Did they Jump, or were they pushed ?

Well, Russel Brand has packed in as a result of his obscene calls on the show with Jonathon Ross, however, Ross has been suspended without pay for twelve weeks, - but look at the contract he has !!! he is worth millions - and so what , he has pulled out as presenter of the Comedy Awards, he is not even a comedien.

So, today I thought it was another morning in the house, but fat chance, young RGB. was on the phone at 8.30 a.m. wanting a couple of jobs done in Edinburgh , so off we went, Mrs. B. to go for a "walk about" and me down to Scott Cuppola's for more electrical items.

The town is a nightmare, got myself into George Street but it is now closed off , as is part of the Mound, it is better just to stay away , OR TAKE THE BUS.

While down at Leith I popped into the HBOS branch at the Kirkgate to collect a set of keys which had been found and handed in ages ago - what a carry on trying to prove who I was , or whether the keys were mine, I had no idea that the keys had been lost - anyway , it turned out that they were keys for the Sportsmans, so I can only think that the Upside down man , Robbie had dropped them near his house, just off Leith walk, but that must have been in February !!!

Presently watching the Tv and have just seen my pal, Norma Graham, Chief Constable of Fife doing a bit about the three year old boy who dialled 999 for help when his mother collapsed having taken a fit. The wee lad was amazing when you hear the tapes of his call.

This morning I had a letter from Mr. McNair, in Mauchline, Ayrshire, father of Carolanne, who having heard about my current interest in Robert Burns, the poet, has sent me two sets of message cards, depicting scenes relating to Robert Burns and of places he lived or visited. They were drawn by his neighbour Mrs Elizabeth McCartney, 85 Beechwood Road, Mauchline, - that was nice of him.

Mrs. B. had her usual visit into The Standing Order to see Archie (big pole dancer) also Archie Senior, and young Mr. Monk, a wee daunder along Princes Street and into Frasers to see the "smelly" girls, she even managed to buy her own birthday present to save me the trouble for Sunday, saved me a trip to "Pound Mania" !!!

In the meantime , Jeff was helping in the kitchen at The Mercat, and as you can see was the subject of some "hanky panky" , possibly by either Jamie or Claire who deny all knowledge!!!!!!

The pub was busy , so I ended up trying to help for a while - then it was off to my favourite shop, Matalan - but it was so busy I went and had a snooze while Mrs. B. was shopping. Made it home where we were visited by Sparky Mark complete with birthday gift - just trying to show me up.

Not sure what to get up to now !!!

Grey skies and cold - yet again

Not very clever this morning, although, unusually we had no snow or sleet in Penicuik - but -,
so last night Sparky and I joined a good crowd at Musselburgh for the annual Installation, however we did not stay for the meal and were home by 10 p.m.

During the day Mrs. B. and her pal , Carol, had been away for a bit of a treat to Stobo Castle Health Spa, just on the outside of Peebles. The place is beautiful, an old Castle set in magnificent grounds, with a history going back 1500 and is said to the property of the church in thre lifetime of Sait Mungo in AD603. At the time of the Reformation in 1560 it became the property of The Regent earl of Morton who was later, in 1581 executed in the Grassmarket, Edinburgh for his part in the murder of Lord Darnley in the Palace of Holyrood. The Winyard family , current owners, bought the mansion house in a derilict state in 1975 and have restored it to what it is now , a lovely place to be.

We have been there before, several years ago, but the place has changed a lot, been upgraded with a new swimming pool and a big conversion and extension to the Spa complex.

So, back to today - decided to try and work from home - but found too many other things to do, and eventually headed out to the Bush , where believe it or not the owner of one of the cars which the Council had put a notice on had already been moved - so the system works.
Down to Costco again , but took my time and had a wee wander and chat. Met with Mrs Saltoun who had just been to our Twin town, L'Isle sur la Sorgue for the twinning celebrations - the sign in the Parc de Penicuik which was erected about 15 years ago when I was secretary and led a group over there, has been replaced . During this visit the local committee dedicated a water wheel to Penicuik.

These seven little labrador pups were a litter that Carolanne brought into the world, nice for the Ooooo factor.

Seeing that we are nearly at Halloween and Guy Folks night , I found this picture of fireworks over the harbour at Hong Kong which we took last year during the celebrations to commemorate the hand over of Hong Kong by the British Government to the Chinese - we were on a ferry boat in the harbour at the time, surrounded by hundreds of other boats.

Went to the Sports Centre tonight for my Induction programme to the gym, changed days with all this high tech equipment. I now have an electronic key which all the machines load info into when I am working and then downloads the details into the main computer keeping a record of all I have done - clever stuff.

So now I am trying to recover !!!!

Sack them both

Talking about Jonathon Ross and Russell Brand, two blokes whose egos, and wages are so big / obscene it is not real - their behaviour is totally out of order, verging on gross misconduct, yet they apparantly have water tight contracts so it will cost an absolute fortune to break their contracts. if Joe Public had done what they did, they would have been locked up, and considering that there are so far, 18000 other people saying this I cannot be so wrong.

So what else is happening , off again sharp this morning , bit tired, but as I was supposed to be at Corstorphine for 9 a.m. and getting paid, I thought I should make an effort.

On the way , while held up in traffic I spotted the Dovecot , in Dovecot Road, in Old Corstorphine Village , so I took a couple of minutes to pop along and get the photo, no idea how old the thing is , but the last remains of the castle in whose estate it was disappeared in about 1856, . The Dovecot , which now sits in someones garden , is in perfect condition , and apparantly has 1060 little pigeon holes inside.

So it was a 9 to 3 shift in the College with a couple of swift runs out for various errands. They had educational inspectors up from England so there was more than " a panic in thy breastie" for a while.

Belted home and made it to the baths for a quick 25 minute swim before the pool closed for a staff training session, however , working very hard in that time I amsure it did me some good.

Now heading off with Sparky Mark , my new 1st Sojourner, we are off to Musselburgh to a meeting of the Achesons Haven Cryptic Council.

Duly Installed

Wed a.m. and the big Tuesday panic is over, thank goodness. Tuesday a.m. , despite there being a lot to do I managed to get doown to the pool for a swim , this time it was populated with a slightly older age group, bus pass types like myself, who apparantly head down there each morning for their swim , and then sit in the jacuzzi putting the world to rights - or so one of the younger chaps was telling his friend in the steam room , so a swim and a five minute sweat was had before heading off.
Popped down to the Bush, where poor Arlene was trying to put 90 mins worth of work into every hour, just impossible, but at least she tries, unlike the lazy sods in the Tramworks !! Today I saw the only bloke at Palmerston Place - sweeping the road, one handed !! I thought at first he had an artificial arm , but no, he was just taking it easy. So , at the Bush a couple of car owners are in for a shock as the Council have banged notices onto their cars which have been lying there for months untaxed, treating the place like a dumping ground .

Into Corstorphine , passing the site of the demolished flats at Sighthill, which were really substandard housing, one day there was a block and the next day it was blown up and flattened in minutes, photos of the one next door and the final result.

Panic as usual at the office in Corstorphine, however i stayed for a while and generated some more paper for them, before heading home to get ready for my meeting.

Off to Bonnyrigg where I had a really good evening and was sucessfully reinstalled as 1st Principal of the Laird O Cockpen R.A. Chapter. Following the meeting we had an excellent meal , cooked and served up by a team of members wifes, etc, led by Mrs. B.and assisted by Claire from the Mercat, to them a big thanks as the 42 who sat down all enjoyed it. In their midst was the lady in red as shown , you need to try and work out who it was.

Home late - too late and ever so tired.

Just a bit busy

Sort of chasing my tail at the monment , Monday I was supposed to get a long lie - fat chance - so I was up at the crack of dawn again and into the pub by 7 10 a.m. , this time to do my handyman thingy. Fitting draught excluders, etc, round the front doors to help keep our clients cosy. Come 9 a.m. I headed off ( using my bus pass) to the ICS at Corstorphine to do some work for them - bity chaotic as they have an inspection today and lots of last minute things needing done.
Was losing the plot as two of the lads had a list of things needed at Staples and B & Q ; put their coats on at 9.30 a.m. and they were still wandering about at 12.30 having not left the building - if I had hair it would have been pulled out.
In between I had called on a friend with his van to move a full pallet of good books and TV monitors which were cluttering up the place - however, it was a classic case of many hands make light work, as all the students helped move the stuff to the van and it was all gone in 15 minutes.

Back on the big bus and into The Mercat Bar again where the bold boys had more jobs for me so drill in hand, smke and dust - jobs were done before I headed out to Penicuik. I noted on the way that there was not a single person working on the Tramworks job at Palmerston Place, and it has been like that for five days, with the traffic cones in place and still chaotic - my earlier bus driver was spitting blood about the hold ups - but there is nothing he could do.

Mrs B. and self headed for the swimming pool - big mistake - lots of tiny tots in for a swimming class - like wee creepy crawlies , you were tripping over them in the changing rooms - however, a short swim , sat in the steam and tried to ease off my back which was cackled a bit .

Home, and loaded the car and off again down to Bonnyrigg to set up the Lodge for tonights Installation dinner, that took about two and a half hours, so by the time I got back Spooks was on the Tv , it was so good we sat and watched tonights episode on BBC 3 as we will be out at the Installation and Dinner at RA 500 Laird o Cockpen.

Lots to do today.

Some photos from the comedy dinner night

An assortment of pictures from last night. As I have already said the staff did well, from the kitchen to the floor staff., Here we see Alistair being supported by Niamh, and Agneska, then the lovely Ms Murphy escorted by her three comediens for the night , and for once I could actually understand what they were saying , even although a couple of the jokes were ever so subtle it took a while for the so called "penny to drop".

We had our group o six who came down from Elgin and inverness for the weekend and seemed to enjoy themselves. There were locals, friends, staff, mums and dads, etc, a good mix.

So today after a bit of a lie in i ended up off to Costco once again , and I ma not sure if folks here have heard all this rubbish about the so caled credit crunch but both Ikea and Costco at Straiton were jammmed out the door, both cars parks full and long queues at the checkouts and fast food bits.
Down to Bonnyrigg to set up the hall for the Installation meeting to the RA cahpter 500 on Tuesday night, assisted by Alex Moonie, while downstairs it was witches and warlocks taking part in a children's halloween party aided by Rose, Margaret and the ladies of the OES.

Next , into the Mercat to help out as there was a full staff meeting taking place so extra hands were needed for cover - the place had gone mental and the kitchen had nearly run out of food due to the high demand over the weekend - just unbelievable . So currently the place has quietened down as the Arsenal Supporters Club folks have just left after the game finished. So now I HAVE SOME WEE JOBS TO DO IF THE PLACE IS QUIET !!!

Remember, the clocks go back

It is only because I am going to have the extra hour in bed that I am still up and writing , as we are just home after an evening at The Mercat Bar where they had Comedy dinner night.

I was in there at 7 a.m. this morning , worked away till 3 p.m. with the place very busy all morning and right through the rest of the day . Jamie, Chris, ( seen here concentrating hard - or nearly asleep over the counter) David, and Claire ( in that order because that is the order they arrived at work) were very busy all day preparing and then producing the final meal for tonights doo.

This evening we had a lovely dinner, excellent menu, well prepared, presented, tasted fantastic, and served up by a good team . I had brocolli and brie soup, poached salmon and a chocloate cheesecake - for those who wished this was accompanied by a choice of wine, and followed with tea / coffee, and mints. I think everyone who was involved (including all the bar staff) really deserves some praise, it was great.

The event was a Comedy Club Supper / Dinner organised by Keara Murphy who runs the Monday night comedy club evenings in the pub. Tonight she had three guest comediens, Keir McAllister, Jeff O'Boyle and Andy Sir, who all did their bit up front , each with a different style.
We had a really good turn out with all the tables taken , and folks present from Ireland, Australia, England, and as far north as Inverness and Elgin in Scotland. I have photos but they will be added later.
Anyway - I need a kip and Mrs. B. has dozed off in front of the TV.

Like a fish in water

Following on to the last entry I eventually wrote to the Edinburgh Tramworks people, who have acknowledged my message - looks like they are fed up with me already. However, with the kind of money they are screwing out the Council they might be polite enough to humour me.

Homewards and for once, our little Eco system in Penicuik was totally opposite to Edinburgh where it was raining cats and dogs, so bad that I thought they might need a lifeboat in the car park. But we had bright autumn sunlight in Penicuik !! most unusual, and then I thought I might go for a swim , having done so well on holiday. Now, I live only live 200 yards from a lovely modern sports complex and have never been in , other then to the library which is part of it. BUt off I went with my "Speedos", towel , shampoo and bus pass - because I get to swim for free being. It was good, the water was pleasantly warm , pool quiet allowing for peace to swim full lengths without "weeing weans" in the way - followed by a bit relaxation in the steam room, VG. Came home clean and shiny and feeling good.
Mrs. B . went down later to the evening session, which was also quiet.

So, I have spent the evening pottering on the computer, watching TV , now Blood in the Wire - a murder plot which always has a twist in the tail.
Anyway , enough gossip, up early to open the pub, home to change, and back for the comedy club dinner in the evening.

back in the land of.................

I must have been totally out of it last night , and apparantly slept from about 11 p.m. right through , which is unusual for me , so hopefully i have got over both the jet lag and the long drive,

Had a long e mail from Carolanne , so if there are any greyhound fans reading , watch out for dogs whose names start "Swift" . i.e. swift pat , swift stuart, etc, they have all come from her kennels as she names the pups at birth.

Lots of jobs to do today for myself, the Mercat and for my reinstallation doo on Tuesday night, so it was off to Costco ; Sainsburys; Homebase; Thomson Sport and Booker Cash and Carry before getting into the Haymarket.
Nice to see the happy smiling faces in the pub !!! Claire, Jamie, Neeve; Lorraine, Jeff and a couple of the lads, not that they ahd missed me any. RGB , Jo Jo, and others were heading out to Glasgow for some function.

Outside it was chucking it down but on my way back from the car park I had a chance to see how my favourite team of workmen were doing - ???????? NOT a soul in sight, no sign of any work having been done, but still the main junction was all coned off, causing long traffic queues. I watched it all for a while and even an eejit could see that by moving a few cones to one side while there was no one there would have helped allieviate matters. But that is probably too simple and in any case it would benefit the poor long suffering citizens and motorists of Edinburgh which is obviously not part of the plan. I am sure the local heath board are coping with the likes of me who go apoplectic at these things.
Anyway - need to go .

Just before I put my feet up - some pics to cheer you

Was about to settle and I thought you might like these, something to think about - , Number three might well be our wee bluey recincarnated, bearing in mind the title of the blog - and his photos were always on as he was a good model - this little chap kept us company in the dining room at the Blue Bay Villas,

next , I was not sure whether to call it "monkey business", or a "A nice pair", but I think everyone was happy.

and our happy couple are the French Canadians, Guy and Dannielle from Ottowa, ( I think) who I wrote about when they were the so called unbiased judges !!! at the sushi competition. The photo was in the sytem and I had not found it.

So , the first two, one is the sky above my house today - solid grey clouds, and the other is the blue, cloudless sky over my lounger by the pool one morning when I was away - I know which one I would rather be staring at.

So now - maybe.

Four wheels on my wagon, and I keep rolling -------

Weary, but back in one piece after a bit of a long haul today , a lot more tiring than usual because of the very high winds and heavy rain for most of the journey. About 50 miles of the M6 over Shap and through Cumbria were restricted to 50 mph for HGV's due to the wind and the A66 was closed from Sahp over to Scotch Corner to High Vehicles.

So, off I set, still in a daze but Mr. B/Dunk was waiting for me ., taking in a few breaths of fresh air between puffs at his fag , 25 mins with him and off I set southwards - AND it was wild and wet, even so it did not stop the usual maniacs from hurtling through the night at supersonic speeds.

One stop at the Golden Fleeze, Carlisle, where despite being only 200 yards off the motorway , you do not get fleezed like the M/way services.

I was actually sticking to the speed limits through the roadworks, but just north of the blackpool turnoff, in the outside lane I had a massive lorry getting nearer and nearer, flashing his lights to get past - unless he was wanting a tow !!or a look in my boot.

Arrived at Runcorn where I was met by a cheerful Jill in Reception, who had to admit that I was right in my suggestion that she wouild also have been gambling in Las Vegas, trying to get some money back to pay for the lost golf balls. As it was, her group hit the casinos late each night and played for a while so that they got the free drinks, etc. - BUT - they all came away with money in their pockets, winniers, but not big ones.

It was a quick run through the offices as one lot were out on a so called "team de-brief" yesterday ( more like a boozy doo) so she had not received my advanced warning e mail and had nothing ready for me to take home.

Jill had ordered by bacon "bap" from the canteen so by the time I arrived the terrible twosome ( Dick Turpin's sisters) were in good fettle - and had kept me not just a bacon roll, but two sausages as well!! Sue had hurt her back so there were a few lewd comments about that , and then I discoverd that they are both married to older men , and are probably trying to love them to death to get the insurance money so they can head off for another shopping spree and Wetherspoons in Liverpool.
They tried to charge me more for the roll than I had paid for petrol - so I soon sorted that out !!!



Homewards, again in the gales, with only one real fruitcake to comment on - goinbg through the 50 limits at carlisle, about 6 miles covered by average speed cameras, a "cocky little twat" in his black Vauxhall - MC53AND, chatting all the way on his mobile phone and desperate to get past , so off he went at the toot totally ignoring all the cameras !! it would be intersting to know if they monitor the full section only or have the facility to clock folks on all the intermediate sections also.

On one hand I have no time for speed cameras in towns, etc, but on lengths of roadworks, where everyone tends to stick to the limit I am happy to do the same . Big debate on BBC Radio 2 today about Swindon Council withdrawing their funding for the three spped cameras in the town which they fund through the local Road Safety Partnership - and it seems that one had not worked for the past year anyway.

So eventually back into Glasgow, and then home to Penicuik, where Mrs. B. on her return from seeing our favourite UNISON man this morning, had caught a salmon in the flooded back garden and prepared it for tea - very nice.

I feel another letter coming on - just need a recipient - and a good commercial lawyer.

Spoke to Grant @ Photogenix, who she thinks is the "eight wonder of the world" because of the wee jobs he does for her and the treats he sends up the road. Hope he behaves this weekend at Berwick with his friends and does not take too much of the falling over medicine.

I see that Seve Ballesteros, the golfer is very critically ill with a bleed to the brain and about to undergo some difficult surgery - I hope that all goes well.

So , it should now be feet up time.

Not funny any more

4.45 a.m. and I have had two hours sleep. Between "Jet lag" and Mrs. b. being totally restless all night - this is not the way to start a day before a 580 mile drive !!!!
And it is raining again.

A good days work

Wednesday , sun shining , nice day but a bit bit chilly - so much for the weather report.

Once again , sleepless night with the most excruciating ( bloody sore) bout of cramp in one leg . You know how you have a dream and you wake up in the middle of the dream and something relavent is happening , I thought I was being stabbed in the leg in the dream , and it was the cramps, otherwise when you think you are swimming and wake up to find you ahve wet the bed !!!
SO I had a sore leg most of the day as a reminder, but work come first so foff I wne to see the folks in the wee college in town I help out, a surprise when I walked in as one of the turors who worked in the London Campus was busy teaching and is now basewd up here. Shezad managed to do a lot of photocopying for me while I worked away on their fire manaul, ans we even managed a fire evacuation to keep the students on their toes.

Popped into P.C. World to have a look at new toys, phoned AOL and managed to get their Call Centre in India (twice) with no suitable response to my enquiry. So i then headed for the Carphone Warehouse at Corstorphine where the lads were great and did their best to help me , but again to no avail - but while there bumped into an ex member of my search team , still a Community Police Officer in Edinburgh, due to retire in three weeks but who is stayiong on in his present role under a new 50+ scheme, nice to see him.

Headed for the Mercat to see how many still recognised me after three weeks away !!! They did, and I even had a rollicking from Jamie and Claire who were not happy with one of my comments about their steaks and sweets - so to keep the peace, they are both wonderfull chefs.

Home to the hills where I discovered that Mrs. B. had taken herself off to the local swimming baths which are only 200 yds away and we have never been there since they opened - she says they are great and insists that I must go and carry on what i started in Dominica, anyway , I just went for a walk instead while the weather was good and not because her pal was in !!!

So, getting nowhere fast this evening with some of my other work, too much talking on the phone, and handing out invited to the Annual SESLTA Ball on 19th Novemeber in the Assembly Rooms.

So going to get on again , and am up early and away to Glasgow for 6 a.m. in the morning and off to Runcorn once again. Perhaps my friend Jill is back from Las Vegas and her golfing (not gambling) trip.

Only the swimming pool got cold

I have stopped working for a wee while to do this blog , and not just because Carolanne sent a message wanting to know where it is !!

I managed to do my report on the Blue bay Villas, Dorada, for trip Advisor last night , so if anyone is intersted !!!

Todays photos, are from the holidays except one ( which one I wonder) . The maids made up the towels in the shapes of swans , and all around the complex you could see swans perched on railings and sitting on balconies where the guests had plonked them , supposedly out roosting . The log had been washed up on the beach after one of the stormy night, it was ever so big and heavy , and with my artistic cap on i thought it looked good, maybe not . The beds in the sunrise, these were the four posters on the beach in the "VIP area " , the young lady in Reception was one of the Customer Services ladies, a pal of Doralize who were all pleasant and helpful, and the odd one out was the moon in the clouds which I took here at rosewell one night ages ago.

Anyway , it was reasonably bright and sunny for most of the day , with a cold wind though, so it was not quite T shirt and shorts weather. BUT the rain started about 4 p.m. and it is now chucking it down. When it rained for the longer period while we were away the only difference it made was that the swimming pool got a lot colder, but that would eventually warm up again over a couple of days .

Today I ventured out , after a bit of a lie in still suffering from "Jet lag" and also in the process of detoxing !! because there are only a few silly folks who go to "All Inclusive " resorts and do not drink - I think - if I can remember rightly through the haze , a Welsh chappie tried to tell me he was a sobersides, and wee Carolanne tended to drink lots of water with the very occasional glass of the harder stuff.

So off I went , happy as a lark looking for work !! found a couple of abandoned cars at The bush , so had to report them to the Council man who will put notices on them and all being well get them moved for us.

Down to Bonnyrigg to see Grant @ Photogenix, a very busy boy these days. He was telling me about his friend, aged 41 yrs, who went to intervene in a disturbance while we were away , was then set about by one of the girls who had been fighting and two chaps who appeared, got a bit of a bashing, and having reached home he collapsed and died of heart failure. He had unudergone a heart transplant a couple of years ago, and the trauma of this event was too much - as his wife later told their young son "daddies new heart broke".

The feuding family involved have since been evicted and rehoused for their own safety's sake as the lads friends and neighbours are out for retribution, in the meantime the Procurator Fiscal, is doing all he can to get appropriate charges brought against the perpertrators.

Managed to get all my holiday pictures put onto disc so now they are saved for posterity and it will stop me having multiple copies of the pictures on the computer which is a pain to keep deleting .

Off to town to deliver some letters, and then homewards via Comet to replace my card reader which went on the blink after the second use - but the new one is working because I have tested it . Had a look in both Comet and Costco for one of these new "Netbooks" which might be better for me to cart around than my lap top which is a bit big and heavy , but I wanted it that way.

Arrived home to find Mrs b. still choked with the cold and coughing fit to burst entertaining her pal, Irish Cristine, so that kept them out of mishief and let me back to work. So I have spent the last three hours looking at options for flights up and down from Glasgow and Edinburgh to either Cardiff or Bristol, and car hires in Wales as I may get some regular work in Newport soon and it is too long to drive up and down in one day -sensibly that is.

And so the "Edinburgh City Council" Saga goes on.

Last entry , I was doing away fine then there was a bit of a stooshie going on. Things are a bit techy here as we had hoped to have a positive end result to the problem we have been dealing with for the past forty months caused by ignorant , cheating and underhand members of staff at Edinburgh City Council.
This has obviously had quite a serious effect on our lives and has also effected many who know us, however, far from the matter being resolved it looks like it may now have to go to another stage which could take another two years. Just where will it all end? It is fine for the "management" to gang up and do nowt, but they have been sitting in their little ivory towers pretending that nothing has happened, covering up for the misdemeanors of their staff, and not giving a toss about how we have been effected. Seems to me that there is scant regard to morals, standards and principles these days, the bigger a lier you are, the better you are at back stabbing , the further you will go.

Anyway - before I rupture a blood vessell - made it to our local Tesco this afternoon and spent an age chatting with folks I had not seen for a while, one of my former typists at Loanhead, Dorothy, left on Friday after 40 years service, nice to see her and sorry that I missed the party as many of the old team were there.

The staff were in a bit of a buzz as one of the locals had decided, obviously in view of the current economic climate , or maybe in a hurry , not to bother with the check out process and had left pursued by a manager and a security guard.

Had a call from a pleasant lady representing "Yell.Com" and "Yellow Pages", trying to get me to spend another few pounds on advertising with them - when i said it was a worthless exercise, she was a bit less pleasant and hung up - they must also be feeling the pinch.

Personally , I think that all the doom and gloom news about the economic cricis is making matters worse, little is being done about the so called financial whizz kids who stuck their greedy snouts into other peoples pockets for nother other than pure gain. You can sometimes smypathise with a petty thief or shoplifter trying to make ends meet, but when these so and so's are literally raking in hundreds of thousands of pounds, money which in many cases is inevitably frittered away - if you read about some of their fancy lunches, parties , junkets and snorting cocaine, etc. These are the bodies who should be made to account for themselves. I suppose in some cases it is worse it is corporate greed.
Talking of pots of gold, I only saw the headline, but it was about the"Tramworks" folks in Edinburgh , says there is a pot of gold for some of them - will need to see what that was all about, and get the camera back in action.

Of action , Lewis Hamilton was another who did well at the weekend leaving it all up to yet another nail biting finale on the last grand prix of the season,.

Will look for more photos later.

So it is back to the real world

Nothing changes - we just have interruptions, or pauses in our life, then it's all back to normal.
Guess what , 5.30 a.m. wide awake, sleepless night , sore legs, all there and within 24 hrs, so it was up and pottering about with a gale blowing and heavy rain outside.

However, come 8.30 I was cracking up, so having felt as fit as a fiddle and no problems for two weeks I now felt terrible so had to give in and go for a lie down. I even tried a few yoga stretches to straighten out my back but the flight and hanging about in the airport has done a bit damage so it will no doubt take a few days to wear off.

I watched Andy Murray win the Madrid Open tennis yesterday , he did well, and looks fitter and stronger all the time, even his post match interview was good.

Managed to work the camera

Trying to keep awake but managed to get the photos copied over from the camera using a cable as the new card reader would not work.

So we have pics of the General Manager, Oscar Lora , along with Sexy Robert , head of the Animation Team.

At the michael jackson Show, one of the boys was reduced to needing two hats, which came in handy.

Every day they tried to teach the left feet team how to do the Chocolatie, bit of a laugh, and there is another of the aqua ballet.

Colourful nights on the stage with the guests getting in on the act.

Photos again

Some photos from the wee camera of the water ballet, our crew and waiters,. The small helicopter was used for private flight along the coast by visitors, it buzzed about the beachmost of the day. I am having problems getting the photos from the big camera.

Monkey was seen here tanning himself on one of the bed loungers, and he had not been drinking.

Another couple of weeks would have been nice

So, it is back home to wind , rain , grey skies and 11.C., after two weeks of the opposite most of the time.

We left the hotel, made it to the airport and once checked in discovered that the flight was going to be about an hour late. Had the usual rigmarole through immigration, security , etc, then ran the gauntlet of the traders in the lower hall, who were vieing with each other for our pennies before we went upstairs. Tried to get into the VIP lounge but they were not part of the Prioity Pass set up, but the man said we could get in for $25 dollars each , so he got chased. We then heard that he had tried to get $40 each off another couple. Snacks were extortionate, as is normal in airports all over the world, however the tea was good and the food was not bad, which is more than can be said for the disgusting rubbish which "First Choice" offered us during gthe flight.
I found a quiet bit of the airport and had a snooze before the flight left, about an hour late. It had apparantly landed at Orlando to deal with some kind of situation.
So we left one hour late, went through the usual ritual of trying to upsell the TV programmes, then the drinks, teas, etc, and eventually dished out their version of "pig swill" before we all tried to get to sleep.
The little lad behind us in 27D was sick throughout the flight, retching and vomiting all the time, poor wee soul, he looked terrible when we landed and still had another two and a half hours in a car.
trying to get to sleep at 4 a.m. and the staff were wakening us up to try and sell duty free - me , I was getting ratty, but bit my tongue and dozed off.
Pilot made good time north west homewards with atail wind of up to 83 mph, and as we passed over Ireland I am sure I saw Dennis and Carolanne out with the dogs!! they were actually on our flight path.
Into Glasgow, only 30 mins late, found the car and with a quiet M8 were back home by 12 MD.

Piles of mail, a few bills, and some hassle waiting , I really think that we should have stayed in our little paradise for another couple of weeks - there, the staff were our friends and they dealt with our problems - no papers, no bad outside news, would'nt it be nice .
Now I am going to try and play with the photos.

Blue Bay Villas - Dorada - parting comments.

Waiting here in the Reception for our coach to take us to the airport, Doralize kindly let me use her ncomputer as the other were in use.

We have really enjoyed our visit here, the staff have been marvellous - so kind. We had a little tug of war at the poolside as the aniomation team tried to take our cases back to the room and make us stay , but as they say , all good things must come to an end.

Had a few parting words with the Gm , Oscar lora, and his No 1 man , Frances, gave him a few tips about how to keep Frances in oreder.
Then there was a blast from the past , a new barman, and i knew straight away that he had the buttons on the Coke gun all wrong , so Ann had to take lemonade instead of tonic. But based on my lenghty training - he was probably better than i was on the first month.

So - poetically, with the sun setting we head out of this paradise setting , for the long haul home and back to Scotland`s pending winter.

Fare ye well mes amigos.

rather hot

Last morning here, up with the larks and down on the beach at 6.30 a.m. looking for the sunrise, however there was too much cloud around and nother spectacular materialised. Photographers like Baxter must have to wait around ofr days to get the perfect shots, or like many it is pure chance being in the right place at the right time.
Anyway , another calorie controlled breakfast, a wander in the sun , which is rather hot and not yet at its meridien, so i will be keeping under cover a bit , being just undercooked yesterday.
Spoke with RGB and Jo Jo who are fine and looking forward to us coming home, but as Graham thought we were away for another week the house will no doubt be in a shambles.
Had a look around the complex, our gardeners and maintenance people are very busy and the place is spotless as usual.

So back into the sun , cases are already nearly packed so we can make the best of it.

Just about over cooked

It has been a lovely day here, i survived an hour of yoga with Teresa, but fortunately part of that time was spend in a sort of deep relaxation mode , something sort of alien to me.

However, Mr. Rankin's book , Exit Music, kept me enthralled and for once I just lay in the sun, either at the pool or on the beach rading and taking in the rays, as sparky would say . however, I do not think that any combination of actions here would ever have me as laid back as him.
Our two young ladies from the USA have been performing well, and I must apologise to my poor budgie, RIP, but he had more brains than the two of them put together / today they were photographing each others bums !!! But I suppose that is common practice in some of our rugby clubs.

Photographer managed to copy all my photos over so that the staff can get a look at the shots I have taken of them.

Meals have been first class and I cannot get over how good the dining room staff are, the chefs in the morning come out and do eggs etc, their English is good and they intereact as well as the waiters. We have waiters who are fluent in four languages, and those who are not are going to private schools to learn , which they are paying for themselves. No 1 man , Frances was in good form as he headed off to get his baby , The Pescador Restaurant up and running.

So , managed to see another Die Hard film while resting before dinner, great.

Now , a quiet hour or so then early bed again.

Sunshine again

Lovely bright morning , and espite an extra early rise the sun had beaten me in getting up, so my hopes of another few good sunrise pictures on the beach were daashed. anyway , had a light breakfast, and have been lying reaading John Rankin's Ëxit music" book about Insp Rebus, which is easier that the book I have been trying to read for the past two weeks , the life of Robert Burns - heavy going .

Anyway , away to my yoga, possibly second last or last session.

Not much time to relax now as jobs have been coming in for me when i get home.

Clouds did not really spoil the day

just been fed and now relaxing before the show or an early bed with a book.

It remained cloudy right up to tea time but here was blue sky in sight so hopefully we will aweken to brights skies once more.

Had a 45 minute swim, then got in a right fankle with my yoga, but the stretching seems to be doing some good, question is how long will I be able to do follow up when I get home.

Gave the aerobics a miss but had a laugh at the water vollyball before lunch, then it waas down to the beach to rest , but kept wakening myself up with snoring !!! and even missed the afternoon bingo session.

Back to the pool area, where for the third time Mrs. B. became invisible at the bar, being ignored completely for several minutes by the so called winners of the Cup for the best department. The boys are either choosy about who they serve, have things on their mind - like some of the young heavenly bodies wandering around, otherwise i need another motive for their behaviour. to think that if i had not got a drink in front of the boys in the Sportsmans within a minute there was a real song and dance.

the total comparison , has to be in the dining room where there are reams who work early and late shifts, in the morning we have Nillson, Vicente and Alexandra and her pal - at night because we have been out at the other restaurants we are not so sure of their names, but again they are on the ball, tonight Diaz (thats his surname because his christian name is long) was right on the ball, they are polite, friendly and know how to interact with the clients.
I know it is a particular skill, but with a bit training and confidence they should all be able to follow in the footsteps of "Frances, their "main man"".

Our first two "eejits": appeared in the dining room tonight , slightly worse the wear doubless having tried to compensate for the lack of sun with too much "John Barleycorn", an and the waiters dealt with them very tactfully .

Anyway , enough , looking forward to a bright sunny morning.

Lazy Hazy days

Thursday a.m., had my yogurt and now at poolside where the water is looking very inviting. Still a bit cloudy but warm already and we have been told that it will remain iffy for the day. However they said that yesterday and we still got the sun. Even had our game of bingo, but still have to get a winning line.

Phone keeps bleeping as Carol ann and Dennis report on their progress through Manchester - we have had a full nights sleep and they have sat up as long in the airport.

Went to the G.M.´s (Oscar Lora) function last night , good music and a superb magician, and had a chance to talk to Robert the Animation manager. We then headed down to the Pescador Restaurant , where the Head waiter, Frances saw that we were well looked after. I had mussels, steak and ameretto - excellent, it was no wonder we collapsed into bed early .

So as i typoe - the sun is now "fair splitting the trees" so it is time to exit stage right once again.

Passing clouds . and dirty rotten B´s

Looks like the storm has passed, it was semingly away to the west of us so we just caught the tail end - now warm and hazy, perfect for sleeping under .

Big change over today, about forty or so left this morning so there will be the same coming back in around tea time.
Tonight we are off to aspecial party which the General Manager has for repeat visitors, however, having spoken with him on several occasions he has sent round a wee invite for us - very nice.
then we are back to the seafood restaurant for hopefully another nice dinner.

Some of the others went went back to the Jade restaurant last night and said that the Peking Duck was just fantastic - a ral treat.
It was a case of sods law this morningh . I was wanting the card reader from the photographer to load the last batch of photos into CarolAnne´s lap top before she left, but the photo team had the morning off, which means that there will be no more pics from here till I get home - unless I get something else sorted , but ten again , I am supposed to be on holiday !!!!!

Graham just phoned to see what is happening !! someone should give him the name of the blog.
Anyway he says thet The Mercat Bar is ticking along nicely without me to keep him right. But i do have some work coming in for myself to keep me occupuied when I get back.

From a security point of view , one of the young guests went and booked a scuba dive at a local dive centre, the blokes managed to clone his credit card and cleaned 1500 pounds out of his account. Here you really need to pay in cash , and use your card to draw cash at either the hotel or the main banks. You need eyes in the back of your head and your wits about you when outside the hotel complex.

OK back to the sun.

A technical hitch

Someone says there is a hurricane in the area .

I have night pictures of these dancers at the water ballet

wed. and it is raining in the Dominican Republic.

Raining is an understatement, it is pouring heavens hard , having started yesterday afternoon , first one shower then the next, but in between we were able to see the water ballet in the pool, but the musicians had to go into the theatre area as the water was making electrical things spark a wee bit!! It continued during the night and about 6.30 a.m. we had humungous claps / peals of thunder overhead and if it was not the ground moving, the building certainly did.
So we had a bit longer lie I to see if it would pass - then we dressed up in poly bags, etc to make it to the dining room.

The water ballet last night was superb , that was after the managers party again , same as last week when we were introduced to all the staff, etc, but nice to see who is who. there were lots of lap tops on the go, so when I tried to put on some photos yesterday my signal was being pinched so I lost the connection. After the water ballet we had a good live band but it was really loud so being parked in front of the loud speakers we had to surrender and head back to the room. Our new neighbours are a bit noisy and there was a wee bit of a "domestic" going on till the early hours.

We had another wedding yesterday morning , but that is another story !! she then spent the day with her pals and he was with his mates in the pool, etc. I think the novelty must have worn off quicker than most.
They were even out for the 4 p.m. Bingo session , where we again missed out by one number on the top prizes.

Our holiday pals, Dennis and Carolanne are off home today via Manchester but have some trip ahead as they have to wait in Manchester from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. before their flight to Southern Ireland !!!

Will atrtempt some more photos , but if this fails, none till next week.

Tuesday - I think

Well, Monday was a busy day here at the "Office", early breakfast, did the mail, then managed a 40 minute swim before my coffee break and then off to another yoga class. It is a bit tough when these flexible souls have their bodies in all sorts of contortions and I cannot even sit cross legged - talk about being as still as "auld Nick". Howevr, I did it and even had a nice relaxation sssion while the rain passed overhead - excellent.

next - off to the pool for vollyball, then lunch with Dennins and Carol Ann , so that was just a bit wetter than usual, so when we then made it to the beach it was for a sleep. There was a bit more cloud about , with a good breeze, so it was very pleasant.

Trust the photos are of interst , the staff like being snapped and love seeing themselves on the screen of the camera, and for those who are blogged they have a look at one of the hotel computers.

The meal last night was very good in the steak house, only thing was that they put my sauce on the steak rather than on the side and I did not like it , so once it was scraped off it was back to normal. Staff were very good and trying to teach me more Spanish.
We had a 21st birthday , one of the guests so he had a cake at the restaurant, everyone sang - then up on the stage he was sung to again and i think is getting a wee treat from the management.

There was a great "Play back" show with all the animation staff, and afterwards a karaoke with an assortment of singrs, ranguing from brilliant to " lets clear the room" - fortunately they did not have my song otherwise I might have been tempted. Only down side of the night was a rather tiddly young lady from the USA who fell into the " If I were chocolate I would eat myself" category, loud, and a pest - so once swatted she left under the car of her friend.

Long sleepless night as the beasties have been biting a lot following the intermittent rain showers, so am not at 100% this morning - but things will improve.

Moday afternoon more pics

A few shots f the site, scenery, and action of today and one of lazy bones with sore legs last night.