Hello. It's been a sunny day here today, a bit breezy but dry. I did a Bailey the Poodle walk this morning, he is a sweetie, gets a bit confused when I take him somewhere he isn't familiar with. He seems to know when we are on the homeward stretch and shows me the way.
This afternoon I was doing a bit of repotting in the garden. Some of the plants have outgrown their pots so I swap them around a bit. I ran out of compost so had a trip to The Range and got three bags for £10. I saw some herbs in the their garden centre at £2 a pot so I bought three kinds. I like the smell of herbs in the garden. There was also some potted flowers marked down so I bought two, a pink and a red one.
These pictures are not brilliant because I took them as the sun was going down behind the house, so they are half in the shade. These are the same gladioli as last year, they have come back again.
The fuchsias are doing really well.
These are a lovely shade of pink, don't know what they are called, ha ha.
I seem to have lots of mushrooms coming up all around Rocky's grave. White ones and brown ones. Very strange.
I took a big bushy plant out of this bed, which was covering everything else. The flowers were past their best so it had to be sacrificed to give the others around it a chance. Two smaller flower plants have been put in it's place, with plastic flowers around them to deter the cats from pooping on the bare earth.
Here's a little job for tomorrow. I'm going to make a planter for the herbs. I knew there was something I had to do with this wood, it's been in the garage for ten years.
Right, I'm off out to do my walk, the sun is still out. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip
Hello. I haven't read such a compelling book as this in a long time. It's taken a while, it's 530 pages long. When I start a book of this size I often can't do the distance, but there is something about Steve Jobs, and the way it was written, which has taken me right to the end. The book was first published in 2011, this is a later one published in 2013.
I see there are several books about the life of Steve Jobs, and normally I am a bit sceptical of biographies because I wonder how the author could have known so much about the subject. What prompted me to choose this one was that Walter Isaacson is a renowned and well regarded biographer, and his research over two years included over a hundred interviews with everyone that came into contact with Steve.
I made some notes along the way because I found myself being drawn into the complexity of Steve's personality, and how his mind worked. Any psychiatrist trying to unravel what was going on in his head would have their work cut out. He had a belief that reality could be distorted, he had the ability to manipulate people to do what he wanted. For anyone interested in more reading on Reality Distortion Field.
Steve was very creative, he had vision, he was high energy, but could play the victim when it suited. As a boss he was very scary to work for, firing people at a minutes notice, he could twist things around to suit himself. He could put people down and humiliate them, then later they would be friends. He rubbished ideas, then later claimed them as his own.
Steve built Apple Computers from nothing, he did it by sheer bloody mindedness, and a passion to build the best products. By his mid twenties he was a multimillionaire. He was ousted from Apple, but ten years later found a way to get back in, once again his manipulation techniques got him what he wanted.
The man was a genius, he strove for perfection in all that he did, in his work, what he ate, where he lived, everything had to be just right. There were no compromises. I wonder how much further on computers would be now if he had lived longer. He died on October the 5th 2011. I'm glad I read about his fascinating life.
Hello. Since I was last in Blackpool a lot has been happening, and the extensive renovations along the Promenade have been completed to make it a pleasure to walk along. There is still a lot more which could be done on the other side of the road however. The traditional shops, cafes, and amusement arcades are still very popular, but the upper floors of the buildings are in a state of disrepair and look quite shabby in places. I suppose it's all down to who owns them, and if they can afford to do anything about it. The trouble is that any buildings on a sea front are going to deteriorate quicker than anywhere else, and need a lot of money to keep them up to scratch. It's an ongoing battle with nature.
On Monday Carol and I set off from her house, she lives about a mile from the sea front at Cleveleys. The plan was to walk to Blackpool, stop when we'd had enough, and get a tram back. It was blustery, but at least it was dry and warmish. There are still a few of these old shelters about.
The work on the Promenade at Cleveleys is mostly finished, with just a bit more to do. Most of the bigger hotels are along the North Shore. This is the Norbreck Castle, or part of it, it's too big to get it all in the picture. I used to come here a few years ago with my 'Mr Puss', mobile shop. They have a cat show every year. I would turn up the day before to set up my stand, then sleep in my car at the back of the hotel. No one ever asked me what I was doing.
Work on Blackpool Illuminations is an all the year round job. Erecting new displays and repairing old ones. These look just as good in the daytime as art instillations without them being lit up.
We found a cafe and had mushroom omelette and chips for lunch, and continued along the Prom, past North Pier.
Took a picture of this from across the road. Erm....this is a Wedding Chapel? Really? People actually get married here? Surely not, it looks awful! Well I had to goooglie it, the blurb says it's stunningly beautiful inside and out. I think not. It boasts a view of the Tower from one window, and the sea from another. You can get married as the sun is setting over the sea, or later in the evening when the Illuminations are on. It's a nice idea, but the building looks hard and cold. Have a look at the brochure if you want to book it.
Now this I wholeheartedly approve of, we need more comedy in our lives. The Comedy Carpet on the Promenade in front of the Tower. We didn't go up the Tower for a birds eye view.
Have a look at this video to see how it was made. It cost 2.6 million £'s, and was unveiled in 2010.
We carried on walking along the Prom. The donkeys are out giving the kiddies rides. A tradition which dates back a long time. I hate to see animals used for human amusement, I hope they look after them. Here is a BBC article about their welfare. The donkeys have to have a one hour daily lunch break, and have one day off per week.
I noticed that there are a lot of new trams and buses in Blackpool, they look very sleek and modern. The old tram depot is near Manchester Square so we went to see if we could have a look round some of the vintage trams they still run. Alas, we were not allowed inside.
I've found a video of some of the old trams returning to the depot on their very last run in 2011. I'm glad some of them will be making an appearance again on their Heritage Route.
Hoooraaay, we have made it to the Pleasure Beach. I wondered at this point if Carol would like to call it a day and get on the tram to go back, but no, she was game to explore some more. We went to the reception to purchase tickets for entry to the park. It is £6 per person to enter, this includes a ride on the little train. Extra tickets can be purchase to go on the other rides, but we decided not to. I excitedly told the young man on the desk that I used to work on the hot dog, waffle, and donuts stall over 45 years ago, and this visit would bring back many happy memories for me. I was dead chuffed when he gave us a free ticket so there was only one to pay for. Now that's good customer service.
Here we are at the little train station. It was a smashing ride, it goes behind the scenes and under the coasters, with lots to see alongside the track. I was struck by how much greener the place looks from when I worked there. Most empty spaces have been planted up with trees, shrubbery, and flowers. It looks more like an American Theme Park now. There's such a lot to see. I imagine a one day pass would not be enough time to take it all in. The children's park is massive, and a new coaster is being constructed for the season next year.
This is where I used to work. The kiosk was opposite the Log Flume, which is no longer there, it has another ride in it's place. Where that young lady assistant is standing used to be me selling waffles.
Difficult to catch a coaster train when it's whizzing around super fast.
Oooh look, My old buddies are still there. I must say, they are looking a bit old and decrepit now, I don't think they have been doing enough exercise and have let themselves go a bit, ha ha.
Now Carol's gone and got herself locked up, s'pose I'll have to bail her out.
What a fabulous day out we've had. I'm impressed with the Pleasure Beach, no need to fly hundreds of miles to visit a theme park, we have one right here in Lancashire. The only gripe I do have is that the Laughing Man is no longer funny. He has gone through many changes in his lifetime, but the one I remember is a real circus clown dressed in a colourful costume with full clown makeup and a frizzy colourful wig. Now it's a plain brown silk costume, and he has no makeup on. I couldn't raise a titter.
Now you have enjoyed our walk from Cleveleys to the Pleasure Beach, perhaps you would like to ride the tram back with us.
That's the end of the holiday pics. Blimey, I thought I was hungry, I've missed lunch. Better get an early dinner. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip
Hello. the wanderer returns, back in my own bed tonight. Guess who I met today, Carol from Tales from Spring Cottage blog. She is having a break from her own blog at the moment, but is still reading everyone else's. She saw that I was in her area and sent me an email this morning. I was getting ready to set off for a walk, so I said I would text her with my location once I got going. I headed towards Stanah Country Park, and when I got there ten minutes later, there she was waiting for me. We had a good old natter over a cup of tea, it was great to meet her.
From the park I got on a footpath alongside the River Wyre, which took me past the back of a Chemical Works and a Holiday Park, where I joined the road to Fleetwood. I went all the way to the end past the town. I watched the Knott End Ferry coming in. It's a short journey, takes about five minutes.
It's for foot passengers and cyclists.
This is the Lower Lighthouse.
Sadly I was running out of time and I had a long drive home, so I didn't get to see much of it. I missed the Marina because it's behind the Freeport Shopping Centre, and I had forgotten it was there. I decided to get the bus back to Carol's house, where I picked my car up and set off back home, arriving just after 8pm.
I've got all the Blackpool photo's to post yet, I'll do that tomorrow. Thanks for sending in your walking miles, I'm pleased to see that lots of readers are still hard at it. I'll have a read through your reports tomorrow.
It's nearly 11pm so bed time for me. We'll catch up tomorrow.
Toodle pip
Good morning my little Bloggerettes. It's that time again, no I haven't forgotten, I am still here to remind you that it's the first of the month, time for the Walking Group to check in with their miles. We are past the halfway stage now, it's downhill all the way to the finishing line. I call it the finishing line, but of course it isn't for those who are making this challenge a lifestyle choice. Anyone who wants to continue reaping the benefits of regular exercise must not stop. The key to success is keeping up the momentum and making walking part of a healthy lifestyle.
Wherever you are on the scale of 1 to 1000 miles doesn't matter, as long as you are committed to doing some regular exercise. You may only be able to do short sessions of 20 minutes at a time, but over a year that could be increased as you become fitter and more active. As long as I can put one foot in front of the other I will carry on indefinitely, because some exercise is better than none at all.
It's 7.30am, Carol is not yet up so I don't know how her muscles are this morning. She made a fabulous effort yesterday. We did walk a long way, but we had rests, stopped for lunch, stopped for an ice cream, and stopped to people watch. She did a 5K Run For Life last month for charity, I am hoping that our walk has given her a taste of what is possible if she puts her mind to it.
As always I can only offer my encouragement to anyone who wants to start walking. I can't make people change their lifestyle if they don't want to, or if walking is a physical impossibility. I know I am like a broken record at times, but the benefits of regular exercise are well known. It's better to move about than to have long periods of time slouched in front of a screen.
So there you go, nagging over, let's see how you are all doing. I am on 700 and something miles. Please log your miles here.
Hello. My working life ended 16 years ago. Now I just please myself. This is my diary. What I do and what I think about. You are welcome to read it. Toodle pip.
