Feeling really old!!

A former colleague of mine (from the very dim and distant past) posted me a photograph of me meeting a certain British Prime Minister in 1986.

It was taken shortly after I left the police force and, looking at it now, I can see why I was asked so often if my mother knew I was out whilst policing the streets of Stockton on Tees. At the time the picture was taken I was beginning my career in business support, unemployment in the UK was approaching three million and Mrs Thatcher was definately NOT popular having recently dispatched the British Coal industry and Arthur Scargill to history - she had another five years before even her own party got sick of her.

Being a paid up member of the Labour Party at the time I made my own 'protest' by wearing a red tie!! Though I do remember thinking what a remarkable woman she was, and how, over the course of the ten minute conversation I had with her, she almost changed my political views - I had to slap myself!! Very persuasive lady. I admire her tenacity now more than I did then that's for sure!

In The Blink of a Week!

Is it me, or do the weeks seem to be zooming by?

It's been a full week since I last posted! And what a week!

Emily lost her tooth, which was safely placed under her pillow and replaced by the unseen, unheard "Tooth Fairy" (Me) who left a shiny gold coin and some 'pixie dust' which resembled gold glitter. Needless to say Emily found the whole saga really exciting and promptly found another tooth loosening up - and getting more loose by the minute with all of Emily's frantic waggling! Best get the pound coins and pixie dust ready again soon! (And book a dentists appointment to check that everything's as it should be.)

Lesley has been unwell all week and unable to eat anything (so the food bill has gone down significantly!! lol!!) however, what we saved on food, we more than made up for on toilet rolls, if you catch my drift.

I've had a busy time at work - training course up at Seaham, clients all over the place and project after project to coordinate - hence the lack of posts.

Expecting the Tooth Fairy Tonight!

Emily is growing up fast! The first milk tooth has been wobbling for a few days now and today, during a tactically issued mini-Mars bar, screams, and blood and 'hey presto!'

Trauma over with, Emily soon reverted back to her cheery self, proudly displaying her new gap!!

www.mcarthurbaker.co.uk

Why Do They Do It?

"Why, oh why do they do it to themselves?" - that was the question posed to me by a colleague the other day as we observed a young girl standing outside our offices. I had no answer for him other than "Each to their own." 

The young girl in question must've been around seventeen years of age, quite slim and possibly quite pretty (I say 'possibly' because no-one could ever decypher how she really looked for the inch of make-up plastered on her face and neck!) Her earlobes were 'adorned' with two of the biggest gold hoops I've ever seen - they were actually touching her collar bones. Above the hoops, for the full height of each ear and at seemingly non-specific points were a further six or seven hoops and studs. The piercing process had been repeated several times at various locations around her face - eyebrow, nose, cheeks, tongue.  Around her neck hung enough 'gold' chains to keep Mr T happy for a few years, and on each finger of both hands (including thumbs)she wore at least three equally 'gold' rings. Each finger was topped with an enormous sparkling nail at least half as long as the finger from which it protruded. She was standing in a bus queue, raking around in her purse for change for the bus - she dropped the coins and her entire rucksack at one point, the coins were left where they fell.

She was wearing cut-off jeans and a red, sparkly 'boob tube' - this on a day when the temperature hadn't exceeded 5 degrees above freezing. Her feet were dressed in Dr Marten boots - green leather with approximately 16 lace holes - how did she lace them up with those nails???

She had no coat. What was showing of her legs was bright orange, tinged with blue, her chest, shoulders and arms were more a walnut colour, but only on the fronts, the backs of her arms and her shoulders were flesh tinged with blue, her face resembled one who'd been Tango'ed several times.

I always reply "Each to their own!" when posed with a question such as "Why do they do it to themselves?" and it's true, I really do mean each to their own - it would be a pretty awful world if everyone dressed and acted the same, but really, in this instance, in my head at least was the thought that somehow, somewhere, someone had told this young girl that she looked good. She certainly acted confident enough despite the obvious jaw-dropping of passers by.

I admired her bravery.

I was going to say that the youth of today have no respect for conformity, or tradition but then realised that that is what youth is, and has been for many years, a desire to make your mark on the world - the same can be said of Teddy Boys in the fifties, hippies and glam rockers in the sixties and seventies, punks in the eighties - remember how outlandish and ridiculed they were? Life goes on - and gets more and more outlandish with each generation I suppose. It's fun to watch.

www.mcarthurbaker.co.uk

The Origins of "Where the Birdies Is"

I heard this little ditty a good few years back and decided it might go well as a post title about my 'missing' birds (I Wonder Where the Birdies Is?) but it has always stumped me as to where it originates. Here's the ditty in full (as far as I can discover):-

Spring has sprung;

The grass has ris.

I wonder where

The birdie is?

There he is

In the sky.

He dropped some

Whitewash in my eye!

I am no sissy;

I won't cry.

I'm just glad

That cows can't fly!

My Googling has revealed that it was probably made up by either W.C Fields or Groucho Marx but most results show "origin lost" If anyone knows any different please let me know - it's driving me mad!!! (Or madder!)

 

www.mcarthurbaker.co.uk

I Know Where (Some of) The Birdies Is!!

BBC TV gave me the answer to the mystery of the  missing birds (well the missing starlings at least) - apparently they're all off on their jollies in Rome - making beautiful cloud formations in the sky over the city before finding a place to roost for the night!

 

They also create a delightful 'carpet' over the streets below them - how charming!

 

Back to work today - hence the short post!

www.mcarthurbaker.co.uk

Some New Beginning!

Four days into the New Year and it's back in with the old!

Needless to say I have started myself back on a dose of 20mg Prednisolone steroids! So much for a new beginning!

Any road up - I thought I might solve the mystery of "where the birdies is" (See yesterdays post) by visiting my local park today. Sadly not. No sign of a spuggie anywhere, plenty of bigger birds but not one smaller than a crow. The plot thickens!

In answer to Crystal Jigsaw - yes, we do have a cat but I'm sure not even her presence could scare ALL of the (smaller) birds from the whole town of Middlesbrough!! I expect to hear a news item any day soon stating how Alfred Hitchcocks "The Birds" has been re-enacted by swarms of sparrows, tits and blackbirds in a town nearby!  In the meantime my breadcrumbs, seeds and nuts will remain untouched.

Curiouser and curiouser!

www.mcarthurbaker.co.uk

I Wonder Where the Birdies Is...?

Just had a strange thought. (It's not uncommon for me to have strange thoughts!)

I put some bird seeds and nuts out on New Years Eve for the feathered friends who visit our garden in abundance at this time of year.

They're still there - untouched by birdy beaks. And now I come to think of it, I haven't seen a single bird since before New Year. Not one.

There aren't any today either - oh, I tell a lie, a seagull has just flown by, but where are all the sparrows, and starlings, and robins, and tits, and finches????

I mentioned this to her indoors who said she'd just heard on the radio that a warning has been issued to visitors to Seaton Carew (a coastal resort thirty or so miles away) to take care as "the birds have gone a bit mental!"

So that's where they all are. Typical Brits on holiday - causing mayhem as usual and frightening all the Seagulls inland! Bless 'em!

www.mcarthurbaker.co.uk

Goodbye 2008.

What a year!

Financial meltdown, wars, famine, terrorism, housing market collapse, record petrol prices, insane hikes in gas, electricity and food prices. On a high note - Barrack Hussein Obama being elected president of the USA! Back to the low-notes - the wettest summer ever recorded, health scares, expanding dole queues, factory closures, reduced production, redundancies, interest rate cuts, taxpayer bailouts of bust banks, VAT cut by a MASSIVE 2.5% to stop the rot in the high street (he (Darling) was obviously having a laugh)

And we said goodbye (or will be any time soon) to Woolworths, Adams, MFI, Zavvi, Whittard of Chelsea, USC and The Officers Club - all huge retail chains who were allowed by the greedy banks to borrow more than the companies were actually worth = and (after HM Treasury) who gets first bite at the Administration cherry, who is repaid ahead of staff, suppliers and all other creditors? - that's right, the greedy banks. (Makes my blood boil somewhat!)

On a personal note I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, put on steroids which destroyed my immune system and led to infection after infection, these were treated with antibiotics which undid all the good the steroids had done. I end the year as I began it - steroid free and still with dodgy guts.

So, that was 2008 - much turbulence on the Sea of Life. Bring on 2009, I'm setting sail for another challenging journey!!

The First Blast of Winter

Its been a long time coming - I think Emily was three when we last had the opportunity to build a snowman (sadly, at that age, the snow frightened her a little so she watched from inside whilst I built the snowman!) - alas this is not the stuff of snowmen and even as I took these pictures this morning I could feel the patter of rain rushing to wash it all away.

Reminder to self - unhook the hosereel and turn off the water!

ABC Wednesday 'M' is for...

Middlesbrough

(It might be a dump, but it's my dump!!)

The Town Hall from Centre North East

An unusual view of our Transporter Bridge - one of only two in the UK (The other is in Newport, Wales)

The once mighty Dorman Long Steel Works - whose crowning glory must surely have been the construction of this...

Have you guessed what it is yet?? Click here to reveal all

And here's the plaque to reveal all..

And finally, a little known fact about Middlesbrough Football Club..

The Legendary - Wilf Mannion

Do you see the red circle Middlesbrough Crest in the background? There were two (now replaced with Middlesbrough's new Shield logo) and I helped make them!!

Originally this crest contained the year of the club's rescue by chairman Steve Gibson (1986). I was responsible (in a previous employment) for cutting and laying out the enormous crests (about 3metres in diameter) prior to them being sent for spraying - I excluded the 1-9-8 and 6 from the process as rumour had it that Steve Gibson was trying to get the club to look forward rather than back and wanted the year of Middlesbrough's bankruptcy removed. I still have the unpainted aluminium numerals - God knows why!!

Oh, and one other thing - the famous Wembley Arch - constructed by local firm Cleveland Bridge - has hundred's of Middlesbrough FC items stuffed in its girders and tubing - scarves, gloves, footie tops, programs etc - the workers' way of saying that Middlesbrough will always be at the heart of Wembley!!

(And probably the only way Middlesbrough will ever get back to Wembley!!)

For more magical M's visit the ABC Wednesday Blog

Happy Girthday to Me!!

Yesterday was my 43rd birthday and, as my Crohn's seems to have been settled for a few weeks, the lovely Lesley decided it was time for a treat. My favourite! Chocolate Cake with all the buttercream and chocolate flakes you could wish for. Just a small one ("enough to serve 8" the box said - though these must surely have been tested on very small people with even smaller appetites, or perhaps eight people who didn't much care for scrummy chocolate cake!) Needless to say I dived straight in immediately after Lesley took the following picture........

Obviously nothing to do with overeating and more to do with steroids, but me thinks it's time I lost a bit of weight!!! (I never, EVER thought I'd hear myself saying that!) Fitness regime begins....

............just as soon as the rest of the cake is consumed!

Happy Birthday to me....happy birthday to me....

Blogged Out

It might be a useful tool to impart news and evidence our daily activities, but blogging can also turn into a realisation of just how empty your life is. Such has been the case with me over the past two weeks or so.

By 'empty' I certainly mean the exact opposite. By 'empty' I mean entirely crammed with completely and utterly mundane, every-day tasks - not worthy of a mention here. Things like - getting up, feeding self, feeding cat, feeding daughter, feeding wife, getting ready for work, going to meeting after meeting, writing up endless case notes, making endless referrals to external agencies, completing endless applications for funding, reading and reviewing other people's business plans and ideas (and thinking "Why didn't I think of that?") coming home, feeding self, daughter, wife, bathing, watching "Road Wars" or "Booze Britain", retiring. See? Not worthy of a mention here? Utterly mundane and every-day stuff which, for the past two weeks, has formed the bulk of my life.

I could always fall back on the weather - which for some reason has decided to revert back to 'spring-like' despite being almost October - but I did that all through the Summer-that-never-was. I'm sure you must be as bored with weather as I am. I could write about my other hobbies and interests, the bike project, gardening, swimming, writing. Or I could write about the more personal, emotional stuff - my wife's illness, my illness, but when you live with it all day sometimes it's nice to get a break away from it all, rather than sitting and writing about it. Dwelling on it.

So, what I'm saying, in my usual and very round-about way, is that I've been so busy lately, doing absolutely nothing worthy of note, that I haven't had chance to blog, though I've made the occasional visit.

Fear not, fine blogging friends - for I shall return! I just need to do something interesting enough to write about!

Downing Street Responds

We petitioned the Prime Minister to "make Jeremy Clarkson Prime Minister" - over 49,000 people responded to the petition and Downing Street confirmed that it does indeed have a sense of humour (well it would have to have, given that Gordon is still Prime Minister) by posting their response on You Tube:

Spooked!!!

This morning I spent an hour drafting a post regarding my belief in the afterlife - you know, ghosts, spirits, spiritualists, mediums, hauntings, life after death, near death experiences, past lives etc etc etc - that sort of thing.

I'd padded out the post with personal experiences and recounted family tales of loud bangs on doors in the dead of night when no one was there, only for the occupants to learn of a death in the family the next day - the death occurring at the precise time of the knocking!!

It was really spooky stuff - I almost scared myself writing it!! lol

I clicked "Publish Post", the screen flickered for a brief second, and then.........

"Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close, we are sorry for any inconvenience....."

Aaaaaarrrggghhhhhh!!! - But wait... Blogger had been autosaving my draft, so there should be no problem, it'll be recoverable. Might need to rewrite the last couple of sentences, no problem. Phew!!

Internet Explorer did as it had promised and closed down. I restarted it and logged straight back in to Blogger - Edit Posts - look for untitled draft.....

Gone. Vanished. Evaporated.

Someone (or something) obviously didn't want you to read my spooky tales......

ABC - Comments lost

For some reason Blogger decided to lose a lot of the comments posted by visitors to my ABC Wednesday post - only five remained after some sort of 'outage' by Blogger on Thursday morning.

So as not to upset folk I have decided to reproduce them from the email notifications I get each time someone leaves a comment. My apologies if you have visited after posting, only to find your post missing!! It's Bloggers fault!! Did anyone else find this???

Here are the comments in full:
magiceye has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": great pic and quotes too!

Kjerstis Hjørne has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": Lovely cat, I am a dog-person but cats are cute..

AphotoAday has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": Well, what a fine looking "tuxedo cat"...Enjoyed reading your post -- really quite interesting -- I think I'll print that out and put it on the wall... I've got a cat, and it looks EXACTLY like yours... She is the love of my life (sorry ladies), and right now she would be sitting on my lap -- making typing for me as difficult as possible -- the I had the cable man here this morning and she is still freaked out from all the excitement... My Kitty has her own little silly blog, and if you look hard enough at my blog you may see a link... Best regards, Don and Kitty

Old Wom Tigley has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": Only become a cat lover in the last year or two... and even then it's only one cat that lives across the street but comes visiting.. it came by today and jumped in through the open window and came to snuggle up on my knee.

photowannabe has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": Great quotes and though I'm not a cat person I enjoyed your thoughts and pictures.

Kim has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": I don't know what i would do without my cat. She loves me like nothing else can, unconditionally. Great quotes, I loved reading them :)

ellen b has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": Cats are so darn entertaining! Enjoy...

Gemma has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": Nice post. I miss my cat!<^..^<
Greyscale Territory has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": A great post! And yes! We are the entertainment for cats as well as the staff!

Bear Naked has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": "A meow massages the heart."- What a beautiful saying.Bear((( )))

me ann my camera has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": Cats are wonderful companions. We always had one up to a few years ago. Lots of food for thought here for cat lovers. Also great looking Cat!

Bibi has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": Agree with Babooshka about being a dog person (after all, see my avatar!)but I appreciate cats more now, thanks to your quotes. Bibi is similar to your Pepper, but she can hear the refrigerator door opened no matter how softly from wherever she is in out apartment...

ArneA has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": I have copied your post to my wife and two daughters. They are more cat people than I.We had a cat before going to Asia with the name Socrates. He was very smart and when the doorbell rang counted the number of us inside before hiding or not.

Tash has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": Cats are people too. Hmmm, maybe they are just cats, on the other hand... but I know that Pepper is precious.

Patty has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": Aww what a pretty baby. I have two cats but didn't think to use them for my C photo

leslie has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": I'm a dog person, too, but there are some great quotes here. These are my favourites:"Dogs come when they're called. Cats take a message and get back to you."- Mary Bly"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."- Unknown"Dogs have owners, cats have staff."- UnknownGreat post!

babooshka has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": I am a dog person, buts observing cats will never be the same now. Really great quotes.

Denise has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": Gary, great stuff! So profound & researched!

Liz has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": She looks quite haughty - as if to say, really, can't I sit under here without having my photo taken again?Great quotes.

Ackworth Born has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": I don't really like cats but ...

Texas Travelers has left a new comment on your post "ABC Wednesday - C is for...": Great quotes.Now I know all I need to know about our cats.Our "C" is Here.Come visit,Troy and Martha

Light Relief

After the trauma of losing my computer over the weekend Emily has brought me some well earned light relief by wrestling with Pepper..... and proving, once and for all, that the sun definitely shines out of her.... by beatiing the cat hands down!!

a distressed Pepper decided to hide herself under the coffee table for the rest of the evening!!

Bless her!

Where's me flagpole?

This is the officially adopted and recognised flag of Yorkshire.

Any resident or business in Yorkshire can now fly it from their flagpole without having to first obtain planning permission!!

Best crack on with painting the flagpole at McArthur Towers!

Weekend Wandering

This week's Question:

Do you have an item of clothing that you haven't worn for more than a year?

Quite simply - YES!

I have clothes which I bought for my holiday to Cyprus in 1991 - still hanging in the wardrobe - unpacked in 1991, washed and hung in the wardrobe, there to remain forever it would seem.

I also have clothes in there which were bought about 18 months ago but never worn due to the fact that I lost so much weight during my illness. They will be worn....... eventually, I suppose.

See more answers at Authorblog.

What does My Name Mean, actually?

Thanks to Denise for this one - I have to say that this is quite an accurate despription of my personality - and Mrs Nesbitt can vouch for that! (Cant you Denise? (pay you later lol!!))

What Gary Means

You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life. You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone. Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?