Out in Peterlee and spotted this! Woolies folded at the end of 2008 and here we are over 4 years later and this store has clearly never been relet. Depressing....
Thursday 28 February 2013
Tuesday 26 February 2013
Sunday 24 February 2013
Swimming. Followed by swimming
Patrick up this weekend, and wanted to swim without Daniel. Daniel wanted to swim and hadn't been able to do so during half term because we've all been ill.
Sooooo, I took Daniel swimming Saturday morning, and Patrick swimming Sunday morning. And they both played nicely with each other on and off through the weekend! Which was nice.
Also done - more IKEA. This time toy storage.
Thursday 21 February 2013
We needed this!
Washing machine broke at the end of last week. A quick look at it and it was clear it was knackered. So back we went to Appliances Online for a replacement.
As always they are very cheap with brilliant customer service. We get a day and a time for delivery, and on the day they narrow it down until the guys arrive. So Sonia posted a thank-you on Facebook and received a signed thanks letter from their MD!
Other than that, its been a week of bleugh. I picked up a stomach bug which hit me hard on Monday, so spent 2 days off. Cara also vomiting, Daniel pasty white, a fun few days with lots of washing in the new machine
As always they are very cheap with brilliant customer service. We get a day and a time for delivery, and on the day they narrow it down until the guys arrive. So Sonia posted a thank-you on Facebook and received a signed thanks letter from their MD!
Other than that, its been a week of bleugh. I picked up a stomach bug which hit me hard on Monday, so spent 2 days off. Cara also vomiting, Daniel pasty white, a fun few days with lots of washing in the new machine
Sunday 17 February 2013
A quiet week, and then....
Haven't posted for a week as I haven't done very much. Spent 5 days in the office so little to report there. Well, apart from getting the Forecasting champion of the month award, then being voted Gold performer of the month!
Weight loss going well too, half a pound away from having lost a stone since the turn of the year. This week will be a write off though, starting with a Fish and Chip lunch in Tuesday's sales meeting, a nice valentines tea on Thursday, and then a weekend of food terror!
We've gone to Sheffield to see everyone down there. To Dave and Helen's first so Daniel and Pat could play. Then off to Centretainment and Frankie and Bennies where Nige, Holly, GC, Pete, Rachel, Neil and Michelle joined us for a long lunch (slow service = time to talk).
Then over to Nige's where we took the dogs for a walk, then finally off to the Premier Inn at Tankersley. For more food badness over a DVD.
Then today we went into Sheffield on the tram, Sonia and Cara off for a mumsnet meet at Weston Park museum, Daniel and I off on the tram. First we wandered round the University campus, then down to Shalesmoor and back for the steep hill and tunnel, then all the way back to Crystal Peaks to buy food. Beautiful
sunny day so amazing views out over Sheffield on the climb up to Manor Top.
We went back to the station (lots of trains "asleep" in the centre roads) and on to the fountains outside and around the peace gardens. A really relaxing fun weekend!
Weight loss going well too, half a pound away from having lost a stone since the turn of the year. This week will be a write off though, starting with a Fish and Chip lunch in Tuesday's sales meeting, a nice valentines tea on Thursday, and then a weekend of food terror!
We've gone to Sheffield to see everyone down there. To Dave and Helen's first so Daniel and Pat could play. Then off to Centretainment and Frankie and Bennies where Nige, Holly, GC, Pete, Rachel, Neil and Michelle joined us for a long lunch (slow service = time to talk).
Then over to Nige's where we took the dogs for a walk, then finally off to the Premier Inn at Tankersley. For more food badness over a DVD.
Then today we went into Sheffield on the tram, Sonia and Cara off for a mumsnet meet at Weston Park museum, Daniel and I off on the tram. First we wandered round the University campus, then down to Shalesmoor and back for the steep hill and tunnel, then all the way back to Crystal Peaks to buy food. Beautiful
sunny day so amazing views out over Sheffield on the climb up to Manor Top.
We went back to the station (lots of trains "asleep" in the centre roads) and on to the fountains outside and around the peace gardens. A really relaxing fun weekend!
Friday 8 February 2013
A trip to the Seaside (part 2)
Yesterday saw the second day of my trip south. Meeting wasn't until 11 so I had a wander around Brighton. A beautiful sunny morning if rather cold, the prom was empty apart from numerous joggers.
The plan for the trip home was the express Victoria service booked for 10WES, yet due to some problems at Clapham Junction all Victoria services were caped. So onto an FCC service, and being honest sitting in the motor coach over one of the power bogies with the window open it was a lot of fun - seriously screechy traction motors.
Then onto the 15:00 Edinburgh fast off the cross. Its another HST diagram which for 393 miles entirely under the wires makes no sense at all. The set is the ex- East Midlands Trains set in their livery. Inside its IC70 seats in red with blue walls! And home....
The plan for the trip home was the express Victoria service booked for 10WES, yet due to some problems at Clapham Junction all Victoria services were caped. So onto an FCC service, and being honest sitting in the motor coach over one of the power bogies with the window open it was a lot of fun - seriously screechy traction motors.
Then onto the 15:00 Edinburgh fast off the cross. Its another HST diagram which for 393 miles entirely under the wires makes no sense at all. The set is the ex- East Midlands Trains set in their livery. Inside its IC70 seats in red with blue walls! And home....
Thursday 7 February 2013
A trip to the Seaside (part 1)
2 day trip to the south coast. Started yesterday with my usual 08:25 HST to Kings Cross, then a walk across the road to St Pancras. The new domestic platforms hang off the northeastern corner of the Barlow train shed and its a horrible windswept place.
Onto a Hitachi Javelin set for the blast down HS1 to Ashford. The train is nearly empty so I have a pick of seats. Narrow windows so even sat on one of the few tables doesn't exactly have a great view.
We start burrowing under the tracks out of the international station then climbing steeply and into the tunnel. Stratford International is another featureless concrete box, but has the odd feature of the access track to the depot climbing on a viaduct over the platform.
Once out of the next tunnel we race past Ford at Dagenham hitting 137mph. A long swooping viaduct at Purfleet then another tunnel this time under the Thames. These 395 sets have got serious power on tap, when the driver opens up we surge forward, twice hitting 138mph towards Ashford.
I'd got a train half an hour earlier than needed hoping to catch some Eurostars on HS1 which passes adjacent to Ashford station on a descending viaduct. Its perishingly cold, and much to my bemusement the only E* set goes past when the view was blocked by a train!
On then to Rye on a Turbostar. Meeting at Jempsons saw me back on another Turbostar to Brighton which had various groups of kids on their way home from school. Past Hastings the line hugs the beach which looked desolate and cold.
At Brighton I was in the Grand hotel, so was surprised to be put in a room with no heating. They had two oil radiators plugged into the only spare sockets and it was freezing! I rang and asked for a move to a room with both heating and power!
Finally off out for dinner to Wetherspoons. Took a table in the window for people watching, though the real entertainment turned out to be a large group of students with no ID. Well they tried a bank card (not accepted) and a railcard (not accepted) before being asked to leave. They need a McLovin ID!
Onto a Hitachi Javelin set for the blast down HS1 to Ashford. The train is nearly empty so I have a pick of seats. Narrow windows so even sat on one of the few tables doesn't exactly have a great view.
We start burrowing under the tracks out of the international station then climbing steeply and into the tunnel. Stratford International is another featureless concrete box, but has the odd feature of the access track to the depot climbing on a viaduct over the platform.
Once out of the next tunnel we race past Ford at Dagenham hitting 137mph. A long swooping viaduct at Purfleet then another tunnel this time under the Thames. These 395 sets have got serious power on tap, when the driver opens up we surge forward, twice hitting 138mph towards Ashford.
I'd got a train half an hour earlier than needed hoping to catch some Eurostars on HS1 which passes adjacent to Ashford station on a descending viaduct. Its perishingly cold, and much to my bemusement the only E* set goes past when the view was blocked by a train!
On then to Rye on a Turbostar. Meeting at Jempsons saw me back on another Turbostar to Brighton which had various groups of kids on their way home from school. Past Hastings the line hugs the beach which looked desolate and cold.
At Brighton I was in the Grand hotel, so was surprised to be put in a room with no heating. They had two oil radiators plugged into the only spare sockets and it was freezing! I rang and asked for a move to a room with both heating and power!
Finally off out for dinner to Wetherspoons. Took a table in the window for people watching, though the real entertainment turned out to be a large group of students with no ID. Well they tried a bank card (not accepted) and a railcard (not accepted) before being asked to leave. They need a McLovin ID!
Saturday 2 February 2013
Flashing, biking and Mousing
A busy day. Have flashed both of the old phones. ZTE Blade now runs Ice Cream Sandwich and will be my work phone. Took at lot more effort to get a flash onto the Samsung Galaxy Europa, but that's now running Froyo so that it can be a wifi hotspot on my outgoing T-Mobile SIM.
Also road the bike to Teesside park and back to get a mouse for the Media Centre PC. Got a neat Logitech one from Argos which has a slot in the battery compartment for the nano receiver - very clever.
Friday 1 February 2013
I'vw gone to Netflix
Sat in the office earlier browsing The Guardian and read a piece that they'd remade House of Cards. Now I love the original - Ian Richardson was astonishing as Francis Urquhart. So the idea of a remake worried me, especially one made by Netflix.
Then I read on. Andrew Davies and Michael Dobbs are executive producers. Its produced and directed by David Fincher. And its got Kevin Spacey in the lead. Its set it present day Washington and he is a Congressman who is the Democrat whip who helps get a President elected who then goes back on the deal to make him Secretary of State.
What I like about it is that its political drama on a grand scale, beautifully shot and acted with Kevin Spacey doing his own role but with enough references to the original to keep fans happy.
As for Netflix its 10:30 at night and its still playing OK even on my slow broadband. Now that they're commissioning content (2 x 13 episodes reportedly for $100m!) could this be a game changer?
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