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1 - Woke up late after loads of sleep! Called M/D and sang happy birthday to the 'old man'. Touched base with Sis1 who was on her way down to visit them. Had a knock on the door from Jehovas Witnesses!!!! Unusually got bogged down in disputing their beliefs and stood at the door debating for ages. Lost the plot and ended up talking about dinosaurs?!!! I need to get a life! . . . sorted out some of my clothes and tried to make a pile for the charity shop. Not a very big pile - a case of 'I never wear that but I could'!! . . . nervously washed one of the 'dry clean only' throws from the living room three piece - the one that PS had covered in chocolate, and black from his waxed waterproof jacket. Seems to be ok. . . sat around till it was time to think about going to the first blues guitar course evening. Spent ages trying to figure out how to get the guitar safely strapped to my back to go on the bike. Eventually half pushed it into an old postmans delivery bag I still have lying around and managed to precariously set off. Almost crashed into the back of an idiot on his mobile phone who stopped without warning in the middle of the road waiting to turn right without signaling. Very angry he jeopardised my guitar all stuck up in the air on my back and I lost my temper, blew my horn and shouted plenty of obscenities to the 'amusement' of onlookers. The 'teacher' had cancelled so someone else had taken his place. A woman from some other country who could play loads of instruments - and fluent English too! Some people are just born with 'talent'. Thankfully I was not the 'worst' there - phew! Hid behind my guitar lots! Not surprisingly my fingers turned to rubber and my mind to jelly every time she looked at how I was doing!!!! Horrible when it was suggested we should break off into pairs and do some practicing. Just cannot play anything with an audience!!! Terrible embarassment!!! Was she really serious that we could arrange a 'concert' for the end of the classes once we'd learnt something? Surely not!!!!! I'm busy that day - whenever it is. Finished at 9pm and gingerly rode home. Stressful experience - and it really shouldn't be!!! Grrrrrrr! I'd be happy with a fraction of the self confidence some of those others have. Ho hum . . . (4/10)pa
2 - Up late after a reasonable amount of sleep. Surfed a little looking at guitar sites and on-line 'radio stations'!?. Dunno what is wrong with my connection but always seems to be distorted and suffer from 'net congestion' and 'buffering'. . . looked out the front room window at some point and found the bike had fallen over in the garden!!!!!! Oh no!!!!!!!! Nasty struggle to lift it back upright. Seemed to have survived ok apart from a dent in the exhaust downpipe - the one that was already blowing and rusted out at the cylinder head flange. Started up ok but awful noises!!! Took the exhaust off and took it out onto the patio and set about trying to reconstruct the rusted away flange with stainless wire from the MIG welder. Nightmare - welding, grinding, filing - but seemed acceptable eventually. Fitted it back to the bike and went for a test drive. Already on reserve headed for the nearest petrol station only to fund it closed - for refurbishment? Headed for the next nearest I could think of and was amazed to find that closed too!!! Wondered if I had missed the news and there was a petrol crisis - worried I would be soon pushing the thing. Eventually found a funny little place with old fashioned analogue pumps open and was actually 'served' by some old guy. Unusual these days. . . Bike was going really badly!!!?? Strange noises all over the place and plenty of backfiring even though the exhaust was more or less air tight!!!! Something has gone horribly wrong. Bikes are not meant to be left lying down for long. . . accidentally ended up at the dogs home and took Caesar for a LONG walk. Good practice - had to make use of the poop scoop bags they give out for the first time. Warm and squishy!!! Ewwwwww!!! As usual he tried to eat every dog that came near - took ALL my strength to stop him!! Tried to make the walk entertaining and to get a feel of what he may really be like. Some nervousness in him. Tried to let him run on the lead a bit but I couldn't easily keep up and soon had to stop for a sit down and cigarette at which point he got all friendly and rolled over to present his belly for some stroking. Even took him over the high footbridge over the river just to see how he would make out. Workmen were repainting and had a generator on the bridge all noisily revving but he hardly batted an eyelid as he passed inches by. He WAS however well aware of how high we were. Didn't realise until I watched him but you could see through gaps in the planks underfoot right down to the river far below. He crouched and seemed to step squarely onto each plank as if he may fall through. Very funny, but he coped ok. The longer the walk went on the less he pulled - improved even more when I surprised him and took him on a route around the streets he probably hasn't done before. Some nervousness when closely approached by a big noisy lorry. Hardly surprising really. . . rode home with more weird nasty noises and backfiring! Overcome with 'down' feelings for no apparent reason. Sat around and lay down for a nap to try and sleep it off. Woken after only half an hour by the doorbell - the new yellow pages had been left on the doorstep!! Hate it when they do that - what if I was away for a couple of weeks?!! Grrrr . . . just getting back to sleep and the phone went - let the ansaphone take it. Let the ansaphone take it again! Eventually got a couple of hours sleep and woke feeling better. Called PS back and said ok . . . rushed out for sausage and chips . . . PS popped round for chats till early. He mentioned on the way round he'd seen an old VW camper for sale up the road. After he'd gone around midnight couldn't resist going out for a walk to see it. Crazy guy - NOT an old VW and NOT a camper van - a minibus!!! . . . PCd till early. Feedback on the website from someone saying I SHOULD get a dog! There is a coincedence. If only I was capable of actually making a decision about anything!!!!! Maybe I should hold a 'poll'? lololol Get a life by proxy. (3/10)pas
3 - Up real late. Tried ringing the Milne Centre for the results from last week but wouldn't you know it - only between 12 and 1 and not on Wednesdays! . . .got my phone bill - OUCH!!! . . .sat around/slept . . . TVd/PCd . . . difficulty getting to sleep. (3/10)pa
4 - Up late after thankfully quite a bit of sleep. . .Got the bike out and finally got round to taking the chord less phone that stopped working within a month of purchase back to the shop. Should have returned it sooner but they thankfully gave me a refund without too much hassle. Phew. . . Went to the doctors surgery and made an appointment to see him in a few weeks for my next Prozac supply . . . Loaded up a bag of surplus clothes and stuff and dropped it off at the charity shop. . . Shopped. Narrowly avoided being reversed into by an idiot in the car park. Some people are SO full of themselves they seem ignorant of anyone around them! Some incredulous shouting of abuse on my part. Amazing how different I act on the bike wearing my 'badass' biker image! Soft and fluffy really. . . sat on the phone for at least half an hour repeatedly trying to call the Milne Centre for my test results. Infuriating - either engaged, or through to a switchboard or through to an ansaphone telling me to call at the time I WAS calling!!! Eventually kicked up a fuss with the poor innocent on the switchboard and finally got put through to someone. Apparently they were short staffed through sickness and no one was there to give out results. Well why on earth didn't they put that on the ansaphone message then?!!!! Grrrrrr. Asked if I turned up and banged on the counter if I could get the results and was told yes after two o'clock . . . quick bite to eat and decided to have a quick look at the bike exhaust again before trying to coax it down through town. Uh oh - the repair I'd made had not been as good as I thought. Hurriedly got the welders out and had another go on the patio. BIG mistake trying the arc welder - as expected the metal of the exhaust was so thin, in a flash and puff of smoke a huge piece of it disappeared!!! Franticly tried to reconstruct the missing piece with the MIG welder rushing against the clock. Did not go well but well enough to put it back on the bike around 2:30pm. Still blowing!! . . . rode to the Milne Centre and did not have to wait very long at all before I was called and given the good news. All tests negative so just the problem I know about. Good. . . touched base briefly with CW but she was not in a position at work to be able to chat . . . touched base with M/D. Oh no!!!!! Dad is ill!!!!!!! He'd had a funny fainting/collapsing turn again and was all bedridden, sick and headachy!!!! Only days before their US holiday too!!!!! . . . TVd. TV at its best - program all about the British victims and families of the World Trade Centre outrage. Haven't cried like that for quite a while. Another program all about the finding of a missing link fossil of one of mankind's evolutionary ancestors. One comment seemed to sum up how I see things and seemed worthy of remembering for my next doorstep meeting with Jehovas witnesses - "Man is nothing more than an upright ape with a big brain." . . . PCd till early. Wrestling with down feelings lots. (3/10)ps
5 - Up real late. Called the doctors surgery and changed the appointment because it coincided with my 6 monthly dentist checkup . . . sat around aimlessly . . . touched base with M/D. Dad seems a little better. . . parcel arrived from BB!! Yayyyy. Was convinced it had gone missing. Touched base with BB. Opened it up and felt all 'funny'. Tried to nap for a bit but failed and soon got back up and did some chores . . . popped out on the bike and bought myself a couple of large stainless steel bowls. Really quite cheap. Should come in useful for mixing filler and paint and - well - maybe dogfood sometime in the future? . . . fell asleep for a couple of hours . . . TVd and watched the first two parts of "Band Of Brothers" on BBC2. Powerful stuff!! . . . PCd till eary. Touched base with Sis2 who seems okish despite ongoing health problems. (3/10)pa
6 - Touched base with M/D. Dad answered and seems better than he was. Agreed it was probably whatever I had a week or so ago when I had my funny turn. Should be cleared up in a day or so. . .PCd, in the abscence of the will to do anything else. TVd . . . lay down for a short nap. Woken about six hours later by BB calling!! Damn - sleep pattern all shot to hell again. Up most of the night watching TV and surfing a little. Ended up eating garlic sausage rolls at about five in the morning!!! Eventually to bed.(3/10)ps
7 - Up around 10am. Touched base with M/D. Dad seems much better although apparantly WAS acting a bit weird yesterday when they went out. Is it possible to have mini, hardly noticeable strokes? . . . SH popped in for a coffee between jobs. Returned his metal detector . . . Much wind and rain outside. Sat around and surfed a fair bit all over the place including the document of so called 'evidence' implicating Osama Bin Laden issued by Downing Street. Finally got round to using a candle and a hot needle to etch some of the rubbed off letters back onto my keyboard. Bit wobbly but worked ok - actually like the feel of the rough raised edges on my finger tips - less slippy. . . around 6pm Dad briefly rang and told me to put the TV on - bombs had begun to drop in Afghanistan!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh jeeze!!!!! Watched the news - felt like holding my breath!!!!! Oh jeeze!!!!! Recalled a bit of Tony Blaires excellent speech to the Labour party conference last week - "So there is no compromise possible with such people. There is no meeting of minds, no point of understanding with such terror. Just a choice: defeat it or be defeated by it. And defeat it, we must." . . . God save us all!!!!!!!! . . . PS called and said 'tonight?' I said ok but warned I'd be watching the news all evening! . . . PS popped round for chats and quite a bit of silence watching the news till early . . . PCd till even earlier. (3/10)ps
8 - Up late again and put the news on right away. Cable company are doing a month of trying to entice me to pay for more channels by giving me several free. Excellent. Shame it doesn't include CNN! . . .PCd and TVd the day away . . . went for a kebab . . . went on the bike to my guitar lesson. Stressful and tiring . . . TVd/PCd - relatively early to bed. (3/10)pa
9 - Up late again!!! Blimey - that must have been about nine hours sleep straight! . . . TVd/PCd . . . shopped on the bike and drew out some money and bought a couple of US 50 dollar bills from the travel agent Bureau De Change to put in the 'You have a new home' card for M/D to take to Sis2. . . TVd. Feeling rather unsettled - had a small glass of red wine for the first time in ages . . . PCd till early. (3/10)p
10 - Called M/D to find them just leaving . . .Sis2 called!!! She'd just missed them - wanted details of flights and times etc cause she had mislayed the itinery in her house move. Touched base with M/D to check they had their mobile phone on. Scanned and mailed the itinery to Sis2 and called her back for a quick chat. They all seem pretty excited which is cool . . . touched base with Sis1 who was about to go to work. . . M/D popped in briefly and offloaded my dad-repaired drill, stones for the garden, etc. Mum is in her usual nervous 'up tight' fasting frame of mind although Dad was persuaded to have a couple of doughnuts with his coffee. Unexpectedly presented with a big cheque! Wow! Sharing out the 'inheritance' equally to each of the kids before they go!!! Wow!!! Despite their instructions it is doubtful I will be able to give myself permission to spend any of it - will add it to my paranoid 'need for security' savings . . . Hugged and waved them goodbye around 1:45pm . . . left an ansaphone message for Sis1 telling her it would be in her interest to pop in when she finishes work. Unexpectedly she called me back and demanded I tell her what was up. Made sure she wanted me to then told her about the envelope awaiting her with the cheque inside from M/D. Made very cheerful. . . Touched base with M/D and confirmed they were safely installed in their overnight hotel . . .TVd . . . LB knocked at the door and handed me a plate of left over cottage pie! Brief chats. She seemed happy. . . TVd/spotted frogs in the garden for a while - strangely 'warm' outside . . . strange comment in my visitor book - and the date seems to be wrong. Not into such hocus pocus but I DO have a candle which would be ideal - may light it and think some things . . . suddenly had a bit of a guitar frenzy and ended up surfing guitar stuff and twiddling a bit until the early hours. (5/10)pas
11 - Up late. M/D called on the mobile safely at the airport and all ready to go. Sounded SO excited. Staying overnight at the hotel was a VERY good idea. :o) . . .received an e-mail from PS letting me know that CL - woman who used to be one of the bosses at work had died. Didn't like her - didn't like her a lot - but she was very young! Sad . . .wasted away some time playing images on the PC . . . Sis1 popped in all happy to pick up her envelope from M/D . . . ate the meal LB had donated last night. Really nice as usual - she sure can cook drunk or sober . . . PCd some more. What a waste of time!!!! . . . lit a candle and sat cross legged in meditation on a cushion for a short while before my legs gave out. Ended up falling asleep on the living room floor for about half an hour!!!!!!!!! . . . PS popped round for chats till early . . . M/D+Sis2 called. All safely arrived and everything went ok. :o) . . . PCd till real early and then difficulty sleeping. (4/10)pas
12 - Up very late with a big headache AGAIN!!!!? Nice and unseasonaly warm and sunny forecast for a day or so . . . pottered in the garden just a little . . . shopped but SO hot walking!! 'Treated' myself to a new washing up bowl for the sink! Oh the excitement! . . . Went to PC but found I couldn't connect! Worried the modem was broken but then realised the phone line was not working at all!!! Checked with a neighbour and found they had the same problem - good old Telewest cable company - NOT!!! They really do offer THE worst possible service. Always a problem of one kind or another. I would strongly recommend any prospective new customer should avoid them like the plague!!! Tried ringing on my mobile (which seems to have finally given up the ghost with its batteries - will NOT take a charge any more! ) with it plugged into the mains. Got through eventually only to hear a recorded message saying they are aware of a problem. Great!! Grrrrr. Back on around 5pm? . . . surfed for a while but eventually gave up when the connection proved it wasn't up to it!! . . . missed BB calling to touch base when I was in the shower. Thankfully she called back later. . . briefly sat in the garden in the dark with 3 frogs - very warm and pleasant out. I want to live in peace! . . . real early to bed - before midnight! (4/10)pa
13 - Blimey - slept for ten hours straight - and STILL feel tired and headachey!!?. . . sat in the garden - kinda damp and a bit misty out but SO nice and warm - like a summers day. Encouraged to potter outside so I finally got round to placing the stones that M/D had brought up as stepping stones all round the pond. Looks better than those tile pieces I had in before . . . touched base with Sis1 who was off work sick!! Oh dear. Got her to phone me back to test out the chordless phone M/D had donated after deciding it wasn't right for them . . . touched base briefly with M/D/Sis2 on my phone from the garden . . . PS daughter appeared at my door and handed me a casette tape before rejoining her parents in their car. PS had copied a Janis Joplin "Greatest Hits" tape for me because I'd asked if he had a copy of 'Me and Bobby McGee' because that was what we were supposed to be attempting to practice on the guitar this week. I've never heard of it!!! Forced myself to sit through the tape!!! Ugggh!!!! Someone should've told that woman that 'screaming' is not singing!!! Still cant figure out what sort of strumming it was we were supposed to be trying!!! . . . SA called for a chat. What a surprise. Chatted for ages and even made a coffee and called her back - for ages more!!!! Uh oh ££!!!!! . . . TVd . . .PCd till early. (4/10)ps
14 - Up mid morning. Sat in the garden quite warm even though it was all damp in the air. Everything looks really green and lush. Nice. Yayy - a couple of blue tits showd a passing interest in the bird boxes!! Who knows - maybe next breeding season? . . . touched base with Sis1 who i'd forgotten to phone back yesterday as i had promised . . . sat around pretty aimlessly and then surfed a little looking at camper vans and local GSD for sale adverts in the Trade-It . . . lay down to nap and the doorbell rang! PS popped in for a quick chat . . . lay down to nap again and the doorbell rang again!! BW popped in for a quick chat and to show me his new car. Wow - a flashy blue Toyota MR2. How few miles to the gallon - HOW much for insurance?!! Jeeze! Taken out for a ride - not sure how fast we were going on the ring road cause the speedo only goes up to 120mph!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice penis extension I guess. lololol . . . TVd/PCd . . . UncleTJ rang asking for Sis2 number so he could touch base with M/D. Obliged. Touched base myself too later. Bizarre phone conversation with everyone on different phones and dad on one up in Sis2s attic checking that the roof didn't leak after a torrential downpour?!!!!! Funny family . . . had a cigarette in the garden in between showers and saved a couple of worms who had thrown themselves to certain death on the patio. Fed another one a leaf! Fascinating again to see it flailing around trying to find one and then when it found the one I put down it grabbed it and quickly withdrew with it into its burrow. Amazing 'grip' they have - and how do they know they have found a leaf?! More clever than we realise. . . PCd. (4/10)pa
15 - Up late again after a long sleep! Oh dear - seems as though I am entering winter hibernation mode already! Oh dear. Wet and miserable outside. Popped round and posted the card Mum had asked me to post to her friend in her absecence. . . Strong, strong desire NOT to go to tonights guitar lesson . . .PCd and tried to tidy up a couple of loose ends from that strange time this last year, now passed, when I was rampaging around the net getting up to all sorts. STILL getting automated e-mails from here and there which no matter what I do I seem unable to stop! . . . fell asleep for a couple more hours after eating and then sat around but gradually seemed to feel more 'up'. . . rode the bike to the guitar class. Feels very like winter in the air but thankfully hasn't rained on a Monday evening yet. Getting into a routine with how to lash the guitar more safely to my back. Class numbers falling already. All went ok - had a look at 'CC Rider' - thank goodness I already know kinda what that should sound like . . . home and still feeling 'ok' sat in the conservatory with the guitar and showed my yucca what we'd been doing. Decided to eat some and was peeling potatoes and cooking chips at 10pm!! . . . TVd/PCd till early. (5/10)p
16 - Awful nights sleep tossing and turning and waking up all over the place. Up before the alarm . . . phoned the council refuse department and arranged for my old washing machine to be taken away. Given a date of 7th November! No need to worry about manhandling it through the house yet . . . Walked to the doctors. Once again felt much more in control and effectively asked if I could simply stay on the prozac for the forseeable future. He asked if I was more 'bland' and I agreed to an extent I most definitely WAS but that was an acceptable price to pay to avoid the big 'downs'. He agreed that I seemed more 'up' and made it clear that my fears of having my drug supply suddenly cease were unfounded and that I could keep on getting perscriptions as I deemed necessary - even if 'he suddenly dropped down dead'!! He even quashed my expressed concerns about my guilt about the cost to the NHS of the drugs, by pointing out that the ten year period during which the company can keep the price high had passed and that they were now much cheaper. He also said that to his knowledge there was no risk of addiction OR tolerance. True or false it made me feel MUCH happier about staying on the stuff. He suggested without much hesitation that he would write out a '1 of 6' perscription for two months supply which was repeatable six times without further need for consultation in view of my medical history. In other words - he ok'd a YEARs supply of prozac!!! I think - I think I am, on balance, quite happy about that despite my dislike of being on medication and somehow having lost a part of myself as a result. Either my doctor is being real clever - or he has no idea the good he has done me this day with the few words he spoke in the five minutes I was with him. A 'positive' experience. Paid the £6.10 NHS fee and walked home armed with another two months supply . . . briefly popped in the hire centre on the way past to cost the hire of an industrial stone cutter which I would need if I decided to try and fit the garden gate PS gave me. It is wider than the current one and I'd need to cut a foot out of the garden wall. Around £30 for one day and one disk!!!!!!!!! That'll wait!!! . . . walked up to shop. Walking along the main busy high street and a big German Shepherd dog was running free down the pavement!!!? Made a grab for it but missed. On he ran, straight out into the traffic although luckily the lights had only just changed so everything was moving slow enough to stop!!!!!!!!! Couldn't just stand there and watch so took off running after it! Ran across the road with everyone watching me and chased it for a little way before it darted into a shop? I followed it in thinking I would have it cornered only to see it disappear behind the counter and into a back room?! Asked the pimply faced young kid behind the counter if it was his dog. It was!!!!! Contained my anger and told him it had been running up and down the road and almost been killed. I left as HE began to admonish the innocent DOG?????!!!!! IDIOT! Bet all the people up the high street thought it was mine - felt as though everyone was looking at me -and some certainly were. Grrrrrr!!!!! . . . shopped. Withdrew some money from the building society - just in case I can persuade myself to treat myself to something . . . fell asleep for a couple of hours and woke feeling terrible with a headache. If I'm gonna get addicted to anything it is gonna be Annadin tablets for headache relief!! . . . TVd . . . PS popped round for chats till early. . . PCd till earlier. (4/10)pas
17 - Tossed and turned for ages and just couldn't get to sleep. Tossed and turned for so long I got hungry and ended up eating corned beef sandwhiches and crisps at five oclock in the morning!!! Did the trick and slept on a full stomach as usual. . . up around 11am with a strange urge to try playing the 'Me and Bobby McGee' song from our lessons on my guitar!! "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" - neat lyrics . . .found five copies of what appeared to be a private e-mail in my guestbook!!?? Funny how people can get so confused on line. lolol Deleted them and dropped whoever it was an e-mail to let them know out of courtesy . . . sat around feeling pretty down. PCd a little before giving up and trying to sleep. BB called to touch base. . . finally fell asleep for a couple of hours. Woken by the phone but no message left. Didn't recognise the number of the caller so must have been a wrong number - again! Felt a bit better for having slept more. Woken just in time to see a bit of thunder and lightening - excellent. Sat in the conservatory in the dark watching the show with the frogs who seemed unconcerned. Spotted four, two resident in the little 'frog houses' which was satisfying . . . had a night off from the PC and TVd till early, not feeling tired. (3/10)ps
18 - Up before the alarm around 8am. Dentist day!!!! Ugghhh!!!! . . .walked down the unspoilt 'Magpie Bottom', all trees and squirrels and went to the dentist in Hanham. Usual 30 minutes wait after my appointment time - but can't complain - no 'work' needed. Bit of a clean and a little bit of grinding down of the sharp edge that was left from the big filling last time. Nice walk back being bombarded with rainwater and nuts from overhead by the squirrels! Nice dog walking territory and only a quarter of an hours walk away! . . . back home and surfed the Trade-It dog ads again. How is it done? How can you KNOW a dog is gonna be mostly 'ok' in temperament and health? Dare I? HOW dare I?!!!! Big, big, BIG decision! Huge responsibilty! It isn't about just getting a dog - it is a major life decision cause all sorts of other implications are wrapped up in it for ME. Pros and cons, round and round and round in my mind. Too much thinking - HAD to go to sleep for a while. . . phoned one of the ads. Lady on the phone seemed nice, knowledgable and most helpful and seemed to have a good reason for getting rid of the two that were apparantly fighting each other for dominance in the 'pack'!. Went on the bike to look at the two, one year old + dogs she was getting rid of from her pack of - how many?Six?!!!!!! Blimey!!!!! Nice lady - good vibes - nice black and tan GSD bitch not unlike Sheba. I have always said that if I ever got another dog I would wait until I could absolutely do it right and not make ANY of the mistakes I made with Sheba. The dog would absolutely come first. I have unfinished business and guilt about her. Persuaded the lady to let me take her for a quick walk to get a feel for her character. Set off with the dog and headed for the nearest children!! The couple of kids I asked to help me were clearly reluctant but one of them at least was brave enough to prove she was gonna be ok and not try to eat them. Found another larger group of kids and announced that I just wanted to walk around between them to see how she acted. One of the kids said "That is MY dog!" Ooops. The owners daughter - bit embarassing and not much of test there but the dog seemed happy to be petted by all of them. Felt ok. Felt about as ok as I figure it could feel. Checked out the paperwork and shaking like a leaf and mind wandering all over the place I said I wanted her! Rode the bike home - counted my money and JUST had enough cash left after having paid the dentist bill. Called SH and asked if I could get a ride for free which he was kind enough to do in between taxi jobs, straight away. Did the business and the lady brought me and the dog back in her van together with a small supply of food to tide me over till I can get to the store. Even made sure I had an empty bag of the food so I could make sure I got the same type of stuff. Chatted a while, assured her she could visit whenever she pleased once the dog had settled in, assured her I'd call tomorrow to tell her how it was going and eventually bid her goodbye and was left with 'Sally' the dog.
Worry, worry, worry, worry, worry, worry I HAVE A DOG!!!!!worry, worry, worry, worry.
I was EXTREMELY nervous - must be very upsetting for the dog. Poor woofer sat by the front door for quite a while. Not at all hungry but I hadn't eaten since breakfast so after eleven o'clock I was making corned beef sandwhiches and forcing them down. Sally was very interested and sneaked into the kitchen and grabbed the butter knife off the worktop and brought it back into the living room for a lick and a chew!!!! Guess I'll have to keep on top of the washing up now! Did my 'alpha male' bit and finished eating without giving any titbits before giving a couple of slices of corned beef to Sally in her bowl in the kitchen. Blimey - almost had my hand!!! Touched base with M/D - didn't seem overly pleased but - well - I know what I'm getting into ish, kinda, maybe. Sat outside on the patio for a while and saved a couple of worms from the concrete - don't think sally ate them but they certainly got a good noseing! Sally all ears as a frog made some chirping calls somewhere near the pond. Not a hint at going to the toilet at all so figured maybe a walk would be best. Walked her round the block around midnight. Not bad at all even when tipsy people passed by although she seemed determined to eat anything remotely edible that was squished on the pavement! Back home lost of praise and stroking and some more sitting in the garden but still no sign of wanting to 'go'! Eventually headed for bed and laid out a sleeping bag next to the bed for Sally. She didn't seem to want to come upstairs and even barked at me as I encouraged her up from the top of the stairs! Blimey - slightly scarey! Probably dog language for "What the hell are you on about weird guy - leave me alone!". Decided to leave her be and went to bed. Got back up and went downstairs to put all the remote controls on high shelves - found her curled up on the sofa. Hmm! Went back to bed and then got back up to stop her emptying the waste bin all over the living room - something foody in there somewhere. Eventually managed to coax her upstairs and decided that it would be best to 'insist' she sleep in my room so once in I closed the bedroom door. Small amount of pacing, wining, jumping on the bed, jumping on me but eventually she settled down on the sleeping bag next to the bed. Funny how me loudly sighing would settle her down whenever she got interested in outside noises. Think she slept a bit - I only managed to sleep for about three hours!!!!!!!!! Not used to having someone else breathing next to me - especially with dog breath!! Fast breathing - is that normal? Hmmm!!!!! Eventually gave up and was up and sitting outside and stroking and watching TV by about 6am. (?/10)p
19 - Waited until around 8am did her breakfast and then took Sally for a walk around the block again. Remembered to take a plastic bag for 'poop scooping' and boy did I need it!!!!!!! Ewwwwwwww. She's been drinking loads but still hasn't peed!!! Oh dear? . . . back home she seemed to have gotten a little more interested in where I was and what I was doing (insecure I guess) until I started to do all the washing up! Bores me too. She went into the living room and settled down on one of the sofa chairs. Put the TV on for her and wouldn't you know it? On 'Discovery-Animal Planet' was a show called 'Breed All About It' and it was dedicated to the German Shepherd breed! I think she already knew it all - she fell asleep. Tired woofer - tired me!! . . . Managed to trick the dog into the kitchen and sneaked out of the house. RAN around the Post Office and drew some money out and RAN back!! Nothing eaten - dog ok . . . PCd as the rain poured outside. Thank goodness - my first poop scooping wasn't too efficient - need bigger bags!!!!! . . . such a relief to finally see her have a pee on the patio. Yayyy. . . PS popped round after having offered to drive me to Longwell Green to get a big sack of dog food. Sally had a bit of a growl at him!! Poor dog is just 'unsettled' and a little nervous. Extraordinary how after not even a day she was looking to me for 'support'. PS was understandably nervous about taking her in his car and of course it would have been impossible to take her in the pet food store FULL of things edible. Managed to persuade her into the kitchen and sneaked out with PS before she pushed the door back open. So, SO nervous about leaving her alone so soon - PS did not drive fast enough for my liking but I didn't say a word. Got to the pet store and soon found the big sacks of food she was used to. Rushed around and bought a grooming brush and big bag of 'knot bone' chewy things and a big 15kg sack of the lamb flavoured dry dog food. The food was only £13.99 and should last a while but wow - those chewy things are expensive! £15.99 for 10!!!! Soon back home and everything seemed intact and ok. Sally was still nervous of PS but the production of a big chewy thing soon took her mind off it. WOW did she love that thing - hell for leather chewing and grinding away. . . another walk and a detour into the store to get milk. Sally is really very good on the lead considering but she seems very stubborn whenever I ask her to sit. Made a point of stopping at every kerbside to make her sit before carrying on. Start my style of 'training' from the off. More poop scooping duties - armed with a bigger carrier bag I thought I would be all prepared but hadn't thought through how to poop scoop that runny stuff!! Ewwwwwwwww. . . back home thought it would be best to pre-empt any neighbourly difficulties and knocked on the neighbours door each side to apologise in advance for any barking that may occur until she is settled. Sally had a growl and a bark at the neighours!!! Oh dear. . . called the lady who'd let me have Sally and confirmed all was going ok - surprisingly ok in my opinion. Very relieved. Mentioned she was not over keen on her dog food and was recomended to mix in a little water and tinned food to 'gravy it up'. No tinned food in the house yet but remembered I had some vegetarian gravy granuals left. Mixed up some gravy and mixed it in with her food. That did the trick - woofed it down . . . sat in the garden for a while but had to wrestle Sally back from persuing a hopping thing!!! . . . PS popped round to be growled at and for chats till early. She soon settled down and even allowed him to stroke her some although frankly - the way he was acting so nervous, I wanted to bite him! BIG BIG torrential rain storm with thunder and lightening. Poor PS must have got soaked on his walk back home! . . . PCd very briefly but so, SO tired! Quick stop in the garden and Yayyyy . . Sally used the oppertunity to have a pee - shame about the plants! . . . very easily persuaded Sally to join me in the bedroom and she quickly headed straight for her 'bed'. Excellent! SO intelligent. Had to get up once to rearrange her 'bed' because the floor boards beneath had seemed interesting but soon settled down and slept. (?/10)ps
20 - Woken by Sally shifting position before seven after only five hours sleep with a BIG headache!! Damn I'm tired as hell. Raised up in bed to see where she had moved to, to be greated by the bang, bang, bang of a wagging tail on the floor :o) . . .walked the dog and went over the field with the old lead I have which is a little longer than the 'usual' one and started trying to teach her to come when called. Went ok. "Good woofer" . . . got the bike out and rushed up the local helpful shop and bought some chocolate treats for her, for training purposes ONLY of course - mostly. Girl in the shop suggested 'nappy disposal bags' for poopscooping cause they are perfect and cheap AND scented?!!!! Rushed up Kingswood and bought a bunch of tins of the absolute cheapest dog food rubbish for 'gravy' purposes. Bought a bag of nappy bags - they ARE cheap - and they ARE scented! Rushed back and saw LB outside. Secured the dog in the kitchen, let LB sit down and then let the dog back in. WOW - did she bark - only twice but all teeth and scary! Shouted at her and sadly scared her - but I guess it had to be done. She was immediately all making up to me which seemed amazing considering I hardly know her. Very quickly settled down and LB managed some stroaking before Sally fell asleep on the floor. . .Sis1 popped in. Did the same routine but this time walked Sally back into the room in my arms. Maybe a tiny growl but very quickly settled down encouraged by arming Sis1 with some chocolate treats. Soon relaxed completely. touched base with Sis2/M/D. Mum still not well and some tension in the air!. . . Managed to have a nap for a couple of hours - thank goodness!!! Woke feeling much better. Walked the dog over the field. 'Poo scented' nappy bag - perfect!!! - stopped in the chip shop on the way back for jumbo sausage and chips. Sally did really well - can't believe it's only been a day!! MUCH promise - fingers crossed - but oh MUCH promise of being a really good dog. . . TVd and found on one of the BBC channels a Shakepseare company production of 'King Lear'. At last some TV worth watching! Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!!!!!
KING LEAR . . ACT III SceneVI - "When we our betters see bearing our woes,
We scarcely think our miseries our foes.
Who alone suffers, suffers most i'the mind,
Leaving free things, and happy shows, behind;
But then the mind much sufferance doeth o'erskip,
When grief hath mates, and bearing-fellowship."
Feel pretty happy right now I guess . . . PCd till early. Quick sit on the patio but no sign of any toilet needs. That dog sure can hold it's stuff well. SO different from my last experience with Sheba. Spotted a frog on the patio!!!!!! Retuirned it to the pond - does it know how lucky it was not to be chewed on!! . . . Sally did a funny 'nest' type routine with the sleepinbg bag I'd put down and actually seemed to 'dig' it out of the way so she was just on the carpet? Weird. . . I had difficulty getting to sleep - saw 2am on the clock. (?/10)pas
21 - Up around 7am with a face full of dogs breath. :o) Gosh I need more sleep!! . . . popped into the front garden to lock and cover the bike and took the chance of allowing Sally to follow me out unleashed. No problems but she really didn't want to come back in. Sat by the gate and wouldn't budge. Proves that she has yet to learn to come when I say - daren't let her off the lead when out yet. Had to go and grab her and gently push her back inside. Hardly surprising really - probably thought it was her walk time - and then it wasn't . . . walked over the field. On the way back spotted a plastic dog basket out with someones rubbish! Couldn't resist and knocked at the door and succeeded in getting permission to take it. Back home set about hosing it down and cleaning it up on the patio. Somewhat broken but quite useable. Wasn't until I'd finished did I realise it was FAR too small. Sally can 'just' sit in it - no way can she lie down!! Oh well. . . had a shower then did some vacuuming expecting trouble. Sally took it all in her stride no problem. Even happily sat on the setee as I moved the furniture around with her on it! Swapped the chairs for the setee in the living room so I can sit next to her and stroke her when I watch TV. Did some washing and even the washing machine was no cause for concern to her. Managed to drag the old machine out into the garden ready for the council without any bother. Excellent dog. Popped over PS to pick up the digital camera card reader. . . managed to nap for a couple of hours thank goodness. . . more walks as the sun set all red in the sky . . . returned the call of the previous owner and assured her all was going well. Used the opportunity to ask about what routine she used to keep. Aha - she always got up early. That explains Sally's restlesness early in the morning. . . TVd. Blimey - actually watched a whole film all the way through without surfing channels half way through! "City Of Angels" with Meg Ryan and Nicolas Cage - captivating film . . . PCd briefly before bed. Wished BB all the best for tomorrow but didn't really have the right words to express . . . Oh no!!!!!! Nasty noisey neighbour's car alarm went off at 12:45am - and KEPT on going!!! Grrrrrrrr!!!!! Kept on going for half an hour!!!!!! Was I the only one in the street being kept awake? Got up, got dressed, walked across the road and hammered VERY hard on their door! Was polite as I could be but obviously angry and asked them if they could PLEASE turn it off cause it had been going for half an hour. They did with of course not a word of apology?!! Grrrrrr . . . settled the dog and finally got to sleep after 2am!!!!! (?/10)p
22 - Oh no - up before 7am!!! Will I ever get enough sleep ever again?!! . . . COLD damp misty morning - walked the dog over the field and was perhaps foolishly tempted to try her off the lead already, so good was she behaving. Made sure no other dogs were around - all went ok and managed to have her return me more or less on demand - sometimes. Think she appreciated it - a bit of puppy like bouncing around - wonderful dog. . . stopped of home for some breakfast then headed off with her up Kingswood. Popped into the Fernlea Veterinary Clinic and asked if I could have a general check up and a micro chip implant - for Sally - not me! Very helpful and actually managed to book me in for about an hour later for 11:20! Oh dear - so much for trying to phone BB before she leaves for her op!!!!! Walked up through all the crowds and traffic and sat in the shopping precinct making sure she was ok with the hustle and bustle. She was. Tied Sally's lead to a bench and tried to teach her to 'Sally-wait' as I walked a couple of yards away. She was having none of it and jumped and yelped and barked to the 'amusement' of the onlookers! That'll take a bit of practice and getting used to I guess . . . walked up into Kingswood Park and wasted a bit more time - although with a dog around no time seems to be a waste. Let her off the lead again and all ok. Found some tennis courts and tried to teach her to jump over the nets by giving her an example. What a fool I felt leaping over the nets only to have her run around them looking at me with a 'why bother?' expression! . . . eventually back to meet the vet. Some growling at the other dogs in the waiting room - some growling at the vet! Vet was VERY nice and business like and helpful and stuff. Guess the recomendations I've had about that practice were right. Wrestled her up onto a table with his help and he gave her a quick once over as I hung onto the growling end. He seemed quite impressed with her overall condition and put my mind very much at ease. Micro chipped her without her even feeling it! Brilliant. Added to the customer database and was promised I would get a reminder in the post when innoculation boosters were due. Excellent. Enquired about spaying - should be good to go in about two months and will cost around £182.27! Hmm. Upset the nurse by using the term 'butcher' (because that is how I feel about 'unecessary' surgery - not about their service) and asking if I could attend the operation. Was told NO!!! Paid the £28.02 and was walking back home armed with lots of leaflets and stuff, and a small tag to attach to the dogs collar to indicate it was microchipped. Uh oh - didn't realise it was law that all dogs out should have a collar and ID tag!! shame - like the dog not to have to wear one. Will have to dig out the old one I have and maybe get a proper tag made up . . . back home and tried to sleep for a while. Soon woken by the doorbell and a bark and someone trying to get me to change electric company -AGAIN!!! Seems like a conspiracy that I should be deprived of sleep!!!! The dog too - she seems real tired. A good thing for later. :o) . . . walked the dog again just to make sure she was exhausted. Seems pretty obvious she hasn't had so much excercise before. Left the TV on and armed her with a chewy thing and then rode the bike to the guitar lesson in the torrential rain. Hard to concentrate thinking about BB and thinking about what the dog may be eating in my abscence!!! . . . rushed back to find nothing out of place at all and even the chewy thing still intact. Nice to be welcomed home. Guess she was REAL tired and just slept. Excellent. Really pleased. . . early to bed before 11pm! Big rain falling! (6/10)p
23 - Tossed and turned and tossed and turned for ages!!! Finally fell asleep only to wake up again some time after 2am with Sally noisily changing position!!!! My stomach was churning and demanded food before any chance of more sleeping so at 3am I was up eating bowls of Co-Co pops!!! Just finished and having a cigarette before returning to bed and the phone rang - BB calling to say surgery was successfully completed and she was awake and ok. Excellent - although I'm not sure she really was awake! :o) . . . back up at 5:50am with the alarm and the promise of a headache. Walked the poor tired dog over the field and then showered and got ready for my 9:15 Milne clinic appointment. VERY tired but walking the dog is good for a headache . . . rode the bike in the rush hour traffic for the first time in years. Kinda fun despite locking the back wheel at one point and slip-snakeing-sliding to a hault inches from the car that was pulling out through the stationary traffic!!! Must make sure my donor card says contact my dog in the event of an accident - so she is taken care of!! . . . met with a nurse - a woman!!!!!Embarassing!!! - and explained the cream I'd been given was no help and did my 'amateur doctor' routine to try and get my theory across about what was 'really' going on with my 'problem'! She seemd pretty convinced and ararnged for me to see the doctor. Excellent - he more or less confirmed my theory and suggested my 'personal problem' was more likely a cyst and NOT what the doctor had thought before. Suggested I take a course of 'erythromycin' anti biotics and return in three weeks. Good. . . rode home and found everything in order. Good doggie. . . tried to nap but only managed about an hour!! Fed Sally the 'Drontal' anti worming tablets the vet had supplied, all wrapped up in some corned beef. Woofed down no problem - easy! Touched base with M/D. Understandably looking forward to returning to their own home. . . . TVd . . . walked the dog down the 'Magpie Bottom' walk for the first time. She got all barky and very nervous of a couple of other dogs! Oh dear. Need to raise her confidence somehow. Seems to be a little off her food?! . . . TVd . . . BB called to touch base. Sounded very sleepy but all ok . . . LB called and asked if she and her man could come down and meet Sally. I was just gonna go to bed but seemed like a good idea - the more the merrier to get her used to visitors. Sally did a good guard dog act with a woof or two as the gate and doorbell went. Sat LB and her man in the living room then escorted Sally in to meet them. She was really very worried poor dog - all shaking and growling a little. Soon calmed her down and had her sit with me on the setee. Guess I'm the same meeting strangers - especially when they smell so much of cats!!!! . . . early to bed before 11am.(6/10)ps
24 - Yayyyyyy - at least eight hours sleep more or less. I remember dreaming about dogs - all the neighbours had GSDs in their bedrooms!!! lololol . . . walked Sally and took a chance and allowed her to run towards another smaller dog who looked as though he could take care of himself. Went really well - Sally chased him around a bit and played and acted very puppy like and no barking or teeth bared at all. Great. . . touched base with M/D who were safely back in the country and on their way back down the M4 . . . M/D popped in to be growled at a little. Dad was REAL tired and fell asleep in the chair for a few minutes! Worrying that he has all that driving to do. . . fell asleep for an hour or so . . . PCd a bit adding a couple of photos of the woofer to the site . . . phoned M/D to confirm they were safely home and all was ok . . . walked the dog in the rain . . . TVd . . . PCd briefly before bed at midnight. (6/10)pae
25 - Uggh - woken before 6am by Sally noisily changing position and banging the wardrobe door! Only five hours sleep again?. . .Walked. SO funny to see Sally run towards a couple of small dogs a bit like jack russels only to be chased away across the field with her tail between her legs! Big softy. . .got a card from TS. Also received the Pet Insurance quote info from "More Than". £227.88 per year!!!! Ouch - will have to think about that and shop around some more!! . . . managed to sleep for another hour or two . . . walked with Sally up the shops and sat around amongst the crowds getting her used to such things. Walked via a couple of parks and dropped in to see S/DH. Some growling but sally soon calmed down. Didn't spot the bowl full of cat food till it was too late - it was empty when we left! DH donated some tins of cat food that their fussy cat wont eat. BH popped in while I was there and Sally was still pretty ok - Excellent. BH has a website for his discos now . . . Walked via the shops again back home. Locked Sally in and popped round the local shop-came back and found my wallet with my cheque book and credit cards on the floor in the middle of the sitting room!!!!! Oh no!!!!!!!! Thankfully nothing chewed - growled "What's this!" in a low disapproving tone as I picked it up. POOR DOG! She was terrified! All ears down, on the floor hiding behind a chair and even peed herself a little!!! POOR DOG!!!!!! Horrible to her SO scared. Took a while to reassure her and several chocolate doggie treats to get her ears back up. My fault for leaving my wallet in reach on top of the TV - where she will get near as she watches me leave out of the bay window. Need to train ME better. . . TVd . . . walked the dog over the field and then carried on up the local store to buy milk. Treated myself to a kebab and they didn't seem to mind me coming in with the dog - although when we left the floor was covered in muddy paw prints! A mix of dog food, cat food and kebab seemed to go down very well for Sally AFTER I had eaten . . . touched base with BB who seemed ok despite her discomfort. . . Touched base with M/D. Seems like their trip has been an expensive experience. Dads expensive camera is broken and no good for repair and the exchange rate is gonna cost them a fortune to change their dollars back to pounds. Seemed glad to be home. They have both lost weight?!!! A trip to the land of "all you can eat" and they have lost weight? Must have been more stressful than showed. . . JH (Sallys previous ower) called asking if things were ok and warned me that dog theives were in the area?!!!! Blimey!???. . . PS popped round to be barked and growled at but it was definitely a fear response - she was shaking like a leaf! She seems to be getting MORE territorial as she is getting used to being here! Need more visitors to figure out how best to combat that behaviour . . . to bed around 1am. (6/10)pse
26 - Up around 7:30am. BIG rain and SO dark! Sally seems real tired after yesterdays big walks and stress. PCd before walks hoping the rain would ease off . . . lots of bills!!! and a card from JB in the mail . . .rain got worse! Got absolutely drenched and Sally discovered the fun of muddy puddles!! Not such fun trying to clean her up before the house got covered!!! . . . balanced my accounts and sent off the kennel club registration ownership change form. PCd just a little - need to spend some time bringing various web site pages up to date with 'personal changes' at some point! Touched base with Sis2 who seemed ok . . . slept for an hour or so . . . popped out and bought cards - one for IHB and one for JH from Sally. :o) . . . meant to go shopping but just too tired . . .walked/TVd/PCd briefly before bed. (6/10)pe
27 - Life is supposed to begin this day - I am 40 today!!!!!! Happy Birthday to me. :o) Rather think I made my big decisions about my life the other day when I bought Sally. She makes me happy. As usual I intend to spend the day in 'retreat'. No cause for 'celebration' - just some quiet reflection. . . walked. Fed Sally some of the tinned boneless fishy stuff DH had given me the other day. Managed to cover me in the smelly sauce! Ugghhh - poooeeee!!!! She woofed it down but OH what fishy breath!! Ugggggh. Make note - NEVER feed a dog fishy smelly stuff - Eeeewwwwwwwwww!!!!!. . . shopped for food and toys for Sally. Bought a squeaky ball that she doesn't know what to do with. Bought another ball that releases food as it is rolled around - that she also doesn't know what to do with! Feel such a fool batting it around the floor trying to show her, only to have her follow me, eating up the food that comes out . . . touched base with M/D and CW . . . fell asleep . . . woken by ansaphone calls and then DH popping in with bones for Sally. Woof-grrrrrr-gone-eaten in a flash! . . . touched base with BB and PS and then M/D called again -at length! - telling me all about their new washing machine!! Oh the excitement! Hmmm!! . . . touched base with JB and TS. . . Sat in the garden in the sun for a while playing guitar to poor old Sally . . . LB has her birthday today too and has an 'open house' (I declined the invite of course)- very satisfying to hear lots of people all sat having a good time in her garden. :o) . . . cut up the small garden table and countersunk Sally's bowls in it. Should make it easier to keep clean and easier for her to eat her food without the bowl slipping around the floor in the kitchen and being raised up a little . . . walked the dog and stopped in the chip shop for sausage and chips on the way back. Coming home just a couple of doors up from my house a guy was stood with his girlfriend waiting for him while he urinated against a neighbours hedge and all over the sidewalk!!!!!!!! Disgusting! Couldn't contain myself and hurled foul-mouthed obscenities at him and told him he was worse than my dog and that he should **** off! No need for such behaviour at all with a pub only yards away at each end of the street!!! Hard for him to stop mid flow I guess! Grrrrrr! . . . PS called saying 'tonight?' and unusually on this day I thought why not. Called ML and said PS was coming round so he was welcome to come and be growled at too. . . LB very drunk called in briefly with a friend to drop of spare food parcels and birthday sponge for me and to see the dog and be growled at . . . after LB had left I started sorting out the food she had donated in the kitchen when PS arrived. Shut Sally in the kitchen while I let PS in. Returned to the kitchen to find Sally had been up on the worktop somehow and had helped herself to the sponge cake!!!!! Damn - looked like nice sponge too. As usual Sally was all growly and nervous around PS. ML turned up later. Sally remained scared and nervous but did settle down a bit as time wore on. I felt pretty damn good and even joined in and had a glass of red wine. Got a bit emotional about the dog but managed to hide it - guess I'm rather attached to her already - to say the least! She's wonderful - guess I'm in love! :o) To bed around 1am after calling to say goodnight to BB. (6/10)psssde
28 - Up around 7am - or 6am cause the clocks have changed. More rain! More headache. . .walked. More wet muddy dog! Took the squeaky ball with me and managed to get her to run after it and play a little. Walking back she seriously barked at a guy crossing the road towards us carrying an umbrella!! . . . pottered around putting a hook on the back of the door for the collar and lead and other silly pottering-cut up the plastic dog basket that is too small for her and made a large tray that may be ok as some sort of plant pot - cleaned and started painting the small dustbin that should be ideal for storing her dry mix food in the cupboard under the stairs.. . . fell asleep for a couple . . . gave the dog a bone and took some more pics . . . more muddy walks. Worrying with the dog that SO many fireworks are being let off all over the place. Have been for weeks!! Bloody kids! . . . TVd but SOoooooo tired!! Almost fell asleep on the floor next to Sally at one point! . . . VERY early to bed around 10pm!!!!!! (6/10)pae
29 - Up before 7am! Guess I haven't adjusted to the clock change yet. . .walked the dog - she seemed in a real funny mood and wouldn't come back when I called her and even stalked and barked at some poor guy walking across the field!! . . . tried to nap for a while but Sally wouldn't let me and kept nosing and pawing me? She's in a very funny mood - devil dog!. . . walked up the shops with the pooch and took her in and renewed my bike insurance. Popped into the shoe repairer and ordeed a name tag for Sally complete with my phone number. Sally didn't growl too much and melted the guys heart so he added 'please scan me' to the tag for nothing. Went to sit on the seat amongst the crowds to get Sally more used to the bustle and heard my name called! It was JH (Sallys previous ower) and some of her kids out shopping. At first amazingly Sally didn't recognise them and even growled a little as she was greeted open armed but then she clicked and turned all puppy like and waggy tailed. Felt kinda jealous! lol Sally seemed thankfully happy enough to stay with me as they left. She even allowed some people to stroke her!!!! Funny how she makes people want to come up and talk! I've talked to more strangers these last few days than I have done in years. Some sad old guy telling me all about his sick 18 year old dog and how I should get dog health insurance and give up smoking to pay for it cause he'd had a lung removed twenty years ago!!!!! Me in a few years? Popped in the new butchers shop and asked about bones for the dog. Butcher said he'd sort me out some for nothing if I popped back later. Walked all the way back home and had some of LBs food parcels for lunch. Damn - missed the post office trying to deliver a parcel - and a charge to pay??? £20.97!!???????? Bloody hell - what on earth is that!!!. . . got a phone call from AA!!!!!!!!! Good grief!!!!! VERY unexpected - kinda thought I'd never hear from her again after she disappeared from the stables where she used to live. How extraordinary - she is in Papua New Guinea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? Do hope she is ok - can't help but think something may be going on with her for her to want to touch base with the past. She sounded ok. :o) . . . walked the exhausted pooch all the way back up the shops and called in the butchers. Wow - do bones come that big!!!! Looks like a dinosaur bone - could only just carry it in my rucsac!!!! Popped in the Post Office with the dog and renewed the bike tax. Back home and called CW and ML to let them know about AAs whereabouts . . . walked the dog yet again and completely tired her out - me too! Early to bed. (6/10)paes
30 - Up around 6:30am again!! . . .walked . . .started trying to wash out the empty dog food tins so I could put them out for the recycling lorry but ended up slicing my thumb pretty badly on a sharp edge!! Deep nasty cut dripping all over the place! . . .gave Sally her BIG bone! . . .Did chores and waited in for the second parcel delivery attempt. Mail man arrived late morning - parcel was from DS and the charge was customs import duty?!! No choice but to pay it - opened the parcel and wow! Don't know what I have done to deserve a friend like DS - he's sent me a present of an 'Argus DC-3000 Mega Pixel Digital Camera'!!! Bloody hell!!! I am and always will be deeply indebted to DS for much more than he may realise. . . spent a while reading the instructions and then installed the software and USB connection and was soon painlessly up and running. Lovely little toy. . . touched base with M/D (-/content removed post 19th April 03 /-)Difficult to understand. . . .walked the dog all the way down to St Georges park and experimented with the camera - really nice and sunny. . . a bite to eat and fell asleep for a couple of hours. Woken by BB calling to touch base. :o) . . . walked the exhausted dog over the field and then on down to PS house to return his camera with thanks. She was nervous as usual but happily met one of PS dogs . . . walked back via the chip shop . . . M/D called in a MUCH better mood (-/content removed post 19th April 03 /-) all excited that they had traded in the old broken camera for a new state of the art one. Mum had persuaded Dad to 'spend some money on himself for a change' . . . PS popped round for chats till early. Dog remained really nervous around him and had a real good threatening bark at him when we tried to go upstairs to the computer room!!! (6/10)pes
31 - Up a little later than of late . . . PCd briefly and managed to just catch BB before she went to bed. . . walked the dog. Chilly wind but beautiful sunny morning and couldn't help taking the camera with me. Very good to see Sally playing all puppy like with a few other dogs - but always with her tail between her legs - until I have her spayed I guess that is a good move! . . . very tired and fell asleep for a couple of hours. Woken by M/D calling to warn me it was trick or treat night and that I should be careful of Sally and also be very careful and walk her early on 'bonfire night' on Monday. Dad revealed that since his funny turn before their holiday he HAS been having some disorientation problems that have scared him!!! Shit - does look as though he MAY have had a 'minor' stroke! Strongly urged him to go get a check up but he seemed very reluctant. Avoidance/denial of the implications maybe?!!!!!! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!!!! . . . TVd/PCd/stroked the dog. . . Walked and managed to avoid most of the 'trick or treaters' that were rampaging around. Saw several 'kids' playing on the scaffolding of the nearby building site and suddenly came over all 'old-manish' and kinda told them to get down in a semi friendly sort of way. Amazingly they did and then one asked if he could stroke the dog - I said he could try -and he did, only for Sally to go devil dog and bark and strain on the leash!!! Ha! Hard to be annoyed at her on this occasion. Dunno who the hell I'm turning into next!!! . . . TVd/PCd/sat in the garden and howled at the moon a little. lololol . . . to bed exhausted around midnight.(6/10)pe


text:
Charm City Rolller Girls
It's a shutterbug's heaven! And, it's called "Honfest!"
It is up and running "On the Avenue," in Hampden. Saturday was opening day, with an 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. schedule.
On Sunday, the annual fun-filled event runs from noon to 6 p.m.
Any and all things associated with Bmore are celebrated in a massive one-of-a kind, Hon-a-thon.
Think iconic filmmaker John Waters; Highlandtown in the 50s; the drapes and the squares; Elvis; your father's mustache; a Saturday night dance at the American Legion and/or K of C; tattoos; the colors pink and blue; beehive hairdos; Gov. William Donald Schaefer in a 1930s bathing suit; wide, like really wide, sunglasses galore; beads; large earrings; umbrellas; bow ties; Natty Boh, and, just about anything else in quasi-bad taste, that falls in between.
The first person I ran into at the festival was the popular Baltimore City Councilwoman, Mary Pat Clarke. Then, I bumped into two of my fave gallery owners from the "Avenue," Minas Konolas and Rick Santiago. I also got a chance to chat with the Hampden-based artist, Matt Muirhead, and the poet/artist, Dina Marie Varsalone. And, soon after that, I encountered some of the "Charm City Roller Girls." They were out spreading good will for their team and for the Roller Derby League. [Note, they play their home games at the Du Burns Arena over in Canton, Hon.]
Somewhere along the way, I stopped long enough to have my portrait drawn by the artist – Che Smith. If you get a chance, check out Honfest. It's a don't-miss kind of event.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
WASHINGTON – One among many largest outside Democratic groups says ramped-up spending on digital selling carried out a key perform in midterm battleground races, offering a lesson for potential presidential contenders in 2020.
"You'll ought to have a company that speaks on to voters on their telephones and their laptop programs," talked about Man Cecil, chairman of Priorities USA, which spearheaded the quite a lot of the get collectively's digital effort all through the present midterm elections. "If the presidential candidates would not have that as a central part of their operation, they will not win."
Democrats are trying to draw in new voters who're youthful, numerous and school educated. Nevertheless at a time when cord-cutting millennials and their dad and mother alike are spending additional time on-line, the get collectively stays disproportionately devoted to TV selling, strategists say, a dynamic that may complicate these efforts.
"Who's watching broadcast television, who's watching Wheel of Fortune, who's watching Jeopardy? They're older, white they normally are more likely to not be Democratic voters," talked about Tim Lim, who labored on the campaigns of former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and is now a fellow at Georgetown's Institute of Politics. "By focusing lots on broadcast TV ads, we're missing important audiences to talk to."
However it isn't practically how lots is spent on-line; it's about how that money is spent.
Whereas Democrats have been wildly worthwhile at using web promoting to rake in tens of thousands and thousands in donations and assemble electronic message contact lists from their base, they've lagged behind Republicans close to profitable over new or on-the-fence voters inside the digital space, operatives in every occasions say.
A spokeswoman for the Democratic Nationwide Committee did not reply to a request for comment. However, there are indicators that the get collectively is making enhancements.
One vibrant spot for Democrats was Priorities' $6.three million digital effort that supported Senator-elect Kyrsten Sinema's win over GOP Rep. Martha McSally in Arizona, a pink state that has confirmed indicators of trending in the direction of Democrats.
The target was driving up common turnout, with an additional consider numerous key demographic groups, along with Latinos and whites and never utilizing a school diploma. One set of slickly produced "social pressure" and motivational ads featured a numerous group of actors making the argument for why voting points.
On the same time, a separate prong of the advertising marketing campaign was geared towards decreasing help for a Inexperienced Get collectively candidate who later dropped out and endorsed Sinema – a late breaking enchancment that was highlighted in on-line ads.
As proof the advertising marketing campaign helped, Priorities well-known in a memo equipped to The Associated Press that turnout was up common and Sinema carried out increased than Democrats inside the present earlier with the groups that had been targeted.
"We've got now positively closed the outlet from the sooner cycle, but it surely certainly doesn't indicate we're solely there however," talked about Cecil, whose group spent roughly $50 million common on digital selling all through the midterms.
Whereas Democrats are behind close to web promoting, an aversion to large spending on digital should not be solely distinctive to them when as compared with the corporate world. Whereas laborious numbers are troublesome to return by, every occasions are more likely to spend vastly decrease than is widespread amongst firm selling purchasers, the place digital spending averages spherical 40 p.c – larger than what is usually spent on TV.
Additionally it is laborious to tell how the occasions are spending their web promoting on account of quite a lot of the publicly obtainable data does not differentiate between ads geared in the direction of fundraising and electronic message itemizing setting up versus ads geared towards profitable over voters.
Nonetheless, there are some broader traits that could be checked out.
After being outspent by Republicans on Fb in 2016, Democratic campaigns and aligned outside groups had outspent Republicans by a larger than two to at the least one margin on the platform as of ultimate month, according to Fb data compiled by Democratic digital selling company Bully Pulpit Worldwide.
"Fb is the easiest platform for lead know-how and digital fundraising, which explains why Democrats are using it to channel the outrage of their base into electronic message addresses and donations," talked about Michael Duncan, a affiliate and digital strategist on the Republican company Calvary LLC. "Nevertheless close to persuasion (of undecided voters), video common – and Google notably – are increased platforms."
That's the place Republicans have outspent Democrats.
A late onslaught of digital spending by a slew outside progressive groups all through the closing weeks of the midterms narrowed Republicans' spending profit on Google from 1.65-to-one all the best way all the way down to 1.18, according to data compiled by Bully Pulpit.
Nevertheless Democrat's on-line spending figures are moreover skewed by the candidacy of Beto O'Rourke, a West Texas congressman who unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Ted Cruz. O'Rourke shattered information, elevating larger than $70 million. He spent larger than $eight million on Fb ads and $1.eight million on Google, according to disclosures by every companies.
Republicans say they was the place Democrats for the time being are. Then, after the GOP misplaced the 2012 presidential race, the Republican Nationwide Committee mandated that the get collectively would commit extreme sources to digital selling.
Now they sit atop a sophisticated, data-driven digital enterprise that is updated in precise time and will micro-target voters primarily based totally on specific factors.
"We're attending to the aim the place digital has the size of television with the concentrating on of spam," talked about Duncan, the Republican strategist. "There are every kind of how you can slice and dice a voter file, match it to profiles on-line and serve ads."


text:
T&C of Sale
Terms & Conditions of Sale
The wording below sets out the terms and conditions on which BornOnline Pty Ltd provides access through our website at www.bornonline.com.au.
You, your organization or company who enters into a contract for the purchase of access to the Classes or the provision of the Telephone/Skype Advice Service, subject to these terms and conditions (Agreement).
- Placing your order and acceptance
1.1 When you place your order for one or more of our Classes or the Telephone/Skype Advice Service it is an offer by you to enter into a legal contract with us.
1.2 You and we will only enter into a binding contract when you receive notification from us that we have accepted your order and that a binding contract exists from the date and time specified in the notification.
2 Payment
2.1 The prices for the Classes and the Telephone/Skype Advice Service are located on our Website. The price you will pay will be that stated at the time you place your order.
2.2 Your order for one or more of the Classes or the Telephone/Skype Advice Service can only be made through the appropriate page on our Website. We do not accept orders made by any other means.
2.3 All Classes and the Telephone/Skype Advice Service we provide must be paid for in advance, and can only be made with the use of a credit or debit card via PayPal.
2.4 Where we have accepted an order from you and the payment is subsequently refused or rejected, we reserve the right to refuse to grant access to the Classes or perform any further or unfulfilled part of the Telephone/Skype Advice Service you have ordered.
2.5 All prices stated are inclusive of GST, which will be charged at the rate in force at the time you place your order.
3 Access to Classes
3.1 Upon receipt of full payment from you we will send you an email confirming that your payment has been taken. The email shall also provide a link to a page on our Website that you must click on to activate your username and password.
3.2 Once you have activated your username and password you will be granted access to the relevant section of our website in order that you may view the classes that you have purchased for a period of 6 calendar months from the time of activation.
3.3 Classes that you have purchased may be viewed as many times as you wish during your period of access detailed in condition 3.2.
3.4 Classes are available to view on our Website only and may not be downloaded. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct software installed on your computer and that your computer hardware meets the recommended requirements in order to view the Classes.
4 The provision of the Telephone/Skype Advice Service
4.1 Upon receipt of full payment from you we will send you an email confirming that your payment has been taken.
4.2 We will send an email to you in order to arrange a suitable time to telephone/skype you and provide the Telephone/Skype Advice Service. One of our midwives will telephone/skype you on the telephone number provided by you at the date and time you have arranged. The time you have selected is approximate and our advisor will endeavour to telephone you as close to that time as reasonably possible.
4.3 It is your responsibility to provide accurate contact details. In addition, our advisors can only give advice based on information provided by you and it is your responsibility to ensure that the information you provide is accurate.
4.4 The duration of the Telephone/Skype Advice Service selected will be approximately 30 minutes.
4.5 Each purchase of the Telephone/Skype Advice Service is limited to one telephone/skype call made by us to you for the time period specified in condition 4.4 above.
4.6 All telephone/skype calls may be recorded for quality and monitoring purposes.
4.7 A telephone/skype call will only provide answers to questions in regards to your antenatal education/classes only. We will not provide any advice/diagnoses on medical/pregnancy related questions.
4.8 At our sole discretion we may decide that:
4.8.1 the matter does not relate to antenatal education or the antenatal classes
4.8.2 the information provided by you is outside of the permitted advice and information allowed for us to give you and so we will refer you to your health care provider; or
4.8.3 we are not able to advise anything related to medical/pregnancy conditions or diagnoses that you may have. This service is for general antenatal education questions only. You must seek your care from your health care provider; or
4.8.4 if the questions provided by you requires us to provide advice and/or assistance outside the areas of the terms and conditions of this service, or for some other reason we do not wish to provide telephone/skype advice, consequently we will inform you of this at the time.
4.9 You acknowledge and agree that in purchasing the Telephone/Skype Advice Service you may not receive any telephone/skype advice or telephone/skype advice for the full period specified in condition 4.4 above (for the reasons set out in condition 4.8 above or condition 4.10 below).
4.10 the Telephone/Skype Advice Service is not suitable for, or to be used, in situations where:
4.10.1 urgent advice and assistance is required; or
4.10.2 immediate action is required on your or someone else's part; or
4.10.3 examination is required.
4.11 We do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour directed towards our advisors and reserve the right to terminate the provision of the Telephone/Skype Advice Service in such circumstances and to report the matter to the relevant authorities.
4.12 If we decide to not provide telephone/skype advice, then, it shall be in our sole discretion to determine how much, if any, refund you receive of the payment you have made for the Telephone/Skype Advice Service and, in determining the amount of any refund, we shall take in to consideration the amount of time spent giving any telephone advice and the circumstances of the termination.
4.13 You have 3 weeks to use your Telephone/Skype Consultation with one of BornOnline's midwives. After 3 weeks your purchase will expire. Please book your consultation soon after purchase to ensure no disappointment.
5 Information on our website
5.1 The terms and conditions of BornOnline Pty Ltd, Privacy Policy, and Website Disclaimer shall be incorporated into these terms and conditions and shall be equally binding on you when you enter into a contract with us.
5.2 In addition to the terms and conditions of the Other Provisions, the Classes and other information given on our Website or via the Telephone/Skype Advice Service may not be copied or recorded (by any means) by you or provided to any other person by you, except that you may print to a printer or make written notes for your own personal use.
5.3 You will only search or otherwise access or view our Website through a standard internet browser (such as FireFox, Internet Explorer, Safari or Opera). In particular, you will not use any software or device to copy, transfer or download complete or partial parts of the Classes and other information given on our Website or our Website itself (text, code, software, graphics etc) to enable you or another person to run our website.
5.4 You will not allow access to the Classes by any other person or body and shall not disclose your password required to access our Website to any person or body to allow access from other computers. In the event that we have a reasonable belief that you may have breached the terms of this Clause 5.4 such belief shall give rise to a breach of the provisions of this Clause and this Agreement will be terminable in accordance with Clause 6.1.1.
6 Termination
6.1 We may terminate this Agreement where you are:
6.1.1 in substantial breach of the provisions of this Agreement;
6.1.2 in breach of the Other Provisions.
We may also terminate this Agreement where we decide to withdraw this Website (whether on a temporary or permanent basis) or decide no longer to permit access to the Website by you (by use of passwords or changes of passwords or by any other means). In such cases, it shall be in our sole discretion to determine how much, if any, refund you receive of the payment you have made for either the Classes or the Telephone/Skype Advice Service and, in determining the amount of any refund, we shall take in to consideration the amount of time you have had access to the Classes and the amount of time spent giving any telephone/skype advice (if any) and the circumstances of the termination and it shall also be in our discretion to complete performing the Telephone/Skype Advice Service which may remain unperformed.
7 Exclusion of liability
7.1 Except in the case of death or personal injury caused by our negligence, our liability under or in connection with this Agreement, whether arising in contract, tort, negligence, breach of statutory duty or otherwise shall not exceed the sum of either the amount you have paid for the Classes or the Telephone/Skype Advice Service or whichever is the higher.
7.2 We shall not be liable to you in contract, tort, negligence, breach of statutory duty or otherwise for any loss, damage, costs or expenses of any nature whatsoever incurred or suffered by you:
7.2.1 of an indirect or consequential nature nor
7.2.2 for any economic loss or other loss of turnover, profits, business or goodwill.
7.3 Nothing in this Agreement excludes liability for our fraud.
8 Right to cancel
8.1 The Australian Consumer Law 2011 permits consumers to cancel a contract after it has been entered into subject to certain limitations and requirements. Your right to cancel will depend on the type of product or service that you are purchasing from us, and are detailed as follows:
8.1.1 Access to Classes: You will have the right to cancel the contract for access to the Classes within 7 working days as long as you do not access any part of a class. If you access any part of a class before the expiry of the 7-day period, from the time you paid for the classes you will no longer be able to cancel the contract, as we will have provided you with access to the class.
8.1.2 Telephone/Skype Advice Service: You will have the right to cancel the contract for the Telephone/Skype Advice Service within 7 working days as long as we do not telephone/Skype you to give advice in accordance with these terms and conditions at your selected date and time for the provision of the Telephone/Skype Advice Service. If we telephone you before the expiry of the 7-day period to provide the Telephone/Skype Advice Service, from the time we call you will no longer be able to cancel the contract, as at the time we telephone you we will have started providing the Telephone/Skype Advice Service.
9 If you have the right to cancel then:
9.1 you will need to send a notice in writing to us stating that you wish to cancel the contract between us and you; and
9.2 you will need to send us the notice of cancellation within 7 working days, with the 7-day period starting with the day after you receive our confirmation that there is a binding contract between you and us;
9.3 you can send us the notice of cancellation by e-mail to email@example.com or by post to BornOnline, 3/7 Castello Circuit, Varsity Lakes, QLD, 4227 marked for the attention of Director of BornOnline;
9.4 after we receive your notice of cancellation we will refund any money you have paid to us within 28 days.
10 Gift Certificates
10.1 Additional terms and conditions apply with respect to the use of Gift Certificates purchased from the Website.
10.2 Gift Certificates are treated like cash. Lost or stolen certificates will not be replaced or refunded. Gift Certificates are not redeemable for cash.
10.3 Gift Certificates expire 6 months from the issue date. For the avoidance of doubt, this is the date in which BornOnline Pty Ltd issued the Gift Certificate and not the date you received the Gift Certificate.
10.4 Gift Certificates only to be used for the purchase of the Antenatal and Postnatal Package Bundle. No other services permitted.
11 Advertisements
11.1 BornOnline Pty Ltd has advertisements on our website. Although BornOnline Pty Ltd receives money from the advertisements on our website, you are solely responsible for your decision whether to click on advertising boxes on our website and whether to make purchases from our advertisers. You are solely responsible for payment of all costs or fees associated with the purchase of goods and services from our advertisers
12 Advertisers
12.1 All advertising bookings must be confirmed in writing.
12.2 The finished artwork must be the same dimensions as indicated in the media kit. Advertisements outside of these will not be accepted.
12.3 Cancellations will only be accepted in writing and must be received before the first day of the month. Cancellations received after the first of the month will not be accepted and a full month fees are due.
12.4 To secure advertising space payment via PayPal is required at the time of booking.
12.5 Advertisements on www.bornonline.com.au are accepted subject to approval of the owners.
It is the responsibility of the advertiser to ensure that advertisements comply with the Trace Practices Act. Advertisements are accepted for publication on the condition that the advertiser indemnifies BornOnline Pty Ltd against all actions, suits, claims, loss and/or damage and expense resulting from anything published by the advertiser.


text:
FT Aluminum Wing Buttons
NEW Factory Team Aluminum Wing Buttons can be used on various vehicles such as 1:10 on- and off-road as well as 1:8 buggies and truggies.
These new wing buttons help keep the wing secured during the heat of battle. The bottom side of the buttons have been recessed to allow for a more solid fit between the wing and wing mount.
Sorry, item specifications are not available.
Sorry, item specifications are not available.
There are no parts associated with this product.
- #92100 FT Aluminum Wing Buttons (245.44 Kb)


text:
Sony ends the year on a high note.
Posted By Pramath | On 13th, Jan. 2017 Under News | Follow This Author @Pramath1605
Nintendo Switch's conference wasn't the only bit of big news we got yesterday- we also got the preliminary NPD report that confirmed that the PS4 had indeed managed to come in first in the United States for the second month straight, meaning Sony managed to score an overall victory in the Holiday Season.
That said, in spite of this victory, it was a muted occasion for them- as Microsoft themselves pointed out in a statement they released, PS4 sales slid year on year- the launch of the PS4 Pro, PS4 Slim, and the PlayStation VR was not enough to counter a decline in sales. Meanwhile, for the sum total of the second half of 2016, it appears as though Microsoft managed to outsell PS4 with the Xbox One in the US- presumably on the back of exciting games like Gears of War 4 and Forza Horizon 3, as well as the launch of the excellent Xbox One S.
We'll get the full NPD report, including software charts, on January 19, so stay tuned to GamingBolt for that.
Contact Us About Us Staff Advertise With Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Reviews Policy Hooked Gamers Community Policy


text:
You can type the www. – I'm not going to stop you (unless you are aiming for something on most subdomains). Just be aware that is it so pre2k.
But, you'll be the one laughing and pointing your finger when I try visiting one of those websites that seem to be stuck in 1999 and actually require the www. – two that immediately come to mind from previous annoyances: UWSP and Fulham FC. Or the newest mystery in www fun, Transworld Snowboarding – my longtime preferred URL of twsnow.com is dead and transworldsnowboarding.com without the www
misdirects me completely works just fine, nevermind.
I'm not going to say www. is deprecated and force all requests to a sans www. URL – after all, I don't have to type it or look at it in your address bar. Instead I'm just going to keep busy with breaking my sentences apart with dashes – you dig?
And Transworld, please fix twsnow.com? Press releases on your own site reference that URL.
Oi, no dissing Fulham! Maybe if you tried typing in fulhamfc.com rather than co.uk you'd have better luck. Then again it's weird that fulhamfc.com works with or without the www dot while the co.uk requires the www dot. As FFC supporters would say, it's kinda fulhamish.


text:
Reinhard Goebel awarded Bach Medal10:04, 6th June 2017
The 2017 City of Leipzig Bach Medal is to be awarded to the violinist and conductor Reinhard Goebel, founder of Musica Antiqua Köln. One of the most influential early instrumentalists and directors of the second half of the 20th century, most notably in north German Baroque chamber music, Goebel has been called an 'icon of early music'.
The medal will be presented to Reinhard Goebel by the Mayor of Leipzig, Burkhard Jung, and the director of the Bach Archive, Peter Wollny, as part of the Leipzig Bach Festival, on 17 June, in the city's Altes Rathaus.
In recognition of their special services to the upholding of Bach's legacy, the City of Leipzig Bach Medal has in the past been awarded to such figures as Peter Kooij (2016), Masaaki Suzuki (2012), Herbert Blomstedt (2011), Philippe Herreweghe (2010), Frieder Bernius (2009), Nikolaus Harnoncourt (2007), Ton Koopman (2006), Sir John Eliot Gardiner (2005), Helmuth Rilling (2004) and Gustav Leonhardt (2003).


text:
Top stories from around the Campus
CedarNews is published fortnightly on the even weeks of school term. Printed copies are sent home with the youngest child in the family and are also available from this page on the same night. Some of our top stories from the Newsletter are published as online articles, and are available to read below.
(To read the full newsletter, use the Newsletter menu on this page)


text: This is, for my tastes, one of the finest coppers I have yet seen from the mine and from Russia in modern times. Every year for 3 years, the production has changed a little bit, as the mining progresses through the oxidation zone here (interestingly, they are mining from the bottom-up). This year, a small pocket of these coppers with a rich and variegated, iridescent patina was hit. This specimen was, from what I was told and what I have seen, the best of that lot. It is a cabinet piece which has merit for the size and sharpness of the crystals, and for its arborescent form; but it has a beautiful surface which adds so much character. We believe that some of the coloration you see is due to the presence of very small silver deposition atop the copper in some places. 588 grams. Found in August of 2011. Joe Budd photos.


text:
BOUZOUKI PRODIGY µ8 PICKUPS
Humbucker with reversed wound coils. This is the
most powerful active pickup on the market for Bouzouki.
Inside the pickup is a specially designed pre- amplifier
( a 9v battery is required which has a life of between
120 and 150 playing hours) which gives you a superb
balanced sound of all the strings reproducing a crystal
clear sweet acoustic sound with the added drive of
the electric 'live' sound.
A truly remarkable pickup that responds to your plectrum
technique and your detailed finger work on the fretboard
giving an amazing sensational feeling to your finger
tips. The µ8 is complimented with a small red
l.e.d which indicates when the pickup is active. Fully
shielded to eliminate any hum and buzzing noises.
Designed to work in particular with the SOLITAIRE®
amps, or direct input to a mixing desk and most other
quality amp systems. The Bouzouki Prodigy µ8
pickup was designed using Prodigy Strings.
To obtain the optimum sound from your pickup we recommend
that you use Prodigy Strings, choose a set from our
full range of Bouzouki strings.
PRICE: £85.00 inc. VAT / £70.83 ex VAT
Order Code: u8
'Temporarily Out Of Stock'
Bouzouki Prodigy µ8 Pickup Installation in ENGLISH
Bouzouki Prodigy µ8 Pickup Installation in GREEK
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