John4703

2010

2010-05-26T21:22:00.002+01:00

Hi,

I decided that it was about time I got into regular posting on here. I might even manage to do it.

My last blog mentioned going away to Wales, since then we have bought a new, larger, tent. we are enjoying the real luxury of a tent that we can stand up in, cook in and we are getting away lots so far this year.

A big change from our small tent is that we now cook most of our meals, we have got an electric hook up so we can run a cold box, like a small fridge, and this keeps wine and food cool.

I've also got a new job which is basically 9 to 5 and Monday to Friday so more time to enjoy life.

Holiday

2009-07-14T20:04:00.003+01:00

I thought it might be a good idea to post about my holiday. We went to Wales first, left here at about 4:00 pm on Friday 3 July and drove to Llangollen where we found a nice B&B for the night and a pub for the evening.
On the Saturday we went to Bedgellert and camped on the Forestry commission camp site, I can remember camping there as a child with my parents. The site is a lot bigger than it used to be and has hot showers and other such improvements. It was wet most of the 5 days we were there but we managed to see lots. We climbed Snowdon, we visited the Centre for Alternative Technology, we visited Carnarvon and looked round the castle.
We did not find that the area was good for vegan food, indeed it was really poor but we were able to cook our own food at the campsite and so had no real problems.
After Wales we went to Ironbridge which is the place that the industrial revolution started. Again we stayed in a B&B and explored the town, had a fantastic Indian meal, and visited two museums.
On the way home we stopped for a night in Blackpool, again a great place to visit and full of life.
Now we are home we are getting the garden back into shape and plan to get away for a few odd days as we are not back at work until next Tuesday, another week off work

Just an update

2009-05-28T08:30:00.000+01:00

It seems to surprise me when I come back here and see how long it is since my last blog. I always promise myself that I'll be more regular in my postings.
I've been busy as always. Some things have gone well others have seemed to grow to fill the time available to them.
An example is that I decided to repaint the railings and wall round two sides of our front garden. All that it seemed to require was to wire brush the rust of a few patches of the railings, scrape the loose white paint off the wall and then repaint both the railings and the wall. I realised that there were three breaks in the railings so I bolted them together and started to scrape the wall. It was then that I found out that the coping stone is in two sections and very loose and the railings are not really secure. I've now prepared it so next week I can fix some timber shuttering and pour a layer of concrete over to increase the thickness of the coping stones by about 50 to 60mm. I think that this will mean it is all solid and should last for many years. I have to cut back the honeysuckle which will grow again but even worse we had a lovely cotoneaster bush in the corner and I had to cut that back a lot to enable me to reach into the corner of the wall and fence. I hope it recovers quickly and grows back to its former glory.
As well as his I've started to pre-record some radio programmes. I work shifts in a call centre so can not have a regular time to record a show, or broadcast one live, so I am pre-recording with the idea of having three or four programmes ready so I can then record one or two most weeks and I expect them to start being broadcast on a Thursday evening with a repeat on a Friday. I plan to base each programme on a part or Glasgow or some event from the city's history.
We've managed to eat out a few times, for our wedding anniversary we went to our favourite Indian restaurant and had a great meal, and we are going back there tonight. Yesterday after doing some radio news reading we went for an Italian meal. It is so good when restaurants are willing to make small changes to their menu to ensure that our food is vegan.
Tomorrow I should get those railing painted and on Saturday we are walking along footpath that follows the River Clyde up to Cambuslang. This is a walk organised by our church minister and I hope a good crowd turn out and enjoy the sunshine that is promised for that day.
Sunday I'm working but there is a folk concert on the Tall Ship in the evening so I think we will go there and enjoy some good music. I sometimes find it hard getting up at 05:30 after a late night but I refuse to let my shifts stop me enjoying life.

A week off work

2009-05-08T15:17:00.001+01:00

I’ve had a week off work and the original idea was to go walking and camping but we eventually decide to stay at home and do a lot of work in our garden. The greenhouse was full of small plants that needed transplanting and I wanted to reply the drive where we park the car.
The weather has been atrocious, gales and heavy rain. I’ll try to go through the week day by day, or flood by flood.
Saturday was good, we went to Oran Mor, a Glasgow pub and listened to some live music which was part of an outside broadcast by Celtic music Radio. http://www.celticmusicradio.net/ We then went to Mono and had some great vegan food with friends before retuning to Oran Mor for more music and chat.
Sunday did not start well. A neighbour told me that at about 02:00 someone had taken two of the mono-blocks that I’d had delivered for my new driveway and thrown them through his greenhouse smashing a number of panes. I was pleased to be able to give him some of my spare greenhouse glass but it was till annoying that anyone could do that.
Monday I got the base levelled ready for the drive and hired a vibrating plate to compact it all.
Tuesday I started early and managed to get all the mono-blocks laid despite heavy rain at times. I’m not sure if I laid the blocks on sand or floated them on water.
Wednesday I went over the mono-blocks with the vibrating plate and it all seemed good and solid but not as level as I’d have realty liked. We then went shopping at B&Q, (10% off on a Wednesday for me). Anne had to go to a meeting and my plan was to go and record a radio show but it did not happen as the studio was too busy. We went out for a meal and then to the Tall Ship for a great Celtic music concert.
Thursday we cleared up a lot and stacked the spare mono-blocks and a lot of other bricks and blocks that we had around the place. Two trips to the local tip got rid of the old broken slabs. We managed to freecycle a lot of the good slabs and other things. This was followed by as trip to a garden centre where we bought a lot of essentials including a lovely vegan meal.
Friday has been at home and hardly venturing outside as it has been heavy rain most of the day. It is only 15:15 and we are planning to go to a concert in Rutherglen Town Hall tonight. One of the artists is Ciaran Dorris http://www.ciarandorris.com/

A weekend off work :-)

2009-04-17T20:37:00.000+01:00

A weekend off work approaches and I’m looking forward to some free time. The weather forecast is for no rain so we can get into the garden and do loads of work. I’ve started to build a frame round our soft fruit so we can fix netting and keep the birds, squirrels and cats off it. I think I’ll get it finished and painted tomorrow.
I’d like to go shopping and also maybe go for a swim, ages since I’ve been swimming. Sunday it will be good to get out the bikes in the afternoon and get out for a short ride and probably stop of for a beer and a rest somewhere.

Later the same day

2009-04-05T20:56:00.000+01:00

Today has been really good. I did not need to get up early as no work today. Went to church this morning and it was a good service remembering Palm Sunday.
This afternoon I got the grass cut, first time this year. It looks a bit neater but needs a lot of work to make a really good lawn as it has lots of weeds and moss at present.
I also continued building a wooden frame to hold netting to stop the birds and squirrels eating our soft fruit. I love fresh fruit but so do all he local wildlife.
In the evening I cut up all that remains of last year’s crop of onions and tomorrow I plan to make them into a big pot of soup that will be tasty and I’ll freeze and take to work each day.

Spring

2009-04-05T12:34:00.000+01:00

Well Spring seems to have finally arrived, bright sunshine and no rain today. The weeds are growing well in the garden and even better the seeds are springing into life in planters on just about all our window sills. I plan to get loads of tomato plants transplanted this afternoon and then more seeds set. Also the first cut of the grass for this year will make the front garden look so much better.

Lentil Lasagna

2009-02-21T15:06:00.002Z

I had expected to go to a local Vegan group pot luck meal today. I made some lentil lasagna but Anne was working and by the time she finished it was a bit late and she has to read a dissertation and make comments over the weekend as well so we gave the pot lick a miss. We ate most of the lasagna ourselves and the leftovers will be perfect cold for my lunch at work on Monday.
I’ve been surprised at how my Twitter account has taken off. My name there is the same as here; John4703 I’ve now got ten people following me and reading my tweets. Amazing how many people are interested in the stuff I write.
I’ve got a good chance of doing a regular radio show on a Glasgow based community radio so I’m thinking of a theme for the show. I might even include the odd cooking tip.
I thought I’d include the recipe for the sauce that I used for the lasagna. It is a Bolognese sauce ad can be served with vegetables, spaghetti or as lasagna.

Lentil Bolognese.
A really useful sauce to serve with pasta, such as lasagne or spaghetti. Can also be served as a sauce with vegetables.

SERVES 6

1 Onion chopped
2 Garlic cloves crushed
2 carrots coarsely grated
2 celery sticks chopped
45ml (3tbsp) olive oil
115 gram (4 oz) (2/3 cup) red lentils
1 400 gram (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes
30 ml (2tbsp) tomato puree
450ml (3/4 pint) (2 cups) stock
15ml (1 tbsp) fresh marjoram chopped or 5ml (1tsp) dried marjoram
Ground black pepper.
In a large saucepan gently fry the onion, garlic, carrots and celery in the olive oil until they are soft.
Add the lentils, tomatoes, tomato puree, stock, marjoram and seasoning.
Bring the mixture to the boil then partly cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes until thick and soft.
Use the Bolognese as required.

TGIF

2009-02-20T08:10:00.002Z

It's Friday and I'm off all weekend. I went to Sloans last night and got tickets for their ceilidh tonight so we'll go along and dance away the evening. As we were out and hungry we then went to a South Indian restaurant and ate far too much lovely food. It's a great place in Glasgow's Merchant City and they cook with oil not ghee so most of their vegetarian dishes are vegan.
I managed to but some individual oven to table dishes yesterday; I'm hosting a 'Come Dine With me' party next month and want to try to make the food look good as well as taste good. I may need to cut down on the spices for guests; I always add loads of extra garlic and chillies.
I had my first music lesson from Anne on Wednesday evening. Really interesting and enjoyable so I might manage a tune on the piano one day.
I've been asked to consider doing a show on community radio and I am getting keen to to it. I just need to think about a theme and get my thinking cap on.

Saturday Afternoon

2009-02-14T13:44:00.001Z

Hi,
I'm grabbing a quick tea break at work so thought I'd add a line or two to this blog.
I've been disappointed in our weather as we've had so little snow, not enough to really enjoy but still better than the rain/
We were out last night at a Ceilidh at Sloans in Glasgow. It was good once it got going and the majority of dancers were from a local college where they were studying English.
It's valentines day but I'm not sure if we'll go out tonight, I'm tired after the ceilidh and need to be up at 05:30 again tomorrow for work.

No real snow yet

2009-02-07T20:33:00.000Z

So it's not been quite as long since my last entry as between the previous ones.
I've been reasonably busy. The end of January is a great time here in Glasgow with Celtic Connections http://www.celticconnections.com/ and we were at lots of great concerts.
I did two live shows on Celtic Music Radio http://www.celticmusicradio.net/ called review of preview of Celtic Connections. That was my first experience of presenting a live show although I've been presenting the News once a week for a long time now.
We have missed most of the snow here in Glasgow. I'm not sure what I think as I like the snow but am pleased to have avoided the disruption of it all. Its been cold and cycling to work through a light snow fall with a strong wind was interesting.
Cycling, walking and going to ceilidhs seems a good way to keep fit. We are starting to plan a holiday in May walking in the Cairngorms and camping so we'll be carrying all out kit which makes it more challenging.
I'l leave it now and promise myself that I'll get back on here again soon.

Been a long time

2009-01-22T08:23:00.001Z

I realised it so ages since I posted anything on here. Do others find they want to post but never find the time?

January is a busy time for me here in Glasgow as it is the Celtic Connections music festival with hundreds of performers in various places across the city. Details are at http://www.celticconnections.com/
I've already been to a few concerts and some were amazing. It is good to hear the new young performers as well as the older established big names. I'm looking forward to Saturday when there will be a big ceilidh to celebrate the birthday of Scotland's poet Robbie Burns, he would be 250 this month (I wonder if there will be a cake or would 250 candles be too big a fire risk?). I've started doing some broadcasts on a local community radio so I might even get to do a report on this event. Anyone who likes Celtic music should listen to this station http://www.celticmusicradio.net/

Other aspects of life seem to good as always. I'm at work today then have four days off which is very welcome, I only had a couple of odd days off over Christmas and New Year so a break will be very welcome and there is lots to do around the house. I also would like to get out for a decent length of bike ride if the weather is good but it may be simply too wet to enjoy riding far.

I'll leave this now but promise myself to post regularly in future. Just a final thanks to those who have left comments on previous blogs, always good to hear from others on here.

Wet Start to July

2008-07-01T18:51:00.000+01:00

It is now July and raining again. I was sort of hopeful that July would be better that June but unfortunately it is not starting off that way. The forecast is for light showers for four out of the next five days but of course for Thursday, my next day off, the forecast is heavy showers.
I did cycle to work yesterday and really enjoyed it. Even the journey home was good and quick. It is much easier in daylight as I cross Glasgow Green but prefer to avoid it in the dark yet it does cut off a long detour. The idea of it helping me get fit and lose weight failed as I stopped on the way home and bough chips which we ate at home. Lovely supper 
I've just heard that I've got two days annual leave at the end of the month, combined with two days off I'll have four days off in a nice run. If the weather is good we might try to get away camping or go walking or even both.
There must have been some decent sunshine as there are now lots of red strawberries in the garden and a few raspberries that look nearly ready. I'm looking forward to eating them in the next few days.
I enjoyed watching some of the tennis from Wimbledon last night. I am not a tennis fan but got excited watching Andy Murray fight back and go on to win the match. I hope he wins again tomorrow.
I suppose I need to go back to work now but I'll probably look through some blogs and might even find some to comment on.

Almost the Last Day in June

2008-06-29T15:02:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow will be the last day of June and the sun is shining. A few minutes ago the rain was pouring sown in a real downpour but now it is bright and sunny again. I'm at work but it is nice and quite so I have time to write this and contemplate life. I wonder what new and exciting things will happen in July. I know that my grandson will be one year old on the 24th so that will be a milestone is his life, he is walking now and really bright and so full of smiles. OK I'm biased but I'd hate to be any other way.
My garden is looking good, loads of strawberries ready to pick and lots more still green so it looks like a good crop this year. I'm thinking of putting a special bed for them in the greenhouse and trying to grow some early next year. I'm also relieved that the mint is starting to grow again, it was a mass of dead looking woody stems and I cut it right back last autumn and thought I'd killed it completely but it now seems to be recovering.
We've been out a few times in the past week; to a couple of classical concerts last weekends and jazz last Monday. All were great concerts and very enjoyable. I think we went twice to a local vegan restaurant and had their tappas, we both love tappas and it is so good to eat at Mono knowing that everything is good for us. We have also had a few barbeques as we are determined to catch as much good weather as possible.
I've been really lazy recently and used the bus to and from work each day as I've been doing 9.00 to 17.00 shifts it was easy to meet Anne after work. I am determined to get back on my bike tomorrow, I'll be working 13.00 to 21.00 shifts next week and cycling is a quicker way of getting home at that time and over next weekend avoids the busses that can be full of happy drunks. I enjoy cycling and find it a great way to keep fit. I've just checked my BMI and I'm a healthy weight. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/your_weight/bmiimperial_index.shtml ) I do not bother much but when I returned to cycling after many years I dropped my trouser waist size from feeling that 36 inch was too tight to fitting comfortably in a 34 inch. OK I think that is enough for today except to thank anyone who reads this for bothering to do so and also thanks everyone who has left a comment.

Long time away from here

2008-06-11T21:51:00.001+01:00

It is absolutely ages since I wrote anything in here. I must have been too busy working to manage. I do tend to write these blogs at work when on a nice late shift. I've not done too many of them recently so that might explain my absence. In fact my late shifts are now not too late as they have been changed to run from 14:30 to 22:30 instead of the old 16:00 to midnight. I like the earlier shift as it means I get home the same day I started.
I really should be cycling to work but recently have been far too lazy and so have not bother with the bike but have used the bus. When I am working through the day it I good to use the bus and meet Anne after work, have a drink in Glasgow then travel home together. No excuses for not cycling to these late shifts so maybe tomorrow I will.
Other news is they my daughter plans to get married in October, always assuming her fiancé can get a visa sorted out. Not easy to enter and remain in the UK if you are black and born in Africa.
My garden is looking good. Loads of strawberries and tomatoes and a fair number of beans. The potato plants are looking big and healthy.
I need more time in the garden as well as other jobs to do around the house. I was off all day on Monday and I managed to roughcast round the vents and flue from the central heating boiler that I fitted last year. It took me as while to find a source of the right colour of roughcasting chips but it looks a good match now.
I'll finish this for now and will try to return and write more soon.
I've had a few nice comments about previous blogs, all are appreciated.

Summer continues

2008-05-19T21:51:00.001+01:00

What a great few days of warm weather recently. Loads more barbeques and lots of clearing and planting done in the garden. There are a few tomatoes growing in the greenhouse and hopefully they will be followed by a lot more over the next months. I was off for the weekend and enjoyed the two days off, in work for a late shift today then off again tomorrow.
The one minor glitch was that the wooden garden bench that I bought about six years ago has finally broken. I did think of fixing it but found that the side supports are rotten so it would be a waste of time. I've decided to build two stone piers and fix the slats across them. It should last for years and will not rot and it will be easy to pressure wash to get it clean when needed. The old bench will make good kindling for the chiminea. It will keep me busy for a few days anyway.

Great Week

2008-05-15T13:57:00.000+01:00

Well a very interesting week. Great weather and so lots done in the garden and I'm working early shifts all week, starting at 07:15 and finishing at 15:15 so I get to enjoy the warm sunny evenings.
On Monday morning I got a text from my daughter; her partner proposed on Sunday evening so she is getting married. I have no further information but I am sure she will let me know as soon as she decides what she wants. It will be great to see her married and her partner is a great person and they both absolutely adore their son who is now nine months old.
Today is my wedding anniversary, four years today. We will meet after work and celebrate but not too much as I'm back here at 07:15 this morning 
Yesterday I fed my tomato plants, great when they have grown to a size that need feeding and I'm looking forward to eating some fresh fruit off them in the not too far distant future.
Yesterday we also went to B & Q and got more seeds so a plentiful supply of garden produce should be the result if the weather is kind to us this summer.

Summer at Last

2008-05-11T14:42:00.001+01:00

Summer seems to have arrived at last. Yesterday was a bright and sunny day and we got loads done in the garden. I should really back track a few days to Wednesday when I bought some timber and also plastic guttering that I have fitted under the netting that covers our vegetable garden. Yesterday I transplanted all my strawberry plants into this guttering and filled up the odd gaps with compost. We hope that we will get a good load of strawberries and the birds and slugs will not be able to get at them. The patio area where we had the strawberry pots last year looks better and we will plant some nice flowers in pots to brighten it up a lot. We had a great barbeque and cooked this great mix We are planning to have the same again tonight.
Friday night we went to a free Jazz concert. It was Jazz on Radio Three and was at the new BBC headquarters in Glasgow, a great evening of music and vast quantities of free wine, we a couple of glasses each.
Saturday night we went to hear a local Scottish Guitar and Mandolin Orchestra perform with a similar orchestra from Berlin. A bit of a nightmare getting to the event as we missed to bus stop, my fault as I forgot to take a map so we sort of tried to guess the way. We ended up getting a taxi for the last part of the journey but coming home we found the right bus stop and managed to catch the last bus. The music was great and we really enjoyed hearing such a mass of stringed instruments, I think about 60 people on stage at one time.

An interesting week

2008-05-05T22:24:00.001+01:00

Another blog by me. Interesting few days recently. Last week I had three days off and seemed to pack loads into them. The interesting things all started on Tuesday when we got our new kitchen and bathroom windows fitted. All nice clean white uPVC instead of rotten wood. No drafts and hinges that work. The bathroom is so bright that I keep thinking that the light has been left on.
Wednesday I was off and we did some shopping and all that sort of boring stuff.
Thursday we had out grandson all day, a nine month old little boy who is so lovely, peaceful and so happy.
Friday we went to see our cousins in Edinburgh. It was good to see them and we enjoyed a drink in Edinburgh before getting the buss home to Glasgow.
Yesterday I was working a late shift which suited me as I could get to church in the morning and work late that night.
Today is a bank Holiday Monday and once more I am working late. I managed to cut the grass and do a few other odd things round the house and garden before work. I'll finish at 11:30 so not too bad and I brought the car in today as it is easy to park.
Tomorrow and the rest of the week I'll be on my bike which will help build up my fitness.

What a day

2008-04-25T21:23:00.000+01:00

Well another interesting sort of day. When it started I was cycling home after a late shift and got home when today was about ten minutes old. Back up at 7.30 to give Anne a lift to a meeting then home to do some more DIY. I moved the incoming phone cable as it was through a window that is being replaced on Monday. Once that was done I sanded the bathroom floor and gave it a nice fresh coat of varnish which should look nice and clean and protect the wood from wear, water and dirt.
On Wednesday we bought new paint for the bathroom and it will look so different painted a nice bright sunshine yellow sort of colour instead of the rather tired old blue that it has been for the past few years. I'm off all day tomorrow so we might even get the first coat onto the walls then. Monday the window will be replaced with a new double glazed one with white PVC frame and surrounds, the two kitchen windows will be done as well.
Still at work right now but not all that long until I finish, it is nearly 21:30 and I finish at 23:30. I am cycling home tonight so I hope it is nice and dry again.

A Good Day - Almost

2008-04-17T21:29:00.002+01:00

The day seemed to start well. Had a double glazing salesman round and he agreed to fit three new windows for the same price s he quoted about 8 months ago. We already have five windows by this company and they are really good. I would recommend them to any local readers. (Perfect Glazing, Dixons Blazes, Glasgow). We will soon have nice new windows in our kitchen and bathroom.
After that I took a load of rubbish to the local tip and did a few minor things at home. Got caught up and rushed to the bus at the last minute and was a little late for work.
It has been lovely sunny day but with a cold wind but when I finish at midnight I will get a free taxi home, well my employer will; pay for it. The rules have been tightened up and so as I can get a bus home after a 23:30 finish I'll not be allowed a taxi. I'll get back on my bike and cycle to and from work on those days as it will be quicker than waiting 20 minutes for a bus and will do wonders for my health.
The bad part was hearing that my sister-in-law has split up with her boyfriend, they have been together for a few years now and she will be devastated and apparently he is not even replying to her calls or text messages. I am sure she will be up to visit soon to get a break away from home."

Saturday

2008-04-12T20:23:00.002+01:00

A great time to be working, 8:25 on a Saturday evening and it is pouring with rain and considering it is the middle of April it is feeling cold. I completed an application for another job today, I do not dislike this job but the other one pays about 40% more and the hours sound great, shifts between 8:00 and 20:00 Monday to Friday and some Saturday mornings.
I arrived at work today to discover that as a cost saving measure they are no longer going to pay for a taxi home after a shift that ends at 23:30 because I can get a bus home at midnight. This means that I'll get home about 00:45 instead of about 23:55 by taxi. I hope that I'll still get a taxi after my midnight finishes as there is no reasonable bus home after that time.
I'm off for three days after tonight so if the weather is decent I'll get into my garden and plant out some vegetables.
Work is not too busy today which is good but some of the calls have been weird, (I'll not give any details as the callers deserve confidentiality)

Thursday

2008-04-10T09:35:00.001+01:00

Back at work at 7:30 today after a good day off yesterday. I managed to get most of the work done in my bathroom so all leaking pipes are now not leaking. I than met Anne after she finished work and we bought a home brew wine kit, .lovely white wine that only costs £21.00 for 20 litres. We then went to B&Q and bought plants for the garden, some flowers, some vegetables, we really seem to miss the spring planting on our greenhouse. We plan to get them all into the garden at the weekend if it is not snowing.
Nothing much else happening, I still have loads of work to do in the bathroom, like fit the bath panels and build a new cupboard and then I'll get on with the new kitchen sink. Keeps me busy anyway. It is good that we have a load of frozen meals so when I am working and the place is a mess it is quick and easy to defrost a meal, also it does not take any longer really to cook 6 portions and freeze four than to cook just two. I do not buy frozen meals as so few are vegan.

Back at work

2008-04-08T21:44:00.002+01:00

Hi again,
It is now Tuesday, I came back to work on Sunday and have been fairly busy as I was on day shifts which are usually busy. Today I am on a late shift, started at 15:30 and finish at 23:30, I like finishing before midnight.
I'm feeling nearly back to fitness, still a bit tired but getting better. I have done a bit more work in my bathroom, I'm trying to disconnect an old cast iron waste pipe that takes the bath waste water down through the flat under us. It is leaking slightly so I'm in the process of replacing it with a new plastic pipe connected outside the house so avoiding any disruption to our neighbours. So far I've reconnected the toilet, I discovered a bit of a leak in the old lead pipe from that as well and also have the wash hand basin connected to the new pipes. My next job, hopefully tomorrow, is to move the main water pipe where it enters the bathroom to give space for the new waste to get past. It will be good to have it finished and I plan to build a small cupboard in the corner of the room.
After that the next job is to replace the kitchen sink, we have bought a nice new stainless steel sink and taps so it should be fairly straightforward to fit that instead of the old sink that we have now, cleaning our home grown vegetables does make a mess of the existing sink which is made of some sort of plastic compound.
I've also got on with tracing my family tree, I received copies of some birth certificates today to can use the information to try to trace further back. On my mother's side I am back to 1290 but am tuck in the 1800s on my father's side of my family.I'll stop writing now and promise myself that I'll keep up this blog more regularly.

I've been sick

2008-04-04T16:37:00.003+01:00

I felt ill all day Monday at work and came home and was in bed by 6:00 and slept all Tuesday and only started to feel even half human on Wednesday. I have not returned to work as I still have no energy and can hardly keep awake but it was only flu and will pass even if slowly.
Today is Friday nd I managed to go to B & Q and so I should have all the plumbing stuff that I need to finish the necessary work in my bathroom, I also returned the extra pipes that I'd bought as a massive miscalculation of where they had to run to.
I'm off work tomorrow and back in work at 9:00 on Sunday morning.
I've been working on my family tree, I've got back to some ancestor who was born in 1270 which is pretty good and another who was a sir!!! No riches though

Holiday

2008-03-28T17:38:00.004Z

I've been off work for two days and have got a power of work done at home. We had a minor problem with the waste pipe from our bath leaking slightly and yesterday I rerouted the outlet from the toilet into a replacement plastic pipe so that next week I can connect the bath to it and do away with the old leaking pipe. The old walls in this house are very thick so any pipes going through walls takes ages, I spent a good part of yesterday on a ladder drilling through the outside wall, it is done and the gap roughly cemented up now.
Today is Friday and we started by cooking a load of soup so we can freeze it as we both like to take this to work for lunch. We also got into the garden and got two lots of early potatoes planted, the main vegetable area dug over and lots of cleaning up and tidying done. As it was a holiday we accompanied this hard work with several glasses of home made wine.
A good and satisfying couple of days

The day after my birthday

2008-03-23T12:35:00.004Z

Yesterday was my birthday and it turned out to be a really good day. I got home about midnight after a late shift on the Friday and we had a few glasses of wine while watching TV.
I woke up on the Saturday morning when I got a text wishing me a happy birthday. I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of fresh potato scones and then worked a bit more on my family search. I've now got 260 people in my family tree going back to the 14th century and I am pretty certain I have details of even further back.
In the afternoon I managed to do a little patch of concreting in my garden, it was just a small patch next to the compost heaps and I wanted to finish it so that I can empty a compost bin next weekend, far easier on concrete that on rough ground. If the weather is decent I'll try to get a worm composer going again, I think it is getting warm enough and it will be good to get the liquid feed and such from the worms.
I'm planning to meet my wife and go for a drink after work today, or to be more exact Anne plans to come in and meet me. It's nice to have a drink on the way home and unwind after 8 hours answering lots of phone calls. At the moment the weather looks bright and dry so it should be nice to wander around Glasgow city Centre.

Friday Night

2008-03-21T21:29:00.000Z

Oh well it is 9:30 on a Friday night and I'm at work. It seems I write most of these blogs at work during my breaks or spells with no phone calls coming in.
Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm off work so planning to enjoy the day. I'll start by opening a nice bottle of cold white wine when I get home and then see how the day progresses. The weather forecast is for sunshine here in Glasgow so I might even spend some time in the garden or greenhouse and try to get weeds out and plants in.
I'll enjoy the day no matter what as Sunday I'll be back here at 07:30 for an early shift. I would like to go somewhere interesting by bus, I'll have had my free bus pass for a year tomorrow and have had some great trips. (Scotland is great, all us aged over 60 people get a free pass for just about any bus within Scotland.)
My family tree is growing, I seem to have got back to the 12th or 13th century but unfortunately no really rich relatives who left me loads of cash.

Tuesday

2008-03-18T17:31:00.000Z

A day off and not got as much done as I had hoped. I spent a while updating my family tree having got a lot of information from a relative in Australia. Her grandparents are my great grandparents so I think she was my father's cousin. all very interesting and I'd love to discover more about my background.
I also went shopping and got some ink cartridges for my printer, so expensive I really am tempted to buy a laser printer.
I need to alter the pipework in our bathroom, the bath waste runs down an old cast iron pipe through the bathroom in the flat below us and it is leaking slightly. I plan to disconnect that pipe and run the waste pipe to the outside using new plastic pipes, that will solve the problem and the folks downstairs can get the old pipe removed if they want.
Anne is not at all well, her back is really sore, she damaged it in a car crash a long time ago, she struggles on but is in pain. We cooked our meal together today which we both enjoy, a rather nice meal of soya mince cooked with garlic, chili, onions and peas and some boiled potatoes, a nice tasty dish and so easy to make.
well not a lot more to write and I wonder if anyone will ever read this.

Saturday

2008-03-15T10:06:00.000Z

It is a Saturday and I was up at 6.10 this morning so that I could catch a bus to work. I started at 8:00 which is not too bad as it means that I'll be finished by 16:00. Not too bad to be working on a wet day but I am looking forward to next Saturday when I am off and which is also my birthday.

Raining Again!!

2008-03-11T20:15:00.000Z

Oh well it is pouring down. I was looking forward to leaving work and going home nd even if it is raining I'll still eave at 21:00. I'm off tomorrow and Thursday so I'm hoping that it will be dry and maybe even sunny. No fixed plans but I got a new GPS for my birthday, ok it was an early present, and I want to get out and try it without getting soaked. I had a look at maps to add to it and I can buy these on line cheaper than in any local shop so that is a task for tomorrow too.
I heard from a person in Australia who seems to have the same great grandparents as me, does that mean we are related? She is mailing me some more information which will be fascinating.
No phone calls I the last 10 minutes, I keep checking my phone in case it is turned off!

Will anyone ever read this? Do make a comment if you do so I know that these words of non wisdom are not lost forever.

Getting late

2008-03-10T23:20:00.001Z

Feeling bored as no-one seems to be calling just now and it is another 40 minutes until my shift ends. Not been a bad shift so far, some really nice people calling and asking sensible questions and actually saying £thank you" when I help them. An unusual shift as so far no-one has sworn at me, why do perfectly respectable people think it is acceptable to swear at agents working in call centres?
The weather has been ok today; Scotland seems to have missed the storms that have been hitting the South of England. I really want to get out on my bike soon; I should be cycling to and from work and getting fit and losing a bit of weight again, much healthier than using the bus. Next week is early shifts so I might decide to cycle and I might even manage both directions in day light which will be great.

Monday

2008-03-10T11:56:00.000Z

Now athome and just checking emails and chatting to friendson yahoo and msn messenger. A dry day but cold and I can't really be bothered going into the garden especially as I start work again at 16:00 and will work to midnight. Not sure about food today, always hard to work out when to eat on this shift.

My first blog

2008-03-09T18:51:00.000Z

Why am I writing this? Will anyone ever read it? Questions: but no answers. I'm at work and not busy so can take a few minutes to join that great multitude of bloggers who share their thoughts and lives with the world.
Why did I choose this user name? John4703. Well in fact I only chose the last part, the first part was chosen nearly 61 years ago by my parents when they decided to call me John. I was born in March 1947 so the year and month sort of manage to make the number 4703. It seems to be available so I used it. It my name on here and on other social networking sites.
I'm t work in a contact centre and for the moment the phones have gone quiet and I have time to think. Midnight I'll go home, it is now nearly 7:00 pm, or 19:00 as I prefer the 24-hour clock, much less chance of getting mornings and evenings mixed up. I'm working from 16:00 to midnight today and tomorrow then a mid shift on Tuesday followed by two days off. J
It is dry here in Glasgow just now, the sound of a police helicopter fills he air but no sound of wind or rain, I hope it is dry tomorrow because I want to wlk to the shops and order a new pair of glasses, I had my eyes tested a few weeks ago and have decided to go and other new specs now.
OK that’s enough for this session.