience), a male in his fifties who has a bit of a short fuse and could end up in trouble if he's not careful:
They will probably make a formidable team...we will have to wait and see

The following is a news report from todays 'Orange' website's Celebrity News

Jimmy Saville is mugged
Sir Jimmy Saville has been mugged – and claims to have enjoyed the experience.

His assailant was a young woman who accosted him at the Queens Hotel in Leeds on Wednesday night and stole his glasses.

“She was walking alongside me and the next thing she reached up. I thought she was going to give me an embrace but she grabbed my glasses and took off down the corridor,” he said. “I thought, I’ve been mugged. How wonderful!”
The 81-year-old DJ and TV personality reported the theft to police but admits he got a buzz from the incident because it reminded him of being chased by fans back in his heyday. “I’ve not been mugged for over 50 years, it was just like old times. If the girl turns up and I get my glasses back, I will give her chocolates for giving me a 1950s thrill in 2007.”

How’s about that, then.

Oh dear me Jimmy.... couldn't you have simply said "a young fan engaged in a bit of horse-play and she reminded me of my hey-day back in the 50's/60's"...for surely it wasn't a mugging in the 'real' sense, theft yes but a mugging?
for if it was you wouldn't be considering giving the accoster a box of chocolates surely

I understand you had to report it to the police for insurance purposes but if you look on e-bay you may find them there complete with celebrity endorsement.

One final word Jimmy...Watch out next time you're jogging in Rounday park 'cos you might get mugged in the traditional aggresive way now that the hooligans of Leeds know you like it.

--------------

I asked Jim to fix it
for the cows to come ‘ome
cos me dad said when they did
we could go to Illfracombe.

I'm on the run this morning but I thought i'd do a quick post (and make sure my sticky post is doing its job!)

Shortly I will be catching a train to London..i'm only going for a day visit as i'm seeing my friend from Brighton who is meeting me at Kings Cross.
The visit is purely social and we have much to chat about as she is in the process of buying a holiday home in Andalucia and we plan to spend a month together there(minus husbands) in January.

Gotta go ..I do hope the fog hasn't affected train services.

I heard there's a new feature called a sticky post so i'll put one up for a while.

This sticky post has slid...I think really when a person first looks at your blog it is better to see the most recent comment...maybe with a logo or something at the top though

Bella informed me that she is going to buy us a special cheese hamper from a fancy delicatesson this xmas..there would be a variety of cheeses in it and no doubt there would be some delicious ones
It pained me to gently point out to her that her dad has to watch his cholestrel levels (and me my waistline) nowadays, so perhaps it wouldn't be such a good idea for a gift and besides there would probably be all sorts of strange flavoured cheeses tucked in there which would probably get wasted now that there are only the two of us at home.
For instance:-
Smelly gorgonzola..who on earth would eat that!! and you can bet your bottom dollar there would be portion of that in the hamper

Then there are the newer experiments inventions;
Now, I love sticky toffee pudding and sticky toffee yogurts but not too sure if i'd like sticky toffee flavoured cheese, I'd rather stick to old fashioned fudge What next will the cheese manufacturers come up with ..Mince pie cheese or xmas pudding cheese...I'd rather stick to old fashioned fudge

"Well what should I get you then"? Bella enquired
"O, just buy me a box of chocolates" I said
While i'm on the subject of sticky, I think i'll have to make a sticky post..to just to see how it works...whatever next..I suppose it is a better idea than the Guest book one
Have many people actually bothered with it after the initial novelty wore off, I personally thought that the public and private comment facilities already in existence were sufficient .

Swiped from FaffaJane

Have you ever sat on a plane, next to an irritating seat-mate who keeps talking to you and snooping at everything you read?

A while ago I blogged about the "Yorkshire" saying 'Dick and Liddy' .. this photo I took in Poland portrays exactly how I would interpret it's meaning....an old couple totally contented in each others presence ,hence:-

btw..I've posted a couple of other holiday snaps on www.blog.co.uk/user/isasfotos/

For all you gals going out on the razz in Liverpool some time soon, I want you all.....
To meet in the boudoir
and really let rip

I expect no less from all of  you...I know you won't let her down.

One side of the River Motlawa

and the other

The Polish Pope effect

Gdansk has an intriguing history as I learnt whilst visiting the museums there.
Did you know that Napolean ruled here for many years in the early 1800's and that it was the port of Gdansk that Hitler chose to begin World war two by launching his war on Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, when German gunboats fired on the Polish garrison at Westerplatte.
The most recent important period in Gdansk's history which many of us will remember hearing about at the time was during the Communist period, Gdansk rose to fame as the home of the Lenin Shipyards and the Solidarity Trade Union.
It was here at the Gdansk shipyards, where very tense negotiations in August 1980 between Solidarity, led by a youngish Lech Waesa, and the government resulted in official recognition of the first independent trade union in Communist Eastern Europe.
The government later reneged on the agreement and imposed martial law, but Gdansk continued as a hotbed of labour unrest and strikes. Talks in the late 1980s saw the government agree to a power-sharing arrangement that in 1989 led to the first semifree elections and a nationwide political triumph for Solidarity.

You can still see the shipyards although in decline, so we took a walk to the gates, about a 10-minute walk from the hotel we were staying at.

,
It was fascinating to think that it was here that the fall of communism started.
The wall is covered in memorials and plaques

and one in particular took my attention.
It was this which depicts the wives of the strikers peering through the gates in support of their men on sit-down strike inside

in fact I was so engrossed in looking at this that I didn't realise I was on a slope and I lost my footing and slid on the slippery cobbles and fell with a thud!

The bruising is coming out more now and my funny bone is a strange shape and it really did hurt..honestly..it doesn't look as bad as it felt
Just down the road from there is an inspirational museum, the "Road to Freedom" that details those tense moments in 1980 and the eventual overthrow of Communism.
"The road to freedom" for me though found me dropping at the first hurdle

What a beautiful day it is!
So how has your day been so far?

That's it then!!...in between doing a bit of this and a bit of that today, I have managed to pack two small bags (one each) of hand luggage, comprising, a change of clothes, toiletries a camera and phone and little else. T'old man always insists on travelling light so instead of taking more luggage we will be wearing two jumpers each and a top coat in anticipation of colder weather in Poland.
"As long as you've packed the passports, the Zlotys(polish money) and your credit card, then we'll be OK " he said.
Just for good measure i've sneaked a small umbrella in his bag and have made some sandwiches for us to eat on the plane (Hungarian airline - Wizz).
So i'll just add the 'Dessert analysis' to my last post then I'm all done and dusted.
If I don't manage to get on-line 'til I get back next weekend then have a good week everybody.

Here's a pointless bit of fun which is doing the chain e-mail rounds at the mo.
--

Leave your choice in the comments then I will post the personality analysis later.

Results

1. ANGEL FOOD CAKE -- Sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy items. A little nutty at times. Sometimes you need an ice cream cone at the end of the day. Others perceive you as being child-like and immature at times.

The same view from the back window as the one in the previous post, taken ten mins ago.

Oh..and the weather forecast for Gdansk for next week is cold and raining ...who was it again..who wanted to go there

I took these photos from my upstairs back bedroom window less than an hour ago. After an uninspiring day weather-wise, some big black clouds appeared just as the sun was about to set.

Bella and myself visited the cemetery when she came on Sunday. I hadn't been for a while so it was good to pay my respects at my mother and father's grave..just the two of us, Bella and me.
Bella has started researching her family tree so she was interested in seeing the headstones of other members of the family as well as 't'old man's' side.