A quiet weekend in that we didn't go too far, but still good. It is clearly getting cooler and darker already and I take an umbrella everywhere. We watched some rugby, though not the Kiwi game since it would be so one-sided, and not Wales v Fiji sadly. J lasted a bit longer on Saturday than on Friday and we managed to watch all of the game. Perhaps she was fortified by the window-shopping she filled in the day with. Ho-hum.
The Kiwis got the Bronze in the Indoor Cricket Mens, with SA Silver and Aus Gold.
On Sunday we'd had lunch with C, M and m at a plant shop restaurant, and aside from being a vege outfit it was a nice enough venue and great to catch up. We walked around the harbour before finding a pub with the game on and watched Ireland v Argentina. Two of the home nations out, and two to go...
The car uses a litre of water a day now, and it appears the Stop Leak didn't. We'll have to save up to get that fixed now. Never bloody ending.
Tuesday, 2 October 2007
Friday, 28 September 2007
Some news
Well, I got a full-time, short term job yesterday, working for LloydsTSB. It's not a career building move, but may help the bank balance. As in NZ, bank tellers/salespersons get rewarded for hitting targets. I am to check that those 'remunerations' are accurate. A boring job I think, but it ends in December and is at least a steady income. I got no work at all this week, so we desparately need me out and earning. I start at mid-day today. Oh god... what to wear?
The car struck problems on Js way to work yesterday - just what we need at this time. However, it may not be as serious as we first thought. The car was overheating and apparently our radiator is badly rusted, but we filled it with Stop Leak and will see how it goes. We also discovered a slow puncture in one of the tyres, so that will need repairing too. And I think the MoT (WoF) is overdue...
Last night we watched NZ lose to the Aussies in the Indoor Cricket World Cup. I have to say that I saw better players than some of these back in Christchurch, so I wonder whether the selection criteria was simply "Who can fundraise $5000?". In contrast, the Aussie U19 team was extremely sharp, and would have beaten any team in the tournament I think. They played some of the best indoor I've seen. The semi-finals are tonight, with NZ playing SA and Aus playing England, but there's Rugby on so we'll watch that I think. Seems strange that they'd put the ICWC on at the same time of year. Perhaps they thought they'd get some spillover coverage - "Rugby's not the only WC being played. Here in Bristol blah, blah..."
There was minor interest outside the window yesterday as a local office block got evacuated. They all assembled down our street which must be a block away from the office. Just as the last people arrived the all clear went, so those people didn't even stop walking.
Enjoy the games. Both should be close.
The car struck problems on Js way to work yesterday - just what we need at this time. However, it may not be as serious as we first thought. The car was overheating and apparently our radiator is badly rusted, but we filled it with Stop Leak and will see how it goes. We also discovered a slow puncture in one of the tyres, so that will need repairing too. And I think the MoT (WoF) is overdue...
Last night we watched NZ lose to the Aussies in the Indoor Cricket World Cup. I have to say that I saw better players than some of these back in Christchurch, so I wonder whether the selection criteria was simply "Who can fundraise $5000?". In contrast, the Aussie U19 team was extremely sharp, and would have beaten any team in the tournament I think. They played some of the best indoor I've seen. The semi-finals are tonight, with NZ playing SA and Aus playing England, but there's Rugby on so we'll watch that I think. Seems strange that they'd put the ICWC on at the same time of year. Perhaps they thought they'd get some spillover coverage - "Rugby's not the only WC being played. Here in Bristol blah, blah..."
There was minor interest outside the window yesterday as a local office block got evacuated. They all assembled down our street which must be a block away from the office. Just as the last people arrived the all clear went, so those people didn't even stop walking.
Enjoy the games. Both should be close.
Wednesday, 26 September 2007
Quiet days
No work so far this week, but an interview this afternoon for an admin job, and yesterday I got invited to an interview for a job supporting PDAs in three schools around Bristol. They are trialling using class sets of them as aids. I must say that the ones I saw at John Cabot were fancy but completely underused, with only a few teachers picking up on the possibilities. They just seem to be free MP3 players for the students.
In my battle with Col. Blimp I asked if a document I signed that supposedly explained charges could be faxed through to the CAB. If it is as airtight as the Army thinks it is, then presumably my argument is overruled, and he'd hear no more from me. Here's the response:
Mr Rowe.
I am disappointed to see that you have failed to take note of my 3 Sep 07 notification to you. I will wait for instructions from the Museum's Solicitor in regards to the release of the copy of the document you signed on 18/12/06.
R.J.Seymour
Col (Rtd)
Director
You will recall the tone of his "notification". What an obnoxious person this man is.
We haven't seen any of the recent RWC games, but I do see that W is ranked in the mid-500s in the Virtual RWC. That's bloody awesome given the number of players. Well done W. (J is still beating him in the Virtual NPC, so she's happy enough.)
In my battle with Col. Blimp I asked if a document I signed that supposedly explained charges could be faxed through to the CAB. If it is as airtight as the Army thinks it is, then presumably my argument is overruled, and he'd hear no more from me. Here's the response:
Mr Rowe.
I am disappointed to see that you have failed to take note of my 3 Sep 07 notification to you. I will wait for instructions from the Museum's Solicitor in regards to the release of the copy of the document you signed on 18/12/06.
R.J.Seymour
Col (Rtd)
Director
You will recall the tone of his "notification". What an obnoxious person this man is.
We haven't seen any of the recent RWC games, but I do see that W is ranked in the mid-500s in the Virtual RWC. That's bloody awesome given the number of players. Well done W. (J is still beating him in the Virtual NPC, so she's happy enough.)
Sunday, 23 September 2007
Walks, balloons and sporting Sundays
J ensured we continued our explorations and this time we did a ramble around Flax Bourton, which is near J's current school. A wander through fields took us around a curious area that looked very much like a military installation. It was marked as a 'depot' on our map, and had signs up for a construction company, but why would they need underground bunkers and a railway siding of their own...? When we got home a quick Google found that it is part of a huge underground gas and petrol storage network that dates partly back to WW2, but was still in use during the Cold War and even now in parts.
We also saw that lovely English countryside and ye olde villages, so that was pleasant. After the ramble we drove around Portishead near J's other school, then sat in a pub for a tea/coffee and a delicious Sticky Date and Toffee Pudding, while looking up the Severn to the bridges and over to Wales. We walked it off around the Marina where we watched the lock being opened to let 5 boats in. I've never seen a lock in action up to now so it was interesting
On the way back we took a detour to Ashton Court where we hoped to catch the balloons taking off. There were 3 so we got to see the whole procedure from unpacking to take off. It's very colourful and quite a spectacle.Today we got up and rushed off to the Indoor Cricket World Cup which is being run in Bristol this year. We caught New Zealand v Aussie, which was a good game even if we lost (we were up to 40 runs behind at one point, but lost by only 5). We stayed for the Aussie v SA Under 19s which was won convincingly by Aussie who played some fantastic indoor cricket. We didn't hang around for the next NZ game because we wanted to watch the rugby.
Here's their site: http://www.actionsportuk.com/news_cricket_worldcup_2007.php
After changing into something warmer as it was raining, we wandered around Bristol trying to find a pub that was showing the All Black game. The problem was that Man U were playing Leeds so even if the game was being shown, there was no commentary. It was a bit disappointing to say the least and we had to retreat home and listen to it on the Net. We couldn't even watch the neighbour's TV this time as they've moved their room around. (Perhaps they read this blog - if so, Hi! Sorry. Could you move your TV back so we can see it, at least until the WC is over?) Lots of errors in the game but a 40 point shut out is still good. Will France be the only Northern team to pose a threat?
Here are some more pics around Bristol.http://picasaweb.google.com/Italythenandnow/FlaxBourtonWalk are of the country ramble.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Italythenandnow/Balloons have some colourful shots.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Italythenandnow/SeeBristol are some of the open day
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
More Rugby
Jeeez, it's all starting to blur now. We watched the Tonga-Samoa match on Sunday which was entertaining for its close score, even if it wasn't the running match we'd expected. I wasn't sure who I wanted to win, but I'm sure Samoa will be very disappointed they didn't finish off a 13 man team.
I had work at John Cabot Monday, Tuesday, nothing Wednesday and work again today, Thursday. That'll help the bank balance. After school today I dashed back into town (as much as you can dash on a bus) and had an interview for a job with LloydsTSB. I thought the interview went well, but we'll have to see. They are sprucing up their branches (now called 'stores') and need a team to administer the project. It would be about 6 or 7 months work if it goes anywhere to plan. I like the fact it is not going to go forever, and it ties in well with our next trip to Italy. Of course the pay isn't anything like teaching, but it is more regular, and the office is just across the harbour.
Probably at JC tomorrow, but they never call until the last minute (7:30). The routine is setting in already...
I had work at John Cabot Monday, Tuesday, nothing Wednesday and work again today, Thursday. That'll help the bank balance. After school today I dashed back into town (as much as you can dash on a bus) and had an interview for a job with LloydsTSB. I thought the interview went well, but we'll have to see. They are sprucing up their branches (now called 'stores') and need a team to administer the project. It would be about 6 or 7 months work if it goes anywhere to plan. I like the fact it is not going to go forever, and it ties in well with our next trip to Italy. Of course the pay isn't anything like teaching, but it is more regular, and the office is just across the harbour.
Probably at JC tomorrow, but they never call until the last minute (7:30). The routine is setting in already...
Saturday, 15 September 2007
Rugby, by Horus
I had the day at Wyvern and the kids were shits. (Calling your child Damien has got to be asking for trouble doesn't it?) I have Monday at John Cabot which is better, but I hope one of these other positions come through.We watched the English get well beaten on Friday. It was expected of course, but to score no points was a disaster. We faced
one of those ethical teasers in that the bill for dinner came with our drinks missed off. We'll go the interactive route where you get to use the comments to say what you would do in the same situation. Service had been OK, and the food was reasonable, so certainly no reason for complaint if that is something that that you might take into consideration.Today we wandered over to the city centre and were quarter of the way through the Kiwi match when the bar manager turned it over to the lead up to the soccer. When we protested she turned it back but only until the game started. Bloody rude I thought given we were the only customers there! Anyway, we drank up and moved on as it was already 30 something to 3 and not much of a contest. We wandered in and out of the shops - which C will enjoy far more than us - then had lunch in the Gourmet Burger Kitchen, a chain started by a
Kiwi I believe. There we met two more Kiwis, from Balclutha. They've been in the UK a while, and are now just out of Bristol. We had lunch together (Kiwi burgers all round except vege J), and talked about what was good and bad about living in Bristol and the UK. We swapped contacts, so may join them to watch the next Kiwi game.After lunch we visited the Bristol Museum for the first time. There is an Egyptian Room now that has some good displays though is smaller than expected. More work is being done though. Apparently my Egyptian star sign is a Wadjeb - the regrown eye of Horus. J's is Isis. That 'done', I spent an hour or so in the Geology room while J saw it and every other room in the same time. Still, it isn't going away, so no need to hurry.
On the way home there were 7 hot air balloons in the air at once. We are going to have to have a go sometime when we are rich.
After getting home we settled in for the evening, but while washing the dishes I noticed we could see the Ireland v Georgia game through the window of a flat in the next block. We turned on the radio coverage and watched the game like voyeurs. They had a large screen, but it was like sitting in the Gods at a large venue (top of Jade Stadium for example). It was most disconcerting when one of them got up and especially so when the cuddling started, and we had to resist the urge to yell "Siddown in front!" every time they got up for something. Anyway, it was an exciting game and Ireland will be as disappointed as England and France for their efforts. There seems to be a massive gap between the north and south in this tournament, more so than at any other time I can recall.(BTW, if you read the sign in the first photo you may see why I posted it.)
Thursday, 13 September 2007
Just in the nick of time
What a strange expression when you look at it. What is its origin, I wonder?
Wednesday morning brought a call from the Agency and I have three days work. Given our poorly finances this is just in time. That day was at John Cabot, so wasn't too bad, although not much work was done. Today and tomorrow were/are Wyvern, a different kettle of fish. I had a couple of Y7 classes, the first nice, the last rowdy but OK, and an average Y8. The two Y11s were 'orrible. In one a kid smacked another for no apparent reason so he was sent out, while a girl wandered out and never came back. In the other, the kids were rude, inappropriate, and did f... all. Just why I love teaching so much now. L100 less tax.
After no calls for two weeks, I get three on the one day. 3 days of teaching, and two possible positions in offices. One of the latter, for only L7 p.h., was filled before I could see them, but I'm not sad about that at all. The other, paying a little better, I will hear more about tomorrow I think. I have sent off about 15 applications and some bounce back pretty quickly, but there are one or two interesting ones still waiting to close off.
The good news is that I am allowed a beer or three, which will be most pleasant while watching the rugby over the weekend. Last night we watched England beat Russia in the other football. England played well which makes a change.
Wednesday morning brought a call from the Agency and I have three days work. Given our poorly finances this is just in time. That day was at John Cabot, so wasn't too bad, although not much work was done. Today and tomorrow were/are Wyvern, a different kettle of fish. I had a couple of Y7 classes, the first nice, the last rowdy but OK, and an average Y8. The two Y11s were 'orrible. In one a kid smacked another for no apparent reason so he was sent out, while a girl wandered out and never came back. In the other, the kids were rude, inappropriate, and did f... all. Just why I love teaching so much now. L100 less tax.
After no calls for two weeks, I get three on the one day. 3 days of teaching, and two possible positions in offices. One of the latter, for only L7 p.h., was filled before I could see them, but I'm not sad about that at all. The other, paying a little better, I will hear more about tomorrow I think. I have sent off about 15 applications and some bounce back pretty quickly, but there are one or two interesting ones still waiting to close off.
The good news is that I am allowed a beer or three, which will be most pleasant while watching the rugby over the weekend. Last night we watched England beat Russia in the other football. England played well which makes a change.
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