Cake Sale Extortion

We went to a fete at the school our eldest will be starting at in September. It was really nice to see the large number of people supporting the school by attending as well as to see how many people we knew. Our youngest had a nice time and sampled some of the wares on the cakes stall, leaving sticky finger marks all over the top of a rather nice chocolate cake. We were forced to then purchase this chocolate cake at an exorbitant rate by the proprietor of the stall. At least it goes to a good cause and we got the tin thrown in.

Our eldest's new school with the cake stall in the foreground. (You can see the proprietor arranging his cakes to snare another unwary family.)

Another view of the school with a tug-of-war in preparation.

Defecting

We have defected from Tesco.com to ASDA home shopping. In order to save money and also to try out the new ASDA delivery service which has recently started in our area. On the face of it the two services seem similar. However there seem to be better safeguards in the ASDA version. When you get a different product substitute for the one you ordered you only pay up to the value of the thing you ordered, with tesco you can get charged more if your chosen product is unavailable. We'll let you know how we get on.

Duggie dug dug

We went to a church service led by Doug Horley. It was very good. Our two children loved it, as did we. It was a really good mix of action songs, puppets, teaching and fun. It was especially nice as we got to see some people who we don't get to see that often who were also attending the event. So if you are a church looking for something special to do for a Sunday morning (or any other time) I would recommend booking Doug Horley and his team.

Playing nicely

Our youngest playing with our eldest's doll's house.
She was a skater girl...

Result

Well. I have finally heard the outcome of my recent interview. The outcome was that I didn't get the job. Whether this outcome will be negative - well only time will tell, but as all things work together for the good... I can hope for the best. As least the management structure at work is becoming clear and this should allow everyone to settle down and work well.

Lego and Swimming

We went for Sunday lunch at some old friends. My wife used to look after their children when they were young. We hadn't seen them for a couple of years and so it was amazing to see how the boys had grown. In addition, as they had grown so much our children were bequeathed an array of plastic dinosaurs and an amazing assortment of Lego.

Our children were also thrilled as they have a small swimming pool in their garden and we had a go in it after lunch. (I had to get in to stop our youngest drowning). And much fun was had by all.

Child Prodigy

As a parent I feel it is my duty to boast about my children. So here is my youngest's first recognizable picture.

It is of our car - which is a green Zafira. I was quite impressed. But then, as I said, I'm a dad - that's my job.

BK

Today went well; I managed to run an errand to a branch of my bank and had lunch in Burger King. The bank I use does not have many branches - there is one in the town where I live but as I do not work there I can never get to it. For most things this is fine as the Internet makes many things possible. However I needed to open an account for my eldest and found that they needed a copy of her birth certificate. could I get to a branch? No. But today I found one in London. The queue was very long but the task was accomplished. To celebrate this achievement I went to Burger King for lunch. When out on business my preferred repast is a Double Whopper meal and Fanta. Hmmm. This is just the right combination of fat, salt and sugar to keep one alert and satisfied until one gets home.

City trip

Oh. I've thought of something to blog. I am off into London tomorrow to train some customers; always a treat. I love going into the city on the train - even though it is often crowded and lunch is usually much nicer than sandwiches. (Even though my wife makes me nice sandwiches most days (Makes sandwiches most days that is, it's not that she makes horrible sandwiches on some days)).

Lacking inspriation

Currently I am lacking inspiration in the blogging department. Fiddling on facebook has used some of my blogging time and in addition nothing much has happened. Oh well - I'm sure it'll come...

Hot Fuzz

We had a later than usual night last night and are really tired today. We were watching Hot Fuzz for the second time on the DVD I got for Father's Day. It is very funny, if slightly gruesome in a couple of spots. This evening we have had a friend round to celebrate my mother in law's birthday. We had cod with green mashed potato which was nicer than it sounds.

Making a fuss.

I had a great time at the monthly fun club that I help to run. I had devised a complicated game but the other leaders and children managed to pull it off and seemed to have a good time. Then as usual we split into different room for games, craft or sports. I was in the sports zone (despite being the least sporty person in the world).

What amazes me every time is that everyone just arrives, gets on with their setting up and by 10am we a ready for the children, and then just as magically when the children have left everything gets tidied away. What a team!

Basil

I love fresh herbs. We grow some in the garden but some do best when grown on the kitchen window sill. I particularly like having a fresh pot of basil available for inclusion in my culinary activities. I am now going to share my secret for getting the best crop of basil from a shop bought plant.

1. Get one from Lidl. For some reason the basil from lidl seems to last a really long time. I have tried different ones from different supermarkets but Lidl's seems to have the best. Perhaps they use top quality basil or perhaps the soil is laced with fertilizer. I know not, but it lasts a long time. And from Thursday they are selling a camping toilet for under £30! (Though that fact is unrelated to the basil).
2. Keep it on a window sill that is light but not in direct sunlight.
3. Place the pot in a bowl to catch the water you water it with.
4. Water it each morning with the cool water left in the kettle from last night. This will be at room temperature and will not give the basil a nasty shock.
5. If there is water that is not soaked up into the pot after a few minutes poor it down the sink.
6. Enjoy trouble free basil. Of course if you harvest too much it will die but on the whole we find it lasts ages.

Bindweed

We have been trying to tidy our garden. It is a rather sisyphean task as whatever we cut down grows back. Also we are quite good at getting it to looks nice at one point in time but then the effect tends to diffuse as different bits stop flowering, die or grow madly.

Currently I am embarking on a mini war with bindweed. I am tricking it by luring it up a nice pole and then I am going to poison it. hopefully this will work. But, as is often the case with gardening, you have to wait and see. No instant gratification.

How did it go?

The interview - for another position at where I work - seemed to go ok. I can never judge these things. I had answers for the questions asked - whether they were the answers of the person they want to fill the post only time will tell. The post appeals to me as it will use skills that I don't currently use as much in my current post as I would like and it should be a career improving move. Lets see how it goes...

Interview

I've got a job interview tomorrow. I hate interviews. I know I am good at my job and I know that I can do but persuading someone else of this is something I find very hard.

Perhaps I am just too humble. Or deluded?

Alpha

Went to an Alpha course this evening. My wife normally goes to help her Mum out and to get experience of it as she is going to be running one for her mums and tots group but she was too tired after work today and so I went instead. It was good - there was nice food to start with and conversation and then afterwards a guy called Rob talked about Faith and how he knows his faith in God is real. There was then a wide ranging discussion about how, even in the face of bad things happening to us or people we know, faith in God helps us to cope.

Another day in paradise...

Well perhaps not but work wasn't that bad today. In fact I quite enjoyed it. This is a good sign as my holidays normally wear off by eleven on the first day back. Also the fact that someone brought cakes in for their birthday helped a great deal. In addition the prospect of learning new stuff for the next few weeks as I am going to be shadowing a colleague who is an expert in something I am not so that should be good. I enjoy learning new things.

Back from holiday.

We have been away for a wonderful week staying in a friend's cottage in a place called the Lower Mill Estate. It was very nice. The cottage had lots of room, a wood burning fire, all the kitchen appliances you could want as well as fantastic scenery and grounds. Our eldest swam in the outdoor swimming pool most days - despite on one day it being drier in the pool than out on account of the torrential rain. It was a lovely week. We had a great time as a family and by the end of it felt relaxed enough to start having a holiday but, unfortunately, it is back to school and work tomorrow.

Photo's from our holiday at Cornerstone.

Cornerstone.

Where we stayed.

Duck painting.

Our eldest in the pool.

Our youngest in "armour".