Wooley Bollocks

Blogstop

2009-06-14T15:10:00.003Z

I've obviously not been around my blog since March so wanted to remind you all you can find me and my updates on Facebook mainly. Lots of pics there so do add me to keep in touch.

Comment here and I'll still get your message but don't expect updates any time soon! Sorry!

Thanks for reading! You never know, I may yet be back...? Jxx

Crusiad Walk for Life 2009

2009-03-23T13:20:00.004Z

Sorry I've been vacant for so long!

And now I'm just back to promote my latest venture...

I'll be doing the Crusiad Walk for Life this year (June 7th) and would love your support!

See: Crusaid Walk for Life Website for information on the walk!

Visit: ME!! to see my personal sponsorship page!

All support will be very gratefully received, no matter how much or how little!

Thank you!

Still luvs ya all!

Jay xx

Snow freak!

2009-02-02T19:51:00.001Z

Other than having a rough time at work (you don't want to know the details), I've not got much to say right now but enjoy the video of our pussycat re-discovering the winter wonderland! More snow please!

Extermiwhy?

2009-01-13T11:35:00.002Z

I think D is getting a little perturbed by my obsessions... He doesn't see the point in adding the model of a Supreme Dalek to my collection! It's not enough to have just the Black & Gold Daleks though - I need the Supreme one to complete the set! It's logical! And it was only a fiver from Play.com...! It's not like I bought the two foot radio controlled version...! Jxx

Cats Christmas!

2009-01-10T14:36:00.002Z

Family Christmases are so lovely!

We treated the cats to a new play tunnel thing which I couldn't resist giving them early - Pern has been more into this than Eric! Very 'in' to it!

Of course, on the big day, they were keen to assist us in the unwrapping process - more for the paper than the present contents of course! Pern will sit on anything that she thinks we might want to use / move!

On the day, the cats were overwhelmed by a cat-nip toy from Cilla (my American Online-Auntie!) so their ham was wrapped up on boxing day as a further treat for the dearlings!

Eric was never really sure about all the decorations!

And it often all got too much for Pern who reverted to her natural state!

Jxx

A short reading list from 2008

2009-01-07T09:08:00.002Z

I had a plan to read a book a week in 2008 - but like many things, I didn't quite reach my intended goal. However, I did get through a fair bit of literature, some books good, some books bad. Twenty four books (that I remembered to note down) had a start & finish absorbed, however entrancing or forgettable and so, I present to you, with star ratings, my reading list of 2008:

Pebble in a Pool by William Taylor ***
Comfort & Joy by Jim Grimsley ***
The Man of the House by Stephen McCauley ***
Getting It by Alex Sanchez *
When You Don’t See Me by Timothy James Beck ***
Chart Throb by Ben Elton **
JPod by Douglas Coupland ***
Straightening Ali by Amjeed Kabil *
The God Box by Alex Sanchez*
My Best Man by Andy Schell**
The Trouble Boy by Tom Dalby**
The Tin Star by J L Langley**
Dance on My Grave by Aiden Chambers***
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka***
Chemistry by Lewis DeSimone***
Chicken Dance by Jacques Couvillon***
Back Where He Started by Jay Quinn***
My Side of the Story by Will Davis **
The Gum Thief – Douglas Coupland***
Daytime Drama – Dave Benbow**
An Imperfect Arrangement by Chris Amisano**
Microserfs – Douglas Coupland***
The Salt Point by Paul Russell**
The Boys on the Rock by John Fox**

I was particularly impressed by the brilliance of Douglas Coupland yet let down by the drainingly familiar tone Alex Sanchez. Marina Lewycka was an unexpected pleasure with her Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (I'm currently reading her Two Caravans) and Jay Quinn remains one for me to seek out more!

I'll see what delights (or otherwise) 2009 have in store for my reading taste! Jxx

Adipose!

2009-01-04T14:00:00.001Z

My delightful TorchwoodForum Secret Santa got me one! Yay! Should hopefully spur me on to loosing some more weight this year...?

Come on Secret Santa - Reveal yourself...!

HNY

2009-01-01T13:27:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

I'll be back soon...!?

Jxx

Double fail!

2008-12-04T14:18:00.004Z

OK, so I've been quiet again for a few weeks... Life got ahead of me and I just couldn't seem to catch up! Once I'd got five or six blogs behind on the challenge, it just seemed an ominous task to try and double or treble post and so the event stalled... I also failed to complete the required 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo... I scored a respectable 35,000 in the end but again, life took over and there were so many other things to fit in...

So, what other things?

Well, I popped to Liverpool to see friends (images on Facebook as always) and had a great time visiting the newly re-vamped city centre and took a trip to Chester, which is rather beautiful still!

My friend Pat will of course love this photo in particular:

I hit Birmingham NEC for the Memorabillia event (again, more pictures on Facebook) and met my hero - Gareth David-Lloyd! OMG OMG *squee* and all that! I'm still not quite over it!

And my mother joined me for Memorabillia (managing to speak to Gareth enough to embarass me wholly - "You're the reason my son's here today!" she cheerily chirped, whilst I gibbered!

Mother & I also hit Leicester's new centre and I had my first Yo Sushi experience - how cool is that place? Food is lovely and it's really groovy inside:

I've also been preparing for Christmas a little, with some shopping expeditions and the creation of the Celebrity Male Advent Calendar I make for D each year:

The lights are the special addition to this years model - the problem is, I try and better the previous years version each time and it's getting more and more difficult to do!

And we bought a gift for the cats that I decided couldn't wait:

Pern is into it (must be the catnip) but Eric is being wary... We'll see how it goes! I'm all for getting a kitten (or chickens) in the New Year too, depending on sweet talking D and discussion with the vet so we could have another fluffyness to play with it too soon?!

So, I hope that little round up explains some of my absence and makes up for the lack of recent posts? OK, it probably doesn't entirely but it's a start! I'll try again to keep you up to date in December... Jxx

Day Nine on day fourteen! (Wiiiiiiiiiii!)

2008-11-14T07:17:00.002Z

So, I've been away for a few days and that's had a knock on effect with blogging of course, having failed miserably to set up mobile phone blogging (no idea why the damn thing won't work! Buggerit!) So, here we are on day fourteen with a ninth entry for the month - still ahead of my usual efforts but now five entries down on target... hmmmm!

To make matters worse, I'm working 12 hours today - yes, I got up just that little bit early to get a post in here before I start my shift! I'm that committed to you, my delightful readers - SO LEAVE ME A COMMENT - just so I know this isn't all in vain!

So, what have I to tell you? Well, I'm more than happy to relay that after some months of waiting for a decision, our ward bid for a Wii, Wii Fit, TV & Stand through charitable funds (WRVS - bless 'em) has been approved! This isn't just a bit of fun for the nurses on breaks, but to me gives us a chance to provide some much needed exercise and general 'something to do' for those of our patients who end up in long term isolation. Nothing worse than staring at four walls all day? Now they'll be able to bowl, box & baseball, twist themselves into any combination of Yoga poses, tightrope walk & hula!

Am pretty chuffed at this outcome. It'll have a real impact on some of those people who most need the stimulation. It also gives me a buzz knowing that I managed to submit an application worthy of consideration by a team who vet hundreds of such applications... Go Me! Go Wii!

PoMo = 9/14
WriMo = 20948

Jxx

Day Eight - Halloween Pictures.

2008-11-09T11:25:00.006Z

A few of my favourite pictures from the Halloween party at my mothers!

I was playing a little before the party really got going...

...and mother was playing with the Dalek!

'D' managed once again to produce a great pumpkin - just a shame he wasn't there (he was being amazing at a conference in Telford!)

And I played with my ghost!

PoMo = 8/9
WriMo = 15266

Jxx

Day Seven (On Day Nine) - Unanounced?

2008-11-09T11:17:00.004Z

OK, last entry was a day ahead, this one is three days behind...!

I've had a busy few days, what with work and life and stuff. Work's been interesting recently, with an announced, 'unannounced' visit by the Healthcare Commission meaning a mass of work being done to ensure we are meeting the standards we profess to in our policies and literature. In reality, this meant ensuring everyone possible had received their Infection Control training, that all wards and departments were clean and clutter free and that staff were aware of and adhering to policy. It's about what we should be doing that so easily has corners cut to it when we're overworked.

Thankfully, being a relatively (8 year old) new ward, we're generally clean and have a fabulous domestic team that keeps us that way (our latest environmental audit score was 98%) and so it was more about staff training and awareness (also very good already) and de-cluttering those areas that'd become a little overcrowded (namely the store rooms!) One of the biggest challenges was ensuring nothing was being stored 'on the floor' - whilst boxed up, items should still be on shelves rather than floors, to allow for cleaning but with limited storage space, it can be a nightmare to effect this. It's taken a lot of work with the entire ward team and frantic matrons to get everything above floor level but the staff have been pretty great in maintaining this.

Of course, having attained the standard (much easier than some places really) we weren't actually visited by the Healthcare Commission personally (can't say I wasn't relieved). I do however want to build on what we've achieved in integrating a new 'Productive Ward' initiative to help us be more efficient in how we run the ward, to allow us a little more time to spend caring! It all sounds good on paper and I've heard great reports about this initiative so fingers crossed we get selected for the first wave of introduction of this new plan... I think we can only go from strength to strength!

PoMo = 7/9
WrMo = 15266

Jxx

Day Six - A Day early...!

2008-11-05T15:03:00.002Z

I'm cheating a little as I'm not convinced I'll get blog time tomorrow so this is Thursday's entry!

Did you see the fireworks last night? Pretty cool huh? (hehe!) We've had loads just recently, being a multi-cultural society here in Leicester, Diwali kicks things off with what feels like weeks of displays lighting up the night skies.

We don't usually go to an organised display as we're never quite motivated enough to do so all though I recall a fairly fun one a few years back at D's old school, where his younger brother was studying - gosh, thinking about it, he's just finished secondary school so that must've been longer ago than I thought! How time flies!

I might have dug out some of the sparklers we've got sitting in the bureau downstairs by the time this blog entry should be read so maybe we made pretty patterns in the autumnal dusk last night?

Hmmm...

PoMo = 6/6
WriMo = unknown at this time!

Jxx

Day Five - Laziness!

2008-11-05T14:57:00.002Z

OK, so I may have had a little too much to drink last night but watching the election results come in the USA was compelling and I was up later than intended! I was of course pleased with the outcome!

However, today hasn't really been a feel-good day for creativity and I've yet to write any NaNo! Damnit! I hit 11219 words yesterday by fitting in a few moments of frantic typing at work but I was hoping to reach 15000 today... It'll be a struggle!

I have however fuelled my Torchwood obsession by booking a ticket to 'The Hub 2', a convention being held in Northampton next year! If all goes according to plan, I'll at least be in the same room as Gareth David-Lloyd! *swoon* And of course, a lot of other freaks, erm, friends from Torchwoodforum will be there so I should have a good weekend... D isn't really interested but I've booked a double room on the off chance he'll want a weekend in a hotel room...?

PoMo = 5/5
WriMo = 11219

Jxx

Day Four! (Did I mention the cat?)

2008-11-04T12:11:00.002Z

Around six years ago, amidst all the purring, Pern, our black & white cat was noted to have a slight heart murmor. This was deemed to be only a small problem but she was referred to the local Cat Cardiologist for review. At this time, having performed an Echocardiogram, they determined that she had a Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy! She was started on Atenolol, a cardiac medication used in humans but at a very small dosage obviously and we were advised to have her repeat Echo'd in three years. This we did and thankfully saw no worsening of the condition and were set free for a further three years.

Anyway, a few weeks back, we headed again for her three-yearly Echo and were thrilled to find that her condition, if anything, has improved! She is to remain on the medicaiton, which is no real hassle to give but has been discharged from the specialist! We're all very pleased... Although Pern seems unbothered either way! She's still purring away, though she has taken to sitting on my legs on an evening... Finally, some expression from her that she actually likes us!

WriMo = 10053 words
PoMo = 4/4

Jxx

Day Three...! (For want of a better title!)

2008-11-03T11:50:00.004Z

Back at work today but managed a few NaNo words on break... Of course, I'm on break now as I write this! Honest!

Came back from a few days off to a hoarde of emails again. I have no idea how we used to communicate throughout the hospital before email. Everything nowadays ain't happening unless it's emailed. yes, it's good to have that record of who said what and when but it can go a little too far... I've caught myself about to email someone who's sitting in an office ten meters from the ward entrance! Crazy!

Perhaps we've dehumanised communication. It's easier to say something when you're not face to face? I sent some rather damning feedback on a training course to a fearsome individual by email last week. I doubt I'd have been so daring face to face. Of course, I'm still going to have to stand in front of her again some day and deal with whatever she throws my way but the safety of my office can blind me from that kind of thought.

I do have a telephone next to me but even then, half the time we're so tied up with actually work that we can't answer the phone... I've left three messages on answerphones so far today and one of those I re-iterated by email shortly afterwards! Information overload?

Anyway, gotta get back to work... need to make some posters for charity collections - Children In need & a (No)Christmas card appeal...!

WriMo = 8949 words
PoMo = 3/3

All good! jxx

Day Two!

2008-11-02T12:25:00.001Z

Yesterday's post was my 300th blog entry! Pretty good going, despite the lack of attention over the past few months!

When I started out, I wasn't sure how long I'd manage to maintain a blog but I'm a few years down the line and it seems I can sustain something, albeit a little vague, scant or boring at times...? This month will no doubt be filled with a host of inane entries but considering I've made 300 (301 now!) if I can add another 30, that'll boost my blog entries by a whole 10% in one month! Pretty cool...!

My other challenge started well as it happens, managing a whopping 2,613 words on day one and right after this ramble, I'll be adding to that total. Id like to make 5,000 words in the first few days to set me well on the road before work rears it's ugly head and life starts to get in the way! I'm already negotiating computer usage during planned visits to friends and I've made plans to carry my memory stick at all times to allow me the chance to add a paragraph at any given moment, wherever I may be... Heck, I might even have to grab a spot in an internet cafe for the first time ever if I get that sudden urge mid-shop! Can you believe I never have internet-cafe'ed!

Anyway, time to top up the coffee cup and get back to the novel... We've still got to fit some kind of social life around the month so the sooner I get to it, the sooner I can close the laptop lid again for the day and enjoy the other things in life that make me happy... Which includes D, who's tolerance this month will be really stretched! Jxx

PoMo vs WriMo! Day One!

2008-11-01T10:07:00.002Z

Day one, first of November... The start of the two challenges!

So far, PoMo is in the lead... But then, I'm in York having just attended mum & dad's Halloween party - this means I'm nowhere near the previous fifty thousand words of WriMo so I can't begin to start writing the next fifty... I'll need to remember where I'm at to encourage just a smidgen of continuity!

Can I count blog words towards WriMo too?

Part last night was fun! Not many attendees... Naughty invited non-rsvp'ers but it was good to see the young families and an old face!

Took a few arty light pictures and painted my left hand fingernails black (to get into the Halloween spirit) and then drunk Gay Beer (don't ask) and a little bit of Mulled wine till the early hours!

Looking forward to the kick in of coffee & Pepsi to jump start my brain again...! Jxx

Bloody Home Hub!

2008-10-26T13:50:00.002Z

We may be seen as fools for sticking with BT for our home interent connection but we've had reasonable service with BT and they did offer us a new Home Hub 2.0 which was nice... Until it didn't arrive!

Having contacted them about this lack of equipment several weeks later, we did get a hub & hub phone sent fairly quickly, with apologies and having connected it to the computer, I was thrilled to find set up was pretty pain-free and - OMG - we were able to file / printer share on the home network for the first time ever!! Yay!

Two big thumbs up for BT Home Hub...?

Well, on Friday, the whole thing went tits up (following a software upgrade it wanted to make of it's own accord)! Whole wireless network stopped working for no apparent reason! Grrr!

Sudden;y, the Mobile Phone & Laptop just simply wouldn't connect to the network! Phone couldn't even find the wireless signal and the laptop said it had a great connection but wouldn't load any internet pages!

This has been a real headache to sort out! Several hours wasted on refining settings, checking the help topics in the manual, the online help, the help programmes installed with the hub and still not a blip of improvement on the connection front - frustratingly, the main PC connected fine so it kept saying everything was ok!!

However... In their uselessness regarding delivery of equipment, BT had (shhh - don't tell) sent us a second home hub! Rather than attempting customer services for a long drawn out: "have you tried turning it off and on again" conversation, going through all the steps I've already repeatedly taken, we figured it might not hurt to just try the new hub - why didn't we do this hours ago?

Whole thing works great again! File sharing, internet, printing... I've re-packed the old hub in the box all neat and tidy like - they can have it back if they want... I'm sticking with the new version - and just to ensure there're no more upsets, I've disabled all the BT software from the main system! Don't want updates and such messing up a configuration that works! I reckon the old hub was just faulty but I don't want to take the risk of software settings being a root cause!

Let's see how happy we stay this time...!?

So, would I recommend the BT Home Hub? Well, it looks good, allows easy file / printer sharing, has a broadband phone with it (may cost more but we got it free!) and it's simple to set up... But if they're gonna go pop at the slightest moment of software upgrades, I may have to re-consider our internet supplier when the contract comes up for review...! BT don't have the fastest speeds on the market (though we get fast-enough!) and despite great customer service in the past, I do want (and expect) a fully functioning, hassle-free service! Jxx

NaNoPoMo...?

2008-10-24T12:02:00.002Z

I've signed up again for NaNoWriMo - in order to attempt to finish the novel I started in 2005... 50,000 words in thirty days is a tough prospect in itself, without having a continuation path to follow but when else will I find the motivation to finish what I started? It would be nice to have a draft 100,000 word novel to play around with - who knows what publication may be lurking around the corner...?

However, in amongst this witting chaos, I noticed another challenge... NaNoPoMo - the Bloggers response to NaNoWriMo offers mad fools the chance to sign up to a blogathon through November - writing a blog entry for every day! (National November Posting Month - NaNoPoMo)

OK, so I've tailed off my blog in October, having been busy and uninspired but this challenge still gives me a sense of longing - how cool would it be to manage to blog every day in November?

My realistic chances of achieving this are small - I work full time, with some 12hour shifts and I'll be away for some of November but I could make up for gaps with two or three posts on some days couldn't I?

I'm not committing myself to this one but I may make a greater effort in November to fill Wooley Insights with more information, discussion, reviews and nonsense to at least get things moving again around here...? If for nothing else, than for my own sense of achievement - and to give me something to do when the words dry up in NaNoWriMo...? Jxx

Iona!

2008-10-21T16:08:00.002Z

Sorry I've been gone so long... I hope some fo these shots will make up for it!

We went to Iona, a small island off Mull, which is a bigger island off Scotland...! It was really rather beautiful:

There are many more on my Facebook page - if I'm not your friend there, I should be...! Jxx

Cardiff - The best shots!

2008-09-25T09:09:00.005Z

Time to add some shots from Cardiff, for all those who haven't yet joined me on Facebook! I'd still recommend signing up for FB to see the rest of the photo's (There're loads of 'em) but here are the ones that I like best...

I've tried emailing these to some of you but the files're too big to send! I hope you can enjoy them here anyway! Jxx

The Plas at night - A great time to get shots of the Millenium Centre!

Reflection of the Millenium Centre in the tower!

Ianto's entrance of course!

The tower in daylight!

A dalek in the Who exhibition - I was shaking so much the camera couldn't quite compensate!

Statue from 'Blink' - very scary!

A view across Cardiff Bay! Such a great place!

Little ol' me in the Beret! I was sooooo cool! Hmmm!

If you enjoyed these, pleas do join Facebook to get access to my other shots... It's the only way you'll get to see all the other fun folk who were in Cardiff over the weekend - bunch of freaks the lot of us! Jxx

Bose Boy!

2008-09-24T14:42:00.003Z

OK, so having listened to my dad's Bose stereo, I have to admit I've been hankering for some Bose stuff of my own to get that superior sound quality in our own home... And finally, having spotted an ipod dock, at a reduced price, I succumbed!

The dock is purely that - somewhere to dock, charge and play your ipod but with a hefty price tag - however the musical quality is superb, even if it is just MP3's that're being played! It's amazing that you can get such good quality from a small device (in comparison to the large stereo systems that some folk buy to get the best audio quality) and it looks pretty sleek too!

In addition, I stumbled upon the Bose in-ear headphones reduced by about £50 (a ridiculously large reduction) and having been so impressed with the ipod dock, I couldn't resist - they only took 24hrs to arrive too!

Soooo - All my music will sound even better than ever before - even if my musical tastes haven't improved! Hehe!

Next we'll have to invest in the Bose DAB, the Bose CD player, the Bose big headphones... Jxx

The impossible task!

2008-09-23T07:40:00.002Z

It's taken around fourteen hours of senior ward staff time to produce and yet it's likely to be the most controversial four week duty rota of the year!

The Christmas & New Year off duty is notoriously difficult, with the pressure of requests from staff, matrons and heads of nursing expecting all major holiday days to be covered and fitting in the correct amount of weekend and night staff into this 'special' week.

No one wants to work on the bank holidays, yet full time staff members still have to fit their hours into the working week and with the added pressure of two full time staff on career breaks and two other staff on maternity leave this has been a very difficult puzzle.

I must admit to a slightly cowardly finale to the duty preparation... As I finished the plan yesterday, tying it into the four weeks beforehand to ensure it was as fair as I could make it, I then placed it in the duty folder and made a hasty exit from the ward. Having worked hard with the deputy sister to make the Christmas & New Year weeks work as best possible, I'd then had to fiddle with the rota's as we tried to knit the four weeks prior to the duty into place (this being written by the usual staff member who thankfully produces most of the off duty!) that had been been completed and sent to me yesterday. It was always going to be awkward fitting things in but we've together managed to make something that should cover most shifts pretty well but I expect a backlash from some people, who'll always find some reason to question our decisions.

Next step is to face the music and try to listen to the rants and explain our reasons to those who probably won't want to hear them. Whilst I view the Xmas Off Duty as a bigger picture of ensuring we are adequately staffed, I remember the days when all I saw was my own shift pattern and know that others still think like this. It's hard to put perspective on such a demanding time of year when we're often working around families, friends and commitments.

And I know I'll feel guilty about some people. It's been so hard to try and fit in the requests everyone made (and we always acknowledged that these were simply requests and not a definitive plan)but again, some people see these requests as determining their duty plan despite what you may communicate to the contrary.

I'm kind of dreading going to work this afternoon but I know that the best way is to simply get it over and done with and hopefully let the dust settle over the coming weeks. I will listen to those with genuine reasons for questioning their rota and will of course allow people to swap between themselves so long as the skill mix of qualified and unqualified staff is maintained but I also know that it's impossible to please everyone and there's going to be some upset.

Maybe I need a few more staff who simply don't celebrate Christmas... There're plenty of religions out there who have other cebrations I could honour...! Jxx

Dental Drama!

2008-09-18T15:41:00.002Z

OMG!

I just went to a dentist for the first time in eighteen years!

It was a weird experience!

Firstly, arriving at the dental practice, the computers were down so they couldn't check me in. Then the dentist I saw had just lost his wallet so was trying to sort that out... I sat in the dental chair whilst he did so (though he checked I was ok and apologised profusely!) Having not sat in a chair like this for some time, I was getting really nervous and by the time I actually got the focus, I was feeling pretty wary!

It went reasonably well! The noises don't bother me but I can't say i like having probing fingers around my mouth... That's what put me off as a kid - I was an interesting case so had up to five orthodontic folk sticking the fingers in to get a good view - not nice!

Anyhoo - He commented on how clean my teeth were... But did find some 'fissures' that led to the discovery of a little decay which was removed and filled. I also had an annoying bit of sharp tooth removed which has bugged me for years!

And that was really that... Not the nightmare I had worried about, nor that which I've heard from so many folk! It was a really straight forward event... Though now my teeth feel a bit 'funny' - I'm so used to them feeling one way that now they've been changed slightly, they don't feel quite right! I'm sure I'll get used to that! And there's no need to have my semi-grown wisdom teeth removed unless they cause pain & discomfort which they don't generally so I'm home and dry for six months... Next appointment is March!

Why did I leave it so long? Jxx

Wooley's Inner-Mini!

2008-08-21T09:44:00.003Z

Whilst waiting for D to finish work the other day, I got to taking some pics inside my beloved new car! Of course, this means you get to suffer them... But it is rather funky! Jxx

Going even greener?

2008-08-19T14:33:00.004Z

Nope, I'm not deepening the colour scheme for Wooley Insights! We're greening up some more by switching energy suppliers!

We've long been unimpressed by British Gas but figured we were between a rock and a hard place as far as Gas supply was concerned... There is no 'green' gas as such as it's all non-renewable energy! However, following the recent, disgusting, insensitive, profiteering price rises by our gas supplier and with a hefty jolt from the Ethical Consumer magazine (Great Energy-Supplier article and comparison in this quarters magazine!), we've managed to make a Gas Supply switch that, whilst not entirely green, does offset some of our nasty energy usage by investment in renewables! E-On will be supplying our gas very shortly, dumping British Gas as a no-hope tragedy of fossil fuel hell!

We may even make some financial savings as a benefit!

But better than all this - our electricity switch has also just been actioned... Not content with the 25% renewable energy we were getting from the great and good Ecotricity, we've taken things a step further by switching our energy supplier to Good Energy - a 100% renewable electricity supplier!

Our CO2 emissions, based on our energy usage will be zilch, nil, nada! This can only be a good thing, though I've always applauded Ecotricity and supported their efforts to construct more Wind Power turbines so I feel just a tad guilty in leaving them - but then, with the lure of 100% renewable energy, I should soon be feeling just fine about our actions again!

Interested yourself? Why not check out GreenHelpline and enter your energy usage... You never know - green may just save you money too!

In addition to these online changes, we've also gotten our mitts on a rather nifty little OWL!

This wee device is a carry around digital display of our energy consumption at any time day or night... It's programmable to display the electricity use in terms of cost at that moment in time, Kilowatts per hour or by Greenhouse gas emissions, though the latter will be zilch, nil, nada, in our household very soon...!

It's fascinating and rather obsession-fuelling to watch the device readings go up and down as you boil your kettle, cook the Sunday roast and / or watch TV... And interestingly, we've discovered that switching on our energy saving bulbs makes no dent in our electricity usage whilst our one, old-style bulb in the bathroom has an impact! Proof that we're reducing our bills by switching bulbs...

All this means that we're going to be just another step greener over the coming weeks without having to spend a load extra... In fact, we may well be making savings over the coming months and years by being a little more Eco!

...Just a shame about the new car really - whoops! Jxx

Where's Wooley 4 - Scaring myself stupid?

2008-08-13T11:07:00.004Z

Another part of our summer holiday was a meet up with family members and a trip to Drayton Manor!

I'm not normally one for theme parks, having only been to a few in my lifetime and certainly never attempted a glut of the thrill rides but this time we went all out...

First up, we experienced the G-Forces of... GFrorce!

To be honest, after the first, slow, hang you upside down making you feel like you're going to fall to your death loop, I kinda lost it for a while and it was only after getting off and looking back over the ride that I realised there had been two further loops amongst the twisting and turning chaos! I was a little stunned but having completed this mini adventure, felt I could cope with more...

Maelstrom was superb! Dangling off a spinning wheel that then swings to ridiculous heights before swooping you back down and up again... Multiple passes of this monster made me feel like I was flying and I absolutely loved it! Two Big Thumbs Up!

Of course, having braved the others, I figured that Shockwave would be just as easy! I was wrong! This coaster has you in a standing position rather than seated in any way and takes you high - very high, before plumetting you way to fast into a series of twists, turns, loops and general scare the crap out of you moments! And to cap it off, you get to stop dead at the end rather than coasting to a halt! I did not like this! It just felt too insecure throughout and I must admit, I closed my eyes for a fair bit of it (whilst screaming!)

How to calm down? With a cold shower perhaps?

Stormforce is wet - very wet! We had a rather large girl sitting to one side of our 'lifeboat' which I reckon tipped the balanace meaning that our in theory drier spot second from back of the boat didn't afford us any protection! But then, having been dropped forwards into the water, this ride also drops you backwards into it too, meaning you haven't a hope in hell of staying dry whatever your seating arrangement! great fun but daft of us to ride this just before leaving - meaning a damp drive home! Doh!

We did go on some calmer rides too... The youngsters of our family group (niece and Nephew, 9 & 5yrs wanted to join in and with the newly constructed 'Thomas Land' there were plenty of themed rides to enjoy... I went on a rather overly girating boat thing with my niece that swung and span you till you were ready to throw up and we enjoyed the pirate adventure boat ride (in a gloomy undercover setting, based on Pirates of the Carribean we think and a ride past dragons that had our Nephew worried about dying before his 6th birthday - though I convinced him the ducks on the lake would keep the dragons at bay... Long story but I had to think on my feet to avoid the terror in his eyes!

A good fun day out and being as it was all on the Tesco vouchers, we can afford to go again and experience the rides we didn't quite make it to this time soemtime in the future... Joy? Jxx

Where's Wooley 3 - The Motor!

2008-08-12T15:20:00.000Z

OK, so not quite totally planned but thought about for a fair while beforehand, along comes Eddie - my new car!

I'd been driving the same car since I passed my test, about six years ago - a VW Polo that was twelve years or more old... Time for an upgrade at last, especially with the steady income afforded me by the new permanent Sisters position, so here he is!

Mini One 1.6. Black with racing stripes / check roof. Air Conditioning, Radio / CD, Onboard computer thingy that tells me how many miles I'm doing to the gallon, average speed, how many miles I can do with the petrol I've got, etc...

It's a fab little mover, easy to drive and makes me feel dead cool compared with my old motor (who has gone to a good home!) I did some research and opted for the Mini One rather than the Cooper as the running costs (Tax / Insurance, etc...) are far cheaper and you can get a higher spec One for the same money as a low spec Cooper... I'm more than happy with my choice!

Is this what happens when you've got too much time off work? Well, as I say, I had been thinking about a new car for some time and had drawn up a shortlist of possible motors - The Mini was always top of the list but costly, so I'd also considered Peugeot 206 / 207, Corsa (new design) Seat Ibiza, Beetle and a whole load of others but it always came back to the same longing... And so, Mini it is!

He's so lovley! Jxx

11.08

2008-08-11T09:57:00.003Z

Happy Anniversary!

Love you!

Jxx

Where's Wooley 2.1 - Camping Photos.

2008-08-10T13:48:00.004Z

A railing by the 'Mock Gothic' castle - much more interesting than the castle itself!

The railway line that went from one place to another!!

A view behind the ferry we caught across Lake Windermere.

A view from the ferry on Lake Windermere again!

Somewhere in Ambleside!

A waterfall just outside Ambleside.

One of the lovely views!

Monkey Puzzle!

Another lovely view!

Where's Wooley 2 - Camping!

2008-08-10T13:17:00.008Z

Yeah, as previously suggested, we went camping! The great outdoors - fresh air, beautiful scenery... RAIN!

OK, so it didn't rain all the time, in fact, more often than not it was warm and even sunny but that first morning, lying in the tent, listening to the rain was a real bummer! It just got on my nerves that when we have the least facilities to hand, the weather can be so cruel...

But as I say, it didn't last and rather than dwell on the few moments of dampness, I'd rather tell ya about the good times! :-)

Staying by Lake Windermere at a reasonable National Trust campsite (Low Wray), we were ideally located for Ambleside, Bowden on Windermere and not far from Kendal.

We managed to pitch on the most uneven surface, meaning we spent most of the week living out of the one corner of the tent that everything slid to but hey, we had great views and were a stones throw from the largest lake in the country!

(Actually, two lakes make up Windermere... There was a ranger giving a talk on the ferry crossing we made - interesting stuff! Like there're two sub species of the same fish living one in each half of the lake that never meet because the water in the middle is too warm for them to cross... Over the years the same fish has changed so they're now separate types... Anyhoo...)

The other campers were a happy bunch, friendly and courteous and not a damn caravan in site - yay! Low Wray castle was a ten minute walk up the road but is kinda new and 'mock gothic'. It wasn't as nice as the grounds and the walk to the lake there gave a great view again and was peaceful and tranquil.

Ambleside had a reasonable coffee house and a great restaurant which was also a Jazz venue and a Cinema! We just ate... I'd have gone again if we had more time but we had to also fit in home cooked food back at camp:

(yeah - beans!)

...and fish & chips... Oh, and plenty of wine too! All this and we were only there for three nights!

Bowden on Windermere was a bustling town full of lakeside tourists whereas Kendal felt a little too commercialised and invaded by the big chains - McDonalds, Boots, Costa and all the big names lay side by side as in any town... Kinda took away the olde worlde feel that i thought it had when I was there as a kid? Maybe it was always this way but it felt a bit of a let-down... Took ages to find somewhere selling Mint Cake too (finally got some from a market stall!)

The best thing about the Mon-Thurs stay would have to have been the views - The Lake District is truly stunning and you only need to take a few steps out of any town or village to find some marvellous mountain, stream or waterfall... Despite the damp, I'd definitely go again!

In Where's Wooley 2.1, I'll add a load more random images from the holiday... Enjoy! Jxx

Where's Wooley?

2008-08-10T12:46:00.002Z

OK, so I forgot to 'Blogstop' before we took our summer fortnight holiday (which entailed avoiding the computer in order to pursue more outdoor / techno-free activities!) but rest assured, I'm nearly back and you've got a whole load of entires to look forward to...

Coming up:
Camping!
Cars and other rides!
Home Improvements!
Food and fat!

Watch out over the coming days... Wooley will be back! Jxx

Outside!

2008-07-26T15:23:00.003Z

A few more shots of our outside world, which we're really taking to more and more... Even stopped watching Big Brother for the most part! It's just sooo good to sit outside, with a little nature (got three frogs at least now!) and perhaps a Gin & Tonic...

Anyway, this first one is one of our sources of light!

I was trying to be arty again next, though it doesn't work quite so well when you're tipsy!

And today, I noticed a spider had set it's trap right where all the other bugs'd be heading for the polen of a new flower... Clever! Any idea what this plant is? It kinda grows each year but we never knew what it was! Looks nice on the patio table...!

Looking forward to a warm outdoor evening again maybe tonight... Preparing us for those nights under canvas that are rapidly approaching perhaps?

In other news, did I tell ya that I'd lost more weight? I was just 2lb short of 2 stone loss when I last hit the WW scales! I'm taking a few weeks off being everso good though now... I'll jump back on the wagon soon, just to get those last few pounds of course... But I just feel like a few weeks of treating myself whilst I'm off work, celebrating the new job and relaxing in the summer sun...! Jxx

My lovely guy!

2008-07-24T15:20:00.000Z

Not only did I get a bottle of bubbly, a sweet card and showered in confetti on returning home after getting the permanent sisters position, but flowers too!

I have the bestest husband! Jxx

Camp!

2008-07-23T14:05:00.002Z

It's that time of year again, when a little warm weather addles our brain cells and makes us think camping would be a good idea!

This time, we'll be heading for the Lakes (just near Windermere) for a few nights under canvas... I'm kinda hoping that a less comfortable mattress might help my latest back ache! My back went on Sunday, to the point I was stuck crouched on the floor for a wee while... It's still really stiff and achy if I stay in one position too long...! Not good for work either - or the interview I had yesterday! Oh yeah, I got the permanent Sisters position! Am soooo happy I've got a hangover today! Hehe!

Anyway, camping - we have a tent, we have sleeping bags, we have loads of bits and bobs that might come in useful that we'll probably never use but we still want more... I'm kinda keen on the new LED wind up lanterns I've spotted as we usually use a gas powered one and I'm always wary of tent-fire!

We nearly forgot to sort out the cats holiday homes too! Whoops! Managed to fit them into a local Cattery (that we've used before - strange woman who seems better suited to talking to animals than other humans!) at the last minute though thank goodness! Now just need to hope the campsite (National Trust Owned) is free on our dates and has decent facilities....!? Jxx

Cough Splutter!

2008-07-15T13:20:00.003Z

I got a cold! Maybe even a minor chest infection! Manflu and all that...!

Had a rough Saturday - a rougher Saturday-Sunday night and a fairly grotty Sunday 12hr shift but now I'm just hacking up the remains still sitting in my lungs! Pleasant!

In better news, I lost 3.5lb this week! WooHoo! I wasn't skimping on the food either whilst I was unwell so it bodes well for staying off!

Got an invite to interview for the permanent position of my current job... I should be in with a good chance, having already proved my worth over the past five months but nothings ever certain - got to brush up on current NHS themes & local plans as well as prepare a ten minute presentation... Only a bit nervous so far - watch this space! Jxx

On again!

2008-07-08T15:18:00.002Z

Damnit! Gained a pound this week!

OK, so it's only been six days since my last weigh in and we did over-indulge somewhat on Friday night (hic, burp bollocks!) but I figured I'd been good enough otherwise to see a little loss at the scales but alas, it was not to be!

Still, I remain on target - still 21 pound gone from my starting point and I'm fitting into all kinds of clothing that had been stored untouched in the wardrobe for far too long... I can but hope this is just a blip! Makes me wonder why I bothered walking 40 minutes to and from the weigh in, just to be told it'd made not the blindest bit of difference!

So, what will I do differently for the week ahead? Well, we're already hitting a little less of the bottle - Gin & Tonic on the patio has been incredibly tempting of late and we've generally consented to a glass or two but we've sidelined this for the week ahead, well till the weekend(?)anyway in favour of a more wholesome intake - speaking of which, as the weather warms up (!) more water or sugar-free squash wouldn't go a miss, though I tend to survive on Diet Coke & Pepsi Max - bad for the gut and bad for the ethical conscience when you consider the campaigns they support in the US...!

Maybe more milk would do the trick? Calcium aids weight loss and a pint of semi-skimmed (can't abide skimmed - white water rubbish!) ain't going to break the WW points bank! Yoghurts are back on the fridge shelves too so one a day might be beneficial - also, Innocent smoothies... Not only 2 portions of fruit for the day but yummy to boot! We could make our own for half the price but think of all that mess - not that the juicer doesn't need an airing?

Still walking to work but maybe I should substitute a little cycling? Change the exercise pattern to excite the body into more weight loss? I'm just a little put off after feeling so ill after the last time I put foot to pedal, though that was a fair while back (2007?) and I was very hungover - not a good combination for cycling uphill!

So, see, there's lots I could do to make that difference and I'm sure that if I just take a little of my own advice I'll see results next Wednesday evening...!

...If I take a little of my own advice! Jxx

Table Art!

2008-07-07T09:54:00.004Z

It's reached that time of year again where the New Kitchen Table (fans of Anne McCaffrey) host their art competition...

I've submitted three images into the Photo-Art section... Two you may have seen before?

Click on the image for a better view in Photobucket!

The three layered image of the railway - Chepstow Station I think (Is that the one on the Welsh border?) Different elements were merged in photoshop to generate the overal dark effect.

The London bus flying past the Gherkin, taken with slow shutter speed on our recent visit!

Something new - this smoke picture was taken a few days ago... Joss stick smoke lit by a close lamp and a black background with some photoshopping to enhance contrast... Got loads of these and I'll no doubt blog more when I finish playing with them!

Wish me luck! Jxx

So-Fa so good!

2008-07-03T15:10:00.004Z

So, not content with our little seating arrangement on the patio, we've gone and got ourselves a fab new outdoor sofa! Far more comfortable when kicking back with a few G&T's! Also, it matches the table and chairs totally and we've included a number of new plants making the whole area a pleasure to be in!

If it weren't for Big Brother, we might be spending all our evenings outside! Jxx

The Sky comes crashing down?

2008-07-02T11:40:00.004Z

We've been paying £20.00 a month for goodness knows how long for our Sky TV subscription. T^his is all well and good but over the past few months we've been monitoring just how often we switch the Sky box on and well, it ain't a lot!

Since we upgraded our Freeview to our all singing, all dancing HDR / DVD recorder / HDMI connection box thingy, we've had a superior picture quality and a greater flexibility in recording programmes we want to watch when we want or even record to DVD. You can get Sky+ but this is at a cost... We currently get all we need for a one off payment and no subscription.

But what about HDTV? Well, with the new Freesat starting to filter out, we figured that if we want to benefit from those glorious pictures, we can again make a single payment for a box and bob's your uncle (fanny's your aunt) we'll be up and running (Sky don't remove the satellite dish from the house, that's ours to keep so we can get the Freesat signal through that - I think!)

We've been with Sky for five years or so... I'd hoped they might be able to make us a tempting offer to stay, especially as I imagine they're bombarded with leavers in the current Virgin Media / Freeview / Freesat market but they couldn't offer a deal that made it cost effective to stay with them so from 1st August 2008, we'll be Sky free... (And saving a bit of electricity in not having another electronic device on standby!)

I'll miss the nice ergonomic controller though!

So, what shall we do with the £240 we save in the first year...? I say Bombay Sapphire! Hehe! Jxx

Good Samaritan?

2008-06-24T10:50:00.004Z

I was walking home from Weight Watchers this morning (I'd attended the Tuesday morning rather than Wednesday evening meeting this week, which involves a 30 minute walk there and back, no bad thing for the ol' weight loss!) when I came across an old(ish - maybe 55-60-65?) lady and a member of the public. Nothing unusual in that except that the member of the public was on her phone, talking to the emergency services and the older lady was lying on the ground, legs partially entwined in her tipped over mobility scooter!

Leaping into nurse mode, I immediately looked around for the emergency call button or another member of staff... Damnit!

Our code of conduct as nurses suggests that we should attend any accident we spot when out and about in general. We are expected to provide instant support and 'first aid' as appropriate. This is all well and good but as nurses, we are often used to working in environments with other colleagues and equipment we may need to hand! I don't carry a first aid kit in my bag and we are not trained first aiders!

However, the basics did come flooding back to me... I immediately ensured someone was calling for support (which she already was) and half listened in on her giving details whilst I checked the safety of the environment and proceeded to assess the 'patient'.

She was moaning and groaning, showing that she was still breathing and she had a pulse that felt reasonable (I didn't time it but just checked it was there and stable!) I engaged her in conversation as much as possible to find out how responsive she was. (Her speech was notably slurred and her mouth looked like it had a slight droop on the right hand side, indicating that there may be a weakness generally - this tallied with her ability to squeeze with her left hand but not her right.)

I checked her head for signs of trauma, finding a bump but no obvious wounds and checked the rest of her as well as possible for obvious injury, despite the awkward but stable position she was in (avoid moving the casualty unless it is unsafe to leave them where they are!). She was in pain but not obviously cut or bleeding.

Her colour was pale but not cyanosed (and I later ascertained there was no inhaler in her bag to indicate asthma / COPD!). She was incoherent to start, unable to answers questions in recognisable words but gradually began giving slightly more appropriate responses.

We checked her bag for indications of identity, finding a card with her surname on which she confirmed as correct and I took my place, securing her head, talking to her and comforting until the ambulance arrived.

The ambulance crew were of course marvellous, taking control of the situation though they still asked for my help with a few things (holding the oxygen & moving the casualty - I was a member of the public to them of course!) and as she began to come round a little more, they found her phone, contacted her daughter (I noted that they wrote down that she had a brain tumor, causing a generalised right sided weakness - didn't I say so!) and ascertained her medication. As they were, of course, well in control I offered to return the woman's mobility scooter to her home as we had by then got her address and the local postman, having stopped to help also, was able to give me directions! Off they headed in the direction of the hospital as I worked my way back over the ground the woman had travelled that morning (I gave up trying to walk next to teh scooter, which is supprisingly difficult to control like that and rode it most of the way - accompanied by odd looks from local folk!)

Thank fully her neighbours and granddaughter were on hand for me to hand over the scooter and keys when I got there and let them know the scant details I had, reassuring them she was concious!

This may not be a breakthrough in medicine or even a heroic step forward by day to day standards but as this is the first accident I've come across, I'm pleased that I did everything I could appropriately. I have always felt uncomfortable with the rule that means we have to provide support (a bloody good reason not to travel to and from work in uniform, as if you're spotted not helping you can get in trouble!) but was pleased that my training and knowledge didn't abandon me totally. This was a simple accident but still enough to task my memory.

Oh, and I'd lost 1.5lb at Weight Watchers, hitting my 10% weight loss goal! What a good day (for me, not for her obviously!) Jxx

The Good & the Bad!

2008-06-22T23:54:00.002Z

Got to see a few nice folk today! D's stepsister(ish) and her baby (who's a fair few months old now!) and our best friend & her daughter (nearly two!) FIL and half-bro-in-law... Old friends...

Good times at the Sharnford fete (the village that D is from!) were shared by all - even the Tug 'o' wars and penalty shootout competitions were mildly amusing!

Of course, for every silver lined cloud there's a whole load of rain waiting to fall...

The bad side? By the time I get into bed at 09.00hrs this morning, I'll have only had 4hrs sleep in forty eight hours!

Yep, I'm on nights this weekend and it's been tough fitting in the visits with the bodies natural urge to tell the alarm clock to sod off!

It's currently 1am on the second night... Just seven hours work and a walk home left to go!!

YAWN! Jxx

Ribbit!

2008-06-21T11:26:00.003Z

Well, our garden population has increased! We spotted a second frog last night (Phylis!) well, we presume they're frogs - we're no Nick Bakers after all!

So, being the budding photographer, I tried to capture their loveliness on camera... Thank goodness for the Nokia N95 which provided a well posed shot of Phileus (slightly larger of the two and less camera shy!)

And here he is:

And, just to show you all where we've been spending these lovely summer evenings (there was at least one lovely one the other week...!) I've also snapped our patio seating area:

There's a new outdoor, sofa thing coming soon for added comfort as these chairs can cause a bit of backache after prolonged periods but it's a nice little sun-trap spot and has been utilised even more than the sofa in front of the TV recently which can only be a good thing!

In other news - NIGHTS! Yep, I'm back on the dreaded shifts again for the next two days (nights!?) What a way to spend a weekend! I don't do as many as most of the staff as having the ward sisters on nights means they're away from the ward too much during the week but sometimes I feel I have to slot 'em in to avoid other staff facing an excess of them! Also, it'll give me chance to get to know some staff members that little bit more perhaps? Either that it'll be so busy our feet don't touch the floor and I'll be dead on my feet by 08.00hrs tomorrow morning - after all, I've been awake since 09.00hrs this morning and it's unlikely I'll do much sleeping before I go to work tonight... And we've got stuff to do tomorrow!

Who needs sleep anyway? Jxx

London Lads!

2008-06-12T11:55:00.003Z

We've been experimenting a little with trying to take surreptitious photo's of people, in preparation for shooting a wedding a next year... Our recent trips to London have of course provided plenty of opportunity for this and at the same time, given us a chance to snap some rather fetching individuals...

OK, so some of these aren't that good but I thought I'd share a little of the London totty that I captured! Naughty Naughty! Jxx

By the Tower of London!

Heading over Tower Bridge!

Not far from City Hall!

Back on Tower Bridge again!

Near the Gherkin!

Buzzin'

2008-06-11T11:45:00.000Z

Our garden this year is turning out to be a haven for wildlife it would seem! Not just the usual suspects, slugs, snails and birds (though the latter of these obviously are somewhat deterred by the Pussycats!) but no, we've also had squirrel sightings (we wondered how the birds were eating the nuts so fast!) in the early mornings and we also have a resident frog (who we've named Philleus!)

We didn't get much gardening done last year due to the awful British summer so I imagine much of the natural interest lies in the slightly unkempt aspect of our wilderness but we are making some inroads into cleaning the place up this year... We've started with the greenhouse which is filled with Chillies, Peppers, Aubergine and Pumpkin plants! (D is determined to carve his own, home grown pumpkin for Halloween this year and I'll use the pulp for soups!!) and of course, the grape vine which is now established enough for us to allow it to bear fruit! Summer wine perhaps?

Anyhoo... During the recent flurry of activity, we decided to add a little more substance to the old compost bin (we have two - the new one which is current and the old one from a year or so back that was full and nicely mulching away!) but as I lifted the lid, I noted a faint humming / buzzing sound. Looking inside, I spotted a bee - presumably flown in looking for food and in thinking nothing of it, proceeded to tip the contents of last years grow bag onto the top of the old waste matter...

It was like something from a Horror Movie!!

suddenly, a whole swarm of bees started climbing out through the soil...! Emerging as if enraged and certainly in a way scary enough for me to slam the lid closed and run!

Oh yes, we've got a bees nest (hive?) in our compost bin!

Braving the risk of multiple stings a while later, we looked again and saw a large, presumably queen bee and a host of others swarming over the larvae inside... It's kinda nice to think we've got such marvels of nature lurking in our garden but also a bit perturbing noting that we've got potentially painful residents just yards from where we sit on an evening!

We'll have to see how the summer pans out...? Jxx

The Elder Siblings are back...

2008-06-06T08:53:00.005Z

Yep - Big Brother 2008 hit our screens last night and so far, I'm happy with the launch! Sixteen freaks, erm, new housemates have joined this years cast (and we're hoping we stay at that figure - no adding a new housemate every ten seconds like last year!)

Top of my favourite list are:

Kathreya - A rather exuberant cookie guzzling Thai lady who bounced like she was filled with springs and screeched 'cookieeeeeeee' at random moments! She's very stereotypical (isn't that what BB is about?) but I image I'll find myself rolling around the floor laughing at her antics for at least a few days...?

Rex is the 'normal' bloke, a Chef who's dad is gay and who likes his bling (has a very expensive watch which he was gutted to not be taking into the house!). He feels like the kind of guy who could steer clear of the commotion and go all the way...?

Becka from Coventry... She screams so much with excitement I'm just waiting to watch her head explode! Please, please explode! (in a good way!?)

Otherwise there's the usual mixing pot of subjects... A handsome tosser (Dale) who'll be kept in for his looks, not his personality!, a couple of muslims to show they're not all terrorists(!) (One with a fab 'Fro - Mohammed!), full on black girls who're all that - well, one of them is 'it' - the other must be not quite 'it' but I'm sure they'll argue that out amongst themselves! Also, the usual 'out there' housemates this year include a blind stand up comic and an albino guy who may or may not actually be black!?

The twist? A couple have been sent in and immediately split up - the (43 year old) guy Mario (Well, Shawn actually!) has to pretend to be the boyfriend of 19 year old Stephanie... Such an obvious couple! Lisa, his real GF is obviously well pleased and totally OK with situation (NOT!) but the youthful, suit wearing, non-drinking / smoking, politics student Luke seems a little overwhelmed by the whole idea... Only those four are in the know and have to keep it that way! SOmething to keep us entertained whilst they prepare for the real nominations next week...?

Not a bad bunch for the opener - we'll see how the dust settles! Jxx

London Baby!

2008-06-05T09:31:00.003Z

Without gushing too much, we stayed in London last weekend and the hotel was bloody marvelous! I would highly recommend the Apex, City of London Hotel to all! Great (good looking?) staff, friendly, courteous and professional. Very clean and modern throughout with a rather fabulous room - filled with mod cons, filter coffee, walk in wet-room type shower, lovely toiletries, complimentary dressing gown and slippers (well on our room rate anyway!)

OK, so we didn't actually fork out that much for the room either... www.booking.com provided the deal and we snatched it up... Also enjoyed the slightly above standard luxury of first class train there and back at a reasonable price! East Midlands trains really do need to update their current rolling stock though... The toilet was terrible!

So - a whole weekend in London - what would we do...? Take photographs of course! I came back with about 200! I've filtered those down to a mere 70 that I'm getting developed and we'll see how the edits go from there... Tower of London, Tower Bridge, the Millennium Eye and Bridge, Tate Modern, City Hall and a whole load of people were framed and snapped and whilst I can't show you the whole lot, I'll certainly add a few for you here:

Red London bus passing by the Gherkin!

The Gherkin (amazing building) reflected in another tower block!

The Lloyds Building(?) Absolutely amazing! Like the set of a Dr Who epsiode!

Chillin' near City Hall!

The roof of a random mall-thing near City Hall!

As I say, these're just a few snapshots... I'll be fiddling, editing, de-colourising and cropping a fair few images for a while but I'll add more favourites as I go along! Jxx

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock...

2008-06-04T08:41:00.000Z

Not that we have any kind of unhealthy obsession but we're now the proud owners of not one, not two but three Mantle clocks! Yeah - Three! Every house should have three Mantle clocks surely... Ticking and chiming away in unsynchronised harmony!?

Well, a few years back, I'd really wanted a clock with Westminster chimes and whilst on a few days holiday in Holt (Near Cromer - Norfolk way!) we were perusing the antique shops and found our first beauty...

This art-deco style clock had a touch of something about it that I really liked and D agreed with the choice... Voila! It's only taken D about a year and a half to get it running to time and hey, so what if it only strikes eleven at twelve? It's still cool! Full Westminster chimes, it now takes pride of place in the dinning room...

But what about the living room and our fabulous mantlepiece - looking all lonesome with no clock to fit? Well, we recently decided to go on the hunt and both of us bought a clock... (ebay special editions!!) Firstly, I found this most unusual design:

An absolute bargain at £40 (inc postage!) and a very unusual design... I'm loving the octagonal approach! This clocks bongs on the half hour and hour only... Kinda lucky as it's got a very loud, macho bong! Alas, whilst hte clock is amazing, it's too light a wood to fit on the mantle... So how's about D's choice?:

What a find - another £50 shelled out but this is also a damn fine ol' clock! Full Westminster chiming with a dainty ring to it... Certainly not obtrusive enough for the living room? Well, it's got a few little eccentricities... Firstly you need to put two CD cases under one leg to keep it running... Yeah, it likes being on a weird angle! Also, the depth is far greater than we thought (you'd think we'd check these things out!) and it's too deep to fit above the fireplace!

So, here we are, three clocks down the line and still looking - but hey, what's a household without timepieces... The Octagonal beauty is now taking pride of place at teh bottom of the stairs on the windowsill and the fuller figured lop-sided affair - Well, I'm sure we'll think of somewhere!

The hunt goes on... Jxx

More pain!

2008-05-18T17:58:00.002Z

Hot on the heels of the toe incident (which flaired up again last Thursday, making me miss a days work due to walking difficulties) I've managed to trip over today and bash my knee, causing a nice red swelling bruise! (Hopefully nothing worse!) I just don't seem to bounce quite as much as I used to! Surely I'm not getting old...?

Toe wise, I had blood taken last week and now need to wait for the results... The GP appeared uninspired by my complaint and suggested that they wouldn't treat gout (if that is what it is) long term but simply manage the flair ups with anti-inflammatories - all well and good but it takes a week to get an appointment with teh GP and the flair ups only last 12-24 hours. I'm also not happy at the thought of having to take time off work on a semi-regular basis - I've got too much to do! I may be inclined to switch GP practices if I don't feel happier after my next contact...!

In other news, We're on an antique spending spree of sorts at the moment... Bakerlite Telephone, Two Mantle clocks, a barometer and another barometer-thingy all in our possesion or on the way... Pictures to follow!

Eurovision in less than a week - our dismal entry I can't imagine making a dent on the competition but our annual Eurovision-party, tihs year in Coventry is well into the planning... I'm presuming there'll be a knockout stage again during the week so Scoresheets won't be produced till last minute as I'm working Thursday / Friday! Still, it's a big night to look forward to, in the good company of friends and Sir Terry! Jxx

When Plants Go Bad!

2008-05-14T12:39:00.006Z

Sent to me by email but I thought I'd share them here... I imagine some are Photoshop creations but others probably not! Have fun!

A week...

2008-05-07T09:42:00.003Z

Sorry, it's been nearly a week since my last post (well, five days - that's 5/7 of a week!) but not a real lot has happened in that time - we cancelled a weekend away because of my toe, which has improved thankfully but I'm keeping my GP appointment next Monday to discuss long term treatment 'cos this ain't he first time it's been bad.

The toe improvement means I've been able to properly Wii Fit and it's great! The balance board is very clever and whilst my Wii Fit age may be nine years greater than my actual age, I should have some fun improving it! Hula, skiing, Step classes, Press Ups - I'm knackered at the thought of it again but determined to keep up the momentum! besides, Weight Watchers tonight is likely to be a disaster - I'll need the Wii Fit to get me back on track for next week!

I'm now officially a moderator on the Torchwood Forum... Well, on probation for six weeks - gotta make sure I check in regularly and keep track of the shenanigans of the members... AS well as balancing a work / social life mix... I'm sure I've got enough time for everything - what with D's birthday next week - which I've got pretty much all wrapped up - Hehe!

Got a new digital camera (yeah, another gadget) but the old one had such a teeny tiny screen that you couldn't show people the photo's proper on nights out and that's what everyone expects nowadays...? So, going against the Digital SLR grain, we've got another Nikon compact (Our Dig SLR's are Canons!) Coolpix s210 - basically a thinner, prettier version of the old Coolpix we had before (that still works but is battered and old looking and not beautiful enough to be seen in public with!)

Will be testing it's functions in a few weeks when we go on a Chinese buffet meal with work... Keep an eye on my Facebook pages for shots from that! It's also got video so, in response to D capturing my Wii Hula efforts last night, I'll be watching for the right moment to shoot embarrassing Wii footage of him also! I've already got some shots of the In-Laws bowling that're fun! Hehe!

Take care for now - I'll try and check back soon! Jxx

Ow!

2008-05-02T02:21:00.001Z

Nearly 03.30am... And my toe REALLY hurts!

Thought it was getting a bit better by lunchtime yesterday but late afternoon, just when it was too late to phone in sick for work it started throbbing again and hasn't stopped since!

Anti-inflammatories are unhelpfull in combatting the ache, so I'm simply suffering...

Maybe I will have to see a doctor...!

Urgh! Jxx

Pinch & Punch...

2008-05-01T10:04:00.005Z

Yeah, it's first of the month and I'm working a night shift tonight which meant I was going to enjoy some Wii time during today daytime... Alas, my big toe is causing me grief again - I had this problem before when it kept swelling slightly and becoming really painful to walk on. I'd have suspected gout but it doesn't get hot or red... Although I was drinking last night (red wine - yummy!)

Hmmmm!

I really need to find out if the ban on Crocs has actually been overturned at work... They're horrible, ugly, fashionless items but are so incredibly comfortable when you're on your feet all day that I have to overlook the awfullness of them!

I was getting repeated pain in my feet & toes which was somewhat relieved by wearing Crocs but then they were totally banned for dubious reasons (static affecting machinery apparently?) Since then things have been OK but today reminds me how much I miss them!

AS I'm working the night shift tonight, I may well wear them anyway - it's either that or I may not be able to work through the pain!

*grump*

In other news, I've been listening a bit (like right now!) to Radiotron - an online radio show hosted by SineFM, a Doncaster based station (Gotta support these Yorkshire ventures, being a Yorkshire man myself!) Not a bad mix of Mashups which make slightly more interesting listening than the generic ventures of some shows, if a little rough around the edges at times... Worth a listen I'd say...! Jxx

Shoes!

2008-04-30T10:56:00.004Z

My shoes weigh a lot!

At least 1.5lb...

So really, I lost weight this week... I just forgot to take my shoes off to prove it!

OK, so we had a minor chocolate disaster at the weekend but I hoped we'd Wii'd enough weight off to compensate? (My arm, shoulder, wrist, neck and hip all ache to remind me of the exhertion - and that's still just Wii Sports - haven't tried Wii Fit yet!) However, it seems that I've built too much muscle (which everyone knows weighs more than fat!) so didn't get the weight loss I was hoping for...

So, back to 13.5lb loss (over six weeks now) with a potentially fat filled weekend ahead of me (though hopefully enough walking around to hold the lb's at bay a little!?) We'll just have to see what the next week's scale shows!

---

In other news, I'm working another night shift this week and then two more in June! This is getting out of hand! I have discovered that Overtime payments are really rather worthwhile though... Maybe I should cash in a little mroe whilst they're still offering the chance? (But then, I'd have less time to Wii!) Should be able to try out my 'win £1,000 every 90 minutes' codes from my Pepsi bottles in the middle of the night though... More chance to win if everyone else is asleep? (And then I could afford more Wii stuff!) Jxx

Childish Wii!

2008-04-29T06:54:00.003Z

I wii'd for two and a half hours the other day!

I wanna go home and Wii!

My arm aches if I Wii for too long!

I love Wii'ing!

I Wii'd in the living room last night!

---

yeah, we got a Wii... And I'm still in the childish joke phase! Jxx

Snarl!

2008-04-20T11:19:00.002Z

Some wazzock decided with an hour to got hat they couldn't buy the camera bag they'd bid on any more... Whilst I could've held them to their commitment to buy (as per ebay rules) I kinda wanted to make sure I had some chance of getting the money so I cancelled their bid and reported them to ebay.

Meanwhile, the next highest bidder then wins the auction but is unwilling to pay as they'd previously been outbid and bought from elsewhere (can't say that's unreasonable) so I end up offering the bag to the next person as a second chance offer and they don't respond so the bag ends up re-listed at extra cost to myself!

Am not very happy!

Ebay did respond to my complaint about the original high bidder but it's a generic response that doesn't answer my complaint!

It was all going so well...

Anyone want a really cool camera bag? BNWT! Jxx

Reasons to be happy!

2008-04-19T10:22:00.002Z

Torchwood magazine arrived yesterday and it's a bumper issues, detailing the entire series and happenings! Have skimmed through the whole thing and will enjoy reading in depth snippets over the coming weeks! Want to make it last!

Watched Battlestar Galactica RAZOR last night... Am totally up to date with the new Galactica format and ready for the fourth and final series! Not sure how I feel about the idea of only one more series but it's good to know we should tie up all the loose ends (though I'm sure they'll create more first!)

Just won Dantes Cover series 1&2 on DVD from ebay! I've been watching out for a good deal on this US series which gets good reviews all over the place. They're Region 1 DVD's which is why the price is low but we've got a player that'll playback R1 so no problem there!

Speaking of ebay - my own sales are going pretty well! I bought a camera bag that was unfortunately not quite right for my kit, despite it being a nice bag but I've listed it back on ebay and it looks like it'll sell for more than I paid in the first place!

Got a good friend coming to visit from Liverpool next week and although I've got to work on her day of arrival and departure, I'm hoping to squeeze in plenty of fun in between times!

D comes back from his three days away later today... He's been at a meeting and conference for his professional body and it's been really odd not having him around! It's rare that we're separate for any length of time like this and usually it's me away, having things to occupy myself with!

Whilst I may have over-indulged a little on food and gin last night, a quick hop on the scales this morning bodes well for the week...! Not saying I'm going to manage any great feats of weight loss but some would be better than last Wednesday's none!

Work's still going very well! Had a good couple of days, indeed, yesterday was great for me as it's the first time in ages I've felt that I can rely completely on the team around me in dealing with some really unwell patients and a rapidly progressing workload! So much less stress than I'm used to in such situations!

So many things to be happy about! Jxx

Humph!

2008-04-16T14:29:00.002Z

Weight stayed the same this week.

I took the news well... With a sausage cob, vegetable tartlet and chocolate truffle!

Down we go!

2008-04-10T09:08:00.003Z

This week's weight loss news is in... And it's another good week!

2.5lb loss this week takes the total in three weeks to 11lb! Pretty impressive even if I do say so myself! I really need to work hard this week to maintain the loss and if I'm extra good, who knows, I could even break the first stone in just a month!

Am turning into some kind of size 0 supermodel obviously!

In other news, our first new seedlings of the year are poking their heads up - chillies and peppers were planted a week or so ago and we're getting signs of life from them thankfully. We should also be growing cucumbers and goodness knows what else but we need to hope for a slightly less dreary summer, one that encourages us out into the garden to actually cultivate!

Ebay sales continue to go reasonably well... Books, DVD's, photo frames, hand held massager and various other trinkets have all sold well - I'm now onto the big guns! A promotional display for Jacques Villeneuve, a Camera Bag and a glass chess set... Do tell your friends!

Out for a meal on Saturday night to celebrate a number of folk leaving their jobs, me included - this stems back several months to me moving jobs but now includes the pharmacist from my old ward who's also going going gone! We're having Thai food - need to check my weight watchers eating out guide and see what's on the allowed list! It's a shame that so many folk have left the ward. Neurology was a great place to work before it moved hospitals but the transition saw so many good, experienced staff leave that it's been hard to maintain the Charter Mark standards that once were... That and bed pressures of course meaning it's a tough environment to work in. Many staff just don't want to deal with the stress! Kudos to those who stay on and ride the storm... besides, I may yet end up back there so I have to hope that not too many people go...!

Just waiting for this month's Tesco delivery... I'm sure we drive them mad by ordering a months worth of shopping then asking for it to be delivered without carrier bags! It takes longer to unpack this end of course and I'll end up putting everything away but I kinda like stacking the shelves and seeing our diminished supplies re-grow... Besides, there're a lot of low fat treats hopefully on their way by now...! And it sure beats traipsing around the store! Jxx

At A Loss?

2008-04-09T14:09:00.004Z

Torchwood has finished... I feel a great sense of loss!

*sobs uncontrollably*

Thankfully, I have some good friends just waiting in the wings to bring geeky-meaning back into my life!

*cheers*

Thank you to my dearest friends M&J for my (belated, but very well timed) birthday present of INSIDE THE HUB, the unofficial guide to the first series which arrived just a few days ago! How cool is that!

*Two Big Thumbs Up*

And some more great big Wooley-hugs go to my namingly-tormented friend - Lalileeloopyloo who has brightened my life once again with not one, but two great images of my other beloved - one's even got a kiss on it!

*WooleyHugs*

Ah... Torchwood may be over but the Torchwood related days go on...! Jxx

Loss - Week two!

2008-04-01T16:54:00.003Z

Just a quick update!

Lost 2lb since last Tuesday! That's 8.5lb in total! Just another 5.5lb to my first stone! Am pleased so far... Just need to keep up the momentum! Jxx

Flying Penguins?

2008-04-01T07:50:00.003Z

I really hate April 1st!

I find myself distrusting of the simplest news announcement, vaguest weather report or insight into traffic chaos, or lack thereof! I avoid work and colleagues who may on a fools errand and even glare disbelievingly at the cats!

The whole morning fills me with a sense of dread and paranoia! I've got to go to Weight Watchers weigh-in this morning and I'm already nervous about my leader not telling me the truth about my loss!

Why on earth would they even consider the morning of April 1st to be fun? I loathe it! And that's no lie! (Not fool - lie - that's what everyone is doing - they're lying to you!)

I wanna go back to bed where it's safe! Jxx

Breakfast!

2008-03-31T04:12:00.002Z

It's 05.15am!

Working nights screws up my menu plan!

For breakfast today, according to my diet tracker, I have had sushi & stir fry vegetables in garlic and ginger sauce!

OK, I could've just written it in the dinner column but where's the fun in that?

I wanna go sleep now! Jxx

Did I mention...?

2008-03-29T23:36:00.002Z

Did I mention that I'm working nights this weekend!

It's not fun!

It's nearly midnight - I'm still awake but not drunk! It's weird! The ward is actually quite calm, though a few patients are unwell, requiring close observation! It could all go wrong in the blink of an eye - but I'm praying that it doesn't of course... Slow as a quiet night may be, I'd rather avoid drama! besides, with the clocks going forward at 02.00hrs, we get to work an hour less... Small consolation!

Did I also mention that I'm weight watching again? Did I tell ya that I lost 6.5lb in the first week! Am almost a supermodel again! As If! Due to work I'll miss my regular meeting this week but I've had a scout around the WW website and located another nearby meeting that I can attend. It'll be a day early but then that gives me a eight days for week three to make an impressive loss! Besides, it's a mroning meeting on the Tuesday so I'll have more time afterwards to indulge! (You show me one Weight Watcher who doesn't stuff their face the moment they get home from weigh-in!)

In other news, I got caught up watching the cycling on TV today... Never realised how fun it could be! There's this weird race whereby they cycle round a track 100 times and every tength lap they sprint to be first over the line to get extra points... They also get extra points for lapping the rest of the team! It was called a 'Kerien' or something... The Brits have a good record with cycling and when I finally stopped watching to take a pre-nights afternoon nap we'd got about seven gold medals in the bag! Whatever next...? Will I start watching cricket & golf? Not bloody likely! Jxx

3 Books a Week!

2008-03-28T12:49:00.004Z

I'd not been reading quite as much as usual for a while (mainly due to a glut of CSI New York watching after we bought the series DVD's!) but over the past week I've absorbed three books... So I thought I'd tell you a bit about them!

Firstly, the latest Timothy James Beck *cheer* When you Don't See Me! I've loved all the previous products of these authors (three or four of them write under the one name!) and this latest instalment, based around the same neck of the woods and focussing on a previous distant character, was no let down! I couldn't wait to turn each page and take in each new turn in the storyline! Ok, so they're no literary masterpieces. They won't be wining the Booker prize any time soon either but for me, they give me a real buzz! So much so that I have a strange, unusual sense of loss after finishing the book! It's like I become a little depressed... Not long lasting but long enough to feel uncomfortable having been riding on a happy vibe!

I'm not sure that this is a great recommendation the way I'm describing it but I really would advocate reading all of the T-J-B books! Not just fluff but something that you can fall into and perhaps forget the real world for long enough to imagine that everything is really all right!

After this, I decided to keep things light and read one of the latest offerings of Alex Sanchez - Getting It! Another simple - High School teen drama played out in a blatant-advert-for-Gay-Straight-Alliances kind of way but fun all the same. Sanchez obviously tries to be in the mind of teen angst when he writes but doesn't really quite hit this spot but this doesn't remove the enjoyment I get from these simple escapades. You know what's going to happen in the end but it's not a bore getting there. I've still got God Box to read by Alex!

Finally, and just finished this morning, is Pebble in a Pool by William Taylor - again aimed at teens and young adults it's a dainty little read of just 124 pages (hence the read-speed with this one!) but nonetheless quite a comfy exploration of small-town attitudes in a brief way. It does rather savagely attack religious belief, scorning the bible and scandalising cult religions but there's a message buried in here that the author is obviously trying to push out there and it ain't a negative one really!

So, three books in a week... Yeah, I know some folk do three in a day but I've been slacking off so I feel a bit better about my brain-power again now! (I'll tackle something more heavy-duty next!) for now... Did I see a copy of CSI-NY Series 2 on ebay...? Jxx

NightsMare!

2008-03-26T10:40:00.002Z

Wooley has not worked a night shift in about three years!

Wooley has only worked one night shift in about five years!

Wooley is working two night shifts this weekend...

Wooley is living a NightsMare!

Erk!

---

In other news - first weigh in tonight! If I've not lost half a stone I'll be really upset (!) I've not yet eaten my Easter Egg (D demolished his in about 48hours - but do you blame him?) and I have been sticking to (through sometimes struggling to meet) points! I've had most of my fruit & veg (5-a-day) and a fair amount of water. I've reduced alcohol (ignoring gin-night!) and increased home-cooking once again! Fingers crossed...! Jxx

CAKE!

2008-03-19T14:31:00.001Z

Is Organic Carrot Cake a cake made with organic carrots or a totally organic cake?

...Guess who's starting weight watchers tonight and already thinking about cake! Jxx

Click Click again...

2008-03-17T15:28:00.002Z

A few of my latest... Jxx

Here we go again... DIET 4.0?

2008-03-16T15:22:00.001Z

This time there's a real effort going to take place - I may have said it before but I'll have the might of Weight Watchers to back me up from Wednesday! Weekly meetings with the need to justify oneself on the scales every time! I really will have to stop the binging and whinging and start monitoring the calorific intake again!

Have I got a cat in hells chance? Better bloody hope so - I've gained a little more than I'd like to admit over the past few months!

Of course, until Wednesday, it's a free reign - chocolate and crisps, pop and pizza galore? Except I keep eating so much junk I feel sick! And I think I'm lactose intolerant... Got really bad cramps after drinking a pint of milk! Hmmm...

In other news, work is still great though I was there six days last week, hence the quiet-ness of WI. Also ebay'ing with some success! Sold about 18 items so far but had to re-list a few! Just hoping that those items that were gifts aren't spotted by the sender! Well, you can't keep everything can you! Jxx

Woo U Make Me! (I'm still miffed!)

2008-03-14T16:02:00.000Z

It's a bloody good job those arms are attached! Jxx

Bloodban.co.uk

2008-03-09T14:55:00.003Z

I am not allowed to give blood!

Well - I could give it if I lied but I ain't gonna do that on principle. However, there's a growing number of folk pretty pissed off with the UK's Blood Donation Service and their bigoted, discriminatory rules about who can and can't donate and I'm pleased to have been able to sign the online petition, adding my voice to the campaign to change these outdated offensive regulations!

If you wanna know more, have a read here and then if you agree with the cause, sign the petition here! Of course, you shouldn't just take my word or that of a gay news blog for granted... Do have a read around the subject - I'm not convinced you'll find any convincing argument for the current rules that isn't plastered with inequality and homophobia! Jxx

Latter Days!

2008-03-07T14:14:00.000Z

Whilst I love the film, Latter Days, I can't say I'm a big fan of the Latter Day Saints and their extremist views. As a gay man, I'd be denied the kingdom of heaven according to their doctrine so it's kind of funny-odd that a group of young(ish) Mormon guys would produce a calendar that's soooo gay!

Men on a Mission is the 2008 calendar for all guys (though more likely aimed at those gals) who love those missionaries! Hunks before and after displayed and exposed for the lusting public! Torso's you'd expect at a Pride Parade somehow failing (in my mind) to get their religious message across but displayed rather temptingly anyway adorn the monthly pages and there's even a youtube video and website to whet your appetite:

Looking at their MySpace friends, I wonder if they realise how many of their male followers are likely only after one thing (and we're not talking about holy communion)! Maybe they are aware - it could after all be a big ploy to convert the wicked minds of the sodomites?

Doubt it's going to work if so... Though I may buy a T-shirt? Jxx

Selling myself?

2008-03-02T10:58:00.003Z

Been on leave this week and whilst we've been spending a lot of time on the computers, I've been focussed more on ebay (I'm now a seller - or will be if anything sells!) 'Bout time we got round to auctioning off some of our junk... Erm, some of our prized possessions that we no longer have space for and therefore are reluctantly selling!

Books, DVD's, A Graphics Card, Reflexology Kit and Travel Iron / Kettle / Hairdryer are all up for grabs - here's to hoping we get to keep the post office busy (and therefore open?)

OK, so I've also spent far too much time on torchwoodforum.co.uk too and we're now watching a week ahead of ourselves on BBC Three after already deciding pre-series that I wouldn't do this! It means we have to stay up later on a Wednesday, or more often, tape it to watch on Friday night! It's still bloody good!

Finally for now, I did promise a few folks some more of my fine art photographs and so, in order to stick to my word - here're a few from a recent family visit... The first two are of my Auntie, the others, just some random shots! All are due for some further light-room tweaking!

I've also recently been to Chester with my beloved and I'll add some shots from there once they're sorted...! Jxx

Torchwood Friends?

2008-02-25T15:35:00.000Z

How fun! Jxx

Ker-ching!

2008-02-06T14:26:00.000Z

OMG!

I've just had a meeting with the finance guy for my new ward... I can tell you, it's going to be a far less bumpy ride than last time I did this!!

When I was sister before, on another ward, I walked in to a budget overspend that never went away! No matter what cost-saving techniques we employed, when the figures came out every month, the spending remained out of control. It was the biggest, worst issue of my six months in that job - causing no end of stress and tears!

Well, it would seem that this time the gods & godesses are smiling down on me! The budget up until Dec 2007 at least (Jan's figures are due any day now!) shows an underspend!!

WooHoo *does happy dance*

OK, they've not been paying a ward Sister since last Sept when the other one left and they've got some other staffing vacancies but there's also been bank & agency nurse costs to cover (yeah - they've been letting wards cover staffing gaps again!) so it's all balancing out...

With some semblance of good luck, I should be able to relax a little when that report drops into my inbox each month! What an amazingly releiving thought!

Otherwise, the job is going swimmingly too! The staff 're all great, the ward is nice and calm, the inner workings seem stable... There's a slight murmouring row about masks going on but that's hardly a tirade of complications to try and solve! Oh yes, for now at least, I've landed on my feet...

Gonna do a clinical shift tomorrow and see how things really work on the ground (got my new uniforms dead quick too!) so I'll get to spot first hand anything that might need tweaking in the working day but I doubt there'll be much if anything! Oh, how glad am I to be here right now? Very! Jxx

Everything Changes!

2008-02-04T09:43:00.000Z

Last week, I worked 07.30 - 20.15hrs.
- Today I'm working 08.00 - 16.00hrs!

Last week, I drove 25mins to work.
- Today I walked 30mins to work!

Last week, I was a Deputy.
- This week I'm a Sister!

Last week, I worked with 34 patients.
- This week I have 18!

Last week, I wore light blue with dark blue epaulets.
- This week I'm ordering dark blue tunics!

Last week, everything around me was familiar.
- This week everything is new!

Last week, I worked three days.
- This week, I'm working four and a half!

Last week, I knew the routine.
- This week, I have no idea what's going on!

Despite this,

Last week, I was stressed.
- This week, I am calm(er)!

---

Welcome to the wonderful word of changing jobs! (And keyboards - this one is going to take a little getting used to! You should see the spilling mistukes I'm making!!)

So, after a relaxing weekend, I'm here, in the new office, on the new ward... It's odd but not uncomfortable! I worked on this hopsital site for ten years or so before moving before so I'm not unfamiliar withy things. Many of the staff were around back then too, so I know names and faces!! Just got to get my head round the weird workings of the ward and fill my head with speciality knowledge and I'll be away!!

...!

Jxx

Jxx

Not a lot to say!

2008-01-29T14:32:00.000Z

...Well, that's not strictly true! I've been saying an awful lot over at www.torchwoodforum.co.uk but that's just fuelling the obsession and not something you'd want to hear here... Not in quite the fan-driven detail we go into on the forum! But still, whilst I'm ont he subject - this series (all two episodes so far!) has been great! Action packed, thoughtfull, well written... And of course, Ianto being, well...! This iamge says a lot!! <3

Of course, there are other events in my life that should really be taking priority!

Life goes on, though strangely in some respects, following Nan's funeral. It was a traumatic day - one that had already been dubbed the worst day of the year by sociologists... Being just the wrong distance from Xmas, with bad weather and such... Well, it certainly felt like it! D did a great job of driving in the most appalling conditions whilst I just numbly tripped through the day. The finality of it hit me hard in church and again at the crematorium. It was such a shame she couldn't have attended the after-party! It was her kind of event with so many family members in one room!

I was graciously given Compassionate leave from work. Not always awarded for family other than siblings, children and parents! Of course, Nana was closer than most grandparents! Besides which, my sick record for the previous year was excellent (no days off recorded in 2007!) Shame that I've now got two sick days in 2008! I was off yesterday, for reasons you won't want to know...!

Starting the new job on Monday - have emailed many folk in anticipation of meeting up with them to discuss their role, their expectations and the running of the ward / speciality! For those who've asked, I'm a little reluctant to state exactly which speciality as there's only one ward for it in Leicester... It'd place me exactly if I let on! Neurology has several wards so I could remain a little distanced from my direct whereabouts! I'm still a little cautious about details online, despite having a Facebook, Myspace and Blog for all to peruse!

Have taken more photo's the other day - this time at Ashby Castle... I've printed a few drafts and will start to add a little post-production work shortly... Keep your eyes peeled!

Finished one of my Xmas books - Chart Throb by Ben Elton! Very funny, parodying the Talent(less) Shows that have dominated weekend entertainment recently! Whilst I've read better books by him, this doesn't mean that Chart Throb isn't good - just that some of his other work has been even better! I'd certainly recommend this, despite it being a little repetitive in places, it doesn't bore!

There... For someone with not a lot to say I've certainly said a lot! Jxx

Am I Special?

2008-01-19T16:19:00.001Z

Got a new job!!

Question is, can a Ward Sister manage a speciality ward without having worked in that speciality before?

I've done similar specialities, and there's a crossover with my current and new job but I've never actually worked directly in this speciality since I was a student nurse, near on twelve years ago!!

At my 'informal chat / interview' the matron was great, encouraging and supportive... The consultant, probably quite rightly, grilled me! He was clearly looking for someone with speciality knowledge but bearing in mind, there were no other applicants, he was kinda limited on choice! besides, I do have the required management experience and eleven years of quality nursing behind me!! Maybe he could be a little enthusiastic?

Anyway, it's a six month temporary contract in the first instance - we'll see if they want me and / or I want them after this time! I had avoided applying for the permanent position (which obviously wasn't filled) as the last sister was in post for several decades! Big shoes to fill! I'd rather have the opportunity to test the water!

I start very soon anyway - just a few more shifts in neurology before I jump ship... Thirty Four bedded ward to an eighteen bedded unit! Should be a walk in the park...!!!

Yeah, right! Jxx

Latest Images...

2008-01-18T14:00:00.000Z

Some of my latest (photo-shopped) images! I'm lovin' the Merseyside one in particular!

The railway image still needs some tweaking where the sky meets the hills and the red boat still has some fragments of colouring the wrong places but overall, I'm rather pleased!

Still obviously favouring black & white but the red ship is rather striking too! Need to getout and take more shots though - hasn't really been great weather recently to draw my creativity so I'm a little short on new shots to admire, print and tweak? Jxx

Torchwood Day

2008-01-17T11:54:00.001Z

Torchwood day came and went - And wasn't it just Awesome!!

Without obsessing too much, I just have to say Wow!

OK, so I joined a Torchwood Forum and I've been gushing there for the last few weeks, so I don't fill the blog with non-stop Torchwood!

It was bloody amazing though! Jxx

11/01/2008

2008-01-13T19:22:00.000Z

Nana

1921 - 2008
Rest In Peace.

Diet 2008...!

2008-01-04T15:37:00.000Z

...Aaaaargh! It's about to start again!

I hardly dare step on the scales but I can no longer support the dietary intake that I've enjoyed over the festive period... Time to make amends for the mince pies and repent for the roasties!

I'm undecided whether to simply carry on tracking in my own way or make the effort to attend a formal club again - it's easier to fall off the wagon without the group support but more costly with it! And it's never easy to guarantee time off work to attend Fat Fighter classes!

Hopefully, my dearest darling and I will be able to jolly one another along in loosing the extra jubbly bits though. Nothing more motivating that sitting next to someone who's eating salad when you've got a plate of chips?!!

Maybe surgery is an option...? Jxx

Not long now...

2008-01-04T09:28:00.000Z

Thanks to the guys & gals at Torchwood Forum for hunting these down so I didn't have to look so far!! Jxx

A Wooley Extermination?

2008-01-02T15:15:00.000Z

A mystery package on Christmas Day... No return name, just initials and an unidentified postcode. A card on the outside added cryptically to the suspense...

A rather pleasant inner box, with another cryptic message in a card... Kind of warning me, kind of crazy!?

Opening the box, and another message... A final written warning of what may or may not be to come, without really explaining anything! Even the cat is getting interested though!

And then... Delving into the packaging!

OMG!

Thank you to my not NKT Secret Santa! Whoever you may be! I can assure you that this has been by far the most unusual Christmas present in the family this year... And it's already been to York and back for celebrations with my clan there too! Sooooo cool!

Any big 'Knit' care to own up? Jxx

iXmas

2008-01-02T13:39:00.000Z

Just copying iTunes from the laptop onto my bestest Christmas present, ready to transfer the library to the New PC. My bestest Christmas Present? Well, it was no suprise really, as I'd been with D when he ordered it but I'm the proud owner of a new iPod Video (80GB) Black (with inscription!)

I had asked specifically for this version, opting away from the new iTouch, which is the 'in' gadget right now simply because it only took me a year to fill my 4GB iPod Mini... iTouch only comes in 8GB so it wouldn't be long before that too was filled... And with the inclusion of video files, probably sooner than 'not long'! I'm hoping to add albums rather than just my favourite songs from albums now, making the new pod more encompassing than ever of my musical tastes!

Of course, there are other MP3 players out there but having used an iPod, I can't imagine utilising anything else for my music... Besides, my car has an iPod attachment rather than any other player links! It just wouldn't be practical to have one of those lesser branded, less beautiful, less 'i' type players! (and I'm a snob!)

Other Christmas goodies included a smattering of decent CD / DVD's... Dr Who Series 3 soundtrack, Avenue Q soundtrack, The Fruit Machine... Also got copious amounts of wine (do people know me well?) and the books I wanted; Chart Throb by Ben Elton, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka and JPod by Douglas Coupland. Shall review these as I drink, play, watch & read 'em! Jxx

Wooley is coming...

2008-01-01T15:35:00.000Z

Had a really busy Xmas / New Year and not been online for more than the odd snippet (mostly browsing from my mobile phone) but normality should be sinking in again now and I'll get back to some kind of regular service...?

So, in theory, coming soon will be:

* Christmas Presents! What I got, what I gave and some reaction!

* Reviews - Music, television and books that've caught my eye recently!

* Exterminate! In a truly Wooley way!

* Xmas sales - boys and toys!!?

And by listing that here, I've got no excuse to not bother and make the blog entries... Again, in theory! Erm...!

So, with any luck, I'll be back over the next few days so do keep dropping by...! Jxx

Christmas Crazy!

2007-12-21T17:07:00.000Z

OK, so things're going Christmas Crazy! I'm getting very little time online and not expecting much until after the big day... The one that we're having on the 26th due to work commitments beforehand! So, before I run out of time to say... Have a very Merry Christmas and I'll see you very soon!

...And thanks for reading Wooley Insights this year! It's nothing without you! Jxx

Where's the join?

2007-12-13T10:18:00.000Z

Very Clever! Jxx

A letter to First Bus!

2007-12-10T13:59:00.001Z

Dear Crappy Leicester Bus Company,

I had the significant misfortune today to require a final few items of Xmas shopping from the town centre. With some feelings of guilt for using the car for a one person journey and having a bus stop very close to our home, I anticipated a stress free journey utilising this service. I was wrong!

I waited over half a bloody hour in the first instance for a bus listed as 'Every Ten Minutes throughout the Daytime' whilst enduring wintry conditions. When the bus finally arrived, it was significantly overcrowded, forcing me into standing room only. For this, I paid the equivalent to two hours of car parking (this being the estimated time I would be in the City), and later discovered that I had been conned by your unhelpful, sour faced driver into buying a 'Day Saver' costing more in total than two single journeys!

The return journey again involved an unpleasant wait in an excessive queue of common folk and inconsiderate smokers, whilst a near empty bus, bearing the service number passed by the stop without a hint of explanation. This wait totalled twenty minutes, again proving your advertisement of services to be bollocks.

The bus filled with the massed crowd and again, plunged many into cramped standing conditions. Whilst many folk thronged the gangway, ignorantly blocking anyone poor soul who wished to dismount along the way, the oblivious driver chatted merrily to a friend, who'd avoided any kind of payment and concentrated more on gossip than the roads and frustrated passengers around her!

I cannot see how we are expected to utilise a pathetic, unenthusiastic, overly expensive service such as is this bus company in Leicester when we can have a much more timely, comfortable, hassle-free journey in our own cars! Try as I may to want to remain Eco-Friendly, this experience has hardly endeared me to public transport!

I'd suggest you get your thumb out of your arse and wake up to the world around you! Morons!

Disgruntled of Leicester! Jxx

Frazzled?

2007-12-09T07:15:00.000Z

Am currently carrying an 'Ambulatory Stress Diary'!

Looking into work stress, a research team have acquired a number of PDA's for staff to record their stress, anxiety, frustration, happiness, etc... levels through three shifts. I'm on day two of mine (Sunday). It's going to be a little skewed as weekends tend towards being far more relaxed than weekdays but I'm sure Tuesday, one of the worst days will make up for it!

The alarm sounds every 90 minutes of my twelve hour shift, asking me to record various feelings. I can also input effects of 'significant incidents' (of which I've had three so far! One of which was before arriving at work today!) and at the end of the shift, I have torecord a few extra details about the day as a whole and the worst part of the shift.

Others have also completed this and overall, the feeling is that the alarm every 90 minutes is stressfull in itself - alarms demand attention, which doesn't always sit well when you're deep into another task. I wonder how many of us have stopped doing something more important in order to answer the beeping? It's like when I hold the Medical Bleep, manageing staffing for thirteen wards, attending emergencies and offering clinical expertese advice(!) over the phone or in person! When it goes off, you feel obliged to drop everything and answer it... OK, so in the event of an emergency, you should do but in many cases, again, the work we're currently doing is more important!

On an aside, The other day I had the bleep and the emergency call came across for a Cardiac Arrest outside the X-Ray dept. This alas for me, is the other end of a very long set of corridors! It was quite a run, leaving me rather breathless and shaky on arrival - and only to find that because they were so close to the main Theatres, they'd taken the poor soul in their for the rescusitation attempt... Not needing extra folk who'd responded! *gasp* Showed me how unfit I was!! I'm not sure I could've sung Nellie the Elephant in that state! (the Nellie song being how you count the number of chest compressions...!)

So, another day looms... The stress monitor will beep at me at around 07.30hrs, just as I'm going into handover and needing to concentrate on something else...! We'll see how many 'significant incidents' I can record today! And ultimately, see just how stressed nursing staff get, and for what reasons when the study is published? Jxx

Soooo much talent?

2007-12-07T15:25:00.002Z

First, study the above! Then answer the questions:

Question 1: What common animal (yep, it's a real creature!) is being represented here?

Question 2: What age range of human would you expect to have drawn these?

Question 3: Assuming that they were drawn by adults, how sober would you expect them to be?

Question 4: Which one did I draw!

Erm... Jxx

The countdown has begun...

2007-12-05T15:25:00.000Z

See that countdown timer? The one on the right? Over there --->

Yep, Captain Jack, Toshiko, Gappy Tooth (Gwen), Rhys, Owen and of course, my dearest Ianto are all due back on our screens on 16th January... For those who have had your heads buried in the sand for the past six months or who don't want to know any more, look away now...

... Don't blame me if you're peeking!

...Martha is also due in TW2. Her from Doctor Who! Not sure I approve... More characters means less screen time for Ianto! With Gwen & Rhys set to marry and another Time Agent to crowd in, there's going to be a lot of fun... Not least of which will be Ianto & jack's rekindled relationship...?

There're any number of plot suggestions, leaks, fabrications, etc... out there for the avid fan to find (believe me, I've found plenty) adding to the anticipation of this great series return. I also know of a fair few folk who'd rather bypass Christmas and get on with January a little earlier than usual but alas, being humans and non-time-agent, they can't jump forward and will have to wait like the rest of us...! Well, if I can't get an early viewing, why should anyone else?

Better go book the day off work! Jxx

Speeding down?

2007-12-04T08:57:00.000Z

I've just tried the Gadget Show Broadband speed test for the first time. It's presumably based on the tests I've used before and has come out with about the same figures... 1948kbps download speed on what is promised to be an "up to 8Mb" Broadband line (BT). We're falling a little short somehow... But then, it's always been pretty much fast enough for me so should I complain? I suppose, having not achieved 8Mb, I don't really know what we're missing out on! Perhaps I could be getting a whole new internet experience? But then, you've gotta consider those who're still on dial-up (poor, deprived sods) who wouldn't be able to keep up if the whole WWW went increasingly faster... Oh, hang on, it already does! (Besides, my mobile phone goes faster than dial-up - come on slow people, get with the ever-changing technological age!)

Of course, there are those who don't even own a PC (or Mac) yet and haven't even started online... Won't they be a little perturbed when they join the race only to find things flying at speeds their brain can't follow!? Isn't it simply the same as the first time I played Sonic the Hedgehog and couldn't process the game fast enough in my head to keep up with the action? I was watching my younger half-brother-in-law playing a racing game recently, so laid back he was, shooting through the fictitious streets of god-knows-where-City and yet I could barely comprehend the split second decision making he was obvious capable of blindfold.

Forget dial-up - that's prehistoric! I'm behind the times enough myself. Even the new-build PC is dated. It's only running off a dual-core processor. That's so last month! Quad-cores are all the rage now!

Will we ever keep up? Jxx

Acapella Who

2007-12-03T09:59:00.000Z

This is either incredibly annoying or brilliant... ??

Click The TARDIS!

Dum dee Dah, Dum Dee Dah... Ooo EEE Ooo!

Jxx

Freerice

2007-12-02T09:29:00.000Z

Try improving your vocabulary whilst feeding folk?

Freerice

Jxx

More from YouTube

2007-11-26T13:06:00.000Z

I lvoe otpiacl iuslloins! Jxx

Christmas Cards!

2007-11-22T15:40:00.000Z

I'm sending very few this year. I've decided for the second year at work to donate to the Motor Neurone Disease Association rather than buying the forty or fifty cards I used to send and thankfully, a number of colleagues are doing the same! It should be a really good gesture for the staff of Neurology to support such an important charity... Of course, the MS Society, Epilepsy Action and GBS Support Group might all be a little miffed that we're not supporting them too! Personally, I've always found myself more emotionally affected by MND. It's an awful diagnosis that we give to the most unlucky patients, often offering only eighteen months or so of life from point of diagnosis to their death. It strips people of their swallow ability, their voice, their movement and function and their dignity at a startlingly rapid pace in terms of Neuro-degenerative illness. And it always seems to be the nicest folk who end up with it!

Of course, I do get bothered by other illnesses. Whilst I was struggling to understand the needs of a young woman, severely affected by Multiple Sclerosis the other day I was genuinely moved, nearly crying at all she has to contend with. Others with equally criplling disorders have provoked such reactions but as I say, it is all so much more common with MND patients.

So, if you don't get a card this year, rest assured, the money I would have spent has gone to a good place! (And we've saved some trees in the process!) Besides, BBC Breakfast news reported today that most charity cards only give a small percentage to good casues anyway! This way, the good cause gets it all! :-) Jxx

What am I listening to?

2007-11-21T15:25:00.000Z

Enrique Iglasias, Do you know! This remix rather than the original is hot on my iPod right now!

This song by the Freemasons is actually quite creepy sounding I think. mMakes me just a little bit tense and nervous!

Mika has exploded onto the music scene recently and having loved Grace Kelly, Love Today and Big Girl, it was no suprise I like this new offering too - Happy Ending!

My very favourite Army of Lovers song has been stolen! Bodies Without Organs, thankfully fronted by Army of Lovers ex-member Alexander Bard are in this exception, forgiven for taking this amazing song and making it their own! The singer is rather nice too!

Whilst this live version might not capture Darren HAyes amazing voice entirely, it's still bloody brilliant! I absolutely love his new double album and How to Build a Time Machine blows me away every time I play it (loudly!) Listen more clearly here

Hope you enjoy these few tunez! Jxx

Piccies (click 'em and watch 'em grow!)

2007-11-16T14:15:00.000Z

Atop the council buildings(?) in Bristol there be mythical creatures! Not a bad skyscape either! I like the angles and the mood of this shot.

Reflections in a big round mirror thing! A glitterball from the gods no less... (Bristol planetarium?) Note how I cleverly don't look like I'm taking a photo! I'm damn good at this!

These aren't real dogs. No really, they're not! AS D pointed out last night, they're a hazard just waiting for someone to trip over and sue the council about!

One of the Severn bridges... There are just two Severn bridges, not seven!