Monday Monday, I hate Mondays is understandable for everyone, who has a wonderful weekend and then has to return to school or work. This was true for me for periods when I was at school and not being successful and there were also periods when I dreaded going into work although this applied to Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as well as Monday. Today June 22nd, 2009, the problem is knowing that I must attend to various things before getting down to write up the individual days of the Island of Wight experience 2009 and then create a master work volume. For once I am not in a position to give this priority as I need to sort out my printers.
Yesterday’s walk was salutary in that I was immediately reminded of what a great place is South Shields in terms of river and coastline, parkland, and facilities as well as more dramatic scenery within easy reach. However the interaction with a place is more about associations and relationships. I am mindful that those who view the Isle of Wight as a holiday escape or for retirement will have different perspectives from those born and bred. I wonder how many families there are on the island to can provide evidence of generations. How were there in the 1940 and 1950’s I wonder?
The first main task for Monday was a new Washing Machine. This involved travelling to Sunderland to the Store (Currys) where I had purchased the new cooker and fridge over the past year. The Store has had a brilliant new make over losing its cluttered atmosphere. There is now a single style and layout. There were several lanes of washing machines grouped according to make and then in terms of price. I asked the assistant about width and there were two mentioned with the same width as the space available. Unsurprisingly one was the same as the existing machine Hotpoint and I chose the cheapest model at £249 and which included removing the old machine and fitting the new one. I asked about taking away the old machine and was given the story that I should have raised the issue at the time and after a phone call that it was not possible to arrange now even with a willingness to pay. However I was given the impression that a gift to those attending might lead them to be willing to take the machine into the back lane for collection by the local authority.
The next task was the Camera Card reader where the one purchased previously had never been satisfactory because of a loose lead connection at the rear, only due in part to my clumsiness, I visited PCW world next door and decided upon the cheaper model at £14 designed for use with lap tops it has no leads and is a solid item with a USB connection, It did not offer the range of card slots but looked as if it would cover my cards which I am pleased to say it does.
I left sorting out the camera charger until the following day as I was unsure if I could find the papers to find the number. I had been given a wake up call that I needed to sort this out when receiving the reminder that the renewal was required in early July. The service under the Mastercare company is provided by the Tec Guys who operate an excellent system, given the problems which used to occur in times previous. In fact the renew number sufficed as it covers all the multilayered options and I got immediately through to a Tec Guy. After checking the credentials and explaining the problem I was given a job number and told to wait the delivery of the packaging. This is a clever cardboard box which you have to make up and fit the camera under a piece of thin plastic fixed to the board and which holds the item firmly in place. When the box is made up there is room for the charger to be included. All one then has to do is complete the work form with the reference numbers provided and ring the firm DHL to arrange collection. The packaging arrived on Thursday lunchtime and I made the call a little later. The collection time was 9 to 5 which was Ok except I had hoped to be away by four or even earlier so I mentioned this and a note was made to call am than pm. The collection vehicle was at my door around 8.30 on Friday morning. Deserves a customer service WOW. Obviously the full WOW WOW WOW will not be awarded until the camera is turned and the problem has been sorted. It is possible to track the progress of the package to its destination online
The next task was the printer which has so far not been as successful in that I took it to the compute fixer in the Westoe Road on Tuesday afternoon who said it should be left and appeared uncertain whether they could help or not. I have not heard anything since and will visit on my way to the match this afternoon. The good news is that I was told the job would cost £10 to £20 if it can be repaired. I found the telephone number from the internet on Friday morning and was told that the individual working on the machine was out on a job. I will ring back around three to get a progress report if I do not hear further which I do not expect as I suspect the machine has not been touched.
Next door was a Barber shop run by a middle aged woman. There was just one elderly customer so I decided to go in. Although the cut was a little shorter than is my preference it was excellent and at £4 30% cheaper than that used in the town centre. I had planned to go to that at Chester Le Street during the championship cricket game next week but such is life.
I have cancelled the DVD internet postal subscription. I wanted to revert to watching the DVD’s which I acquired for my birthdays and at Christmas. Fortunately I had not posted the two held over the period at the Isle of Wight as the subscription closure required a record of posting to be obtained. I went to the post office on Thursday afternoon. I must ensure that further subscription is not taken via my credit card. More importantly with Satanta going into liquidation I much check that this subscription will be ended. I telephoned the credit card and was put through to the liquidation department. What I am not clear if the payments were in advance or retrospect. There was no confident statement that further payments will not be deducted so I will have to watch the
On Monday I commenced an experimentation having bought various tins of beans under the brand name of KTC and a tin of spinach. This was not a great and hating waste I persevered over a couple of days. The only success has been some chilli beans eaten with fish and new potatoes on Friday.
Monday or was it Tuesday Parliament elected their new speaker. I am not impressed with the choice one John Burcow, young in being under 50 but in my judgement significantly tarnished under the expenses scandal. He has been campaigning to be the next speaker longer before the previous man hit the dust and once an extreme right wing Conservative is known to have flirted with joining the Labour party and indeed although the ballot was secret for the first time the evidence is that of 600 individuals voting the key votes must have come from the Labour Party as the conservatives were thought to have voted solidly for Sir George Young. There were ten candidates but after the second ballot it was evident that only two had sufficient support to we in a majority of those voting and the rest dropped out. I was pleased Margaret Becket was not successful as well as other where there was a major query, because of expenses.
The other DVD, the final of the 240 odd rented over the past two and a half years and was called the Pride and the Glory. This proved to another film of the well covered police going wrong in the N Y PD although this time the battle was fought within the system with the son of a much respected former cop under pressure to protect the career minded brother in law whose wife has cancer and turns a long blind eye to members of his team who move from taking protection and bribe money to dealing in drugs, committing murder and tipping off the drug dealers which leads to four police being slaughtered The film tries to make a grey entertainment out people who and are bad, weak and sometimes evil. The film is overlong and difficult to follow and is not rescued by some good acting especially and the most rotten of gang played by Colin Farrell of Ballykissangel fame. The experience was depressing.
It is just as well that I had still the memory of a wonderful film starring Joanne Woodward called Summer Wishes Winter Dreams. Joanne is a middle aged housewife with two children who have left home and has a sense of impending doom, a sense of failure and that her life is over. She has lunch once a week with her mother, an event which has become a duty and when her mother dies from a heart attack while watching together a film by Ingmar Bergman she is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She inherits part of the family farm which she does not want to sell having a bitter argument with her sister and brother in law who want to make sue of the capital it could provide. Her husband understand the turmoil and emotional state she in and persuades her to accompany him on a trip to London when she gets into further difficult. He tries to express his love but the gulf between them has become wide. It is only when she accompanies him to Belgium to visit the reminders of the Second World War and the scene where he killed three German soldiers.
He explains that after this experience he vowed not to waste a moment of his life. I know that feeling so well although it remains a challenge to maintaining such an outlook year upon year and decade upon decade. She understands his experience and reaction and puts into perspective her own experience. She decides to sell the farm and also to accept that her gay son who is living in Paris and happy is unable to see them, although he maintain regular communication with their daughter. It is not surprising to learn that Joanne was nominated for a best actress Oscar for this 1973 performance or that she was given the Bafta.
Another unknown film to me which also included a brilliant performance from a female actress is Love Pain and the Whole Damn Thing. This was also a 1970‘s film (1973) and featured Maggie Smith taking a tour of Spain on her own and encountering a shy young Asthmatic also a loner who is sent on a biking holiday by his father. The film brilliant explores the developing relationship between the two and after a moment of passion the young man takes the initiative and hires a small touring caravan where after an small accident they find themselves taken up with by the local Duke of a Castle who takes a shine to Maggie which focuses the young man on what he wants from the relationship. At this point Maggie reveals she has an incurable illness and the film ends as the two go off to make the most of whatever time they can have together. When I saw that the young man is played by Timothy Bottoms it will be appreciated that the film is scripted as a comedy, but is redeemed by the performance of Maggie Smith.
Yesterday’s walk was salutary in that I was immediately reminded of what a great place is South Shields in terms of river and coastline, parkland, and facilities as well as more dramatic scenery within easy reach. However the interaction with a place is more about associations and relationships. I am mindful that those who view the Isle of Wight as a holiday escape or for retirement will have different perspectives from those born and bred. I wonder how many families there are on the island to can provide evidence of generations. How were there in the 1940 and 1950’s I wonder?
The first main task for Monday was a new Washing Machine. This involved travelling to Sunderland to the Store (Currys) where I had purchased the new cooker and fridge over the past year. The Store has had a brilliant new make over losing its cluttered atmosphere. There is now a single style and layout. There were several lanes of washing machines grouped according to make and then in terms of price. I asked the assistant about width and there were two mentioned with the same width as the space available. Unsurprisingly one was the same as the existing machine Hotpoint and I chose the cheapest model at £249 and which included removing the old machine and fitting the new one. I asked about taking away the old machine and was given the story that I should have raised the issue at the time and after a phone call that it was not possible to arrange now even with a willingness to pay. However I was given the impression that a gift to those attending might lead them to be willing to take the machine into the back lane for collection by the local authority.
The next task was the Camera Card reader where the one purchased previously had never been satisfactory because of a loose lead connection at the rear, only due in part to my clumsiness, I visited PCW world next door and decided upon the cheaper model at £14 designed for use with lap tops it has no leads and is a solid item with a USB connection, It did not offer the range of card slots but looked as if it would cover my cards which I am pleased to say it does.
I left sorting out the camera charger until the following day as I was unsure if I could find the papers to find the number. I had been given a wake up call that I needed to sort this out when receiving the reminder that the renewal was required in early July. The service under the Mastercare company is provided by the Tec Guys who operate an excellent system, given the problems which used to occur in times previous. In fact the renew number sufficed as it covers all the multilayered options and I got immediately through to a Tec Guy. After checking the credentials and explaining the problem I was given a job number and told to wait the delivery of the packaging. This is a clever cardboard box which you have to make up and fit the camera under a piece of thin plastic fixed to the board and which holds the item firmly in place. When the box is made up there is room for the charger to be included. All one then has to do is complete the work form with the reference numbers provided and ring the firm DHL to arrange collection. The packaging arrived on Thursday lunchtime and I made the call a little later. The collection time was 9 to 5 which was Ok except I had hoped to be away by four or even earlier so I mentioned this and a note was made to call am than pm. The collection vehicle was at my door around 8.30 on Friday morning. Deserves a customer service WOW. Obviously the full WOW WOW WOW will not be awarded until the camera is turned and the problem has been sorted. It is possible to track the progress of the package to its destination online
The next task was the printer which has so far not been as successful in that I took it to the compute fixer in the Westoe Road on Tuesday afternoon who said it should be left and appeared uncertain whether they could help or not. I have not heard anything since and will visit on my way to the match this afternoon. The good news is that I was told the job would cost £10 to £20 if it can be repaired. I found the telephone number from the internet on Friday morning and was told that the individual working on the machine was out on a job. I will ring back around three to get a progress report if I do not hear further which I do not expect as I suspect the machine has not been touched.
Next door was a Barber shop run by a middle aged woman. There was just one elderly customer so I decided to go in. Although the cut was a little shorter than is my preference it was excellent and at £4 30% cheaper than that used in the town centre. I had planned to go to that at Chester Le Street during the championship cricket game next week but such is life.
I have cancelled the DVD internet postal subscription. I wanted to revert to watching the DVD’s which I acquired for my birthdays and at Christmas. Fortunately I had not posted the two held over the period at the Isle of Wight as the subscription closure required a record of posting to be obtained. I went to the post office on Thursday afternoon. I must ensure that further subscription is not taken via my credit card. More importantly with Satanta going into liquidation I much check that this subscription will be ended. I telephoned the credit card and was put through to the liquidation department. What I am not clear if the payments were in advance or retrospect. There was no confident statement that further payments will not be deducted so I will have to watch the
On Monday I commenced an experimentation having bought various tins of beans under the brand name of KTC and a tin of spinach. This was not a great and hating waste I persevered over a couple of days. The only success has been some chilli beans eaten with fish and new potatoes on Friday.
Monday or was it Tuesday Parliament elected their new speaker. I am not impressed with the choice one John Burcow, young in being under 50 but in my judgement significantly tarnished under the expenses scandal. He has been campaigning to be the next speaker longer before the previous man hit the dust and once an extreme right wing Conservative is known to have flirted with joining the Labour party and indeed although the ballot was secret for the first time the evidence is that of 600 individuals voting the key votes must have come from the Labour Party as the conservatives were thought to have voted solidly for Sir George Young. There were ten candidates but after the second ballot it was evident that only two had sufficient support to we in a majority of those voting and the rest dropped out. I was pleased Margaret Becket was not successful as well as other where there was a major query, because of expenses.
The other DVD, the final of the 240 odd rented over the past two and a half years and was called the Pride and the Glory. This proved to another film of the well covered police going wrong in the N Y PD although this time the battle was fought within the system with the son of a much respected former cop under pressure to protect the career minded brother in law whose wife has cancer and turns a long blind eye to members of his team who move from taking protection and bribe money to dealing in drugs, committing murder and tipping off the drug dealers which leads to four police being slaughtered The film tries to make a grey entertainment out people who and are bad, weak and sometimes evil. The film is overlong and difficult to follow and is not rescued by some good acting especially and the most rotten of gang played by Colin Farrell of Ballykissangel fame. The experience was depressing.
It is just as well that I had still the memory of a wonderful film starring Joanne Woodward called Summer Wishes Winter Dreams. Joanne is a middle aged housewife with two children who have left home and has a sense of impending doom, a sense of failure and that her life is over. She has lunch once a week with her mother, an event which has become a duty and when her mother dies from a heart attack while watching together a film by Ingmar Bergman she is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She inherits part of the family farm which she does not want to sell having a bitter argument with her sister and brother in law who want to make sue of the capital it could provide. Her husband understand the turmoil and emotional state she in and persuades her to accompany him on a trip to London when she gets into further difficult. He tries to express his love but the gulf between them has become wide. It is only when she accompanies him to Belgium to visit the reminders of the Second World War and the scene where he killed three German soldiers.
He explains that after this experience he vowed not to waste a moment of his life. I know that feeling so well although it remains a challenge to maintaining such an outlook year upon year and decade upon decade. She understands his experience and reaction and puts into perspective her own experience. She decides to sell the farm and also to accept that her gay son who is living in Paris and happy is unable to see them, although he maintain regular communication with their daughter. It is not surprising to learn that Joanne was nominated for a best actress Oscar for this 1973 performance or that she was given the Bafta.
Another unknown film to me which also included a brilliant performance from a female actress is Love Pain and the Whole Damn Thing. This was also a 1970‘s film (1973) and featured Maggie Smith taking a tour of Spain on her own and encountering a shy young Asthmatic also a loner who is sent on a biking holiday by his father. The film brilliant explores the developing relationship between the two and after a moment of passion the young man takes the initiative and hires a small touring caravan where after an small accident they find themselves taken up with by the local Duke of a Castle who takes a shine to Maggie which focuses the young man on what he wants from the relationship. At this point Maggie reveals she has an incurable illness and the film ends as the two go off to make the most of whatever time they can have together. When I saw that the young man is played by Timothy Bottoms it will be appreciated that the film is scripted as a comedy, but is redeemed by the performance of Maggie Smith.
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