Why is it so dark?

In the news this week was a story about a teenage hacker who was arrested for the theft of furniture from a virtual hotel room, in a virtual world called Habbo Hotels. I thought it was interesting that a virtual theft could result in real arrest, but it turns out the headlines were wrong. It was true that virtual furniture was stolen, but the actual crime was phishing, where a fake webpage is constructed to sucker you into providing personal details such as passwords or credit card numbers, etc. The hacker then used a username and password to access an account or accounts where he then purchased 4000 euros worth of furniture for his own Habbo Hotel room. So, sadly, not such an interesting story after all. Also sad is that with 4000 euros at hand the first thing he does is buy virtual furniture. Get a life - blow it on real sex, drugs and Rock 'n' Roll I say!



We had dinner on Friday at an average Mexican restaurant in an above average building. It used to be the main Lloyds Bank branch before they moved to the new building I'm in now. It had a huge foyer with ornate ceilings, sturdy columns, a domed roof, etc. Now it's covered in sheets, has leopard skin chairs and sofas, and plastic plants everywhere. First impressions were of an Ottoman harem, somehow mixed up with a Mexican cantina. Unusual to say the least.


On Saturday we struck car trouble, and couldn't find anyone to start the car when I couldn't push start it. Apparently the UK is the only European country who doesn't have a reciprocal agreement with the AA, and our local garage wasn't insured to work off-site. Eventually our Italian friend upstairs provided jumper lead and his car to get us started, but not until after a one hour chat. It was very good of him, but we didn't get going until 2:30 and it was cold and dim before we got to Wells. There was very little light inside the Cathedral, so it was a little disappointing. By the time we got to Glastonbury at 4:30 it was dark, which was a good thing for an illuminated carnival, but meant we couldn't have a decent look around the town. It was a long wait for the procession to start, and it took 2 1/2 hours to pass by. If the pubs sold tickets for their toilets they'd have made more than from selling beer I think. Actually the combination would be a real winner...

I enjoyed the carnival and there were some awesome floats. Clearly they were not the work of an afternoon in the back shed (well, one or two were). There are whole circuits that most of these do, and you can follow a link on J's page for more. Of course, I have photos, so if you want to see more click these words.

Sunday saw rain and gloom, so we had an inside day, reading, blogging, shopping, etc. J's done a handful of Christmas cards, so I'd better get on to mine.

Special days

J bought me some balloons so that I can make swans and monkeys and elephants and things. So far all of my attempts look like dogs. We've also got some chokky bikkies to finish now. The best gift was our meal. It's an oddity that I could buy Young's Double Chocolate Stout in Dunedin but haven't found it in any 'offie' here in Bristol. J booked a surprise meal so I followed her to Horts, which turned out to be a Young's Pub-Restaurant. And there they had Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Happiness filled. The meal was nice too, but the beer was just a perfect present.

Since the Young's weren't the only beers that day I took a while to recover on Saturday. We did the shopping and picked up a few books from the library then spent the day mooching.

Sunday was walkies time, so we popped up to the Royal West of England Academy of Art to check out a display by local artists. The usual mix of the good, the bad and the ugly - it's all in the eye of the beholder isn't it.

We kicked through the piles of leaves coming home - most are off the trees now, and the light has the watery quality that you don't get at home. My body clock hasn't adjusted to the 4:30 darkness, though, so I'm discombobulated.

It was a quieter day at work, and we got rewarded for our hectic fortnight with a lunch shout followed by a boat trip on the harbour. I ran a quiz, mostly on Bristol harbour trivia, which showed that most of the natives don't know much about their own city! Then it was back to work where I got into trouble for some incorrect responses to some queries. I plead insufficient training, but whatever, you do the best you can.

There was sad news from home as we heard that Sue McDonald died from cancer yesterday. RIP Sue.

A week of it

Well, what a week it's been. Work has been a disaster, with my colleague in tears this morning. Everything that could go wrong with our remuneration run did. This morning we discovered (or she did since she starts before me) that our 'corrected' run was incorrect! We tried to recall the emails, but most got delivered anyway. Good for over-time though...


I've been unofficially offered another 3 months there which would be OK as long as I get the time off when C's over. Mind you, they may reconsider after all that's gone wrong this week.

On Friday last we had dinner with some people from the apartment buildings. Usual conservative bunch, but the odd interesting conversation. One fellow had done his National Service but clearly didn't like the basic training. I think he was a bit of a mummy's boy so having to clean soggy paper out of the bottom of a bathtub was not his idea of fun. I guess he learnt to have clean boots on parade!


On Saturday we had a long stroll along the Avon toward Bath. We walked about six miles before giving up and getting the bus back. It was a lovely day and with the trees in autumn colour it was quite picturesque. Next time we'll start there and walk further, then get another bus and so on. If you'd like to see some pics, click here.

That night we went to the big fireworks display that turned out to be a fizzer. One of the mortars fell over and fired a rocket along the ground, slightly injuring a few people, so all that type were cancelled. We still got to see the smaller ones but these were behind a big building as they were for a charity and you had to pay to see them properly. A bit disappointing really for the crowd of several thousand. The pubs on the road back to town must have done a roaring trade though. Again, you can see some snaps if you click this.

Sunday was a day of rest: reading mostly. Which brings us back to the start. What an exciting life we lead!

I don't know if J told you all about the Crimewatch we were involved in. Some night last week (Thursday?) we heard kids outside the apartments. I was watching them from the window thinking they were just playing around but they were on the jetty which is not publicly accessible so it looked a bit dodgy. Some bloke came down the jetty to see what they were up to and the kids scarpered out of sight, with him following. Then the kids came back but he didn't, which I thought was a bit dodgy. J and I went down and found some stuff that had obviously been stolen from one of the boats. We were told that the bloke had been pushed in and "nearly died". J and I walked around the harbour and spotted four of the miscreants on the bridge. 18 or 19 year olds I'd say. As we got back to the flat we met the police so we told them what we knew and that we'd seen the 4 at the bridge. They couldn't find the bloke who'd called them or the one who'd fallen in so couldn't do much at all. J did point out the wet footsteps leading back up the jetty though, so perhaps they followed those. Anyway, there's often something interesting outside our window, even if the opposite isn't true.