AndyBlog

On hanging out washing...

One of the interesting and wonderful facts about my new life in a new relationship is hanging out the washing.

I was pretty proud of my work today. Faced with a large load of clothes to dry, I found a solution that worked well.

Look:

A full line of happy washing.

Because of all the extra clothes to dry, I used “compression” to deliver a greater capacity from a standard washing line. I was rather proud of this optimisation of the washing hanging out process, and rightly so - I had used my intelligence and my problem solving abilities to deal with a standard domestic challenge. Excellent.

...or so I thought. Enter an expert to show me how to avoid all that undesirable concertina'ing. A much better method, that still offers high levels of compression. All those years at computers haven't helped me one jot, this finer method even aids quick drying as well. Darn.

See the final result here - Polo Shirts beautifully hung, nicely compressed and soon to be dry.

I feel I learned something here, today. My domestic education continues, apace.

Just for Ian

I have the screwdriver, but I want the drill. Oh yes.

Christine

Oh Christine, you gleam
Your photographs are so mean
Really, you're a queen
Things are not as they seem
You're prettier than Billie Jean
And I've often seen you preen.
You're clean.
Stay on the scene
Like a sex machine

Thanks.

Mobile Test

I'm getting bored with this now. Will it work??

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Posted from my Treo 650

The Football (Soccer) World Cup 2006

Good morning.

I am amazed. Shocked and amazed, and perhaps slightly disappointed. Shocked, amazed, slightly disappointed and also puzzled.

The reason?

Simply this. The English association football squad, have either won or drawn all their matches in this year's World Cup competition. They have qualified simply and without controversy for the second round, and have since gone on to win their first knock-out match of the tournament.

Now, unless I am very much sillier than even I thought, isn't that a very /good/ thing? Isn't that what we actually wanted? I'm going to stick my neck out and say that it pretty much is exactly what most fans would have said they wanted before the competition began.

How strange, therefore, to hear the soccer pundits and the media in general roundly criticising England and saying how disappointed they are with the performance so far. Judging by this response, they will be all bar heartbroken should we do the unthinkable and actually win the whole thing.

A new approach in portraiture...

You saw it here first.

It was a good night gigging with Soul Doubt on Saturday. We were at the Gosforth Park Hotel playing for a biggish charity do. Bigger yet, because we were being filmed for a promotional DVD. There was a big gap between set-up and performance, so naturally we repaired to the local refreshment clinic.

...after a while we started taking pictures.

Oh bugger.

Bugger bugger bugger bugger bugger.

What's eating you?

So what's on your mind? What's irritating you? How do you know?

The first two questions might seem straightforward enough, but the last one may seem a little silly. Well, to you, maybe. For me, that last question has been the key to me realising something important about myself.

This period of change has placed a significant strain on me in different ways. I have had to redefine my relationships with quite a few people, and I have had to decide, once again, who I really am and what I am about.

Some of this has been quite painful, particularly where I have parted company with friends who I never expected to lose. Whenever I have been stressed about a particular issue or relationship it sends me “nearer the edge” emotionally. I'm sure you've experienced something similar.

When “near the edge” everything is more annoying, I'm quicker to anger and closer to tears. It's surprising to me how slow I am to recognise what is causing me the problem. I was desperately annoyed by something TL did the other day - almost beside myself with frustration, and yet, when I used logic instead of feelings, I decided I was actually sore about something else.

Even though it felt weird to do, I forced myself to express in words to TL what it was that I was actually messed up about. The effect was magical. My frustration with TL just melted away - in fact I can barely remember what it was now.

How easy it would have been to express my annoyance about the minor thing - how easy it would have been to pour all my emotion out in criticising someone else, rather than face up to my own lack of ability to deal with the real issue.

As with all the most valuable lessons, they are so hard to apply in the heat of the moment. It's amazingly hard to climb down emotionally and to admit I'm wrong, or that my bad feeling applies to something else.

I'd be fascinated to hear of your experiences in this area - comments can be left anonymously if you like, or please do email me. I'd like to chat about it.

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*The illustrations used in this piece bear no relevance to the writing whatsoever. They are there because illustrated articles are, in general received better than those with no illustration. With that in mind, I hope I provided adequately for all. :)

Cup Winners

I've always thought the people of New Zealand to be steady folk, not given to daftness or pointless endeavour.

I could not have been more wrong.

Folks... Here's the Bra Fence

The Snow Farm in Cardrona (Wanaka, New Zealand) plays host to the world's only existing Bra Fence. Started by some playful ladies just before the year 2000 - maybe as some sort of bizarre way of welcoming in the new millennium - the bra fence has become something of a landmark.

Now sporting over 100 bras, and sometimes subject to “bra theft”, the fence survives thanks to the kind donations of tourists and locals alike. So, if you plan on visiting the Snow Farm, probably better to visit M&S before you leave, so you can be sure to have a spare harness to hang on the fence.

Part of me wonders if this is also a place of pilgrimage for penniless women in need of a bra...

In any event, that sorts out another part of my New Zealand itinery, assuming I ever get to go.

For those of you still keen...

Some boats in NBTS Bay, recently.

I've posted a photo-gallery, as promised, consisting of the nice shots of our prospective home in Sandridge.

Thanks to Jason for loaning me his marvellous camera, and thanks to our benevolent vendors who allowed me to take time to do all the video'ing and stills photography. I was there over an hour and a half doing this - as well as trying to draw floor plans with distances etc. written on them.

Andyhow - view the Sandridge Album, if you'd like to.