Lost an old friend yesterday

Mmmmmm pork chops yesterday for dinner and "as always" Tom our older cat jumped up behind me on my chair and I felt the familiar cold nose pushing my elbow out of the way so he could see what was on the plate.
I gently put him back on the floor kissing his head as I did so, him being deaf for such a long time now we had taken to talking to him with our mouths on his ear so he would know we were communicating with him.
He tried another couple of sorties and was rewarded with 2 tiny bits of pork from my plate. He wandered off then and sat on the back of my arm chair watching what was going on around him.

Having washed up and settled down to watch a bit of TV I had wandered into the kitchen when Sally exclaimed that she heard Tom being sick under the stairs, this is the place where the cat litter trays are kept.  It wasn't unusual that Tom would be sick just lately, it was strange though that he was under a small set of drawers which used to be his bolt hole when he heard fireworks or heavy thunder, the only things that ever scared him.

I went to get some kitchen towel to clear away the sick but by the time I got back he was lying in one of the litter trays clearly not well.  I tried to pick him up at the same time as he attempted to get up and his back legs were just not working.

Lifting him gently onto his favourite chair and cushion I stroked him and could feel his heart racing and his breathing becoming laboured.  He must have had some kind of stroke or heart attack and we phoned our vet (Peak Veterinary) and noted down the out of hours number.  Having phoned the number twice and received the same message, "this number is unavailable" Sally rang a practice in Bakewell. called Bakewell Veterinary Clinic

Within 20 minutes a Vet "Josh" was with us and we jointly made the decision to put Tom to sleep.  He was clearly not going to recover and appeared to be in some distress by this time.  Stroking his head and talking to him he drifted off when the injection took effect.

I've probably mentioned before that Tom turned up on Christmas Day 1996 a fully grown stray who adopted us and our 2 resident cats "Wallace & Gromit"

He quickly became the "Top Cat" in the area and carried the scars of many battles over the years.  Cats are either "fight or flee creatures" and Tom was always up for a fight and would never back down.  He once saw off next doors German Pointer and lacerated its nose so badly it never came near him again.

Another of Toms Doggy friends was "Barney" our friend Sharon's dog' a Golden Retriever who always wanted to be friends but would never look Tom in the eye for fear of an attack. So after nearly 17 years with us he joins his long time sparring partner "Grumpy" and "Little Tesco" in the garden top terrace.

I'll do another blog with loads of pics but here's one of my favourites of him "on station" outside our kitchen windows guarding his turf.

Wonderful old guy!  Gone now but never ever will he be forgotten - - - - -

A heartfelt thanks to the professional outfit at Bakewell Veterinary Clinic and to Josh the vet who had a couple of stitches in his lip having been kicked by a Bull recently.  Mind you he was castrating it at the time - - - !

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website

Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Work at Chernobyl! & Lunch with the girls

The news today has some particularly gruesome stories or is it just me picking up on them I wonder  Child rape by a former rockstar,  Nigella crack head, bombs in Belfast - - ah well C'est la vie

Christmas is less than a month away, date wise and there are plenty of reminders round and about.  Non more so than the "BBC Sports Personality of The Year Award"and the  short list of hopefuls is paraded in this article

I/we don't watch a lot of sport and that's reflected in the fact i have No Idea who 3 of the line up are! Its an interesting programme though although it does drag on a bit.  Andy Murray apparently is favourite for winning this years Wimbledon mens final.  I would rather like Chris Froome our 2013 Tour De France winner to triumph although its unlikely because of Bradley Wiggins winning the 2012 SPOTY.
The comments below the story are of course, "gems".  Here's one "Its got to Murray this year, with any luck he wont be eligible (soon) as he will be a foreigner"  - - -

Chernobyl is in the news again with the construction of a roof over the sarcophogus which was built over the reactor which blew up in 1986 spewing radioactive dust over most of western Europe.  "Was it really that long ago!?"

The original cover should have been replaced in 2006 and this ambitious and massive construction job is hoped to be finished in 2015, lets hope its in place before the old one finally collapses! - - -

Another church story of "foot in mouth disease" is highlighted in this Mail story

Ex CNN News front-man man Hodson was "called" to be Church of England Curate only to fall almost at the first fence after 13 months by moving in with one of the "flock".  As always the story picks up on the fact that at the same time as he was "tending" his "lamb" he was also urging people to "confess their wrongdoings and repent!  He's banned from the ministry for 5 years so i guess he'll have a long "repenting" period - - - With his connections I don't think he'll be out in the cold too long - - - He could always be a politician with credentials like that!    - - -

Nearer to home
The cold and frosty Peak Organics work yesterday achieved quite a lot and was quite fulfilling.
I "finally" managed to clear everything away from the stone wallers next project

The area along the wall had been a general dumping area for years as well as having a few trees growing on it.  A bonus though was that a lot of the organic material had rotted down into some fine soil which I moved up into the garden area.
The recently constructed dry stone wall area was cleared up and the pathway membrane re-laid.

Here Jenny with the rake and Vanessa arranging the membrane with her 2 dogs looking on show off the new wall
Amazing to think that not long ago it looked like this (looking from the top area in the last pic)

Sainsbury paid us a visit and decided it was time to climb up a tree to get a better view of what we were doing

In our garden (behind the trellis in the pic) a winter project is hatching with unfortunately having to remove the large apple tree in this pic to "open up" the top terrace.  We do however have plans to replace it!

Its a bit of a day off today with car washing and taking Sally and Debs out to lunch before starting a set of shifts at the Fun Factory tomorrow with the new bakery manager in situ!

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website

Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

An "Independence Encyclopaedia! & I come across "the pit of doom"

Sky news, a along with other media cover the Scottish bit for a split from the rest of the UK.  The story indicates there's a 670 page Independence Encyclopaedia which "promises how a breakaway Scotland would work"

Lets hope Encyclopaedia doesn't turn out to be "just a fairy story"  There's talk about how the rest of the UK will feel about the document - - - I think we should have a referendum at the same time as the Scots do to let em know how we feel. - - - 

Funny headline in the Sun this morning 

Its a take on John Darwin skipping his parole to meet a "25 year old bride" in the Ukraine.  Hes the guy who "disappeared" while canoeing in the sea some years back! 

Giving criminals short goal sentences disrupts their home life according to the headline in the daily mail 

The comment is by "top judge" apparently - - - solution then?   give them longer sentences maybe. - - -

Closer to home 

Yesterdays logging was going fine until I was attempting to bring down the last group of hawthorn trees which as usual were twisted together and holding each other from falling to the ground.

Here's the last 2 groups in the copse and its the one on the left with the magpie nest visible. 

 The trick is to saw them in the right order or the chainsaw bar gets trapped - - - like this 

Iv'e released the bar from the body of the saw which is stuck by the weight of the trunk.  Normally if it was summertime and i had Boris the Defender with me i would use one of my hand saws to release it but having to walk to the site due to the wet ground I don't have any with me. 

The solution was to walk back to my friend Jim's and borrow his chain saw, here in the foreground to do the job.  

Cracked it! and the last of the copse is down ready for cutting up and stacking.  But wait a minute? what's this? 

The copse was almost at the top of a small knoll which you can see in the first pic.  What I had not realised because of the undergrowth was that it concealed a pit with a large metal grill across the 8 foot diameter top of it. 

I cleared away some of the undergrowth and discovered a sheeps bones which meant the animal must have got its foot stuck between the grill openings and starved to death long ago. 

Hanging onto the stone surround I put one foot on the grill cleared away the sheep bones and dropped a stone down the pit, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 seconds before it reached the bottom.  How deep was it then?OK you work it out! All i knew, "it was deep" as I gingerly got both feet back onto the stone surround!  

As I puffed my way up the hill back to the farm I named it "the pit of doom" Unfortunately Jim was out when I arrived back at the farm but I must find out the history of it - - - 

Its a http://peakorganics.org.uk work day today thank good ness because at the moment its Fffffreeezing 

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website

Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Antarctic Ex in the doldrums & bits and bobs

Apologies to anyone following the misleading "latest blog"link from our website of the last couple of days, I changed the banner pic on the index page and forgot to update the blog bit before publishing it.

The papers are full of the woes affecting the "walking With The Wounded" expedition not least because Prince Harry is taking part in it

The first let down was their delay at getting flown into the base camp and now bad weather is stopping them acclimatising and getting in some practice skiing.  Makes you wonder if its all just going to end in tears - - -

An American teenager spent weeks in hospital suffering from concussion after playing lacrosse

He had little talent for any musical instrument before his hospitalisation but on his discharge he realised he could play music easily by ear.  He now plays 13 instruments well - - - amazing what's hiding in your brain and might never have a chance at coming out?  - - - 

Here's one of those stories that make me wonder what planet we are really on!  Compensation being paid TO Women RAF recruits for being made to march like/with men!  Whaaaaaat!  

Several weeks of being made to march alonside mail colleagues lead to them developing spinal and pelvic injuries!  The sad thing about the ruling is they got, £100,000 which is more than some soldiers get for being injured in battle?!!!! - - - 

Nearer to home.  

The Legal Aid "fiasco" where I am being chased for a 17 year old debt of £31.73 I never knew I had takes on another twist.  I phoned legal aid who said someone would ring back the following day which they didn't.  I fired off an e mail to them and they, "promised to reply in 5 working days" and they haven't.  

The Debt Collecting Service, a company called Fredrickson International have sent me a letter stating, "YOU MUST CONTACT US NOW ON 0845 0349812 to discuss the matter further" and that all communication about the repayment of the debt "must now be with us"  

What is strange though about the 2 documents I have received in the post, one from Legal aid and one from Fredricksons is not only have they both misspelled one of my names but the return addresses on the back of the envelopes are the same!!!!????? - - - I think I smell a rat!  

My winter logging activities are moving along although I had to replace my chainsaw guide bar the other day having damaged it when it became stuck in a branch I was cutting.  Mind you it probably was about time it was renewed anyway so no problem there.  

The weather forecast today looks like it might let me get a couple of hours in.  

Tom our older cat 

is still going strong although he has taken to using the litter tray which previously he always shunned, rather than going outside and he's rather skinny now.  I suppose the one thing in his favour is he's still eating everything in site which is probably keeping him going! 

So its a couple of hours on "the book" and then out to the logging site.  

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website

Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Another spider story! & TracEy's last day at the Fun Factory

Here's another spider story which looks quite nasty and ended in the "victim losing part of her ear!

The victim was bitten by a Mediterranean Recluse spider while she slept and ended up losing a fair proportion of her ear.  Reconstruction surgery however managed to use some of her rib cartilage to effect a replacement - - - pics in article - - -

A surprisingly switched on Microlight pilot a John Merriaman from Somerset managed to avert disaster in his microlight plane'3 engine cuts out at an altitude of just 300ft

Follow the link above to see the astonishing video looking over the blokes shoulder as he recovers from the emergency.

A strange story from the Metro has some good pics of The Door To Hell  Its a story from Turkmenistan, no not the one off the A38 the one bottom left bordering the Caspian Sea!

This "fire" has been burning for over 40 years, a spin off from an oil exploration project in 1971.  It turned out that large amounts of methane gas were discovered and the idea was to "burn it off" to protect nearby villages - - - yeah!   Its still burning today! I wonder why the heat produced has not been used somehow?

We completed our lake district "overnighter" and very nice it was too.  Here are a few pics

5 star breakfast stop on the A591 just off the M6 J36!

Borrowdale end of Derwent Water  - - - at least its not raining

Sally in her "all weather gear" by Cyril the van at the Honnister slate mine.  We loaded him up with some nice pieces for the garden winter project! No snow at the mine but you could see it on the higher peaks

A very cold and windy view of the stepping stones near Ambleside, we always walk across from the free cricket club car park to see them.  They were well under water at our last visit in Jan and are only just above the water in this pic.

Nice sunset down at the hotel http://www.wateredgeinn.co.uk/ for the night - - - great place

The seagulls waiting for the sun to hit this side of Lake Windermere the following morning.

Part of the Helvellyn range with its covering of snow viewed from the remains of the old Roman Fort at Ambleside

We locked the cats in overnight and after a good feed they both had an explore outside.  Here Sainsbury checks out the top of Boris in the sunshine.

Down at the Fun Factory (sainsbugs Matlock) today (a day off for me though)  its time to say goodbye to my boss, "lets call her TracEy" she's off to pastures new so its a new broom for everyone in the bakery from tomorrow.  Cant wait to get back on Thursday!  - - - - All the best Dragon Lady!

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website

Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Your chickens in 4b & Linux up date and off to the Lakes Tmw

This is one that you have to smile at!  When you see the postcard form the postman that he needs a signature for a letter or whatever it normally means a trip to the PO or rearranging a further delivery!

Not in this case its a note to say the postman saw the persons chicken escaping!  

Imagine walking your dog down by the river and all of a sudden you see £20 pound notes floating in the river 

The story relates that an unnamed person found £60k floating about in a Spalding river!!  - - - nice 

My dalliance with the Linux Ubuntu Operating System  continues apace and I'm getting to really like it.  I cant seem to get the PC its on appearing on our home network but right now that's no big deal.  I suppose a real far away future goal would be to get the website working on an Ubuntu machine - - - Mmmmmmm! 

Logging yesterday was a real cold and frosty affair but quite enjoyable. 

The sun hadn't reached the lower area I was working in and I tried to cut up the stuff in the picture only to realise it was frozen solid!  So I went up to the group of trees in the sun 

The Autumn/winter colours and frost are well in evidence in this pic 

 This magnificent Holly tree is definitely not for chopping down as its a favourite of Jim the bloke who owns the land.  In fact its 2 trees, a female with the berries right next to a male (behind in the pic) which helps for pollination.  We might just snip a few bits off for Christmas 

So its off to the Lake District tomorrow for an overnighter cant imagine what the weathers going to be like 

Cant be true if its on the front page of the express - - - can it?  - - -   nice pic of Esther!

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website

Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Snows a comin! & I Owe Legal Aid money!?

The temperature has dropped as predicted by the weather peeps and the papers are full of the usual dire warnings

The Express is at the forefront of these with its warning of gales and chaos - - - must be true then! 

Mind you here's a pic from a road camera in Finland that I use to check the weather there, ok sad isn't it! 

 They have had snow on the ground since the 16th October!  Strange effect around the Christmas tree lights? 

More doom and gloom for "the Church" as the Mail follows other headlines by indicating that the 

Church is on the brink of extinction  - - - good story I wonder if anything will come of it? 

The Road Charity Break wants to ban the use of Hands free phones according to this BBC story.  They propose hiking up the fines for texting or using a phone to between £500 and £1000.  That's all very well but its amazing how many people you see on any journey using their phones.  There needs to be some effective way of catching them before there's a move to stopping use of hands free phones.  

Nearing the end of my shift pattern and looking forward to an overnighter in the Lake District later in the week I wandered home to a cup of steaming hot tea and a crackling log burner.  Oh what's this! an official looking letter sits upon my PC keyboard.  

Engaging in some chit chat with Sally I multi task and manage to open the letter to see it is from "Legal Aid"  

Never having ever had legal aid I smell a rat and think the demand for money is a con.  

Reading the short missive I am informed that my,  "outstanding liability has now been referred to our "Debt Collection Agency"  

We quickly check the references of the letter and find it is more than likely genuine? 

I phone the Legal Aid Debt Collection phone number and am at least not "held in a queue" although the thick Slavic accent of the guy on the other end is difficult to understand. 

I give him the reference number from the letter and in a short while he mumbles that I have a judgement against me for costs which has not been paid.  

"When was this I ask?"  "1996" I here down the phone "it was at the time of your divorce".  He tells me someone will phone me "tomorrow maybe" to explain and we end the call.  

Incandescent with rage? No not really I have past that stage and am orbiting some distant planet in the galaxy!!!!!!!!  

I am totally unaware of this 17 year old Debt and have never been contacted about until now.  I do however know for sure that all the "bank breaking bills" from that era have been paid in full. 

There are the usual threats in the letter about payment in X days or else and I fire off 2 e mails one to Legal aid and one to "our Debt Collection Agency" telling them i have no intention of paying unless someone tells me what is going on.  

No doubt in the end I will pay but I shall get my moneys worth first! 

The amount owed? - - -  is the "princely sum of £31 and 73p - - - - - 

On a much lighter note - -- - I just spotted our resident Squirrel have a go at the peanuts! 

Talk about "hanging on for grim death!"  

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Hey Padre got any crack? & "I don't like sick I don't like sick"

Another blow for the church comes with the revelation that Reverend Paul Flowers  put both feet firmly

in his mouth when he was caught on film buying drugs.  Not only is he a minister but he was also chairman of the Co-op bank when it nearly went under.  He's been a drug user for ages and even brags about it! why why why does it take so long to expose these plonkers!  Guaranteed he will be in another position of trust within 12 months!

Follow this Metro link to see a very short but funny video of a childs first encounter with an icy puddle!

Another of those stories that make you think Whaaaat!  A Fijian who has served in the British Army for as number of years was refused permission to stay in the UK when he left the Army because he didnt fill in a form!
Thank goodness common sense finally won through and after a month in a detention centre he was granted "settlement in the UK" No wonder he said he "felt betrayed!"

Another "foot in mouth disease" idiot is Melissa Bachman

 Here she is posing with a lion she's just shot!   Whaaaat! The strange thing about the story is that she shot the lion in South Africa and a petition to prevent her returning there has been signed 13,000 times.
The story is peppered with pics of this idiot with her trophies.  Surely the question has to be asked though is why is South Africa letting people like this shoot their heritage from under their feet!!! - - -

Closer to home.
The shifts down at the Fun Factory (sainsbugs Matlock) have been a little less challenging lately as we seem to have lost most of our managers.  The shop manager is on holiday and the second in command has just been signed off sick for a while.  In a "normal job" all the other managers would close ranks and get on with it.  In the Sainsbugs world though they parachute managers in on a seemingly daily basis.  So its a case of "Whos he/she?" and then get on with it!

We get a range of requests for items as the shifts roll by and for the most part they are your standard stuff.  The other day though I was nervously approached by a lady asking for Xanthan Gum.  "Oh yes" I replied and took her to the Free From section where it was displayed.  She seemed surprised I knew where it was but I must admit I had no idea what it was used for so so here's the wiki on it

This afternoon I had already clocked out and was "on my way" when I heard a conversation about "where is the bodily fluid disposal kit".  Someone had been sick by the checkouts and the "correct procedure" swung into action.  The Commercial Manager, lets call him Adam swiftly located the kit designed for safe removal of "Bodily fluids", and employing the first principle of "delegation" pressed it into the hands of the duty shop manager, lets call him James to get on with it.  As I swiftly descended the stairs back into the shop all I could hear was James protesting.  I dont like sick I dont like sick!"
After grabbing a couple of items from the shelves I was heading for the self scan and observed James with a wrinkled nose and a "package" held at arms length scurrying off to the bins!  - - -

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

More cones on the statues & I am really in the dog house!!

Glasgow statue of "old nosey" with a cone on his head is not as unique as the story claimed.  The city Fathers of Galsgow were thinking of raising the statue to stop people puttting cones on the head.
This BBC story has a host of pics from around the UK showing "cone heads"

We do still have a sense of humour then!   - - -  --

I never knew the Japanese were so hooked on Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit

This lady Kasuko Kobayashi read Peter Rabbit as a way of learning English but the attraction draws Japanese tourists to the Attraction in Bowness-on-Windermere in their droves!

This story really will not go away! MI6 spy Gareth Williams

Found dead in a padlocked holdall in an empty bath in his flat in Pimlico
The coroner declares he was likely to have been killed unlawfully"  The police however say an "evidence review" has found it "was more probable that no other person as present when he died"
So you get into the bath then put yourself in a holdall and manage to lock yourself in.  Then what? !!!
- - - - - -- - - - --

So there I was having a break at the Fun Factory (Matlock Sainsbugs) when I notice a text from Sally, "Gentle hint have you forgotten anything about today? "  Icy fingers run down my spine as it takes a few seconds to realise I have forgotten her birthday.
Colleagues rush to my aid, well just taking the Pixx really but suggesting I send flowers - - quickly.  Taking my life in my hands I suggest Champagne as a way out and the card lady from the shop finds me a grovelling Sorry card.
On the way home I have a brainwave! I will get 2 new tyres for her beloved Boris the Defender!  - - - maybe I will only get 40 lashes!!!!
I arrive home only to hear that even her ex, our friend Croxford remembers her birthday - - - oh bugger it I'm in the sh1t.

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam

Toronto Mayor really taking the PiXX & This and that

Dont you just love it when Politicians get "Foot in mouth disease?" The Toronto mayor Rob Ford hits the headlines once again accused of took cocaine with a prostitute  I think his mouth must be large enough to fit both feet in this time.  He still refuses to step down although his end surely must "be nigh" !!!!!!!!   - - - -

The parents in this Mail article should get a medal EACH!

 To stop their daughters watching TV all the time they set then 100 outdoor challenges and completed them with the 2 girls

Real Family time! - - -

This a bit of a hoot! Scientists kill worlds oldest creature!

The dopey scientists opened it up and promptly killed it - I think they deserve the hakuraman idiot of the week award!  - - -

There has been much talk of the weather bringing on a cold snap next week "-10c and snow" the early whispers have been gathering strength with more and more weather media putting in their take on the gathering change

Well - - - ok this is from Metchek UK and they don't get it wrong all that often . - - batten down the hatches and stoke up the woodburner!!! - - -

Down at the Fun Factory (Matlock Sainsbugs) the day passed reasonably well with me being castigated by 2  customers because we didn't have any "ground almonds".  "Its Christmas you know" said one to which you would love to say, "No not yet dopey!" but you mumble a reply about "difficult supply chain problems" and completely ignore the other customer who tells you, "the co-op have them"  -- - !!!!

Our new Bakery manager, "lets call him Dave" is coming from a Sheffield store called "Archer Road" because its on - - "Archer Road"  - - -

Enjoy the day

Follow this link to see  our weather website
Or this one just to see  the streaming birdfeeder cam