The Bells Have Made Me Deaf

Recommended by DudeAsInCool, this CD by Jed & Lucia is just so totally relaxing, I committed to purchasing after just one listen all the way through. Well… I’ve committed mentally but it’s taken me a few minutes to unglaze and regain the use of my limbs which had somehow melted into the sofa…

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I was listening to the coverage on the radio about the postman who has been suspended for advising people how to stop the junk mail that fills their letterboxes via Royal Mail. He was distributing his own leaflets with basically the same information that Royal Mail have available but not widely publicised since junk mail generates a lot of revenue. I for one didn’t know that there was a choice to stop all the unsolicited crap that comes by post. Mine usually goes straight to the recycle bin. What a waste of resources. So I wrote to the e-mail address given (optout@royalmail.co.uk) out in the program and got this reply with the address to write to if you want to stop all those advertising leaflets coming through but be aware that it stops everything unless addressed to the occupier. Hmmm. Does that mean everything? Like no more free newspapers, no more council information leaflets etc.? I think the pros outweigh the cons.

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I was walking the dog yesterday afternoon when a red landrover pulled up beside me. It was one of the neighbouring farmers looking for a lost cow. He’s a replica of Compo from Last of the Summer Wine and tends to ask too many personal questions so I don’t give him much extra time to be nosey. The cow has apparently escaped into the plantin. Now I could understand the problem if this were some vast estate with hundreds of acres of woodland but to lose a cow in half an acre of shrubery is a bit much. The same character swears blind that he saw a ‘rockweiller’ on the loose in the said half acre. Tis the hound of the basketcases come to prey on lone coos on the scunge.

On my return from the walk, he was plodding about at the back of the house in tippy toe stealth mode. I would have taken a photo but for the fact that he would have seen me do it. Must be one sneaky cow or maybe he was in fear of the mad dog of his wildest imagination. He disappeared into the shrubery and that was the last I saw of him until today. No doubt his ventures of yesterday were not a success and called for reinforcements. Today they were two and tried the approach from the front of the house. I doubt very much if their cow is in there at all but they seem set on getting into the middle of the bushes to be about their business whatever that may be. It’s all very curious.

Apart from this server playing up a lot lately, my personal bandwidth balls are currently caught up in Madcap’s greedy downloading vice. I resigned meantime, to cooking four chicken thighs and some rice to soak up the beer which somehow flows down the throat like velvet lemonade while listening to Miles Davis Kind of Blue and reading Henry the Adequate.

I never before realised how good I was at multitasking even when my resources are being drained by some Floydhead addicted to grabbing huge files wherever they pop up. He forced me to reinstall the web server to facilitate his must have and must have NOW with silent threats of heartfelt disappointment.

Another beer with my name on it is calling from the fridge but I’m playing hard to get. That’ll teach it. I wonder if the neighbours like jazz as much as they like the sound of screaming children. One tends to balance out the other. In fact, I think presently, Miles Davis is ahead by half a decibel and the knob is only cranked a quarter way around the dial. Bring on the tantrums, I’m ready.

A talented artist, my friend Alison has started her own web site at Alison Hill Fine Art. She also has a page on myspace with a few extra bits and pieces not available on the main web site.

“Hello I’m back”
My mind goes numb
So much I want to say
Nothing seems to come
Just babble

“Hello I’m on the internet
I’ll see you in Allfloyd”
Five minutes later
Conversation null and void
You’re gone

“Hello I’m at the airport
The carousel got stuck
I had to wait forever
The journey down here sucked”
Gatwick blues.

Hello hello hello
My darling friend hello
I so love those little moments
Before the cheerio.
Repeat monthly.

No no… it’s not what you’re thinking!

I wasn’t planning on changing my phone package until the current contract expired. The plan was to find a new broadband service provider. I’ve been using Onetel since changing over from dial up and had no complaints at all about the service until they were taken over by Talk Talk. Admittedly the complaints are minor but since I’m paying extra for unlimited service, I take umbrage at being cut off several times per day and the connection just hanging at other times requiring reconnection to get things moving again. So with those minor niggles, I began to look at other providers. I got no further than Virgin who were offering free broadband with a pay monthy mobile phone tariff. No longer needing an unlimited download option, it seemed like too good a deal. As a boon, I can actually pick up a virgin signal in the house whereas 3 requires all sorts of contortions to find the hotspot. Once found, if you move or even breathe, you get cut off. So, from now until November I have two mobile packages active with a total of 1000 minutes per month and a couple of thousand texts. I’ll be frothing at the mouth trying to talk that much… I wont even try to use all the texts. Don’t you just hate things going to waste?