EH - Essex > Hebrides...the next step of the adventure?

EssexHebridean

Cheers all - I think we may FINALLY be packed...oh how I wish we were the sort of people who do this days ahead...t'would save a lot of stress and bickering!

All crossed fingers for improving weather on saturday gratefully received - it is cautiously looking a bit improved...and Loganair are still sounding wonderfully confident about things...:T

Have a good one all! :xmastree::xmassign::santa2::snow_laug:snow_grin: :xmassmile::rudolf:

RosaBernicia

:rotfl:I've never been one of those advance packing people either - I don't understand them, how do they manage not to need things between choosing them and actually leaving?

Have a wonderful time - hope you get there OK - and back I suppose, although I'm sure it would be less upsetting to be stuck there than not to get there!


Rosa xx

Scott_Weiland_2

EssexHebridean wrote: »

Yay - the balance transfer money has landed in the CC account! :T I've added the 0% card to my signature - there will be another increase in it once I have added on the money for the phone too - but once Christmas is over I can start the process of paying that down.

Getting a decent little trickle of surveys now
- Opinion Outpost are annoying as half the time you spend 10 minutes answering loads of questions then suddenly they decide you "don't qualify" - the cynic in me is questioning whether they are worth continuing with.
- Power of Opinions seem fairly reliable and nice quick surveys, albeit for a small return, but when they're only 2 - 5 minutes that matters less.
- OnePoll are slow at the moment but there's still odds and ends from them. I'd hoped to hit £30 this side of christmas but I suspect I'm going to miss that by a tiny amount
- Populous Live sent me two through the other day which paid £3 each - I believe there is a £50 cashout with them.
- PC I've had one survey since they reactivated me, and a household questions one. £3 payable on there.

Christmas bonus from work has also arrived - £250 which is a nice treat. Initially it will get paid into the savings account but I'm pretty set on using £200 of it to pay for a flight over London in that Dragon Rapide next spring. :j VERY exciting having something like that in mind, and it's such a fab aircraft!

LOTS to do tonight - all the packing, plus final sorting out of things like the shopping list for when we get over there, although I'm actually thinking more along the lines of printing out the basics and then using waiting time at the airport to write the list out in full with whatever else we need to add to it. Also got to give the kitchen and bathroom a quick swish, check there is nothing in the fridge that could do with freezing or otherwise dealing with, and sort out all the other random bits and pieces that you have to do before you go away for a week!

stick with opinion outpost they do annoy the hell out of you at times but on other occasions 4-5 smaller surveys will come all at once.

Scott_Weiland_2

MistyMountainTop wrote: »

I agree about Opinion Outpost, but they do pay out fairly quickly. I just completed 40% of a survey before I was screened out. I wonder what they do with my answers, I suspect they want the opinions without having to pay for them...:undecided

Oh how I miss Christmas bonuses! It seems a lifetime ago that I worked anywhere that actually gave them out.

It sounds like you are more than ready for your trip - I hope you have a wonderful time! xx

its more a case of they are checking you still fit there research criteria the minute you dont bye bye

Scott_Weiland_2

Scott_Weiland wrote: »

stick with opinion outpost they do annoy the hell out of you at times but on other occasions 4-5 smaller surveys will come all at once.

One poll see if you csn refer any family too the its a little way too boast your points slightly

rtandon27

Good Morning EH & Mr EH!

:snow_laug Wishing you Peace & Love for Christmas and the New Year. :snow_laug

Hope you are having a lovely Xmas adventure!

MistyMountainTop

I hope you're having a lovely time on your Xmas holiday xx

EssexHebridean

RosaBernicia wrote: »

:rotfl:I've never been one of those advance packing people either - I don't understand them, how do they manage not to need things between choosing them and actually leaving?

Have a wonderful time - hope you get there OK - and back I suppose, although I'm sure it would be less upsetting to be stuck there than not to get there!


Rosa xx

I suspect they have a lot more clothes than I do - or that they go on holidays to places with the opposite weather to where they start out! :rotfl:

Scott_Weiland wrote: »

stick with opinion outpost they do annoy the hell out of you at times but on other occasions 4-5 smaller surveys will come all at once.

Cheers matey - good to know.

rtandon27 wrote: »

Good Morning EH & Mr EH!

:snow_laug Wishing you Peace & Love for Christmas and the New Year. :snow_laug

Hope you are having a lovely Xmas adventure!

MistyMountainTop wrote: »

I hope you're having a lovely time on your Xmas holiday xx

Thank you RT & Misty!!

EssexHebridean

well the week in the Hebrides was AMAZING - in spite of the weather which was vicious. The drive up to Glasgow was interesting with some filthy weather. Caught up with a good pal up there on the Friday night though which was ace. The flight over on the saturday was fairly hair raising, yet also rather brilliant. I can confirm without a doubt that I'm not a nervous flyer. the cloud helpfully broke at just the right moments getting me some lovely aerial pics as we flew in over North Uist. :T The approach to land was interesting...mostly carried out at an assortment of odd angles including until about 30 seconds before we touched down a rather disconcerting 45 degree angles to the starboard side. Kudos to the pilot for managing as near-as-damnit 3-point landing though - one of the smoothest landings I've experienced! As usual on arrival once we;'d come to a halt at the terminal everyone stood up, only to be told to sit back down again as "In conditions this windy we have to unload the aircraft from the back..." :rotfl: Oh well - as we were row 11 we were the second people off - handy that!

Managed a walk on the beach on Christmas Eve afternoon, and again on Christmas morning - in fact we managed to get right round the beach to the other side that day. We were defeated a short distance round on Boxing day though as it was simply so windy I was struggling to stay upright. All told lots of lovely walks, some fabulous food (including steak for Christmas dinner, and a gorgeous seafood plate for boxing day) and lots to drink. Caught up with some pals on our last day over there and had a thoroughly jolly time!

Back to work today however - could have been worse. Reasonably quiet at the moment, it will take a few days for things to pick back up again. Hopefully the traffic will also stay as light for the rest of the week. That would be a nice bonus!

Need to start chipping away at that 0% card. Current financial stuff:

Card balance: £1229

Surveys:
OnePoll £29.70 (Cash-out £40)
PC £6
Populus Live (Cash-out £50)
Opinion Outpost 95 points (5 more for £5 cash-out)
Power of opinions (Cashes out to vouchers)

TCB: 10p payable, £10.57 pending

Need to watch the card account to see what the minimum payment is and to get the due date. once I know where the Min payment starts out I'll set the DD to the nearest pound, rounded up. That will also take account of the £12 saving on the previous mobile bill.

My £2 coins got counted yesterday - £122 in the pig, so I've slung the odd £2 back in and MrEH will pay the rest into the bank for me tomorrow - those will get paid straight into my airshow account ready for ticket purchasing which will be happening shortly.

other stuff:

My 5% Regular saver finishes on the 15th of this month - once it matures the interest rate plummets so I've stopped the monthly payment going to it from this month and I'll get a new one opened as soon as I am able to.
Need to decide where the money from the matured reg saver is going - our thinking first off is that we'll be able to load £500 straight across into the new one, and I'll probably open 2 Tesco current accounts for the rest, with any balance (the interest it's earned, essentially) going into the ISA for the time being.

We're aiming for a frugal January we think. Not the cut to the bone that was being talked about by folk elsewhere - although I do like that idea, but more a consciousness, making everything we have currently work for us. The freezer is full again, and the storecupboard too, and if we're planning on getting the kitchen done any time soon we HAVE to get those a bit clearer.

My car needs 2 tyres. In fact, looking at them this morning, my car REALLY needs 2 tyres. A job for the weekend.

I need to update my Bulletish journal to take account of things that need doing. I have made a start but need to add holiday related stuff now including:
- Carlisle accommodation for way up
- Bunkhouse for first night
- Which routes we're taking
- Ferry tickets
- check when cottage balance needs paying
- Note when MrEH's train ticket to Doncaster can be booked

Meals for this week are planned:
Yesterday was fish pie
Today was baked tatties with beans and cheese
Tomorrow: Stir fry beef & noodles
Th. Omelettes, or b uddha bowl type things, perhaps. A "Bitza" meal anyway
F: Fry up - making use of some of the large black pudding we brought back from the hebrides.

Scott_Weiland_2

So was it 60-80mph winds when you were up there essex??? I went running in my neck of the woods over xmas and that was bad enough 40mph.