I don't know about the long bit but it has definitely been ridiculously hot these last few days.
I am still in the middle of sorting our finances and the rather tiresome process of remortgaging. The whole process is different to the last time we did this 5 years ago.. Back then I wandered into my local Bradford and Bingley and asked if they would lend us some more money. The only debate was how much more money they would lend and a sort of negative bidding process with the B&B offering more and me saying actually I don't want that much. I do remember leaving the office thinking this can't be right and I wasn't surprised they went bust a couple of years later.
Anyway, this time round it is rather different. The girl on the phone keeps on ringing back asking for more and more information- leading to frantic hunts for photo id, payslips proof of residency etc followed by hurried photocopying and special delivery letters containing details of my life just in the hope we get a better deal.
Still this is sort of a make or break for us- 15k a year down on salary since my wife's redundancy in 2009 - down to the last tranche of her redundancy money, failure to get this deal could mean selling the house or worse.
Tuesday 28 June 2011
Friday 17 June 2011
Bit of a quiet time in the house. My daughter is in her bunker-i.e. bedroom- revising (we hope) for her A levels. My son is not yet home although he is returning this week sometime “for the summer” Oh Joy.
Work is pretty flat at present nothing much on the go and I am trying to sort out our finances longer term- not something I enjoy doing but it has proved quite sobering.
My running is going well with minimum aches and pains. I am tired though and am going to bed earlier.
On the self sufficiency front the potatoes are growing well, my apple tree has about a dozen apples. Sadly no plums or pears this year. On a more positive note the tomato plants are doing well.
Music wise I am listening to 6 music on the way to and from work and whilst out with the dog during the week and when I am running. So I am listening to a lot of 6 music. I have been impressed by Sleigh Bells, impressed by Nemone on a Sunday morning and super impressed by Marc Riley in the evenings during the week. Steve LM on the Drive Time show of course is still great and I even quite like Sean Keaveney in the morning – although his constant whingeing about being tired is a put off. For God sake man you have a dream job playing music for a living shut up whingeing and just remind yourself each morning how damn lucky you are.
Work is pretty flat at present nothing much on the go and I am trying to sort out our finances longer term- not something I enjoy doing but it has proved quite sobering.
My running is going well with minimum aches and pains. I am tired though and am going to bed earlier.
On the self sufficiency front the potatoes are growing well, my apple tree has about a dozen apples. Sadly no plums or pears this year. On a more positive note the tomato plants are doing well.
Music wise I am listening to 6 music on the way to and from work and whilst out with the dog during the week and when I am running. So I am listening to a lot of 6 music. I have been impressed by Sleigh Bells, impressed by Nemone on a Sunday morning and super impressed by Marc Riley in the evenings during the week. Steve LM on the Drive Time show of course is still great and I even quite like Sean Keaveney in the morning – although his constant whingeing about being tired is a put off. For God sake man you have a dream job playing music for a living shut up whingeing and just remind yourself each morning how damn lucky you are.
Saturday 11 June 2011
Saturday
During the week my father in law walks the dog during the day and I walk him in the evening. At the weekends I walk him twice.
Of these walks Saturday's are the ones I enjoy most. That is mainly due to two BBC Radio programmes which are (almost) for me worth the Licence Fee alone.
Saturday morning's walk across Nuns Moor is soundtracked by Radio Two's Brian Matthews' long running Sounds of The Sixties show. I love this programme as it plays so many tunes I remember as a (very) young lad growing up and songs that I couldn't possibly remember and were almost certainly never played in my house. I have discovered some great songs I never knew existed on this show and even on dull wet and windy days such as today this programme brings a smile to my face and a warm feeling in my heart. Listen to it on iplayer if you've never heard it.
At night I listen to BBC Radio Newcastle's Beat Surrender programme. Those of you of a certain age might conclude quite correctly from the title that this plays music from a certain period. ( for those of you too young to have guessed that, well go ask your Mum or Dad). Indeed on this show you are guaranteed to hear The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Jam , Buzzcocks, Joy Dvision and sundry punk/new wave oldies like tonight and Eddie and The Hot Rods, Martha and The Muffins,Big Audio Dynamite, The Ruts, and occasional Prince Buster and other ska songs. Sometimes they play current local bands such as The Vinyl Jackets. You can listen again to this one on line as well.
Of these walks Saturday's are the ones I enjoy most. That is mainly due to two BBC Radio programmes which are (almost) for me worth the Licence Fee alone.
Saturday morning's walk across Nuns Moor is soundtracked by Radio Two's Brian Matthews' long running Sounds of The Sixties show. I love this programme as it plays so many tunes I remember as a (very) young lad growing up and songs that I couldn't possibly remember and were almost certainly never played in my house. I have discovered some great songs I never knew existed on this show and even on dull wet and windy days such as today this programme brings a smile to my face and a warm feeling in my heart. Listen to it on iplayer if you've never heard it.
At night I listen to BBC Radio Newcastle's Beat Surrender programme. Those of you of a certain age might conclude quite correctly from the title that this plays music from a certain period. ( for those of you too young to have guessed that, well go ask your Mum or Dad). Indeed on this show you are guaranteed to hear The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Jam , Buzzcocks, Joy Dvision and sundry punk/new wave oldies like tonight and Eddie and The Hot Rods, Martha and The Muffins,Big Audio Dynamite, The Ruts, and occasional Prince Buster and other ska songs. Sometimes they play current local bands such as The Vinyl Jackets. You can listen again to this one on line as well.
Saturday 4 June 2011
Fundraising
I have contributed to two fundraising events this week. The first was simply a donation to someone cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats's for charity. The second involved me and the wife going out for a meal.
My daughter is off to Thailand and Laos for a month In July after she finishes her exams. This is a trip organised through her school by World Challenge. Part of the deal is that she has to raise at least some of the money herself and do community work whilst she is out there.
Her World Challenge team organised a fundraiser at a local restaurant this week( luckily the owner’s son is a friend of hers) and that is how we ended up eating out on a Monday night.
South East Asian ( principally Vietnamese) cuisine doesn’t figure very highly on my list of must eat foods but I admit I was pleasantly surprised by the venue, and the quality on offer. Here is a link to the website.
The venue is in a newish part of Newcastle off the Boulevard called Waterloo Square,I had a very nice Pad Chai with vegetables and tofu for my main after some spicy squid rings with plum and tamarind dips. It's not particularly cheap (we had a fixed price menu of £20 for three courses) but it's not outrageously expensive either. For what its worth, if you are in Newcastle and want to go out for a meal I would recommend it.
My daughter is off to Thailand and Laos for a month In July after she finishes her exams. This is a trip organised through her school by World Challenge. Part of the deal is that she has to raise at least some of the money herself and do community work whilst she is out there.
Her World Challenge team organised a fundraiser at a local restaurant this week( luckily the owner’s son is a friend of hers) and that is how we ended up eating out on a Monday night.
South East Asian ( principally Vietnamese) cuisine doesn’t figure very highly on my list of must eat foods but I admit I was pleasantly surprised by the venue, and the quality on offer. Here is a link to the website.
The venue is in a newish part of Newcastle off the Boulevard called Waterloo Square,I had a very nice Pad Chai with vegetables and tofu for my main after some spicy squid rings with plum and tamarind dips. It's not particularly cheap (we had a fixed price menu of £20 for three courses) but it's not outrageously expensive either. For what its worth, if you are in Newcastle and want to go out for a meal I would recommend it.
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