Airborne moron..

There are a few downsides to the fact that these days almost anyone can afford to fly. These days any fool with a drinking problem and a few bob can hop on a flight and cause a nuisance. I suppose you could argue it's progress and democracy but I'm sure flight attendants would see it slightly differently and no mistake.

Fluffy bunny story

Some animal rights botherers are real twats ...

Ah..politics.

Let's hear it for Blighty!

Finally an article that describes some of my own feelings about some of the anti-English notions that so many people seem to cultivate. Being of Irish and Australian descent I should perhaps join in when it comes to this pathetic hobby but I just can't. I live in England and I find it a wonderful place in which to live with many very agreeable people all around. Get a life, the English are not as bad as some Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Australian people seem to think they are. Sigh..

'Our beloved leader'

So we have our new Prime Minister in office for a few weeks and what do I think? So far Gordon Brown has had quite a bit to deal with already; floodings, muslim attacks, food and mouth disease (not him personally but rather the farmers' livestock). I think he still has a tendency to render himself slightly invisible when something needs addressing. But perhaps he just takes his time to formulate a response to grave matters whereas Tony Blur would always jump at the chance to grab the limelight. This PM seems to have much more gravitas than Huggy Blair ever did.

I can't image Brown appearing in a tired yet popular juvenile comedy programme doing a skit in a desperate attempt to appear 'with it' and 'down with the kids'.

I hope Gordon Brown will be able to sort a few things out. Everyday the news features another case of murder or vicious brutal assault. There seems to be a moral crisis resulting in some horrific violence if the press is to be believed.

I wouldn't mind if he tackled the inadequate public transport system. As long as it's cheaper to fly from London to Manchester than it is to take the train traffic woes will continue. I'd like to use the train more often but I would probably have to re-mortgage to do so.

I'm glad by the way that Brown spoke out about the present troubles in Burma. Bush has also used some strong language in condemning the vile military junta in that country. It's suprisingly quiet in Europe regarding the monks' protest. But then, you don't expect to find much in the way of a spine among politicians on the Continent. Tant pis.

"Those were the days..."

Boris TV

Interview with Boris Johnson, Mayoral candidate for London:

Not good..

What's in a name ?

Go shopping with Ashop

shopping cart software is a must have for anyone thinking of selling goods online. It makes running a shop online very easy indeed. All you need to set up shop on the web is readily available from this source. No need for lengthy procedures that complicate things, this is all you will ever need to start selling on the internet.

I have my own shop online and have been selling my books and images there. One thing I have found is that it makes a world of difference if you have the right marketing tools to make things run smoothly. It is not enough to have a product to sell. You also need to make it easy for customers to purchase your wares in the blink of an eye without confusing interfaces or inappropriate software.

Likewise, it helps the store owner if the online shop is easy to manage, manage and supervise. With Ashop Commerce all of this is taken care of in a professional and efficient manner.

Autumn rears its head

It's a quiet Sunday and all of a sudden the weather has turned rather autumnal. Grrr. I generally love living in a part of the world where there are noticeable seasons as such but I always loathe moving from one to another. It's not so much the fact that Summer is now over but I hate the actual few days of moving from balmy sunny late September into grey, slightly chilly October. Oh well. Soon it will be dark and gloomy when I get up in the morning and when I leave work. Long, dark evenings can turn one a tad sullen. Must be why the Scandinavian countries boast the highest suicide rates and alcohol-related problems. Perhaps I should move to California, Spain or the Australian Gold Coast?
I think I'll stick around for a while longer and just wear a jumper when it gets cold. Where have you gone, dear sweet Summer? I hardly knew you..

Blogsvertise

Just joined Blogsvertise http://www.blogsvertise.com/ who seem like a good outfit to get involved with. It's not that easy to find a paying blogsite that offers enough opportunities to make it worthwhile but this one may just turn out to be a good one. I'll keep you posted as to any progress on this front...

Friday therapy

'You’re relaxed and feeling good about yourself... you’re receptive to new ideas... I’m increasing my fees... Nothing in life is a problem...’

Aussie Rules

After having spent valuable time with my Australian visitors I still think about the time I went to that fabulous land myself. What a great place. And the sheer size was overwhelming. I intend to get back there again sometime soon. I'll keep you informed of any progress..

The Vaults

The Highbury Vaults, Bristol

The last few days saw me showing some Antipodean friends around merry Bristol. Of course I took them to see the famous bridge, the refined streets of Clifton, the town centre and more. But perhaps the most enjoyable afternoon was spent in one of Bristol's nicest pubs, the Highbury Vaults. This is the sort of pub where you won't find loud music rendering conversation impossible, or sports on vast screens or anything like that. Just superb ales and bitters on draught. Okay, if you absolutely desire a mere lager you can have that too. At the back is a lovely open air courtyard where you can sit in the sunshine (where available), and sit in comfort sipping from a fabulous pint of beer.

A few memorable hours passed slowly in good harmony with a good friend from another hemisphere. I won't forget it in a hurry I can tell you. Sometimes life is just very, very good.

In the Salon

Home improvements with Anglian

A few years ago, my darling wife and I bought a Victorian terraced property that we both fell in love with. We never looked back. Not for us a newly built soulless apartment or house on a new estate that could be anywhere. I love the few original features of our old house, the high ceilings that denote a lovely sense of space, the sheer character of the place.

One of the home improvements that we soon chose to carry out was having new double glazed windows installed. This proved to be a painless and surprisingly reasonably priced experience once we decided to make use of the services of Anglian. If you browse their site at:
http://www.anglianhome.co.uk/conservatories.htm you will see that Anglian specialise in all manner of home improvements, for instance conservatories, windows, rooftrims, doors, garage doors, even driveways and kitchens.

There is nothing like owning your own home and taking the time and applying the care to make improvements. What you are working on belongs to you and that is a very good feeling. And, of course, any improvement is an investment in your property.

I was very pleased with my decision to have our new windows installed by Anglian. Nice one!

Visitors

This weekend I shall be entertaining some visitors from abroad for a few days. They will have been travelling around Ireland and they will come by in Bristol on their way back to the Southern hemisphere. I always enjoy showing visitors around Bristol; it's quite an interesting place to see with a fascinating history.

When I still lived in Amsterdam I would sometimes get visitors who wanted to be shown around without ever putting in any say or suggestion as to what they'd like to see. I found this quite unsettling. It's good fun to show people things and sights they're interested in but when they just follow the leader and don't show any interest in any one thing over the other it can become something of a chore.

I suppose there's an art to being a good host and guide but equally there is an art to being a good guest and visitor. We'll see what happens..

England beat Russia

Last night I enjoyed a blokey night in watching the football on telly. England were up against Russia in a crucial qualifier for next year's European Championships in Austria and Switserland. It was to see England play a very confident match and ending up outclassing the Russians on all fronts. Michael Owen, the injury-prone striker, is back on form again and scored two fabulous goals. It was also a laugh to see the slightly ungainly defender Rio Ferdinand score a cheeky goal. That was indeed, as one of the commentators said, the icing on the cake. When England play well the atmosphere is always electric and last night Wembley, that great home of football, was buzzing. The team had given its supporters something to cheer about. Great stuff!

PayPerPost Rules!

I joined PayPerPost a few weeks ago and have since grown to really like this opportunity for bloggers to earn money. The system really works well and it’s easy to navigate around the website and find suitable offers. At first I thought my blog did not qualify for any opportunities but soon they started appearing and I have made good use of these.

At the moment I am waiting to have some posts approved and am expecting to be paid nearly sixty dollars. Another thing I like about PayPerPost is the variety of the opportunities that are offered. When I started out I thought it might be all about gambling or other tedious business ventures but you get all sorts to write about. Some posts require a hundred words or more; others are quick and easy ones that only need fifty words. PayPerPost is very good to increase your traffic generation , it really works well!

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Bombs away!

The Russians test a new bomb that is bigger and 'badder' than the Mother of all Bombs of the Americans. At least it's good to know the Russian bomb is environmentally friendly ...

Mine's a Norse one!

Always knew those Vikings enjoyed a drink or two..

The anguish of a mother

The saga of missing toddler Madeleine McCann just goes on and on. Today, the McCanns returned home to Leistershire to find an empty house and no doubt the attentions of the British press who have, of course, been supportive so far. I can't imagine the hell that Madeleine's parents must inhabit at the moment and what they have had to deal with for the past few months, ever since that little girl disappeared from their holiday appartment.

Now, they have been made offical suspects by the Portuguese police and you have to wonder about that, really. If they were in any way culpable for the girl's death would they be able to be brazen enough to launch one of the largest media campaigns imaginable in the hope of raising peoples' attention for their plight? Doesn't quite make sense. Would Madeleine's mother, a devout Catholic, be able to seek an audience with a sympathetic Pope if she had any part in Madeleine's disappearance?

I think the Portuguese were getting fed up with this couple who just didn't want to give up the search for their child. A lot of criticism had been directed towards the fumbling police there in the Algarve and the enormous level of publicity must have started to become very tiresome for some people in that part of the world.

Personally, I admire the McCanns for raising such a campaign and not giving in. They are fighting for their child. Who wouldn't do the same?

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Kingswood view

Shot this picture the other day close to where I live. It's a view over North Bristol towards the Bristol Channel and Wales in the distance. It was a nice bright day and I took my new camera for a walk in order to shoot some images in the neighbourhood. Lateron, I submitted this picture to the BBC Bristol's Points West television programme and it was used on Friday's programme in Richard Angwin's weather report where he usually shows submitted images as a backdrop to his weather forecast. It was fun to see my picture big on the television screen. They even spelt my name correctly in the credits..