It went to Spain and back - but it's finally condemned to the skip!

As a child I played the piano. I loved playing the piano and I wasn't too bad. I always wanted to be able to play free-style, where I could just sit down and play for a 'sing-a-long'. I always thought that was such a cool thing to be able to do.

College years saw me move away from the family home and away from the piano and I lost the skill to play even with sheet music infront of me.

Then marriage to someone who wasn't interested in music meant that several years passed without me touching a piano, although I still had some of my favourite books of music on my bookshelf.

In the early-1990's I finally decided I would get back into playing and bought a mini-keyboard. I couldn't play it. The smaller keys meant my piano training had me instinctively reaching beyond the keys I wanted to play. An 8 note octave covered 10 notes. It sounded like Les Dawson on a bad day.

Once again I lost the enjoyment and put away my keyboard.

In 1996, as a final birthday gift my ex bought me this keyboard. It has full size keys so now I hit the note I was supposed to. But it only had 6 octaves and I missed the extra 2 - even though the majority of the times I didn't need them.

I tried very hard to to play it well, but it never captured my interest as much as the piano had. I even had lessons to try and make it sound right, but it never did. But it was a good keyboard, it wasn't its fault I couldn't get on with it.

Then Dad decided he would like a keyboard, he loved computers and he wanted to play around with connecting his computer to the kepboard and make music.

Eventually he bought a newer model and I got my old one back. I still didn't play but I was reluctant to admit I wouldn't play it again.

When we went to Spain, it came too. Wrapped in bubble wrap it went into storage with the rest of our furniture and there it seemed to develop a problem. It was probably from the extreme summer heat, but when we finally got it out of storage parts of the casing seemed to have melted and certain keys didn''t work anymore, and it did odd things.

Still I kept it. After all, I wasn't working so I had time to set it up and try once more to master it. Oh dear, that was never going to work. Some of the notes were definitely not true anymore and made my amateurish playing sound that much worse. It sounded as if I was playing half a note to the left of where I should be.

Even then it didn't get thrown down the Rambla to join the other oddments of kids toys, clothing and the old wheel chair that were tipped down there when the original farmhouse was knocked down. No, it went back into its bubble wrap and came back to the UK with us.

But finally, during a clear out it has been condemned to the skip. Not only does it not work properly anymore - neither do my fingers. Arthritis is finally starting to restrict the movement of my fingers. When the pain flares up it is difficult to stretch my hands and straighten my fingers.

And so, it is with some reluctance I admit the inevitable, I am never going to attain the level of competence where I will be able to sit down at a piano in a bar and entertain the masses.

Maybe if I'd had another piano things may have been different but it's too late to find out now.

I still have my music books and can still read them and hear the notes being played.

Somehow I think those will stay on my bookshelves for the duration.

Thought provoking!

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Benjamin Franklin - 1789

We don't have a choice when we pay our taxes but, should we have the right to choose when we die?

From an early age I have read books. I have books on my shelves that I read as a child and have vivid memories of many more. As an adult I have a liking for a variety of genres but there is one author who dominates my bookshelves.

I first started reading his books when he published his first book back in 1983. Browsing along the section of new releases in my local book store I did as I always did, picked up the book and started to read the first page. By the time I had turned to page 2 I knew I had found a book I would enjoy.

After reading his 2nd book I knew I was a fan and was hoping his writing career would have longevity. By book 3 & 4 I was not only waiting for the publishing date but, I was joining the queues of fans who would wait at book signings to have the new release and any previous books they owned signed by the author.

By book 8 I would turn up with a bag of his favourite sweets, the blue liquorice allsorts - do you know how many bags I had to buy to get a small bag solely of the little blue sweets?

He was churning books out at a rate of one per year and I was always at the bookstore on the first day of release, and the book was generally read within the week.

As his popularity grew so did the queues at book signings. From a wait of about an hour in the early years I found myself happily waiting for 3 or 4 hours, just to have my new tome signed by such a genius.

Then in 1996 I lost all of my treasures in a custody battle when I split with my first husband. In a fit of pique my ex informed me that I could have none of my books, my hamster or my wedding album if I left. I left anyway and continued to buy the new releases. 

In 1998 I had my photo taken with him, and while I don't know which album that photo is in, I know it is still with me to this date.

My dad and I shared a love of his books, we would read and re-read them and spend hours discussing them. My dad's collection was a little hit and miss and so, in 2007, I went on ebay and bought books 1-20 for him. A collection I inherited when dad died 3 years ago.

As someone I didn't really know, I felt I knew him as well as some of my friends. Any magazine article or tv programs, of which there were few, were eagerly absorbed and so it came as a major shock to hear that Terry Pratchett had been diagnosed with the early onset of alzheimers in late 2007.

While he continued to write and deal with the increasing symptoms he also started to look at the situation with assisted deaths in the UK. He expressed his wish that, at a time of his choosing he wanted the right to end his life.

It's a highly controversial topic on so many levels and suddenly, here is a high profile author, known, loved and followed by millions bringing the topic into the forefront of everyday life.

Again, over the years I've read a number of articles prompted by his latest discussion over his illness but nothing brought home the intensity of making such a decision as the program screened last Monday. This brought it right into our home and didn't pull any punches. I can't say it made any changes to my thoughts on the topic, I can see both sides of the argument but I'm sure this is one of those topics that views can change if you suddenly find yourself dealing with an actual illness rather than discussing a hypothetical what-if scenario.

Needless to say, I will continue to follow Sir Terry's journey as his illness progresses and continue to read his books for as long as he his able to write them.

Rarely does a TV program have such a profound effect on me as this one did.

May whatever choice he makes be some years off yet.

How can a simple task be so complicated?

I am generally quite capable at working out how to do basic tasks and can pick up new tasks relatively quickly but every now and then one gets you where no matter how hard you try - it just doesn't happen.

Like refilling a franking machine.

My boss decided she would show me how to do it so that she no longers needs to bother about it. I spend most of the postage anyway by the volume of post I send out so I may as well be responsible for making sure there's always money in the machine.

Franking machines are not an unknown item to me so how hard could it be.

Sign in - check
Press the money symbol - check
Enter the amount to refill by - check
Enter the 4 digit security code - check
Done

OK. So, how come it took me and my boss 10 minutes of button pressing, a lot of hysterical laughter and a result whereby we finally completed the transaction only to find we had topped it up with the grand sum of Zero?

Be careful world, we're poised to take over!

How to save a mint and then spend it!

When we came back from Spain last year, we were unable to get a cretificate of no claims from our insurers over there and so, when it came time to insure the cars we bought we were both on a full premium. This meant our insurance for both cars came to above £1,600.

This year we've managed to both gain a years no claims bonus and after a bit of work looking around we've managed to get our renewal for just under half the amount paid last year.

Result!

And so, I decided I could now book myself in for an eye exam and new glasses as the ones I wear have become covered in scratches making it difficult to see on occassions.

Although I knew my distance vision hasn't altered much in the last 3 years, if at all, I am stuggling with my near vision now and working at my desk can be quite difficult. I'm ok with my computer work but when filling forms in or writing at my desk I either have to take my glasses off and almost have my forehead on the desk or try and write with my arm at full stretch - and even then, it's not long enough some times.

At my eye exam last night I was told I needed intermediate glasses - now this is not something I've heard of before but they will allow me to work at my desk better and still allow me to see my computer screen. They are similar to varifocals, in that the lens is graded and I will look through the top half of the lens at my computer but the bottom half of the lens to see the papers on my desk. However, unlike varifocals, the change is much less dramatic and I shouldn't suffer the feelings of swaying and motion that I did when I tried varifocals.

And so, even with the discount for buying 2 pairs together I have spent the majority of the savings I made on the insurance.

Ah well, easy come, easy go! At least I'll be able to see the money flow away from me more clearly with my new glasses!

New Friends

Sometimes, Brinkley wakes me in the early hours and wants to go outside. Sometimes it's barely light enough to see him disappear up the garden. He normally mooches around a little, does what he needs to do and comes back in. But this morning somthing kept his attention beyond his normal curiosity level.

At the back of the house it was still quite dark and I could barely make out what was so interesting. At first I thought it may be something that had fallen from the roof. What ever it was, Brinkley would not come way from it. In the end I went into the house to get a torch and once there was a bit of light on the area this is what I saw.

It was very small and just sitting there. Not moving, it looked as if it had run out of energy and was in need of a rest, and the last thing it needed was some strange, hairy monster taking an interest. I kept a close eye on Brinkley to make sure he didn't hurt it but he kept getting closer and closer, until he got this close.

Eventually, I managed to persuade Brinkley to leave his new friend and come back into the house (well, I picked him up and carried him in, closing the door firmly behind us!) Brinkley paced around desperate to get back outside but I wouldn't let him and eventually he gave up and went back to bed.

In the morning, the little bird had gone. Hopefully, after a little rest it had managed to fly away to meet up with his family. All that was left of that early morning adventure was the photo.

Thanksgiving - USA Style.

As an avid fan of 'Friends' and many other U.S. sitcoms and Romcoms, I've always enjoyed watching the portrayal of Thanksgiving as a great, social, annual event.

We've visited California at a variety of times throughout the year. We've been to Yosemite in Spring when the river was vibrant with the melting snows and the wateralls beyond words.

We've visited California when the summer sun had baked the green, lush hills into the parched grasslands that give the State its name - The Golden State.

We've visited California in the fall when the leaves glowed with autumnal reds, oranges and yellows.

We've visited California on Labour Day weekend and got married.

We've visited California on Memorial Day and played in a golf tournament to raise funds for our friend's local church.

And now we're going to visit California for Thanksgiving. We're going to spend time with our friends and experience the tradition for real, rather than watching it on programs on TV.

The air tickets are booked, the visa waiver application forms submitted and approved.

We're definitely going.

And I am SO excited!

163 days and counting!

Go Ahead Please!

A couple of days ago I received a phone call at work which was a totally new experience for me. The operator asked me if I could take a text call and had I taken such a call previously. She explained that the caller may either be deaf or have difficulties speaking.

Yes, I can take the call and No, I've never taken one before. She explained to me that the person calling was using a relay service by which they typed the message and the operator relayed that message to me. I would then tell her my reply and she would type it back to the caller and so on. To signify that I had finished each part of my reply and to indicate to the caller that it was their turn to respond I needed to say 'Go Ahead'. Obviously the modern equivalent of 'Over & Out'.

It was important that I spoke my replies as if I was talking direct to the caller, as the operator would type exactly what I said, but it was initially difficult not to answer the operator and refer to the caller in the 3rd person. But, I soon got the hang of it and the conversation started.

There were a few complications in that the caller was having trouble with their text phone and we got cut off a couple of times, and there was an issue with our product that had not been resolved but, I was able to help sort out for a fitter to call to see them the following day and to hold the conversation as if speaking to them direct.

It was quite an odd conversation initially but, after a little while getting used to the delays while my reply was sent to the caller and for them to type their response, it soon started to flow. I remembered to thank the caller for contacting us and to finish the call correctly as I would with anyone and when I put the phone down I was just amazed at technology - it had never really occurred to me that this service existed.

For more info take a look at the link.

http://www.textrelay.org/using_textphone.php