5 OS Pleasures in your Day Today part 2

ampersand

Dundee Doll - found my way back, tread in my footfalls.
Soft hugs and communal arms-around-you from us all.
Regret I have fallen down on aa updates - have just added a £2 car sticker to my unCrimbo self-spoil list - recent survey results below.
http://www.archersanarchists.com/qom-results.htm

Quick p.s. as I have just found this:

http://www.theweekinambridge.com/#/blog/4557914020
Author writes:
I am a new listener to The Archers - my Mother started me at birth, so I have only been listening for 46 years. Apologies if I get things wrong.- so he is still in primary stages and will need help.

Only 14.21h and I am clearly EXTREMELY busy today...supposed to be:o.

missmoneysave

Happy Birthday VJsmum :beer: thought you might like a drink to wash down all that cake!

Had a mad busy few days that have all merged together so five for the last couple of days;

1. My dining table is clear. I've had wrapping stuff laid out on it since mid-November and today I have finally finished wrapping :j everything's is put away, bagged up and ready to be sent to Santa.

2. Waiting in for my bargain cheeseboard. Not a pleasure in that its being delivered between 7am and 9 pm and still isn't here but the pleasure is that I have used waiting in as a excuse to sit down all day and read the OS boards and drool over recipes to make next year.

3. Ordered some new furniture. We needed it and I did it the MSE way, thoroughly researched and got the best prices. Just want to get it here and set up before OH goes back to work in January. Want to start the year in a nice, tidy organised house. If it only lasts the first

4. My chocolate orange buns received rave reviews from the family.

5. Getting excited about christmas. This might have something to do with OH waking me up this morning saying 'its christmas' and for a second I believed him. I was :mad: he was:rotfl:

Chickenopolis

Good evening all ,

ampersand - It's lovely to have you back again - I once told you that you really "SEE" things . "Things" being bits and bobs, places and people xxx

VJsmum - Glad to hear that you are pampering yourself on your special day .Let ' em all spoil you.

PK - Yep - you go girl re HMRC. Take it easy no "crashing" and "burning" though You know Auntie Chicken moans at you when you go at it at 100 miles an hour

Frith - your dogs sounded lovely .

1. Went ballistic as being sent on the "wild goose chase" tomorrow.To appease a company who are moaning a bit ,but there are serious concerns about this company which have not yet been fully investigated.

2. Came home early as I will need to be on site at just after 7am tomorrow and its a bit of a drive to get there.

3.Ate a whole packet of cheese biscuits .

4.The Tamworth has decorated the dining room . He has wallpapered it and will paint it tomorrow.

5. Mum said she had bought a new blanket for the rescue dog - despite saying that they might not like each other /get on etc . ..
Yeah right


Have a good evening all !

Frith

Argh!!! Just had a phone call from school 4 (the wild card) saying their head is off sick so I can't look round the school before the end of term, goodbye. So this means from 4 schools, 2 have said they do not want smaller son and would be overstretched if they had him and 1 has no intention of even letting me through the doors! This is ridiculous. School 3 is miles away. At least I'm getting to have a look round that one (on Thursday).

Anyway, until the silly phone call, have had a busy and pleasant day. Here are my pleasures:

1) Listened to ISIHAC in bed last night.

2) Not a bad sleep.

3) Phoned miles away school and have an appointment for Thursday.

4) Went to Hereford.

5) Got some jeans (for me) for £4 in Acorns Hospice shop.

6) Got presents for bigger son's girlfriend. :-) He was very specific indeed about the sort of necklace he wanted so I have bought 2 and he can choose. Also bought her knitted Santa for her tree.

7) Bigger son wanted another hoodie in a geometric pattern so popped in H and M and they were reduced from £14 to £5.

8) Had lunch in my favourite cafe.

9) Got other Christmas presents, not quite done yet though.

10) Went in the cathedral where the school choir was practising.

11) Bought a bunch of mistletoe from a cottage on the side of the road on the way home. Its nearly as big as our tree!

12) Picked up hyacinths my sister wanted collecting to give to aunties.

13) Brother has been working with his friend who does house clearances and remembered I am looking for a better mirror and has just popped by with a 1930's (?) dark wooden framed one which is perfect.

14) Smaller son got 21 out of 21 for behaviour.

15) Oh yes, got some reduced trainers in TKMaxx. The sole had split on my boots and you could hear the water squelching as I walked around!

16) Have just tidied the house and lit the stove.

17) Looking forward to Holby City.

That's it for today!

CCP

Evening all.

I've had a very irritating day today: another piece of post has gone missing and this time it's a bank card, so my account has been locked until I receive and activate the replacement, which may - or may not - be before Christmas. I think I'll have to make another complaint to Royal Mail, although they didn't do anything last time so I don't suppose it will be any different this time. :mad:

1) Several kind friends and relatives have offered to lend me some money if I get stuck. :A

2) Mince pie for breakfast.

3) Picked up some nice wrapping paper cheap in the M&$ sale. :money:

4) Reverbed a penny.

5) Christmas quiz tonight - it's going to be so busy we had to book a table, which should make for a good prize if we win. :j

VJsmum - happy birthday! If you're not sick of the stuff by now, here's another virtual cake!

ampersand - it's lovely to hear from you. Your posts are always such a pleasure to read.

Frith - I never knew that about the tinsel - thanks very much for that little fact. :T

Have a nice evening, all.

mcculloch29

&&&& Lovely to see you Ampersand &&&&

Thank you so much for all your good wishes.

The job interview went very well.
It really helped that I had a lot of background knowledge of the company and the sector they work in. The job will be in 2 locations, 1 is fairly local - the other is in Glasgow, which is 180 miles away.

That put a few interviewees off - not me, though I would need to do a night in a hotel to get there for a timely start. It's not a problem.

I saw two others who were being interviewed, one left as I arrived and one arrived as I left. I wasn't told who they were though.
However, I recognised one of them - I think she was made redundant from the same local authority job as me but worked in a different area of the county.

It boosted me that I did so well. I got quite fired up about it!

I've got a conference call for a new e-tutor contract I'm working on tomorrow, I've only ever done one before, should be good.

The client for the contract is the same company I went for the interview with today, so that really helped. In this e-tutor job I will be working with the company employees on qualifications that will take some time to achieve, as I do now. The job I went for today is for employees getting qualifications on a fast-track system under intensive learning.

oldtractor

Frith hereford I'm jealous
Hi y'all, my 5
1. lovely dinner tonight cooked in the slow cooker
2. listening to the Archers
3. horses getting new teeth, must take some photos they look so funny
4. hens churning out the eggs and have had double yolkers
5. fire lit,cat curled up, slice of HM cake, just a few presents left to wrap.
its looking good.

Skint_yet_Again

VJsmum glad to hear you had a nice birthday heres more cake

PK ...ill health of yourself or a close dependant relative can count as a reasonable excuse. Dont bother phoning as they will just tell you to write in. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/online/excuse-missed-deadline.htm

Mcculloch well done on the interview, fingers crossed x

ampersand good to see you back x

Today

1. only 2 more working days until 2 weeks off
2. xmas pressie from new boss, box of thorntons in fancy thornton gift wrap... will give them to my auntie for xmas present recycling (I am diabetic )
3. free cake to celebrate collegues birthday
4. call from garage new tyres have arrived so arranged to get them fitted on Thu
5. just cooked steak and chips and garlic mushrooms for tea... nom nom ... not os I suppose, but quick to cook and cheaper than a takeaway

Have a good evening x

Kittikins

Grrr CCP, how annoying that your card has likely gone walkies Hope the replacement gets to you soon.

Frith - why do you have to be walked around the school by the Head? Surely the Deputy can do that, and you can chat to the Head during the Christmas holidays....hope it gets sorted asap.

Ampersand - thank you for coming back to us, love your posts x

McCulloch - well done on the interview, when will you find out? My fingers are aching from being crossed, lol.

Chicken - like the sound of the cheesy biscuits, nomnomnom.

1. NSD - think I'll go for a target of 150 next year, really test myself!

2. In fact I'm in profit as DD's school bag yielded the £4 I'd put in there for the film club ticket she was too ill to go to, woohoo!

3. The electrician came and we now have a hob and double oven, yaaaaaaaay!

4. DD and I made our first meal, rattatouille and roasted some butternut squash in readiness for a risotto tomorrow, nomnom.

5. Our new to us oven and hob are brilliant, must get round to finishing off cleaning them up at some point soon! But, wow, very fancy pants equipment that I wouldn't have been able to afford brand new

6. We're planning a 'banquet' or ten for various friends and family! Too many people to have in one go, so we'll be entertaining til next Christmas at this rate! DD's in charge of the menus, bless her

7. Not much of a pleasure, but DD felt sick at school and as I was helping out in a Reception class, I was able to bring her home straight away. (Thankfully, a couple of hours on the sofa and she perked up a lot, but still looks very, very tired - we need a holiday!)

8. Just sitting down to watch Bake Off, may give me some ideas for our banquets!

9. Finished off the last dribble of white wine from the fridge!

10. DD has gone to bed without a murmour tonight and ate reasonably well tonight, so hopefully we'll both be at school tomorrow

11. We brought back this term's topic book, it was definitely the most informative of the lot, she's been working hard, little cherub

ampersand

Frith - I never knew that about the tinsel - thanks very much for that little fact. :T

.[/QUOTE]
##########
Ditto on that CCP and Frith.

1. Just in, about to start on the pepper relish. Well, no. 1 cake o'clock 2 nights ago was 03.30h, so this start time is zilcherino. I decided to pluck, prep., add my own non-id. peppers to Mr T's Finest, in growtime limbo for some weeks now. I suspect they're Scotch Bonnets. Fiery times ahead therefore.

2. Thankyou for kind returning welcomes. It may last if computer plays nicely. I think there may be a laptop or one of those other portable thingies rather soon. [Dare I brave PC World on Boxing Day again?] Truth is, I don't really understand what different Pads/notebooks/tablets do in computer function terms. Did get as far as relating to Faye, a sweetie and knowledgable at a near Mr T, content of Frith's 'isihac on laptap'-type posts and asking in full ignorance how/if sound comes, as I loathe earphones and won't use them. She says sound comes out of laptop.

3. Safely back, through surprise of rolls and knaps of fast-thickening fog, after lovely free My Waitrose cappuchino. I really do enjoy this & more leisurely than should be gaze through papers - today, read DT and enjoyed this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/9750489/Three-jeers-for-the-round-robin.html
The writing is uniformly rather good. Filled in a survey thing for blvd grauniad at w/e and told them the standard of their writing was failing, worryingly often these days.

4. Waitrose bargains - 500 g Rachel's Organic yogurts@29p, activa 4x125g @9p, 250ml Jersey dbl cream@11p[h/m butter@unCrimbo will make nice give-y gesture], Charente butter croissant/pains au choc/pains aux raisins all@11p etc[will freeze], 8-pack fine organic sausages with sweet chili and chorizo@39p,AND last 3 coffee eclairs[2 for dear neighbour I, 1 for L]at 23p were the stars. There were multi-buy subtractions I hadn't known of and it became truly wonderful with loads to drop off en route back. 38 items[many multiples]= £8.38[production of the MW card removing a further 1p at check-out] A v. good-looking boychild at till loved the way it all clocked up, saying in just the right voice 'THAT's The Way To Do It' - great fun.

5. Rather disappointing roneo'd School Letter-type reply from MP:
Dear Ms &,

Thank you for contacting me about the Leveson Report.

The Government has been clear all along that the status quo is not an option and I, personally, am determined to see Lord Justice Leveson's principle of independent self-regulation of the press fully implemented. The remaining issue is whether statute is necessary.

We should be incredibly cautious about any legislation which has the potential to infringe on free speech and a free press. This is a concern that any legislation might mean we find it harder to safeguard the freedom of the press in the future.

Leveson has recommended that Ofcom hold the responsibility for recognising the new regulatory body - but Ofcom is already a very powerful regulator and I would have concerns about putting even more power in their hands.

Finally there is a question over the necessity of statute. My view tends towards it being necessary despite my comments above.THIS IS THE DECENT KERNEL, THE ONLY BIT THAT COUNTS IN HIS REPLY, SO I CREDIT HIM FOR THIS.

It is now up to all Parties to come together and discuss how best to achieve Leveson's principles. Whatever happens, you can be assured that a new system of press regulation will be introduced which supports our great traditions of investigative journalism and free speech, protects the rights of the vulnerable and innocent, and commands the confidence of the whole country.

I do hope that this information helps and thank you again for contacting me about this important issue.

Yours sincerely,
x
##########
-to this:
Subject: Please implement Leveson in its totality

Dear Rt Hon. Sir xx MP,

Before Lord Justice Leveson’s report into press behaviour was published the leaders of all three main political parties said publicly and privately to victims of press abuse that his recommendations should be taken forward on a cross party basis. They also said that they would implement them as long as they were proportionate and workable - in fact in the words of the Prime Minister as long as they were "not bonkers".

Lord Justice Leveson has recommended self-regulation of the press, with its effectiveness and independence (from industry and politcians) guaranteed by law. This has been supported by Nick Clegg and Ed Milliband. David Cameron does not agree. He announced that he would not support Leveson’s recommendation to give self-regulation any legally-backed guarantee, meaning it will lack the independence and teeth that are the hallmark of the current failed system of self-regulation.

As your constituent I urge you to write to the Prime Minister asking him to back Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations as he said he would.
######################
Sir x, if you have read to this point and have received it from others, as I fervently hope, you will realise I have downloaded a sound piece of writing from 38 Degrees, which reflects my view.

The apparent suicide of nurse Jacintha Saldanha is not unrelated to the low filth of press practices which Thatcher's deregulatory policy unleashed. Those who provoked that death have yet to include the word 'shame' in their self-justification and continue to weasel on about "a tragic turn of events no-one could have predicted or expected" and 'fully complying with required standards and practice'....so that's alright ....?

Given the apparent absence of any grounded recognition of Decency [as a basic human precept] by upbringing, conscience, 'professional' training, intelligence, or education, which might have triggered some vague disquiet , they seem unable to conceive of, or understand, a sense of honour and its betrayal. Of course they could never have 'predicted or expected' such a thing: it is not within their moral compass.

You have been attentive and gracious in responding to a couple of letters I sent previously, but this entire issue is one that goes way beyond any personal concern.

I made you aware when I first wrote that I am not a Conservative voter, but I beg of you, please, to throw your weight behind Leveson and do your best to persuade your colleagues similarly. I have certainly respected you for the trouble you took in your replies and certain of your stances in Parliament.

My time in the NZBC[late 60's, early 70's]made me very aware of Murdoch's true stripe and Bargepole/Avoid status. It was entirely known. He is another defective megalomaniac[think Rackman or van Hoogstraaten of The Published Word] who cannot match either parent. The danger these days is that technology obfuscates his l.c.d. profit-led agenda and the verminous laissez-faire creed that underpins it.

Leveson addresses this. Please let your support be a Finest Hour moment in your career.

Yours most sincerely,
&.
p.s. I must give you a day of real glory, Saturday week past!
That score of 38-21 was fantastic, thoroughly merited. I watched it, a marvellous match, in The Alma Pub, in Cambridge. Pubs are not my milieu, never go, but googled to find one where the match might be watched in rugby-minded company, ancient though I am. Alma was my Mother's middle name...easy decision from that point on. [necessary edit out]. It makes the coming season and World Cup a terrific prospect.

If any of you care to write about full implementation, or otherwise, of the Levenson Enquiry conclusions, please do so, using 38 Degrees' template as I have.

Best get kitchening, a Woman's Place après tout... je m'en fiche!

Again, will PQR work?