Come for a walk with me

Good morning world. The weekend is here again, my goodness the weeks are zipping by so fast now, I can't keep up. The weather forecast for yesterday was good so I went for a ramble, get the boots on and get out there. The forecast for today is not so good, so best stay at home and do local stuff.

Right, where did I go? I didn't want to drive too far. I printed a map off from this site

http://www.maptasm.com/

Note :- I always post my links in full as I think a shortened version can be easily missed.

If you use maptasm it will always open in the Greater London view. I always zoom out a couple of times, then grab and move the page to the part of the country I want, then zoom in to whatever scale I need. A tip for printing, always print in landscape, then you have a sheet which is exactly what you see on the screen.

Anyway, the first two pics are a clue as to where I went. The home of the world famous Red Arrows. Scampton is a few miles north of Lincoln. They weren't out today so you will have to make do with this imaginary display, on the roof of the bus shelter in the village. Here is the web site of RAF Scampton, where they are based.

http://raf.mod.uk/rafscampton/

The Dambusters Inn in the High Street has a heritage centre full of RAF and World War11 memorabilia.  Operation Chastise, the air raid on the German Dams, was formulated at the nearby RAF station. The pub wasn't open so I couldn't look inside. 

I set off across the fields to North Carlton. As I was walking through the churchyard there, I noticed my reflection in the windows of the farmhouse next door. Strange that they had put mirrored glass in the windows, I guess to stop prying eyes peering into their living room. A good photo opportunity I thought.

Across some more fields, most of this area is agricultural, with gentle rolling hills, and I arrived at the church in South Carlton. Beautiful blue sky as you can see.

Around the back of the church was a surprise, this extra bit tagged onto the side. I think the hidden entrance looks every bit as good as the front door. It was time to park my bum on the grass and have a bite to eat. No bench to sit on, but it doesn't matter, I don't mind sitting amongst the gravestones. The view was lovely across the fields, so peacefull and quiet.  

Onward I went, over a couple of dykes, and came across this willow plantation. It was all planted up neatly in rows, I guess so they could get the machines through it to harvest it. There is some interesting information on this site

http://www.nps.ie/grow-willow-page.html

Eventually I reached the edge of Odder village, and turned left along an old road which used to be the main A57, before they built the bypass. I arrived at Burton Waters. I have often seen this place as I have driven by, now I have a chance to look around, or so I thought. There are several lakes here, lots and lots of boats, residential housing, log cabins, shops and entertainment.

It looks idylic. Relaxing in the sun, a perfect holiday location.... 

and a perfect place to live. A house on the waters edge with your own mooring. Jump in the boat any time you like.

How the other half live eh! There's some expensive kit here.

I remember reading up about this place a few years ago, thinking it might be a nice place to retire to, but when I looked at the prices, I could maybe afford a shed from the proceeds of the sale of my house. After seeing it in the flesh I'm not sure I would want to live here anway.

I had a chat with the security man because I wanted to get closer to the houses to see exactly what you got for your money. He was a friendly sort of guy, but he couldn't let me through the big wrought iron gates to walk around inside. There are signs everywhere saying Residents Only, and warning of 24 hour security operations, you can see the cameras peering down at you. Cars were arriving, they had to pass through gates which only opened when you punched in the correct security code. I don't think I want to live in this prison after all.  

I crossed over the A57 road, and headed for Burton by Lincoln, a very pretty village. Here is St Vincents Church. It sits high up on a hillside.

Through the village and out the other side, I took a footpath to the left through this field. What a wonderful day to enjoy the countryside. Just me and the sheep.

Passing through to the next field, I had to step over an electrified fence, thankfully it wasn't too high. It was there to keep these sheep enclosed. They stopped munching the grass as I entered, and turned to look at me. The next thing they all panicked and made a dash for the other end of the field. I single handedly managed to round them all up. Sheep dog, who needs a sheep dog, ha ha.

I felt a bit guilty about disturbing their Friday afternoon teatime nosh and natter, but what can you do, I needed to walk straight through them to get to the other side. I kept telling them not to worry, I was just passing through, but the daft beggars took no notice. Sorry sheepies :o)  

I got back to the car at Scampton at 6.30pm, after covering 14.5 miles. It was good to get my legs working, and getting a taste of what's to come with the map reading and reminding myself of the distances I need to cover on the big walk.

A quick pop into Morrisons as I was passing to check the reduced. Lots of meaty ready meals, yuk, no thanks. I'll just take three packs of posh cheese at 39p each, and some bananas.

Once again, thanks to the fantastic comments over the last couple of days. Lots of new people visiting, welcome. Some of your stories are so inspirational, please take a few minutes to read them. I'm just off out to check the churchyard for rubbish. No doubt there will be some. Toodle pip.

Do I need one?

Wow, how do I follow that? I am not used to so many comments. Fiftyone up to now on yesterdays post, I am gobsmacked, and a little bit chuffed as well, ha ha. Thank you all very much for contributing and adding your experiences. If you haven't read all the comments I urge you to do that now. There are so many inspirational stories on there. I love it when my blog becomes a place where like minded people come together and share their experiences. There are some who have had it far tougher than I have, and they've still managed to turn their life around for the better. I salute you, keep on doing what you are doing. Let's all kick consumerism into touch, and aim for a simpler and happier life.

If anyone is about to embark on this money saving journey towards a frugal and simple life, it's a bit like going on a diet is the best way I can describe it. Yes, I have been on some diets in the past, I put a fair few pounds on when I was sat on my backside all day, scoffing chocolate and crisps, and swilling pints of beer down my neck at night. I got to almost 11 stone, and my bum was well spread out, ha ha. Thankfully I have seen the light and eat very little of the naughty stuff now.

What is the first thing you do when embarking on a weight loss diet, you start thinking about food a lot more often, about counting calories, or points if you go to Weight Watchers. You think about all the foods you can eat as part of your diet. You are constantly looking at your watch to see if it is time to eat. You become more focussed on food than you ever were before. Food is always there at the back of your mind. You are on a diet but start to crave all the food you shouldn't eat. It gets harder and harder to resist, and then you crack and fall off the wagon, and binge on stuff you shouldn't be eating, next thing you know is that you are out of control.

There are lots of things we can become addicted to, certain kinds of food, massive amounts of food, booze, smoking, drugs, sex, to name a few, and of course, shopping. If you are a shopoholic people make jokes about it, but it is no laughing matter when you are racking up loads of debt to feed your addiction. Trying to stop yourself from going shopping, is as hard as cutting down on the beer and fags.

I was reading a thread on a forum once, a woman was going to start a spending diary to help her keep tabs on where her money was going, as she couldn't understand why she was constantly running short. Guess what the first thing she did was, she went out and bought a notebook. SHE SPENT MONEY. Grrrr, I wanted to scream at her. Isn't there enough scrap paper floating around that you could use.

Someone else on the forum was recommending a great book she had found, all about money saving ideas. The book cost £17.99. She could have immediately saved £17.99 BY NOT BUYING IT, plenty of free information on the internet. You pay for your broadband so why not get maximum use out of it, it's like having a library at your finger tips.

The only way to be a true and dedicated money saver, is to consider each and every purchase very carefully. Think, think, think, before you open your purse, hand the plastic over the counter, write a cheque, or sign up for direct debit or standing order. Question yourself each time. Do I really need this? Will my life be better if I buy this? Can I manage without it? And Can I buy it cheaper elsewhere?

Yes it's very hard at first, especially if you are feeling low and want the boost that spending gives you. It's easy to slip back now and then, but the more you practice the easier it gets. Eventually you are able to ignore all the chocolate that is deliberately placed next to the checkout at the supermarket. Good for the purse and good for the diet.

Am I rich, or am I poor?

Hi all, I am copying this comment here, from Claire, so you can see she has prompted me to write this post. Thank you Claire, I wonder how how old you are. I think you may be younger than me and have a differnt perspective on life.

Hi there, I really enjoy your blog, one thing that I am suprised about though is that you have no savings, why doesnt the meanqueen have any savings?

Another thing though that I wonder if you would comment on is that all this frugality is all very noble, but doesnt there come a point where it is "easier" or more effective to earn more or extra money rather than cut back, because eventually you will reach a point where there is nothing to cut back from and one wonders then whether you are effectively living in poverty?

First point, Why don't I have any savings? It has never been my intention to save money and never spend it. It seems daft to me to have money lying around doing nothing, besides, I am not clever enough to work out the best place to invest it, and that would be one more headache. When I left school I wanted to earn my own living and pay my way, which meant I would have to save up for the bigger things I would need, like a car and a deposit for a house, or holidays. It was also very nice to be able to eat out, socialise, and buy nice clothes, though there were times when I had to stop spending for a while in order to save up. So there was a lot of juggling going on. I have not racked up any debt, preferring to only buy what I could afford to pay for.

I have an emergency fund in my one and only bank account, this is for emergencies. I keep £3,000 in there, in case my car blows up, my cats get sick, I need expensive dental treatment, or if something happens to the house which is not covered by my insurance policy. If I need to use it then I will, it's not long term savings. In the past the balance has dropped right down to one mortgage payment, when I needed to pay out for something, then I started to build it back up again.

If I had spent a life time of saving and had a tidy lump sum put away, each year the value would have dropped a bit. Say I had 20 years of savings, maybe £10,000, with the interest rates as they are now, and the cost of things going up, my money would be losing value. I am not brilliant at working the figures out, I am only going on what I read in the press. Look at all the people who have put money away, going short to save up for old age, their nest eggs are diminishing daily. They are not able to enjoy the pensions they thought they would be getting.

I am a 'now' sort of person, what matters to me is what happens in the immediate future. None of us know what is in store for us tomorrow, so saving for the long term is not for me. Others may need the comfort of having a bit of cash put by, they feel vulnerable without that cushion to fall back on. I feel liberated by not having loads of money to worry about.

In answer to the second part of your comment. I think I will start by asking you a question if I may, what is your definition of living in poverty? The way I see it is that people in Africa are living in poverty, we are nowhere near that stage in this country. Being in poverty means you don't have enough to eat, and you don't have shelter. I doubt very much that I will be in that situation.

Would it be easier to earn some money rather than to cut back on spending? I have worked for 45 years. For the last few years I went onto part time working because I was sick of my job, I wanted a better quality of life. I deliberately reduced my income and reduced my spending. Now I am 62 and it would be very unlikely that I would get a job. I wouldn't want to go back to my old profession because the hours are long, and there are no vacancies in my area. So what other work could I do? Anything manual I suppose as I am not qualified to do anything special.

So, just say for instance that I got a job in a bar, or a shop, or a factory, at minimum wage, the first thing that would happen is the tax man would take a big chunk of it. Charming, and what would I get out of it? A few extra pounds to spend maybe, but spend it on what, when I already have enough. Job satisfaction perhaps, I don't think so. If I got a job it would have to be something which would tax my brain, something that I really wanted to do, I am not willing to settle for less. I don't know where I would find that sort of job.

Claire, you make the same assumption that 90% of the country make, that you need more of everything to have a good life. The other 10% have seen the light, and me and quite a few others know that less is best. Will I reach a point where there is nothing to cut back from? No I don't think so. My life from now on is heading towards my death, it makes sense to me to reduce the amount of stuff I have, and to eventually spend all the money I have. From the moment you are born you build your life, there comes a point when you no longer need to do that, and you start dismantling it.

Look at it from another angle. Take a typical family, mum, dad, two kids, and two wages coming in to service the lifestyle they think they need. They want the latest flat screen TV, they want several holidays a year, they want designer clothes, gym memberships, flash cars, and a big house. They do anything to get these things and end up with mounds of debt and all the worry that goes with it. When does it stop, when does it all end?  You buy more, you want more, you need to earn more to pay for more. It's like a mouse running ragged on a spinning wheel. Why not turn it around. You buy less so you don't need to earn as much. You work less hours, you have a better quality of life because money does not own you. You get off that spinning wheel.

Do you know it is such a relief that I can be me, that I can do as I like. I wake up each morning with a good feeling that it's going to be a wonderful day. I don't need to get a job because I don't need any more money. I have reached the point where I have enough.

I am not willing to trade my time for a few extra pounds in my purse. I wouldn't be any happier than I am now. There is a saying, Time rich, Cash poor. I am not even poor, in fact I am very rich, it makes me smile. Every morning I wake up and say, 'Thank you for this lovely day'.

Claire, I hope this has been of some help to you. If you are young and you, 'dont get it', I can honestly say that you will eventually.

Don't like boy gangs :o(

My groupies (small gang of three boys) called for me at 4.30pm to go on the bike ride. I put my yellow vest on and they all laughed. Well I don't want to get knocked off my bike by someone who didn't see me. I asked where we were going, and suggested Normanby, Thealby, Alkborough, or Coleby perhaps. None of them, too far they said, so we went off to the playing fields. I don't think these boys have ever had any proper cycle training, they were doing wheelies all over the road, I declined their invitation to join in.  Not that I can even do a wheelie but I didn't tell them that.

Eventually we got to the playing fields after going up and down a few pavements, and across the village green. Next to it is the childrens play area. Ooh goody, swings and slides I joked, as I made a beeline for the best swing. One of them took a photo of me with his phone, goodness knows where that will end up. We went on everything. I nearly did my back in as I hurtled down the slide at a rate of knots. The seesaw was a bit erratic, they tried to bump it so I would fall off, but my legs are longer than theirs so they didn't succeed.

After that we road across the playing field to the other side, where there is a wooden assault course. You have to balance on logs, and walk across a rope ladder, and a wobbly bridge, and swing across on ropes like a monkey. I thought this was good fun, but they didn't want to join in. Instead I saw they were mucking about.

I turned round to see that one boy had opened up one of my panniers and he was pouring water over my saddle and into the pannier. They were all giggling but I was not amused. So I spat my dummy out and said I wasn't playing any more, and went home in a strop. Why do stupid boys have to go and spoil everything. Think I'm going to start a girl gang :o)   

Make 'em laugh

It's been a bit chaotic in my street today. The council must be a bit flush with money because all the pavements around here are being resurfaced. I think I might have contributed a small amount to this budget through my council tax, but it won't be much. I've just had my bill for the year, payable over ten monthly payments, and it's quite reasonable as I am eligible for 25% off for single occupancy, and a discount for low income and no savings.

So, this morning the first to turn up was the men who clear the debris off the pavements and mask up the bits they don't want covered in tarmac. Then the bin men came and emptied the grey, general rubbish bins. Then the gang came to lay the tarmac. Next another lorry came to collect the recycling in the boxes, tins, glass and paper. And finally the tarmac gang came back to take the signs away.

Here is my lone box awaiting collection, next to a brand spanking new pavement.

I wonder how long it will stay like that. When they did the other side of the village last year, the weeds started coming through a week after they did the job. Must have been a cowboy outfit, ha ha.

What else has been going on in my life today? I visited the mobile library and changed my books. I walked some dogs, Alfie, Ollie, and Rocky, not all together. I mowed my lawns, the first one of the season. It took quite a while because I left it as long as I dare, and there is more moss and weeds than grass in my lawns. Never mind, at least they are green. I went on the trainer. I had a visitor, Julie came to ask if I can help with looking after Jessie this week as she wants to go to Norfolk.

I have been invited to go on a bike ride tomorrow, by three medium sized boys who are always stopping to chat with me. I'm a bit like the pied piper round here, I attract dog walkers and their dogs because I always have treats in my pocket, for the dogs not the walkers, ha ha. And now I have a small gang of three boys who follow me around.

They asked what was the mess on my car windscreen. They laughed their socks off when I told them that someone had thrown a cheese sandwich at it. I was a bit miffed when I discovered it, but now I can see the funny side. I picked a piece of cheese off it and pretended to eat it, they laughed even more. Oh dear, ha ha, I think I am going into my second childhood. Time for bed. Toodle pip

Spring has well and truly sprung

What a glorious day we've had today, and it's lovely that we have another hour of daylight at night. I was late getting my dinner, too busy chatting with people when I took Rocky out this afternoon. We paid a visit to Graham and his dog Lady, the two dogs had a great time romping in the garden. I have discovered that Rocky likes playing fetch, with squeaky toys. He was so excited to run and fetch them back, his little tail was wagging frantically. Graham very kindly gave us two toys to keep, I think we will be playing that game quite a lot from now on. He also had an extra walk today, it was such a nice morning that I took him out straight after breakfast as well. 

Big disaster though, my retractable dog lead has broken. I opened it up to see if I could mend it, alas the spring has broken in two places. I don't think I can get a spare from anywhere. I will go back to the shop and look for one the same, to get the address of the company which makes them. They might send me a new spring if I ask them. I can't really claim a new lead as I've had it for some time, and it's had a lot of use.

I had an idea to buy a windbreak to take camping with me. But me being too mean to cough up the cash, I thought I would try and make one. Remember the wrecked tents that I pulled out of the wood? Well I removed the poles from them, thought they might come in handy for something. They are in sections, with elastic threaded through them to make them collapsible.

I very carefully cut the elastic, in between section 2 and 3, and tied a bead to the end of it to stop it disappearing up the inside. Then I taped the end up. I did this three times to give me three pieces, each with two sections. I bought a plastic tarpaulin for £1, from guess where, yep, the Pound Shop, ha ha. I turned the hem over at each end and stitched it with the machine, then folded it in half and made another line of stitching up the middle so I could push a pole through.  

And here it is, my home made windbreak. It's not very long but it will give a bit of shelter next to the tent, and it folds down quite small, so easy to carry around.

Oh, and this is a clump of daffodils in my back garden quite close to the back door.

And there seems to be a lot of ladybirds around at the moment. In fact there are millions of them they are everywhere.  

This is a photo I took yesterday on my bike ride. Isn't it a pretty cottage. It's in a lovely village called Appleby, not far from Broughton, which isn't far from Brigg. It's a small village, a few houses, a church, but no shops. Every year it holds a very popular Summer Fair. People come from the surrounding villages to support it.  

Just before I go, I'll leave you with this money saving tip. You know how you like to nibble something when you're out, and usually pop in a shop for a choc bar, or one of those oaty bars, well this is what I do. To stop me from dipping in my purse for a treat, I have a small plastic screw top bottle from one of those yogurty drinks, which I bought dead cheap because I would never buy them otherwise.

Wash and dry it, and I fill it with sultanas. Very handy for shaking a few out in your hand and popping them in your mouth. Fights off the hunger pangs in between meals, and gives you a nice sweet taste. You can put any dried berries in that you like, I choose sultanas because they are the cheapest, apart from dried mixed peel, and I don't like that.    

Toodle pip.

Keadby to Crowle and back

I got the bike out today and went for a ride, picking up a few items from the Cash and Carry on the way. Six cartons of fruit juice for £2, and three tins of dog food for £1. Added quite a bit of weight to it, made the pedaling hard work. I did 15 miles, and I must say I didn't enjoy the last few miles, my bum just doesn't have enough padding.

Anyway, what was I up to yesterday? Who is this bloke? This is Mick. I was walking along the canal bank from Keadby towards Crowle, when I came across him walking his dogs. We got chatting, as you do, and it turned out that he is an even better money saving expert than I am. It was like talking to my twin, we got on amazingly well.

He told me he has lots of animals, and they were all free because people had given them to him. He is passionate about animal welfare, his dogs were lovely, all wonderfully well behaved and friendly. It's not very often you meet someone who is like a mirror image of yourself, but it was uncanny. He was just like me, it was great to talk to him.

I got to Crowle, which is a small town in North Lincolnshire. I wasn't too far from home actually, only had to drive a few miles to start the walk. There is a holiday park here, with seven lakes and a lot of caravans, and a club house.  

Some of the caravans overlook the lake. Jet skiing is popular here.

I must say that Crowle itself isn't that appealing, it looks a bit shabby and run down. The little Tesco Express is in an old cinema, and some of the shops are boarded up, and others are in need of a lick of paint. It does have the problem of a lot of traffic passing through it though, and the roads are quite narrow which doesn't help. However, the church is by far the best building in the place. It looks like it is very much loved, the gardens are immaculate, and the flowers are lovely. There are thousands of daffodils about to come into bloom any time now, I was a bit early to see the full show.

The cemetery is on the way out of town, it's a massive place. Shame about the waste bin in the photo, but it was full and too heavy to push out of the way.

I always like to spend a few minutes walking round a cemetery, they are such peacfull places. Some of the graves are lovingly decorated. It means a lot to some people to have a memorial of their lost loved one. These grave stones must cost a fortune. Nice that the family spends the money, but I wouldn't mind if nobody got me one.

The land around here is pretty flat, and most of it is agricultural, so not a lot of thrilling scenery. Apologies for the lack of photo's. I didn't really expect to see much, it was more an exercise to get the miles in, and get my legs into shape for the big walk.

Here I am on the way back. There are a lot of these deep, water filled ditches, or dykes if you like. You have to make sure you are on the right side of them because there are very few crossing places. I almost got on the wrong side of this one because there is a track on both sides.

I made sure I finished the walk at about 7pm, so I could pop in the supermarket and pick up some food. I got a few reduced price items, a bit more bread, that's my freezer full of cheap bread now. Didn't get as much veg as I would have liked, but it's enough to keep me going. I've got stacks of tins in the cupboard. For saying it's two weeks since I last did a big shop, I think that's pretty good going. Don't forget to put your clocks forward tonight. I don't think it will be long before I go to bed. Good night.

Looks don't matter, it's the voice that counts

I've sat down to put some photo's on here, and I just can't do it untill I tell you about this amazing 17 year old young man. He is about to sing to the world on tonights programme of Britains Got Talent, the first of a new series. They say he is the male version of Susan Boyle. Now I don't watch this programme, I think it's cruel to put people on and make fun of them, like they did with Susan before she opened her mouth. I'm suspecting the same thing will happen with Jonathan Antoine tonight. Take a look at this, he has the voice of a God, it might bring you to tears, it certainly did with me. Good luck Jonathan, you are brilliant.


What I will be interested in is a rival programme about to go out tonight, called The Voice, you may have read a bit about it. Tom Jones seems to be the key player here. It's like a talent programme but you don't get to see the contestants, you only hear them, so you can't prejudge on appearance. I like that idea. I shall be interested to see the difference with this new way of discovering talent. Toodle pip. Catch you later.

It does stack up

I don't need to use the cross trainer today, I've been a walk, 15 miles, so i think that's enough exercise. I'll put the photo's on tomorrow, it's too late now and I'm a bit tired. However I will leave you with instructions on how to make a frugal sandwich.

Here are the ingredients. Take three slices of bread from a reduced loaf, and some spread which was two for £1. A few thin slices of cucumber, which was 12p. Some Houmous, 10p.  

Spread + cheese

+ cucumber

Spread the third slice with houmous, add more cucumber.

There you have it, a triple decker.

Good eh! and dead cheap. I picked a bit of shopping up on the way back, including 12 tins of rice pudding for 13p a tin, so it hasn't gone up at my store yet. Toodle pip. Goodnight.

Bits and bobs, before I go out....

Good morning, just dropping in for a quickie. It's going to be a nice day, so I have to get out and grab it now. Thanks for the comments yesterday. A couple of things which you might be interested in following up, thanks to the eagle eyes of my readers.

Louise has posted a you tube link, courtesy of her nice young man Dave, on how to mount a penny farthing. I think this explains it beautifully. Looks like I would need to practice this on soft ground, I would probably fall off a few times, ha ha. Thanks Louise.


She also included a link to a post she wrote on her blog about a bike rally that she went to. It's a great article with pics. Take a look if you are interested. Thanks Louise for reminding me.
http://roachling.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/pennies-in-park.html

Hi PP. Regarding the rice pudding. At 13p a tin, I hardly think it's worth making it, the cost of the electricity. But now Frugalfishfinger has informed us that it has gone up to 22p, shock horror, maybe now is the time to get the slow cooker out again, and give it a try. The river you asked about, it's the River Trent which runs past my village in North Lincolnshire not far from Scunthorpe. It widens out and flows into the River Humber, then into the North Sea.

Hello Old She Dragon. My friend Julie took the photo of me sitting in the sun on my deckchair enjoying my free wine ha ha. The photo's I did of my frugal fashion show over the ten days leading up to 1000 posts, were all done with the timer. It takes several goes to get an acceptable picture.

I can't find who posted this link, but here goes. Thank you anyway. A woman in Stamford Lincolnshire has put up some posters where she lives asking people to stop throwing litter about. I think I could have recruited her into my army, ha ha. Seems she has upset some of her neighbours with her plain English. I can't believe that she didn't know the other meaning of 'the word'. Think she is a bit posh.
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2118784/Stamfordham-rubbish-row-Landowners-offensive-anti-litter-signs-cause-uproar-villagers.html

Before I dash. I've had a lovely email from Judy in Australia, she is having trouble posting a comment. I hear you Judy, thanks for your kind words. And welcome to all the new readers, glad you are here. We have just hit the 400 mark, whoopeeeee. I am chuffed.

Stopping now, must go out, don't want to waste the day. There is one more comment I must reply to, will do it later. Toodle pip.

Meanqueen on the radio in Hull

Hey, what do you think of Blair Jacobs then, the presenter on Radio Humberside who was standing in for Burnsy this morning? Kinda dishy isn't he, I was all hot and bothered. Now he's the kind of guy I would go for if he was available, ha ha. Well a girl can dream can't she.  

The interview went quite well, I had a few hesitations when I couldn't get the words out. My mouth was two seconds ahead of my brain, but then the old grey matter caught up and I gabbled on a bit, then there was no stopping me :o)  

The Studios in Queens Gardens. Afterwards I sat in the sun and watched the world go by, eating my packup lunch.  

While I was there I thought I might as well have a litle bimble. This is the Guildhall.

Not sure who this bloke is, but it makes a nice picture in the sunshine.

The man on top of the plinth looking down on Hull is Mr Wilberforce. He stands outside the college.

I went to have a look round the Street Life Museum and found some people dressed in period costume having their photo taken. Me being nosy I asked what it was for, they said it's for publicity brochures.

I politely asked if they would pose for me, and they did. One of them also took my photo when I said I had just been on the radio, ha ha.

Here are a few photo's from inside the museum. I have never seen anyone ride a real penny farthing bike before, I wonder how they get on it.

You can climb inside this carriage and it takes you on a pretend journey without going anywhere. It's like one of those virtual rides at a theme park. You get the motions and the sound effects. It was bumping along on the cobbles, a very rough ride, and the two men driving it were talking to each other. You could hear the horses hooves as well. 

When you walk into this room you get a horrible smell, just like a men's old fashioned urinal where they haven't aimed straight and missed the trough. I asked the attendant why it smells, he showed me a grid in the floor, they pump up the aroma to make it more realistic. I thought it was disgusting and made a quick exit. Yuk :o(

I love these old trolley buses. This one is a bit like those on Blackpool promenade.

It's a fantastic museum if you ever get to Hull. Lots of interesting stuff to see.

Anyway, if you didn't get to listen to the interview you can get it here. You need to fast forward it, I start at 1hour 46 minutes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00pq52z/David_Burns_22_03_2012/