Yes, thankyou, we had a lovely holiday.

We went to Torquay for a fortnight and the weather was beautiful. So hot.
We went everywhere from Torquay to Teignmouth, Exeter, Plymouth, Bodmin and Dartmoor.

We went through all the little villages and we spent hours on the Dartmoor Moors and Bodmin Moors.

While we were in Dartmoor, well, we had to go to the prison in Princetown didn't we?
Geoff begged them to take me but to no avail.
So I just took a picture of the front door.
Just in case, then I would know where I am if I ever have to go there again.

The hotel where we stayed "The Rainbow" was like fawlty towers.
We had no clean towels for four days because we weren't told to put the dirty ones in the bottom of the shower so then they would know we needed clean ones. Only found that out when another guest heard us complaining about the dirty towels. We should have been told but no-one did.

The shower was so small geoff couldn't even get in it. There was black mould growing in it, and although we told them nothing was done about it.
It was what I call those "Closed in" showers where you pull the doors around you. Well, I suffer with claustrophobia so that was out of the question, I showered with the doors open.

The toilet seat broke (well geoff was using it and he is 23 stone)
I don't think it was actually cleaned anyway, we could never smell bleach.

We were in the room when the cleaner came to clean the room (A young man) and I asked him how long he would be and he said: "oh, about ten minutes."
That says it all. How we laughed.

The beds one double, one single, was like something out of Dartmoor prison anyway, hard and lumpy.

The food was good but the same every day. Tomato soup was on the menu every night.

But apart from that a good holiday it was too.

Will start blogging again soon.

Stacks of washing and ironing to do.

xxx

P.S. If you ever get a chance to see Chris Chaplin, a comedian, then please do. He is fantasticly funny and a good singer...I brought his c.d. and can't stop playing it.
We saw him twice at the hotel.
Love to see him again.

At work the other day, I was working on the four self scan tills we have, when an elderly lady called me over to say she had put £20.00 in the till but she had not received the change.
I looked at the till and saw that the "amount received" was £0.00 I was immediately suspicious of this as it should have read "amount received £20.00, so I explained to the lady that I would have to get the cash office out to check this. She was a little hesitant about this but when I explained that I could not open the tills and that the cash office were the only people with the key, she relented and said that was o.k.

It took some time before anyone came out of the cash office (as always) and she was getting a little impatient. Mind you, so was I by then.

I kept apologising saying they won't be long but time went on and on. In the end she turned and yelled at me:

"You don't believ me do you? What are you saying ......that I didn't put any money in it. That I am a thief and a liar."

Well, everyone turned round and was looking and they were waiting for my reply. Realizing that this situation was just about to get out of hand and that you cannot have a customer yelling that sort of accusation at you in front of everyone, I turned and said:

"No,no, my love, that is what I was just going to tell you....we will refund your £20.00. It has probably got stuck in the drawer of the till."

She then calmed down and nodded her head in agreement.

At that time I then had to run to the checkout manager and eplain what had happened, she said I did the right thing and she then ran to the cash office to get the £20.00.

I smiled at the lady and said:
"Right then, lets put this £20.00 note through."

She smiled and then.....she just burst into tears.

I put my arm around her and said:
"Oh no, please don't cry, I didn't mean to upset you."

She shook her head and said:
"No, my love, it's not you, I have just lost my husband and I can't think straight at the moment."

"Oh, I am sorry, " I said. "You are a regular aren't you?" I asked with a smile."
"We always see you in here and we do so look forward to seeing you, and we always have a laugh don't we?"

In actual fact I did not know this lady at all, really, I was just saying that to calm her down.


She smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

She took her change and I help to pack her bag. She went merrily on her way.
I went back to Gail, the manager, and apologised again and explained what the lady had said.

"It's alright annette." Gail said. "Your right, we do know this lady...she's done this before! And she hasn't just lost her husband....he died five years ago."

You could have knocked me down with a feather.

I have been doing shop work for over 20 years and I can usually tell when someone is coming it. But that lady, well, she had me fooled!

We laughed about it afterwards but I fumed for a while.

I shall watch her if she comes in again, that's for sure.

Watched 'Hot Fuzz' last night.

Brilliant, very funny.

Ever wondered just how much your employer values you?

Last week at work I went up for my usual break about 10.00a.m. Now, since the smoking ban I do not bother to go out for a ciggie so I just have a bit of cereal and I'm perfectly happy with that.

I went up to the till with my dish of cereal, Rice Crispies to be percise, when Andre, the manager, came up to me and put his arms around me.

"Annette" he said. "congratulations, do you know you've been here for 17 years?"

"Oh yes" I said. "but you get less for murder." I said with a grin.

He ignored this.

He squeezed me a bit nearer to him and with a big grin on his face he said:

"Here, let me buy you your breakfast."

"Thankyou." I said. "Very kind of you."

"Oh, we like to show how much we appreciate long serving staff." He said with a big smile on his face.

I smiled at him as he handed over his card to pay for my breakfast.

Julie ran the price up on the till.

All of 22p.

16 year old PCSO's?

Your joking.

If I was stopped and questioned by one of them I would laugh and tell them to p**s off.

Please read this blog, "The life & times of a girl next door".

She says it all.

Can someone please tell me, how do I put pictures and "youtube" on my blog page?

I have been blogging for well over 2 years now, this is not my first blogging site, and I have only just learnt how to put Youtube on my site. But I do not know how to put it actually on my blogging page.

We did not bother with pictures and youtube on my last blogging site. It was not needed.

When I have tried to put pictures on, it took so long, I got so fed up with it and then I deleted it. Patience is not my strong point!

Can you tell me please?

How many times have you tried to blog only to keep getting things popping up on your page saying : ALERT:"Trojan Horse"?
We are sick of seeing this keep popping up on our screen.
We have an anti virus on our computer, so why does it keep happening?

P.S. It has just done it again!!

It's not often I come across an advert that I actually like but I must admit that there is one I love to watch.
It's an advert for a VW Golf car, but it has something that other adverts haven't.

The music for a start:
"Oh, yes I'm the great pretender."

It's playing in the background as the advert is shown.

There is a young, handsome man, always the life and soul of the party, even at work. Laughing and joking with everybody as if he hasn't got a care in the world.Everybody's friend.

Then you see him at home eating a chinese takeaway, and he's looking very sad and lonely.
This is a bit of a shock as it does not go with his profile.
The next day you see him drive to a hotel, he gets out of his car in his usual flippant way and throws his car keys to the doorman, again, laughing as if he is the happiest man around, and then:

shock, horror,

He sees his dream car being driven by another young man,the camera turns and looks at the mans face...suddenly his smile has gone and he looks very sad.
He's so dissappointed because he hasn't got that particular car! You can see and feel the sadness in his face.
The music is still playing......"Oh yes, I'm the great pretender......."

It is a brilliant advert..
Is there one you particulary like?

Of all the blogsites I visit, one of my favourites is Dr. Wang's, he is from palm springs.
He posts some beautiful photos. But on this occasion he has done a blog which rang a bell with me:
"Your most embarrassing moments."

Well you know mine.

Well,it is a good blog and very funny and so is some of the comments made by people who also have had embarrassing moments.

Here are some examples:

empress bee:
43 years ago, when I was expecting my first child I was asked to take a urine sample with me to the hospital. When I got there everyone had these little small jars with a sample.
I brought a mayonnaise jar.......it was full.

burfica:
I was at my specialist office when I went in the bathroom to give a sample, and I knocked the cup over.
"OH SHIT, YOU BASTARD!!!" I yelled.
I walked out to tell them what had happened only to be informed that everyone in the office had heard me.
I had to sit in the office for an hour before I had to wee again.

Or going to the school to drop my son off and end up talking to a group of mums for half an hour, get home and realized I never brushed my hair and it was all sticking to one side and straight up.

sarah:
While roadtripping in CA I had to poop and as there was no rest stop for about 100 miles, the only thing to squat behind was a tumble weed.
It blew away.

marlupe:
One day at work I was on the phone talking to a girlfriend about a date I had been on the night before,(which included "intimate relations") I had no idea I had rested a book on the office intercom.
The whole office had heard me talk about the best sex of the year.
Someone came rushing up to my desk with a look on their face and I looked down and realized what had happened, I was horrified beyond belief!!!

madame x:
exchanging gifts with a boyfriend (serious....wink, wink)...he got me a Seiko "opus" watch Ltd edition.
I got him a beach towel.

That last one is my favourite....I can't stop laughing about it. But, yes, they are all funny. The man with his hair all over the place, I think that's probably happened to all of us, don't you?




If you would like to have a look at his blogsite please go to:

www.rickrockhill.blogspot.com

Well now I have finally conkered the "You tube" video thingy, I've gone a bit mad and put my favourite things on my blog.
The funniest pets is, well, funny.
Then you have my fav planet...Jupiter.
Then you have my fav car......Ferrari, and it's just got to be red.

So Please Enjoy.....

Oh sorry Dickiebo.
xxx

My god, I've done it.
I've added The Funniest Pets to my blog

There's hope for us all.

We saw mark today.
He walked slowly into the store, walking stick in hand, limping heavily on his left leg.
His long grey greasy hair hanging lower than his baseball cap, his tracksuit trousers hanging limply from his waist. His tatty, blue trainers looking blacker than ever before.
His wife was with him. Her long greasy hair flowing all over her eyes, in her usual black skirt and so called white blouse. Her shoes are black.
No-one knows her name.
She never speaks.
Mark and his wife are both in their early fifties but she looks 20 years older. They have one son, whom no-one ever sees.

Mark and his wife have been regular visitors to our store and over the years we have seen the way mark has treated her. Sometimes she came in with a split lip other times with a black eye.

They walked around and picked up a few bits and bobs and then came to my checkout.

"Hello Annette." Says mark
I nodded and looked at him, "Hello mark." I said.
"Well what do you think of Gordon Brown then?" He asked.
"Oh, he's fine." I said turning away to pack his stuff as quickly as I could.

He smiled but I ignored that.


"Come on!" Says mark. "Don't just stand there, help annette pack!" He demanded of his wife.
He smiled at me but I ignored that.

She did what she was told and started to pack.

"That's £9.86" I said to mark.

"well, get your purse out." He shouted at his wife.

She did what she was told and got her purse out.

"Thanks annette. See you again." He said with a big smile on his face.

I nodded.

Mark has never worked because he is disabled, she does everyhing for him.

She picked up the shopping and turned to walk away,realizing this mark pushed her to one side, he then stepped in front of her and started to walk ahead. She walked behind.

I watched as they walked out of the store. Mark had a big grin on his face while his wife was walking three paces behind.

Just like she always did.

Every time it's the same, he's always the boss, never letting her do anything without his permission, but then again he never gives his permission.

I watched as he walked out of the door and wondered:

Anyone got a gun?

This is the only time when I have felt I've got to write about the same blog...twice.

The reason for this is because I really do feel that all you want to do is find something, anything at all, to have a go at Tony.

As I said in the last blog and it has been confirmed:
There is insufficent evidence for prosecutors to expect that they could win a conviction in court.


Now, you know as well as I do that during the proceedings,which took 16 months, 4 people were arrested and Tony Blair himself was questioned 3 times by the police.

If John Yates can't find anything illegal after all this, then who can?
I am not criticing John Yates for his handling of this case even
Sir Ian Blair described the inquiry as "meticulous and proportionate."

But if he can't find anything after all that, well, who can?

If the police are keeping things quite then it is because there was nothing illegal about it.

I think we will have to agree to differ on this one.

CASH FOR HONOURS.

HOORAY, HOORAY, THE C.P.S. HAS GOT IT RIGHT!!

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed the decision not to prosecute anyone over the cash-for-honours allegations which dominated his last year in power.

It all started last March by a complaint from Scottish National Party MP Angus Macneil that four individuals who lent large sums to Labour ahead of the 2005 General Election had later been nominated for peerages.

There were 12 rich backers who together bankrolled Labour's election campaign with loans worth almost £14 million.

The enquiry saw 4 people arrested, including Lord Levy,Downing street aide Ruth Turner, entrepreneur Prof Sir Christopher Evans and former member of the council of the specialist schools and Academies Trust, Des Smith.

Mr. Blair who was questioned 3 times by police said he was "very pleased" that no-one would face trial. All those concerned had been put through a "terrible, even traumatic time."

The head of the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime Division,Carmen Dowd,said there was insufficient evidence for prosecutors to expect they could win a conviction in court.

Assistant Commissioner John Yates, who led the police investigation, defended his handling of the case as "absolutely proper."
And he won the public backing of his boss, Sir Ian Blair, who described the inquiry as "meticulous and proportionate."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he hoped the decision would "bring an end to what has been now months of speculation."


In my view, justice has been done!

I can't wait for the summer to be over.
I'm not being a bore, but I can no longer stand to see young men with their trousers below their bum.
I'm sick of seeing their pants.
I can't stand this fashion craze.

Go on, say it, I'm getting old!

Do you agree with bringing back the death penalty?

There are times when I would willingly agree with the death penalty, and even fight to bring it back.
I say sometimes because there has been occasions when the death penalty has been used for the wrong reason.
A perfect example of this would be Ruth Ellis.

Ruth Ellis was hanged on 13th July 1955.

She was convicted of murdering her boyfriend.
A man that had abused her and she could not take it anymore.

However, there was and still is a lot of people who believe that she should not have been hanged. She should have been imprisoned with the chance of being released.

However, when it comes to terrorists then that is a totally different matter.
What do we do with them?
Imprison them, and for how long?

There has been talk of treating them like prisoners of war. I actually agree with this. They would have no special treatment.
As long as they are put away for the rest of their lives.
That way they cannot harm anyone.
We must build a special prison for them, something like Alcrataz.

Or do we go back to the days of the death penalty and hang them?

If we hang them then surely it would be a deterrent to others?

Your True Self Revealed.......

I have just been on Mr. Policeman California blog site and he has done this test so I thought I would as well.

If you would like to do it then please go to his blog site and click on the test because, as usual, I can't do a link!

These are tested out of a hundred points.

Openness ................2
Extroversion.............8
Empathy.................94
Trust in Others.........80
Agency...................0
Masculinity..............0
Feminity................72
Spontaneity..............4
Attention To Style......58
Authoritarianism........62
Earthy/Imaginative......36
Aestetic/Functional......6


YOU ARE A THINKER.

You have a vivid capacity for imagery that allows you to see beyond your present circumstances.

A lot of your time is spent at home, or with the people you care about.
Although you may dream often, you're very aware of how things work, and you value things thta work well.

You prefer a set routine and you take comfort in the familiar, you are hesitant to take risks.

Sometimes you doubt weather you have the ability to face certain challenges, but your practical focus helps you solve most problems.

You have a broad-based, theorectical understanding of the world that allows you to understand it's workings.

You much prefer to have time to plan for things,feeling better with a schedule.
You tend to believe that things happen for a reason, and that not everything is under our control.

It does go on a bit more about how I trust others, prefer to have a small group of friends than be in large crowds.
Also relating to others, and understanding their emotions.
How I like to look at all sides of a situation before making a judgement, particulary when that situation involves important things in other peoples lives.

I am, apparently, a good listener.

Mr Policeman said they got it spot on with him and they seem to have with me as well, so why not go along and give it a go?

It's surprising what you find out isn't it?

I was very interested in Dickiebo's blog about U.F.O's. The reason is because my hobby is astromony, the planets, and of course is does make you wonder if there is anybody else out there.
We know that there is nothing in our solar system but us.
But what about all the other solar systems?
Are there aliens out there trying to contatc us?

On the documentary programmes there is a programme called "The UFO files."

It is fascinating.

It recalls many incidents, mainly pilots, that recall seeing U.F.O's one in particular happened in Mexico.

It was the 8th August 1994, an aeroplane was flying through mexico to go to the United states of America when the pilots reported seeing a flying object flying along side them! It was round and silver object
They radioed in and asked if there was any other aircraft that should be so close, but the operator said he could not see anything.
Suddenly the object shot forward very quickly and nearly crashed into the nose of the aeroplane.
It was not seen again.
It frightened the pilots and they said they had never been so scared in all there lives.

There have been many other reports of U.F.O's and even some video footage, but no-one can explain what these objects are.
Mostly they are silver coloured and shaped as the classical objects we have all heard of the "flying Saucer."

We will probably never know the real answer to these questions but it is interesting isn't it?

I have just sat down and looking through the T.V. channels I saw that "What not to wear" was just beginning.
It's not my fav programme but thought I would watch it for a change. No punn intended there.
Well, usually the women on that programme are quite young but have forgotten how to dress for the best, but on this occasion it was for menopausal women.

Well, that rings a bell.

There was two women who had become, shall we say, "lazy" dressers.It's not that they looked that bad, they didn't, but both of them were just wearing jeans and jumpers/t-shirts. Like must of us when we get home from work we just throw on anything that we feel comfortable in.
However, when talking to these two particular women, they both said that they just don't feel good enough in themselves to "bother" to get dressed up for anything or anyone.

One woman in particular started to cry and she explained that since she started going threw the menopause, she felt invisable and that everyone seemed to "glaze" over her. She also said that she "just could not be bothered."

Well, that rings a bell.

That is just how you do feel, on one hand you want to look your best so you feel better in yourself but on the otherhand you cannot be bothered with it, as nothing fits you and you do not know what to wear.
Suddenly, you find yourself looking at the older persons style clothing and wishing you could squeeze into that size 12 dress you have had for years.
Fashion also plays a big part in this. It is aimed for the young and trendy. You suddenly find out that you are not anymore.
You walk away from the shops feeling fat, fat ,fat, and totally depressed because those days have gone.

God I really associated with those two women and I'm sure many other ladies did as well.

Getting older is a funny thing isn't it? Not much fun either.

I won't depress you anymore, so I'll stop moaning now.

I'm off to have that slice of chocolate cake.

Late one night a man and a women were driving along a country lane when something ran out in front of them. The man braked hard but he hit whatever it was.
They got out of the car and ran around to it.
"Oh my god," The lady said "Look it's a skunk, and it's shivering and breathing very fast and hard."
"Yes," Said the man. "It's in shock,it's shivering because it is cold, put it between your legs and keep it warm."
"WHAT!" The lady exclaimed. "But it smells."
"That's all right." The man said. "Tell it to hold it's nose."