My Year in Pictures - 2014

That was the year that was....

After 2 redundancies and 12 years of low paid jobs, I was finally in a position to be able to buy a car.  It is the oldest car I have ever owned, it is the cheapest car I have ever owned, but, my word, it is the most appreciated of any car I have ever had the use of.

June saw exams and a week in Spain, most of the week was spent here...

 In the Alcatraz...

In Gringo Joe's....

Or in the strawberry cake shop, otherwise known as Bar Centric.

In September I travelled to Norfolk for a birthday party, I also visited some of the local attractions.

The Gruffalo Trail, High Lodge Thetford, Suffolk

 Banham Zoo, Norfolk

Gallifrey, Norfolk

September also saw me in Prestatyn for the Queen Fan Club Convention weekend.  Beautiful Haven site, but the sea had evidently gone away for the weekend too!

October saw me back in Norfolk for Halloween, alcohol may have been involved here, the theme was Doctor Who if anyone is still wondering,  I went as a fat Ace.

I again visited some local attractions.

Africa Alive, Suffolk

WWT Welney, Norfolk.

Then December was exams (boo) and Christmas, a colleague and I were taken out for a Christmas meal by our line managers (and friends) to say thank you for our help over the year.

Then Santa arrived

And New Year Happened.

The Grape Escape if anyone is wondering.

Happy 2015 everyone!

Hallowe'en Tunes and Theme Tunes

You will never be able to accuse me of not jumping on a bandwagon whenever one passes.

So, in no particular order, here are my top ten creepy tunes for Hallowe'en (may not be suitable for children or those of a nervous disposition, especially no.9)

1.  Soft Cell - Martin.  This track was inspired by George A Romero's film of the same name released in 1978.  It is very creepy but reminds me of Sunday evenings listening to Annie Nightingale on Radio 1.

2.  The Whistle Song from American Horror Story.  In isolation this is quite a jaunty tune, but the association with the horror series just gets the hairs on the back of the neck just lifting a bit.

3.  The Watch Chime from A Few Dollars More.  Again, in isolation not threatening at all, but combined with images of Lee Van Cleef and Clint Eastwood staring at each other and waiting for the chimes to finish, the tension just builds.

4.  Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells.  No explanation needed I think.

5.  Mike Oldfield - Sailor's Hornpipe.  It's that man again!  This is less scary-scary and more weird scary, like you wouldn't want to be in a room alone with the narrator.  I wouldn't anyway.

6.  Shakespeares Sister - Stay.  A song which can either be taken as being about a partner leaving or a loved one dying, there seems to be two schools of thought here.  I just like the track.

7.  Toyah - Angel & Me.  Every time I listen to this, I get the feeling that the Angel in the song is of the fallen kind.

8.  Hazel O'Connor - The Eighth Day.  A look ahead at what could happen in this over mechanised/automated world.

9.  Stealer's Wheel - Stuck in the Middle With You.  Not sure which is scarier, this version or the Bradley Walsh/Joe Pasquale collaboration.

10.  Ave Satani.  From The Omen, unlike some of the previous entries, this is really not scary when you listen to it out of context, or even in context, but, hey, it's from The Omen, and that kid was freaky!

Sunday Night Mash Up

Last night I spent the first Saturday night at home for four weeks and it felt odd!

I have had three weekends in Birmingham studying for my ACCA and one long weekend in Wymondham so when I left Baskerville House after class yesterday I had to remind myself that I was going back to the station as I automatically turned towards the hotel when I left the building.  I had actually thought about checking myself in somewhere but decided it was an unnecessary expense considering I am supposed to be saving for a car.

And it wasn't until I woke up this morning that I realised that I would have to make my own breakfast too. In the various hotels I have been having sausages, eggs, croissants, petit pain, butter, jam, lattes or any combination of the above.  Today I had toast.

Next weekend I am at home, with the three weekends after in either Birmingham or Wymondham.

Nothing much else has happened this week.  There are things going on at work which obviously I cannot talk about, but which are not doing anything for my mental well being.  I was feeling better after I had my anti-depressant medication doubled, but over the last couple of weeks I feel that all the progress I had made has been lost.  I even considered phoning in sick on Friday but that wouldn't have made any difference to the problem, just made it harder to go in tomorrow (Monday).  Hopefully things will be resolved soon, fingers crossed.

I have finally made a decision with regard to my fancy dress costume for the Ghostbusters themed Hallowe'en party, I am recycling an old one!  I wanted a Statue of Liberty costume but being bigger than a size 12 I couldn't find one, so watching the film again, for research purposes you understand, I reaslised that there was a maid in the hotel where the team go to catch Slimer.  I have a maid's uniform from a previous Rocky Horror themed party, yeay!