What a great pair!

Just what you always needed. Found in a garden centre in Ambleside a lovely pair of tits! Solar powered glow in the dark ones for your garden. Why other than being able to boast the gag of 'I've got a pair of glow in the dark tits' would you want them. Blue tits are not nocturnal birds. If it was a glow in the dark owl then maybe I'd be tempted. And hang on...it's the middle of the Lake District where you only have to look out of your window to see more than your average number of the real things. Also found at the same place were rock shaped garden speakers. That's right speakers disguised as rocks. But why would you have speakers in your garden anyway? Ours would be better off with dog turd shaped ones as they would blend in better. And not forgetting the stick on bark faces. Because your tree might look a bit too...well like a tree and not human like, they have made stick on bark faces so that your tree can look like those scary ones on the Wizard of Oz.

Spoilt Papers

Ever wondered what to do with a really crap offer of new terms and conditions from your employer? Well East Lothian Council in its wisdom has upgraded people who needed to be, along with some dumbheads who don't even know how to count the extra dosh they will get. In return highly qualified people with professional expertese get downgraded. So pie munching white van man has more doughnut money, whilst others lose out. Emma was in the latter group along with her planning colleagues and were given a form to voluntarily accept the new deal. How handy it was when we were looking for some lining to absorb the guinea pigs piss and pooh in their cage! Her colleagues sent theirs along to for good measure. Not quite telling their personell lot to stick it up their arses...but not far off. Meanwhile you can get to look at our new arrivals...getting nice and fat ready for the summer BBQ's.

No34

There have been 33 otter sightings in East Lothian in recent years. I'm now No34 although judging by this picture I took perhaps it was just another rock!

Did you see that?

I did my usual Saturday morning walk with the dog on the beach. You get a lot of seals around there if you look hard enough. This time though I was fortunate enough to see something that I will probably never see again. It was an otter. It was sat on a rock eating fish and at first I thought it was a seal pup. But this thing had a tail and as i got near it there was no doubt about it. I watched it for 5 minutes or so and the dog started barking so I had to ditch it in the car, which allowed me to pick up my binoculars. When I got back it had gone. But then I saw its distinct style of swimming...hooping in and out of the water (I can see why these things have been mistaken for the Loch Ness Monster). I found it again around the corner on the site of the old outdoor pool...and then heading south. I will add it to my list of other wildlife spotted around here (still being headed by the big cat sighting of 2005) but I am never likely to see it again as they are nocturnal and shy normally. Keep your eyes peeled!

Staying on

After weeks of wondering whether to apply for that job at ADSA bakery, I need no longer need to bother. My funding has been renewed for another 3 years. I don't know where it has come from but somehow my management group found the huge amount needed to keep me on. There is also a small pay rise in it too so that I don't defect to the neighbouring towns of Haddington or North Berwick where similar jobs are on offer. It's all a big weight off our shoulders as the thought of moving again didn't really have much appeal.

So my ADSA career is over before it started. Actually I ended up going in there yesterday for something no other shop in Dunbar sells...goggles. Not even the swimming pool sells them. They sell nice chips, bacon rolls, sausage and egg rolls but not anything that might be useful for swimming. Dunbar hasn't quite got this health thing right. Hallhill Healthy Living Centre has just installed a bar in the top right corner of the badminton court! They do sell a good range of cakes though, and slush, and beer. None of that fruit juice and salad nonsense to be seen anywhere. And why should they? There's nothing more satisfying than sinking a few ales in the knowldege that you have just played footy or squash for an hour which was very healthy, and that you have earnt that beer.

Gremlins in the house

Over Christmas we took delivery of some new livestock. 3 guniea Pigs and a Rabbit. I don't think they have names yet but they are overrunning the house. The bunny has already chewed through the flex on the reading lamp (sadly it wasn't plugged in). Now the Guniea pigs are running amok in my kitchen. i have given up trying to catch them as they are working as a team against me so I have left them to it. Last seen gnawing away at a chair leg.
Anyway I found a website that might come in useful if things don't improve. Guinea Pig Fans click here

Theyr'e Gone..i think

Well if my calculations are right Colin & Sharon & the boys will be heading through to the departure loungs of Ringway Airport in around 1 hours time leaving behind a tearful mob of family and friends. Their first stop...Heathrow...then Hong Kong...Disney land Hong Kong (there has to be lots of racist jokes about that one i am sure) then their new home of Adelaide. By all account they were still packing late last night and wondering exactly what to do with the many items still at my mums house. I suppose it will find them eventually.

I have a very early memory of saying farewell to some distant relative as a kid. Until recently I could only remember it being at a train station and lots of people blubbing. I had no idea how old I was, but I discovered recently from my mum that I was about 3 years old. I think this is my earliest known memory and one that has stuck with me. Those psychologists amongst you will have a field day with tht information I am sure. Anyway it turns out the person was my mums cousin Susan who was emigrating. As it happens she too was off to Adelaide, where she is still living and likely to meet up with Colin some time soon.

We are not sure when we will visit them. Before that I ought to check that they actually left the country and didn't leave their visas behind on the kitchen table.

Family Farewells

Over Christmas the whole family (my siblings and wives, husbands and kids + a few Italians who tagged along for good measure) gathered together for one last time before Sharon & Colin and the boys clear off to Adelaide. Although there was a leaving party in Manchester too, we decided that one journey up and down the country in a week was enough and that we would make better use of our time on a weekend away. The venue was the newly refurbished Kents bank in Grange...the Wooldridges old holiday haunt that many of you will have been to. Whilst it's much better, there are still a few areas for improvement. It was a bit of a squeeze but we managed to get everyone in. However overcrowding took its toll on the loo that stopped working after my mum had been in it. Something she did caused a valve to burst! The other toilet also broke and started to leak. She denies any blame.

It lashed it down for most of the weekend but it didn't stop us getting out for a walk with Rob & Sarah, helping them with their new can collecting project. Me and Emma even found time for a game of arrows in the pub. There was plenty of quiz nights and pottering around. A final family photo was taken and off we went. We expect to be visiting them down under some time soon so there wasn't a sense of this being the last time we will ever see them. Still it's strange to to think that on our next visit to Burnage there will only be my mum and dad & Emma Beddows left living there from our family. For most of my life the Taylor family have lived within a few miles of Burnage and now in the last 3 or 4 years we have nearly all left. But as one Burnage boy once said 'don't look back in anger'...as I think we all left because the time was right and not because we were sick of it (the last bit was my words not Noel's).

I'll never be ill again?

In contrast to my healthy start to the year...I got a call up from the Dr's to tell me I am in the 'at risk group'. Of what you might ask? Flu apprantly. Because I am asthmatic I qualify for the vaccination jag. I'll have anything that's for free so I am now immune to 3 types of flu. The problem is, there are more than 3 types out there and you can bet your grannies earings that one of them will find me before the winter is out.

Running through the years

Well goodbye 2007 and hello 2008. Having spent far too much time socialising and eating a drinking over Christmas we decided to have a quiet Hogmany. We did the traditional 'Black Bun Run' with the running club. A mile and half sprint starting and finishing at the pub. We went back home and watched Jools Holland, just about stayed awake for the bells and then went to bed. Very boring. Because of this it meant I was fit enough on New Years Day to run the Portobello Promathon. This is a 4 miles sprint down the prom and back. Actually loads of people turned up (250 ish) and I was quite happy with my finish time of 24:20...which is 6.05 minute miles if you are interested. Then yesterday i did the Peebles leg of the Winter X Country races. That was hard...cold and wet. I came 29th out of 129 so again I am happy with that time. The kids did it too and did ok, although could make more effort to try and look like they are racing and not just out for a leisurley walk. So 3 races in a week is a good start to the year. What lies ahead? Emma is 40 this year and has decided we should do a marathon. She's looking at Amsterdam so watch this space. I had a quick look at other international ones....how about Rwanda...or Kenya? Either way it means lots of boring training, early rises and chaffing of my inner thighs!

Christmas 2007 in review

It's the last day of the holidays, during which my tinternet broke down (banging the router against the wall to sort out the loose connection didn't help). The 'D' Factor judging went well with Erin's cover version of Leona Lewis taking first prize and crying at being given the prize. However, in my opinion the warm up act..'Jake the Peg (dingle lingly lingy lum) with the extra leg' would have got my vote if I could. That routine never fails to raise a laugh.

The kids ended up moaning about how much church there was over Christmas. Friday with school, saturday for rehearsal for the nativity, Sunday for church, Monday for Christmas eve, Tuesday for Christmas. Unfortunately for them Christ's birthday celebrations clashed with the showing of Shrek the Halls. I had to do one extra and go to the midnight service to show the Christmas prayers we had done with the P5's. We went to Spott Parish Church on the big day as their services were a bit earlier and fitted in with the family gathering at Emma's aunty Ella's. Then it was back to ours for the Christmas dinner...well tea by the time it was ready. With just 13 of us it was pleasantly relaxed and everything was cooked in time for the Dr Who special.

In the lead up to Christmas we did a trip to the EastLinks Family Farm to see Santa and the live nativity. If you have any kids and in Dunbar it's worth a visit, although it is quite expensive, but good as a one off. Well Mary and Joseph were not actually there but the livestock were in the stable gathered around some tacky models. Santa was there and it turns out he is one of the local poachers! here is a picture of him with the kids. He has just said to them...'You must not get out of your beds when i come to visit'...and cousin Robbie replied..'only if i want a wee'.Ho ho ho!