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Chelsea 2004

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Well I am off to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on Thursday and I cannot wait :)

I am so looking forward to spending the day there.

I know it's going to be a busy day but hopefully it won't be as crowded as it was last year!

At least I am aware of what show gardens and exhibits I want to see - I think I will be a bit more organised than last year. I also plan to get there dead early too, so hopefully I might avoid the crowds - hopefully!

You'd better keep an eye out for updates to the Blog too as no doubt there will be a collection of photo's online as soon as I can edit them ;)

Watch this space!

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Garden Life

Monday, May 24, 2004

I do love this time of year when everything seems to spring into life.
Things are so full of vigor and colour, it makes you happy to be alive.

This is an Osteospurmum that is currently in my garden and although it isn't
the most colourful of lowers I think it is stunning.

It's not only nice because it reminds you of nature and life but it helps you forget all the crap we have to contend with. Having to work, getting up to do something you don't enjoy, petty squabbles and people who think they know everything! Why can't we all just get along. Why isn't everything like my garden?

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WTF?

Saturday, May 22, 2004

Sometimes browsing around the web you just have be a little worried about what people place online.

wtf?

I was browsing through a user list on Audio Scrobbler and came across this as someone's "avatar"!

No comment!

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Thursday, May 20, 2004

Brandy is keeping an eye on me

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Pluses and minuses

Well as a user of electronic media and music I have been more than a little frustrated that Apple have taken so long to open the iTunes Music Store in the UK. Today I thought my luck had changed to hear that Napster have beaten Apple to the UK market.

I downloaded the software (how many media players does one pc need?) and got myself an account. The service is much the same as browsing through iTunes and looks similar to the myCokeMusic service I have previously browsed.

I found a track I have been after for ages (David Bowies "Jump... they say!") and made my purchase. At £0.99 it's comparable to iTunes and others so I wasn't worried. The track downloaded quickly and played brilliantly.

It was only when I tried to use it on my iPod I hit a snag. The latest version of iTunes does convert WMA files to AAC or MP3 (contrary to popular belief) but unfortunately it cannot convert protected files. Yes you guessed it the file from Napster is protected and not possible to transfer to iTunes or my iPod.

Now I am annoyed that the music business has taken so long to wake up to the fact that consumers want to purchase music online and they have just got around to embracing media players such as the iPod. Why oh why do they not agree on a standard format?

I have a brilliant digital music device and am not prepared to change it. I made my choice and stand by it. As far as I can tell all MP3 players are comparable they just include different bells and whistles. What I hate is that fact that these bells and whistles can only be heard on certain players!

Come on you guys - sort it out!

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Sunny Saturday

Saturday, May 15, 2004

Well today was always going to be a bit strange as it is the start of the weekend and I am on my own!

Richard was lucky enough to win a race day in Amsterdam (motor sports), but sadly the ticket didn't extend to partners :( He wasn't going to attend but his company has asked him to as it is a semi work related event. Anyway this means I have been up since 5 to take Richard to Heathrow.

It's a lovely day and the weather report seems to be right ;)

Since getting up I have done two set's of washing, repotted a lot of containers ready for a delivery of new plants next week ;). M
owed and tided the garden and been to the post office!

It's still only 10:40!

I think I must be on a roll - maybe I'll have a break and head off to the park for a walk? Now is my iPod charged..?

Good bye little one

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Well I have done it, not sure if I should have done it or if I really wanted to do it but I have!

What have I done? I have removed Pepe & Friends.

This site was site up as a fun place to visit to find out all about my cat, watch her on her web cam and have a look at a selection of her friends. Sadly just after the site went live Pepe died. This is the major reason I have not felt compelled to rush into the site and update it. I have got two new cats but I think it would be inappropriate to alter the site as the name exists.

I do feel kind of weird and I know us English are renowned for our attachment to our pets but I can't help it!

The spirit of the site lives on though as I am proud of it as it's a quirky site, for this reason it has been moved. I know this means it won't actually go away but I have done this so that it is accessible for the purpose of my portfolio (and to reminisce).

Oh well one web site down, three to go!

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The perfect car?

Sunday, May 09, 2004

OK maybe we did manage to get and about on one little jolly this weekend!

Richard and I visited Woburn Abbey today to see the Aston Martin Rally. We did attend the rally last year and the photo's prove the weather last year was far better!

Last years rally was held at Waddesdon Manor whereas this year it was situated at Woburn. I have never been there before so was looking forward to our visit. As I stated the weather was rather poor but this didn't cloud my judgment of the estate. Richard and his favourite Aston

It is vast (I knew it had to be big when the lady at the ticket booth informed me the car park was 2 miles away!). Such an idyllic estate with lots of roaming deer and other native wildlife.

The house is not as pristine as many of the places we have visited but as it is still occupied and privately owned it is still stunning.

We must make a trip back there in the summer for a picnic!

I don't think either of us took many photo's of the Aston Martin's as it was rather cloudy and I think the presentation this year was a little cramped. Still as you can see, we did manage to pose by our favourites ;)

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And it's not even a bank holiday!

Saturday, May 08, 2004

Well once again we have fallen victim to the English weather! Once again it quite literally manages to rain on our parade! You work all week, waiting for the weekend to come and then once it does your plans are ruined/altered by the climate. I do hope the summer weather arrives soon as I am starting to get a little hacked off :(

The weather prompted us to huddle up on the sofa and in order to cheer ourselves up we rented a DVD. We took out "Stuck On You" which is this irreverent comedy about a set of joined twins. I thought the subject matter was a bit ropey but the writing was actually clever and sharp and helped the story. I really enjoyed the film - especially given a chance to see Matt Damon ;)

Let's hope Sunday stays dry at least!

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Tuesday's disguised as Monday's!

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

You know you get the sort of day where you just wish you hadn't bothered? Well today one of those. What a complete waste of my time!

One long boring meeting which told me nothing and furnished my life with no greater detail that I already had before 9 am!

Some stroppy Madame jumping for some work when it was nothing to do with me,

and then... The office closet case tried to have a go!

I like to think I put him down a peg or two - it was quite satisfying to seem how he squirmed, shut up and the immediately tried to back pedal!. God some men are so weak - it makes me sick!

What is it with closet cases that they seem to suffer greater PMT than most women! GET OVER IT!

Oh well at least there are only three days left to this week - hurrah!

Free Music!

Monday, May 03, 2004

Well it's a wet miserable bank holiday Monday, Richard is working and I am skulking around the .net looking for something of interest!

I have just come across a great new free music service. Download.com-Music is (obviously) from the makers of Download.com and contains music from a wealth of new artists who are not currently contracted to record companies.

It's a great way of finding out what raw talent is available and is kind of reassuring that there are a number of acts (although unsigned) that actually do have talent.

Aphex Dimension

I had a look through the R&B/Soul section and came across Natalie Brown who has the most amazing voice. I am amazed this young woman has not been snatched up by some record exec - it's criminal that such a talent is still available.

Another artist to look out for (and completely different from Natalie Brown) is Aphex Dimension. These guys are a cool dance/electronic act with some heavy Drum and Bass influence.

Instead of listening to the same old thing on the radio - why not give this a try? You may be pleasantly surprised.

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Photography and the English weather!

Well once again we are in the midst of an English Bank Holiday and once again the weather has taken a turn for the worse!

Saturday was rather grey and miserable around the East of England and today (Monday) is awful - torrential rain with no signs of abetting.

Daffodils at Waddesdon Manor

Thankfully Richard and I had the foresight to get up early yesterday and go out for the day. Sunday wasn't too great to begin with as there was lots of fog around and to be honest things didn't look that promising. We did however catch a bit of early morning news and all the OB's showed sunny spots around the country. This prompted us to leave the house in the hope that the nice weather might find us!

Did - of course it did! We took our annual pilgrimage to Waddesdon Manor where the weather perked up and we enjoyed a really nice day.

As usual the camera's went with us so I was compelled to post some of the nice spring shots into our Photography web site.

Why? Because the weather is so bad I need some cheering up!

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Cam and get me!

Sunday, May 02, 2004

I don't think I use my cam enough so I guess I should get into the habit of switching it on! Judging by the amount of visitors to the page it is popular but I must be honest and do forget to connect my cam!

I might get better at it...

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Newseum - The Interactive Museum of News

Saturday, May 01, 2004

I must confess to being a bit of a news junkie but it has to be said that I do tend to trust the views of the BBC and no one else. (Especially not ITN or any Murdoch air polluting network).

That said I was very interested in the views of Michael Moores' narrative of "Bowling for Columbine" on the effects of the media in the USA. This is why I like the Newseum so much. I may not take all the news to heart or use it to actually find out about news (after all the BBC does a very good job of keeping me informed). I visit the Newseum to take a look at the front pages - this gives a very good insight into how major stories are reported to different nations. Quite a snap shot of the world.

I must admit to being quite shocked how some countries over-exaggerate information and others just don't tell their people anything!

Guess I must be really lucky to be in the UK and to have a choice.

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