More Ravings of a Sad Old Tog

26 February 2007

Well hello again everybody what a few weeks it has been, I am really jealous of Melanie all she has to say is that she has lost inspiration and that she is going to waffle & she aquires new followers.

Having said that her choice of images and now music definately make her blog much more attractive than mine.

My excuse is that it is now 2 months since I first started having problems with my spine & other bits so sitting down to work has been quite painful, but tomorrow I am seeing my osteopath so hopefully I will feel much better.

I have been trying to find some new photos in particular sunsets, but unfortunately the sun rises on the wrong side of my flat & I get home to late to see the sunset on the other side, roll on the longer days

Well my holiday is booked, the tickets have arrived, & it is only a few more days before Brian & I go on our latest adventure, both are taking our cameras so i hope we will have some great ones to show you all

Sadly Zorro has not given me any more content for the blog but I am hoping we may meet up on holiday, to see some sites a little bit more different than the average outing.

For some strange reason, although I have just recieved the draft petition for my divorce, plus I still have not sorted out my costume for my birthday, I am off on holiday & have just taken on new work in relation to my job, just before travelling to Ireland for my grand daughters confirmation in 10 days.

Despite all this at weekend I was talking about another concert to raise some funds for shopmobility!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (do I never learn)

Another one of those weeks

11 February 2007

Well what a week its been, I have been in pain which finally was diagnosed as a twisted pelvis, sorted out I thought but now have some other painful thing that I am sure will be sorted out soon.( I Hope)

I never seem to of had time to stop all week, Zorro has been sending me useful information to do with the forthcoming holiday which I must admit I am very grateful for, but sending me e mail that implies what rotten people that do my job are.

Despite my RSI in my right hand & arm I seem to of spent a lot of the week writing, & at work I have been assessed for aids to help me with my hearing, surely another sign of Togdom

On the nice side I read an article the other day that maybe will inspire me, namely threebeautifulthings ( if you have time please have a look) because the concept relates to the fact that the nice things are out there, it is just seeing them ( melanie you will understand that)

Despite that on the metro the other day an obnoxious man behind me talked into his mobile about the most boring conversation, apart from mine in a really loud voive for 20 minutes & when I asked him quietly would he speak quieter or wait till he got to his destination, in true style he paused for breath then continued, what was interesting was the faces of other passengers who appearred to agree with me but felt unable to speak out, what a sad world we live in.

There's No Business Like Show Business

31 January 2007

Well hello to you readers, the concert finally took place after a lot of hard work it. For the last few weeks we have tried to advertise the show convince friends to buy tickets and make sure the performers have not lost interest.

On the day of the show Brian and I went up to Bevs to pick up her sound equipment, when we got there, she told us that she was having problems with a throat infection and she was in terrible pain. Despite this she still managed to get ready and come with us to the venue.

When we got there we then found out that the other singer Jean also had a throat infection but was willing to carry on. Eventually we decided how the show was going to run, Bev managed to set up her sound equipment and integrate it with the other singer's equipment.

I suddenly noticed that the public were already coming into the theatre at least we must of provided some unexpected comedy entertainment for them, we tried using the venue's sound equipment but it was incompatible with Bev's so eventually we decided it was best to switch it off, and rather than clever lighting effects, we decided to have a nice standard of lighting on the stage.

Kate had a great idea on Saturday of providing bottles of water for the acts, which she had brought on the day, but we had no glasses drink out of.

One of the best things all the way through was the time and patience that were shown by the management at the venue, in particular James and Chris, on the day Chris was a star, and put up with our strange demands, the latest was could they let us have some plastic cups to put the water in, bearing in mind this would reduce the profit on the bar, despite this Chris again came up trumps.

One of the good ideas James had previously was to put some tables out for the choir at the back of the room which would make it so that the room would look more full. This worked very well.

The other person who was outstanding was Jackie from the choir who at the last-minute took on the role of compere, providing a cheerful entertaining extra act between the others, bearing in mind that there were no rehearsals prior to the show, if you read this Jackie thank you again for helping to make this show a success.

I realised that the best place for me was behind the stage controlling the curtain so I could avert any disasters, so my view of the show was non-existent apart from looking at a pink curtain and listening to the acts.

Unfortunately this did not work because when I tried to decide how much to wind the curtain back I forgot initially to clear it so the keyboard player could see Jean, strangly the audiance actually noticed when the curtain suddenly started moving again just as Jean started singing.

The other thing I did that I hope nobody noticed was to get a drink from my water bottle which was okay until the plastic started to crackle, to me very loudly whilst one of the acts was singing, for me it seemed to reverberate all across the stage.

I really was impressed by the singer Jean who despite her throat infection managed to give a magnificent performance which I and all the others I spoke to agreed we really enjoyed.

Affetside Choir gave their usual professional performance which we all enjoyed, the Sax group conducted by Ruth gave a similar quality but very different style of musical performance.

Bev gave the audience yet another great performance, again despite her throat infection and pain she was suffering, and managed to get the audience to join in and even to dance along with the songs she sang.

Just to show however hard some of us work to make something a success, at least one person complained that the raffle had been fixed. This resulted in me doing a very rare task for me which was going onstage to explain what had happened in front of the audience, as usual the plug was pulled on the sound system just as I got into full flow. There are those who would say what good thing that was, no wonder I prefer to be backstage.

Well the good news, we managed to make a profit, all the people I have spoken to enjoyed the performance, and people even mentioned having another show.

Another Crazy week ahead

Well readers have just read melanies blog and was very impressed, when I remember how will add her blog to my links

Today saw Gp who tells me I have to go on a bland diet until I solve certain problems out, also I have bruised my bottom so need to be careful how long I sit & what type of seat I use, what is going to go wrong next.

Had an assessment because of the problems I have typing on my computer, the result is I now need a new computer at work plus extra software & training, if it works should make life easier if not, it could create problems, maybe restrict my blogging, ( who said thank you)

I have now informed most people of my change to my party sadly some do not want to dress up, so I am hoping others will try even harder.

It is the fundraising concert this week, I hope we get a good turnout but I feel it will be a good show. I f any of you readers are willing to buy a ticket, it really would be appreciated although I do accept that Zorro Hamster & my readers in New Zealand will have a long way to come for an afternoons entertainment.

You mat remember that Scarlett Angel posted a comment last year, well i went to see if she had put anything else on but she has disappearred sadly, it seems a shame hers was a good read, maybe I will have to put something else on to do with Ken Dodd.

Well I am getting tired now in particular after reading about Melanies adventures so will go and relax and watch Celebrity Big Brother for an hour or so to wound down before going to bed

The Tospsy Turvy Path of the Plans for My 60th

Well everthing was going so well then my son rang to say problem because grand daughter has exams on day of party she is sitting exams until 4.30 that day.

Rang venue, sighs of relief they can change the date, now only have to contact everyone to inform them of date, by e mail phone & letter. In case any of you are reading this the new date is 22 January at the same time and venue.

One or two people are now saying that they are bit uncomfortable about fancy dress, so I do not want them unhappy, so I am trying to think of fancy dress that is modern that they will not seem out of place with, if any of my readers have ideas please let me know.

Someone has already pinched my idea for my costume, so will have to have another think, plus 2 sets of people have now asked about where they can change, why did I not think about that, further work to solve that one.

Sadly 3 sets of people have said they cannot come which will be a shame, so will now have to decide who else to invite or drop the numbers

An Update from Zorro

N is , I suppose , from what we would call a middle class family. She's the 15 yr old daughter of my friends R y A. Girls that age go out chaparoned and are never left alone , even in the house, with a male , except members of the family. I am slightly different in that I am foreign and the mother always tells her friends " Señor Zorro es un verdad Caballero Ingles" - A true english gentleman!!!! I wish!15yrs is the most important day for a girl here ¨¨18yrs for the boys. So Big party and the girl has a expensive made to measure white gown. It´s a contradiction here that young girls are so well protected or restricted if you like, yet women of all ages wear very revealing, plunging necklines and although some do wear quite short skirts the fashion is for very tight jeans or trousers.

From last year I have called N my sobrina and she calls me Tio alan. She is my niece and I am her uncle. So N & I CAN go off to the shopping mall for a dress, as a present from me, alone .....as long as I report to mama any male her daughter speaks to even to ask the time.. Not for the birthday party this is just a pressie. I am writing this just to describe the reaction of different people to us being out together.

The odd male American tourist looks at me with part envy and part God! He must be rich!
The young American women here working with the peace corp look at me with loathing .Despoiling a young girl. Taking advantage of poverty.

The Paraguayans on the other hand will say something along the lines of ...... your buying a present for your daughter.
No it is my niece.
Ah,you are a favourite uncle.You are very lucky.My daughters are 13 &11 years.
You then have to sympathise on how expensive it will be.

Goes without saying the dress is a strapless, ankle length that hugs the figure and all the shop assistants ask ME if I like it.

Happy New year to All My Readers

4 January 2006

Well a happy new year to all our readers, at long last I am back in England after my trip to Ireland with my family after the Christmas period.

It was interesting and a quite different Christmas but I must say I was made very welcome.

When we went to the shops it was almost the same as being back home apart from the fact everything was priced in euros and was more expensive than back home.

The other interesting thing was that there were many East European accents in shopping centres which shows how the culture of southern Ireland is changing.

The highlight of my trip was on New Year's Eve when the family welcomed the new year in, in their own personal style and I think I will remember for the rest my life.

I was quite surprised being a Tog that when I was discussing my favourite subject of the moment namely Bloggs that none of the family really knew much about them including the young teenagers.

This was the perfect opportunity to tell them all about my Blog and the world of Blogging. My granddaughter told me that she has a web site for young people and has friends who she communicates with, in particular at 15 -year-old young man.

Sadly I had to explain to her and her sister that she needs to be very aware not to disclose too much information about herself or family because there is no guarantee that people are who they profess to be.

A good example of this in case you had not realised is that I am not realy called Francis The Fearless neither does my personality reflect my name

They were quite surprised at this and could not believe that people told lies on the Internet, in one respect we could say this is a good thing in that there are still children who are innocent and naive, but at the same time it makes us more aware of the fact that children are vulnerable to predatory people on the Internet because they are still to trusting.

Well finally on a lighter note Zorro suggested once again that I start a new Blog around adventures that we have had in the past for the benefit of you readers out there so wait for the next exciting announcement.

Happy Christmas to all my Readers

21 December 2006

Well hello all you kind people who have been following my blog over the last couple of months

Happy for me I am off to see my family in Ireland tomorrow, so will then spend the christmas period with my son and his family, as well as new years eve, then return home the following day.

This is of course subject to the fog at Manchester airport lifting before then, although I was suddenly reminded earlier today that this year when the security alert started on that fateful day I travelled to Ireland with only my papers wallet & the clothes I was dressed in. Lets hope that I am lucky again and manage to get there.

How to Use the Bus by Zorro

Well Zorro has struck again

He has sent from half way round the world this latest missive to help you travellers understand some of the pleasurers of being out there, when all we have to worry about is will it snow for christmas


There being no bus stops all you need to do is look for shade. Normally that is where you & any others will wait for the bus.
Now the hard part.When the bus stops( I use the term "stop" loosely) try to be the first on. It´s real bad luck if you are the only one waiting.The bus has three steep steps. The third step there is a turnstile!!! I am not making this up - this is what the driver does.Assuming you are the only one boarding he will only slow down. You have to grab the handles at the side of the first step and climb into the bus. There is much jolting and lurching that throws you off balance. This is because , apart form the bad roads, the driver is driving and trying to change gear, giving you your ticket and change, and has his cup of terére in another hand.Having got ticket you can negotiate the turnstile.Not good for me as I always have a day pack with me. Any poor soul ( normally me!!) is hanging on the second or first step.All buses get vendors selling Coca Cola, hair clips, batteries, sweets, bread, bananas, oranges, pineapples, etc this is not an exhaustive list . Those with nothing to sell sing or more entertaining tell you about finding god. These vendors do NOT pay bus fare. they climb over the turnstile complete with a dozen bottles of Coca cola etc. As they don´t pay a fare they wait till all the farepaying passengers are on board. This means very often they are running alside the bus while there are two or three on the steps waiting to pay and get through the stile!!! Incidentally young children up about 10 yrs old don´t not pay as long as they climb over or throught the stile.This applies to babes in arms!!

You are now through the stile and trying to keep your balance.You look carefully at the passengers. Where are most sat? Where most are will be the shady and coolest part of the bus. All these seats are taken before those on the sunny side.If there are any spare seats do NOT make a beeline for them. Are the seats over the wheel arches? If so there is no room for your feet. Very uncomfortable on long journey. If there are not near wheel arches examine very carefully. Usually it means the seat in broken and will collapse under your weight. On a journey of half hour or more you will move from a seat in the sun to one in the shade to one near the exit if you are lucky.

Once sat down you can enjoy listening to the venders spiel, feeling the cooling breeze from the open windows. There is always a breeze as the drivers make schumaker look pedestrian.Apart from the violent lurching life is great.

The moment you have dreaded. Time to get off. The bus will stop where ever you want. At traffic lights, in the middle of the road, anywhere. But how do you tell the driver? For you must exit at the rear of the bus. If you are very lucky it will be a bus that only has a turnstile at the front end. That bit of string ( really!!) that is on the roof, always on the right hand side is what you pull. If no string or string is broken there is usually a small button hidden near the rear door.If there are none of these then stand near the door. And wait!

Unfortunately, if you are the only one getting off then you have to get off while the bus is still moving. The kind driver has slowed down to walking pace.Buses are incredibly cheap but are not for the faint hearted!!

Zorros Adventures in Bogata

¡Hola !
You ask what is it like? Awful & dangerous!!!!!! Obviously when travelling independently I have to choose my own hotels.The internet sites They are like house adverts - they never show they are near the steel works or sewerage farm. my hotel was in a very safe neigbourhood, the people there were nice ( on the whole) but nothing worked.

Turning on some of the lights seemed very dangerous!!! The doors on the rooms made me feel that I couldn´t unpack my case and kept it locked at all times. My safe neighbourhood was not near any tourist haunts.

My hotel had lots of colombian tourists , so you can tell it was cheap. 99 pounds for a weeks bed/b.fast, beer, laundry, internet. Taxis I have never found so cheap or as honest as here. But there is a problema. My hotel phones for a safe cab but how do you get back? Everyone drills it into you don´t take a cab on the streets. Using taxis all the time ( buses here are brand new, the roads are great but they are dangerous for robbery Some have been held up!) I got to know the direction of my hotel.

One day I was going to their famous gold museum and I noticed the cab was going towards the mountains - not the city!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very calmly ( well alright, controlled hysteria ) , I said "This isnt the normal way is it?" The driver , who looked like an film extra who ALWAYS played the cruel Mexican bandit, gave me this smile and said" I am turning left now, señor", which I knew was the right way. You have to be so careful here.

Now I know you will read this the wrong way but nonetheless is true. Within three hours of arrival at my hotel I had a 23year old girlfriend. She was really helpful & taught me a lot (NO! not that!). The woman was a recepcionista at the hotel and spoke no english. SHE paid for the taxis when we went out sightseeing, paid for coffee or a coke ( the drink not the white stuff), always warning me not to get money from my pocket. " You are always showing too much money" she would tell me. She never accepted a share of the fare/bill. Wages are not high here so if there was a scam it didnt cost me anything!!!!!

It is only 2 years since the army was fighting guerillas here in the capital so security is tight. Your bag is X rayed and you have a body search at any shopping mall. At the aeroport on arrival you are body searched by the customs then further along by the police and lastly before exit by the army.There are sniffer dogs all over the aeroport!!! I suspect this is to stop private enterprise rather than to stop smuggling as there were kilos of the white stuff discovered on the national airline, Avianca, when it landed in Madrid some months ago. Found, of course, in the diplomatic pouch no less.

The altitude makes me feel tired by 3 in the afternoon and I can´t wait to get away from here. I been to Avianca´s office this morning to change my ticket to the first available flight.
The weather is T shirt warm during the day but cold at night.On my second day I was caught in a deluge. Stepping off the pavement to cross the road I fell into a foot deep hole and got very wet. Still it wouldn´t be a South American holiday for me if I didn´t do that and twist an ankle. I´ve added that to my bout of sciatica with is probably from my heavy suitcases.

The above is a true account of Zorros adventure since he left the UK, with his permission, I will keep you up to date with any further adventures that he informs me of