I should think so !

At last, Morrisons have done the decent thing and sent me a £5 shopping voucher. A very brief letter came with it saying, 'we would not wish any of our customers to find themselves out of pocket due to an error on our part'.

The error was on their part, I sent them the evidence, but they dismissed my complaint. No way to treat a customer. So, I accept their apology and hope they got the message, file closed. The moral of the story, complain, complain, complain, when you have been treated unfairly. Even if it may seem a trivial thing to complain about, if you feel aggrieved you owe it to yourself to stand up for your rights. Power to the little people.

Rolling around

Sorry to disappear, I've been away for a couple of days, but I took my roller blades with me. I was out with my sister in Yarm, in North Yorkshire, and I decided to have a practice on the Station Car Park. She snapped away while I tried to concentrate,


but fell about laughing :o)

Getting the hang of it now, don't make me laugh.

I hope I don't look too silly with this walking stick, I need some of those posh walking poles.

Hang on a minute, let me go back and try again.

By jove I think I've got it. Yay.

My new frugal hobby

I haven't been to the car boot sale for ages, always got something else to do, or I can't be bothered to get up early enough for it. It's a nice day, so let's go for it. A quick cup of coffee and a bowl of bran flakes, and I was off. It's only five miles away at the football ground, there was loads of sellers there.

I found a couple of cat books for my friend, 30p each, and a vest tee shirt 30p, for me. Then I found an absolute bargain. I have been looking for some roller blades because I fancy having a go, but I didn't want to pay too much for them in case I am not very good at it. I saw these under a table and they looked about the right size. I felt a bit silly asking how much they were, but when the woman said £1, I brushed my embarrassment to one side. I tried one on, and thought with a thicker pair of socks they might be alright. For £1 you can't really turn them down can you, if it doesn't work out I could probably sell them for £5.

I handed her a £1 coin and hastily walked away in case she changed her mind. Just a bit further along I spotted a set of elbow and knee pads and I wondered if I would need them, I wasn't planning on falling down. I asked how much, 50p, another bargain. So for £1.50 I am kitted out for my new hobby. I thought I would give the helmet a miss, if I am that hopeless to fall on my head, I shouldn't be doing it at all.

Couldn't wait to give it a try when I got home, so here they are on my feet. I live in a cul de sac street, only a few go cars up and down, and the centre of the road is quite smooth and flat. I have an old walking stick so I took that with me to aid my balance when walking over the rough bits, and stopping and starting.

Guess what, I am pretty good at it, and it's great fun. I used to ice skate when I was in my late teens, and my sense of balance still seems to be ok. Now I need to find a bigger space with a smooth surface to practice on. I am hoping it tightens my flabby thighs up a bit. :o)

Our friendly village fete

I'm feeling a little bit lost now, no dog to walk, Henry has gone back home, never mind I will be seeing him again on Friday. I'm looking after another dog tomorrow while Graham goes to Spurn Point with his rambling friends, dog's aren't allowed. Lady is a happy dog so it will be an easy day.

Our village fete was a huge sucess, the fabulous weather brought loads of people out. It's lovely to stroll about, chatting to friendly people, everyone is so nice here. I managed to get some sponsor money in, but there is still time to collect more before the walk on the 9th.

Guess what, I won second prize in the photographic competition, with this photograph. Everyone else had their glossy prints done professionally, I did mine on my printer on matt paper. I was surprised that this one won, in my opinion, of the nine I entered, there were two which I thought might have had a chance. The prize? A certificate which is going to be emailed to me.

Burton in Bloom raises money for groups in the village. We have lots, there is something for everyone, from toddler groups, to sports groups, and pensioners social groups.

The village green is very pretty with trees of different colours and varying sizes, scattered about. We have old fashioned lamp posts and litter bins, and benches to sit and watch the world go by, it's very relaxing, I often sit for ten minutes.

Some of the local charities bring their own gazebo's and put up a stand.

The lady in the pink skirt and white blouse is Janet, my friend who comes to feed my cats when I am away. Hello Janet, (she reads this blog).

This is the Lindsey Lodge Hospice stand, they are always popular.

Here is Janet again, she didn't see me take this photo.

The children were queueing up to get their faces painted. My friend Helen does a great job, she works for the toddler group. She's a busy lady with three small children of her own.

There were plenty of games for the children to play on. Also an arts and crafts exhibition in the church, and a produce, baking, photographic, and childrens exhibition in the Methodist church.

Thankfully there wasn't too much litter left behind afterwards, I soon cleared it up with my picking stick. The place is looking ship shape ready for tomorrow when people will be out and about looking at the open gardens. An early night for me tonight, I am dozing off now as I type this. Goodnight.

Getting ready for the fete

I thought the country was on the verge of bankruptcy, every time you listen to the news it's all doom and gloom. The government has not got it's sums right for possibly a few hundred years, what a mess to be in!

If our finances are as dire as they say they are, how come I have just had a letter from the council telling me my council tax has just been reduced by £2 a month? I haven't the foggiest idea why, I can never understand the gobboldygook they write. I already get some council tax credit and I have been quite happy paying what they ask for, as I think it's a fair assessment of my circumstances. So now they are going to give me an extra £2 a month, which they can't afford. Doesn't seem right really.

It's that time of the year, the flags are out in the village in readiness for the village fete tomorrow. As well as the English flags adorning the pub and several houses along the High Street, we now have yellow and red bunting hanging from the trees and lamp posts on the village green, and the marquee's are up.

People have been busy in the church getting the art exhibition ready. I am entering nine prints in the photographic competition which will be on display in the Methodist Church. Don't know what the prizes are. The gardens which are opening on Sunday have been lovingly planted, trimmed, and tidied up, and the village hall is set for this evenings wine tasting. At £10 a ticket I decided to give it a miss. I would only embarrass myself by guzzling as much as I can to get my money's worth, then staggering home, and suffering with a hangover tomorrow, it's just not worth the hassle. Besides, I've just had a can of Tesco cider, it's cheap but I feel tiddly already, I'd better stop now.

Tomorrow I shall be strolling around with my sponsor form for my forthcoming fundraising walk for Lindsey Lodge Hospice. It's on July the 9th, so I'd better get a move on and get the dosh in. Last year I did the 13 miles in three hours, this year I want to beat that time. My training has gone well this week, three 'Henry' walks a day, 5 - 6 hours, for 7 days, I am feeling pretty fit now and ready for it. Toodle Pip

It's been a good day today

I sometimes think I have done naff all, a day wasted, but when I look back, I have actually done quite a lot. OK, it's not the same as going to work, but I still like to feel I am doing something usefull, even though some of my time is taken up with dossing around. I like being a bum, who can be usefull when she wants to be.

I did something usefull this morning when I took Henry for his first walk. I try to aim for an hour but we often walk for longer. I took my litter picking stick with me and a large bag. I managed to fill it to the top, in fact I had to offload some of it into a litter bin half way round, there was that much. We went up to the picnic area which is a secluded field near a wood, to check if the council have removed a load of litter left over from a teenage party which took place on Saturday. They aren't supposed to have parties there but they do. I reported the litter, and a dozen black bin bags of household waste that have been dumped in the car park. The bags have been removed, but the field hasn't been cleared, it's too much for me to remove. I'll go and check again tomorrow.

We went past the water tower and Henry remembered where the small pond is and went straight in for his swim. When we got back I started making another Felix bag, this one will be yellow and blue.

After lunch I put him in the car and we went to South Ferriby, about eight miles away. There is a big pond there, which he will love. After his swim we walked along the bank of the River Humber to where the water comes on to a shingle shore. Most of the banks are reeds and mud, I am always afraid of him wading into this and getting stuck, so I kept him on the lead untill we got to the safe bit. Off he went again running through the water, he can't get enough of it.

It was a lovely sunny day again, we have been so lucky with the weather this week. There is a little shop in the village and luckily I had put a few coins in my pocket, enough for a Magnum for me and a small tub of ice cream for Henry. We sat down on a grassy bank watching the passing traffic, there is always a lot of lorries on this road going to and from the cement works. This is the life, time to day dream with no urgency to do anything or go anywhere.

We strolled back to the car, via the pond for a last swim. When we got to the lock where the River Ancholme meets the Humber we walked a short distance down the Ancholme to try and get Henry dried off before we got into the car. He was fascinated by a group of teenage lads who were jumping into the water, (yes even more boys wearing shorts) ha ha, and of course Henry would have loved to join them. There was no way I was going to let him off his lead, the banks were far too steep for him to climb back out again. The boys were having a great time splashing about.

I am standing on the road bridge taking this picture, looking down the Ancholme. Underneath it is the lock. When a boat wants to pass through in either direction, the warning lights and sirens are activated to stop the traffic and the road bridge lifts up vertically. It takes about fifteen minutes to get the boat through.

All types of boats can be moored here, some permanently and some are passing through on holiday.

The one drawback about parking your boat here is the cement works next door, it is noisy 24/7 and creates a lot of dust. I should know I used to work there. It was before I came to live where I am now, I still had my house in the Midlands but stayed in my little caravan just down the road from the works, and went home at the weekends.

This is one of the lorries I used to drive, it carries 26 tonne of powdered cement. Now the company is called Cemex. So a little bit of nostalgia in my post today. I used to belt up and down that road, today I sat and watched them and thought, I used to do that.

When we got back I gave Henry his dinner and made a dash to Tesco. My fridge is bare, I need some fresh food. I'm pleased to say I got some knock down prices, I hassled the lady marking the bread down and got enough to fill the freezer, packets of wholemeal rolls for 22p, Allinsons wholemeal loaves for 33p. A few treats, cherries £1, strawberries 88p, scones 14p, muffins 37p, pancakes 18p, 4 kiwi fruits 45p, naan bread 14p. Eleven reduced items altogether. Total cost £36.42, and probably enough to last me nearly two weeks.

Tonight I took Henry another walk before bed time, and watered the veg garden. It's been a good day today.

A hot day in the bushes

It was very hot this morning at 8 o clock when me and Henry went for a walk, and it got hotter and hotter as the day went on. I'm trying to be a bit more creative with my pics, with this one I got down on the ground, the track is where the tractor wheels go through the crop. From this angle it looks about twenty feet tall.


A field full of peas with poppies round the edge. Lincolnshire is a big pea growing area, we seem to have loads this year.

More grass and weeds. I think they look great against the blue sky.

Poppies mixed in with some fluffy pink flowers, I don't know what they are called.

I love purple flowers, these were in the grass verge.

Henry was very disappointed that the first walk didn't include any water frolics, so I promised to find him a big pond on the second walk. I looked on the map, aha, that looks like a good place. There are a couple of small layby's quite close to a massive pond, about two miles away, let's go and have a look.

It was ideal, lots of tracks to walk round the pond, the water was shallow around the edges, and it was very secluded, I don't think many people will be around on a Tuesday afternoon. There was one car in the layby but the place was so big it was unlikely that I would come across anyone.

Henry was darting about through the undergrowth, it was quite dense in places and I was beginning to think I would have been better wearing long trousers, my legs kept getting scratched as I fought my way through the brambles. Every so often I call Henry to come back as I don't like him out of my sight for too long. If he doesn't come quickly I go and look for him.

He can be a bit of a scallywag and ignore me, so I make a mental note of where he disappeared, and follow him. I got a bit of a surprise when I climbed a bank and looked down into a little secluded alcove by the waters edge. There was Henry creating havoc, wagging his tail like mad because he had found two friends who might like to play a game with him.

I apologised profusely when Henry shook his wet body right beside them. I think they took it in good humour, I was laughing my head off, it was so funny. Two strapping twenty something handsome guys, laid out on their towels, wearing skimpy shorts, trying to leap out of the way of a dripping dog. I felt slightly embarrassed, and said the first thing that came into my head. 'I'm glad you've got some clothes on'. ;o)

Some photo's I like

Not enough time to write a long post tonight. Henry is getting me up early so I am starting to fall asleep about 9pm, then we have to go out for the last walk. So a few quickie photo's.

It's the longest day today, so here are some shots I took of the sunset tonight.

The flowers on my potato plants are very pretty.

Grass growing on the edge of a field.

Weeds growing on the edge of a field.

Something growing in a field, ha ha. I love the colour.

Goodnight :-O zzzzzzzzzzz

New look blog - not

Please excuse the higgledy piggledy mess of my blog layout. I am trying to change the look of it with the new blogger design tools. So frustrating but I will get it sussed. I now need to walk away from it for a while, Henry is getting bored, and so am I. Let's go out, it's too nice to be inside. Back later.

Later.....Had another little play, as you can see I like big and bold, not too fussy, uncluttered, simple words and pictures, it reflects my personality. That will do for now. Got to go, Henry wants to play ball.

Fun loving Henry

I have a friend staying with me this week, and today we went to the Appleby Fair. No, not the famous fair held in Cumbria, but a small village fete about five miles away. It's a popular event, and I thought Henry might like to meet a few other doggy friends. His tail never stopped wagging. Mind you, I had to hold onto his lead with both hands, he is such a strong lad. At one stage I put the halti on him, he doesn't like it at all but at least he doesn't pull so much.

He seemed to be sulking because I hadn't taken him near any water, he loves to swim. Trouble is he gets filthy and smelly, not nice. Anyway, I thought I would take him where he could swim, so we stopped off here on the way home.

He went absolutely bonkers, dashing about, it was great to see him enjoying himself.

Even though he did run through the mud.

He needed a wash down in the garden before I let him into the house, look at him now, the poor lad is knackered. And guess what, we have got to do it all again tomorrow. Three walks a day and lots of playing in the back garden, I will be knackered by the end of the week. He is lovely though ;o)

Tight fisted Morrisons

I am appalled by this letter I have received from Morrisons Supermarket Head Office, in reply to my letter of complaint. I bought a multipack (6 pack) of their own brand crisps, and found one bag had no crisps in it, just a sealed bag of air. I did ask for a refund for the missing crisps and my postage costs, and stated that I am a pensioner.

And this is all they have sent me, a letter of apology. I am disgusted, are they that mean they cannot send me a voucher for even £1 to spend in their shop!

They end the letter by saying, 'you can be assured of our best attention at all times'. Well they have failed miserably this time. Tesco would have refunded the whole cost of the crisps and postage, and would have probably doubled it as well.

I am so mad I am now going to write another letter telling them exactly what I think of their Customer Services. It will be worth the cost of another stamp. Excuse me while I blow a gasket, there is smoke coming out of my ears.



That's better, I have just written this letter to them, I'll get it in the post.



Must get off this computer, I have Henry choc lab here with me, wanting my attention.

Happy Birthday Paul

Ooops, nearly forgot,

Happy Birthday, Paul McCartney, my favourite beatle.

I was madly in love with him in the sixties and kissed his picture every night. I screamed myself hoarse when his face came on the television, cried buckets over him when he got married, and vowed there would be no other love in my life. Well there hasn't....... and I am still waiting for Sir Paul.

The grand finale - The Eden Project

The last day. I was glad that I did a short coastal walk at Boswinger when I arrived, again a stunning coastline, because there was a dramatic change in the weather the following morning. I had it in mind to drive to St Mawes, park the car and get the ferry to Falmouth, but with the drop in temperature and the threat of rain for most of the day, I didn't think it would be much fun.

Also the hostel was fully booked for the next night and I hadn't thought about the half term holiday and the increase in children that inevitably brings. We had four very young children in last night who were left to run riot by their parents, I didn't fancy more of that.

So I decided to check out and come home, quit while I was on top. I set off north after breakfast. Then I remembered how close I was going to be to the Eden Project as I went through St Austell. I saw the sign, oh sod it, I'll go there instead. I have been here before about five or six years ago, but it's worth another visit.

It wasn't too busy when I arrived so I got a parking place withing five minutes walking distance from the entrance. The place is that big they have a bus to ferry people from the vast car park at busy times.

The project is the brainchild of Tim Smit, and was fully opened in March 2001. It lies in a redundant china clay pit, and recieved 130 million pounds in funding from private and public sources. There is a tropical biome and a mediteranean biome, linked with a building between them.

The Rainforest Biome is hot and humid, and there are small drinking water fountains scattered around in case anyone starts to feel tired, and alert buttons you can press if you need assistance. It is very draining walking around and it is wise to take a drink in with you.

A waterfall tricking down through the lush undergrowth.

There are over one thousand different plants in here.

A typical decorated truck

and a market stall.

The Mediterranean biome is hot but not quite so humid. I like this exotic yellow and orange plant, made with exhaust pipes.

There are more flowers in here.

and sculpture of animals and people performing a tribal dance.

I love this veg garden, so neat and tidy, in fact it's as perfect as you could get it. Lots of different types of leafy salad plants.

I like the outside sculptures the best, this giant bee is fun.

The robot is made out of junk, mainly small electrical appliances. A thought provoking sculpture from the throwaway world.

This one is made of various pieces of metal, I think it's lovely.

and a reclining lady carved out of a single piece of wood. She is well weathered and the grass is growing around her. Such a clever setting, you turn a corner and there she lies.

It was a good decision to go here as it rained for most of the day. I left the Eden Project at 3.30pm with a long drive ahead of me. A couple of stops on the motorway, a cup of coffee with my sister in Burton upon Trent, and I landed back home at midnight. Total driven 1,075 miles, stayed in some great hostels, met some interesting people, had two flights, went on some boats, did loads of walking, and saw some wonderful sights. Absolutely brilliant.

I have already booked my next holiday, for five days at the end of July, with this company.

http://www.traveleyes.co.uk/

You can read about it, I'm going to Yorkshire, not a million miles away but it will be interesting. Toodle pip.