July 25th 08 - Blue wobbles!

A strange photo I know, but this is the surface of my new wobble ball from the physio. Apparently if I stand on it and use it to develop my balance it will help strengthen the muscles in my calf and heel. All good stuff. I just hope I don't fall off it and break another bone :)

It's also Mum's birthday today, so Happy Birthday Mum, see you soon xx

July 24th 08 - meal and drinks with Ruby in Sheffield followed by a late night walk to find the car!

I went over to see Ruby at her conference in Sheffield this evening and we went for a drink then out to dinner with several of the delegates. Now for someone who knows nothing at all (apart from what Ruby has patiently tried to teach me) about linguistics I was really interested in the conversations and even managed an intelligent comment or too :))

Seriously though, they were a great bunch, really good company and all had fascinating stories to tell. Especially a guy from Zimbabwe who had some harrowing tales from the troubles over there and how the country is changing day to day. Really compelling stuff.

This photos shows the path I took back to my car, which I eventually found after walking the side streets for a little longer than I'd hoped for at midnight!

July 23rd 08 - sleepy summer's bed

Something really nice about summer, seeing the sun streaming through the window in the afternoon. I'm quite tired actually today so I might just get into this bed right now zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

July 22nd 08 - Chilli plant success and a visit from Ruby

I can't quite believe it, but the chilli plant has survived me being away. It was very dry and a bit wilted in the sun, but amazingly it has now sprouted about 8 chillies. There were a few flowers when I left to go to Berwick and I hoped they might turn into chillies in time but I'm so happy to eventually have something from this plant. I'm no green fingered gardener so this is a proud day for me :) I just have to wait for them to mature now and then find something to cook with them...can't wait!

I had a visitor today too. Ruby came down to see me all the way from Edinburgh, she is at a conference in Sheffield for the later part of this week so I was the port of call on the way home. Lovely to see her again and spend time with each other. I cooked a meal and we chatted over a couple of bottles of red wine on the sofa...perfect.

July 21st 08 - A week away...the aftermath!

Finally back home, after a great week away. I really enjoyed the holiday, seeing Dilys, partying at Phyllis' 90th and of course seeing Ruby too, but it is always nice to be home. Although I did have piles of washing to do, but at least the weather was dry and warm so they soon dried out on the line. Luckily I have tomorrow off work too so I can have a long rest and recover from the busy week.

July 20th 08 - Happy 90th Birthday Aunty Phyllis

The reason I was up in Berwick for the week, Aunty Phyllis' 90th Birthday party. What a night...it was brilliant. She certainly doesn't look 90 and no way does she act 90. In fact she put many of the guests to shame with her dancing and carrying on. I hope I'm half as sprightly as she is when I get to 60 let alone 90. Well done Aunty Phyllis, thank you for a great night and I can't wait for your 100th!

July 19th 08 - Dilys and Mary having a bowling conference

Back at the bowls club. This time for an important triples match where Dilys, Mary (both pictured) and Margaret got through to the quarter finals in a major competition sponsored by Famous Grouse. They all played really well. By this time in the week, Chris had come up to stay too so we'd both gone to Holy Island (Lindisfarne) earlier in the day for some photos but as is usual in the English summer the heavens opened so photo taking was cut short in an attempt to run for the car. We made it back to the bowls club in time for the bar to open though :)

July 18th 08 - A view of the Firth of Forth after a lovely couple of days with Ruby

Another trip north to see Ruby. I had a great time, and didn’t want to leave in the end. We had a relaxing meal, a long chat and then in the morning we went for a walk along the coastal path before heading out for lunch to a place just up the road. On the way back to her house we stopped at a view point and got some beautiful views out over the Firth of Forth. This is a small island in the Firth with an Abbey on it. Apparently you can get a tour boat out there and have a walk round the island. That's something to do another time I think. See you again soon Ruby xx

July 17th 08 - One of the frogs

Aunty Dilys is/was a huge fan of frogs. As with anyone that has a fondness for items such as this she was always bought them for Christmas, birthdays, special occasions etc and eventually the house was full of them so she had to call for a stop. Now there has been a frog cull in the house and only a few special ones remain. This one lives in the bathroom by the shower. I'm not sure what his name is though :)

July 16th 08 - Paxton House

While Dilys was at work I jumped in the car and made use of the good weather to head out in search of new places to visit. This is Paxton House, a stately home just over the border into Scotland. It's a Scottish Palladian mansion built in 1758. It's well worth a visit. More info at http://www.paxtonhouse.co.uk/. The gardens are a nice walk and a path takes you down to the River Tweed where, at certain times of the year, you can watch the fisherman out on the river trying to catch Salmon the traditional way. I watched them bring in several nets but without so much as a tiddler. The house itself is open but it's guided tours only. I was lucky to be the only one in the tour at the time I visited so was treated to a personal guided tour of the house...brilliant and very interesting.

July 15th 08 - Berwick Bowling Club

Aunty Dilys is a real bowls fan and plays at almost every opportunity during the summer. The Berwick Bowling Club is just over the walls from her house and is a beautiful setting. The green is a real sun trap and has beautiful flower beds all around with plenty of benches to either watch the action or get lost in a book. This time Dilys was playing a tie against another lady which she went on to win. I took a few photos of the action but I was worried I was proving to be too distracting, so this is a shot of one of the flower displays instead.

July 14th 08 - View of the Berwick walls

I also try and make time when visiting Berwick to get round the walls as often as I can. They're a great way to see the town, and a good source of exercise too. I've taken so many photos of the town over the years that it's sometimes hard to find a new angle. For this shot I went out over the main road bridge to get a photo of the old bridge with the houses and walls in the background. My Granny and Granfy used to live not far from the walls so this side of town is really familiar to me. Luckily the light and the sky worked to make a nice HDR image which was a stitch of about 7 photos I think.

July 13th 08 - Lunch at Gleneagles

While staying in Berwick I took the opportunity to go up to a place near Edinburgh called Dalgety Bay to see my good friend Ruby. She works in Edinburgh and we know each other through the Flickr photo site. She's a lovely lady and full of energy with a wicked sense of humour. I also enjoy being in her company so I was looking forward to seeing her. When I arrived we had a drink and a bit of a catch up then she suggested we take a short drive out to a hotel near her for lunch. I opted to drive and after a nice drive through the Scottish countryside we arrived at a beautiful golf course. She'd navigated me to Gleneagles Golf Course of all places. What a beautiful setting, a lovely hotel with great views of the surrounding hills and a wonderful golf course. We had lunch in one of the main bars in the hotel and it was lovely. We then headed south to visit Rosslyn Chapel before coming back to Dalgety Bay for dinner. Thank you Ruby, you're a star xx

July 12th 08 - Walk around Berwick pier to see the lighthouse

No visit to Berwick is complete without a walk round the pier to see the lighthouse. It was really windy when I went down onto the beach by the pier so I had to tuck myself tight against the wall to get a steady shot out of the wind. I love being by the sea, something really calming about listening to the waves and watching the energy as they crash against the walls of the pier. Lovely.

July 11th 08 - Berwick for the week!

A much needed break, some time away in Berwick to see my aunty. I love going up there for a holiday as Aunty Dilys is such fun and welcoming, also Berwick is a lovely town and holds many fond memories for me as my Granny and Granfy (Dad's side of the family) lived there. If you've never been to the town then it is worth a visit, not least for the walk around the walls which offers great views of the town and across the River Tweed to the North Sea.

When I arrived, after nearly 4 hours driving in very heavy rain Dilys was out playing bowls, but she had left me dinner on the stove and a bottle of red wine all ready for me. Thanks Aunty x

Going away - be back soon

I'm going away for a little while, so I'll post my photos from the trip when I get back. See you in a week or so :)

July 10th 08 - The start of physio

May I say first of all, that this photo is not a shot of me with my underpants round my ankles, as many of my Flickr contacts thought!!

I was so embarrassed to read their comments lol

This is the rubber band that my physio has given me following our first session today,. Apparently it will help me with some resistance work to build back up the muscles in my leg and foot after breaking my ankle back in March. I'm relived to hear that all the pain will eventually go away however the ankle area will never go back to normal completely due to the swelling, at least I will be back walking in the hills again before too long which is great news

July 9th 08 - In need of some inspiration

Sorry the last few posts have been somewhat lacklustre but I'm struggling with inspiration with this project right now. I think I've hit the wall! But hopefully this will pass and more exciting opportunities will present themselves soon. I turned to my magazines today and they gave me some ideas, unfortunately I got sidetracked by the food magazine and ended up making a batch of chocolate brownies for the team at work instead...they were delicious though :)

July 8th 08 - A green pepper on a red pepper plant!

Now this is a little odd. This is a red pepper plant bought as a friend to my red chilli plant and this is the first fruit to appear and it seems to be the wrong colour.

I'm assured by people in the know, and I needed to ask as I certainly don't have green fingers, that this is just the development stage and a red pepper will emerge. In the meantime I will brush up on Trading Standards legislation just in case :)

July 7th 08 - Bathroom chaos

The bathroom is in a bit of a state today, all thanks to the new shower being fitted. Roy, the plumber, has done an excellent job so far, and even though this looks like a right mess now he assures me that a new shower will be in and working by Friday :) Frankly, I can't wait.

July 6th 08 - Ready for a new shower

Today I had to get the bathroom ready for the plumber coming tomorrow. He's fitting me a new shower, doing some tiling, some sealing and a few other odds and ends. I can't wait for it all to be done as I'm fed up with having to use those plug-in showers that fit over the bath taps. The hot water pressure in my house is so feeble that you hardly get a trickle over yourself...not easy to get ready in a hurry for work which seems to be me every morning!

The "so" came off my shower curtain, it has the words shower, wash and soap printed all over it. Apparently they are there to remind stupid people what a bathroom is for. Maybe I should get some tea towels with the words wash up, dry and put away written on them for the kitchen :)

July 5th 08 - The last of the poppies

I've had some really great poppies growing in the garden for the first time this year. No idea how they found their way into the garden as I didn't plant them, But as the garden has gone a bit wild this year, mainly due to me being off my feet for three months with a broken ankle, I can't say I'm surprised they turned up.

I'd leave the house every morning to the poppies just opening up and looking really splendid, then by the time I got home each evening the wind had blown the petals off and they didn't warrant any photos. But today, as I was stood by my front door fumbling for keys, I thought the poppy head itself was a very interesting shape so it got picked and dragged inside in front of my camera :)

July 4th 08 - A day trip (at work!)

I was the only one in our office today, everyone else was on a mix of leave or off to a course somewhere or other. So, faced with the option of spending the day in the office doing paper work or getting out in the car to do some site visits the car trip won out. I can assure you it had nothing to do with it being a beautiful day though!

The area I cover at work is just over 900 sq miles and has some great countryside and sleepy villages so I quite enjoy getting out and about and exploring. There were quite a few areas I had to visit to I turned off the climate control, wound the window down and took it easy, enjoying the sun and the cool breeze. Oh this is the life :)

July 3rd 08 - A food photo

Every now and again I fall back to a food photo for my Project365 (photo-a-day) set. They're easy to do and provide a good reminder of what I've been eating over the year too lol

I love to cook so it's nice to find time to make myself something really nice. This is a replica of a meal I had out not so long ago and really liked. It's chicken, fresh pasta, leek, mushroom and roasted cashew nuts in a green pesto sauce...and it was delicious.

July 2nd 08 - Old faithful boots :)

Another one of those multi-agency days today. We had a joint operation with the Police, VOSA, HMRC, DVLA and us at the Council. It was really interesting and we got some good results, and it was a great excuse to stand in the sun all day long too. I had to get the old Dr Marten steel toe capped boots out for the day.

They live in the boot of my car and the socks are always simply stuffed inside after each use, I realised today that they'd not been washed for at least a year...but get this, they don't smell!!

July 1st 08 - Beautiful skies

The sky over East Yorkshire today was magnificent. It was a deep blue sky with the most awesome wispy clouds I'd ever seen. They were the really high altitude cirrus clouds and looked incredible.

I was on a site visit with a colleague of mine and even though we were trying to do some serious research and sampling I couldn't help but stop and gaze at the clouds all the time.

Maybe the fact that I had my head up looking at the sky all the time was the reason I have a bright red face now from having caught the sun!

That will teach me :)

June 30th 08 - DIY...no thank you!!

A week go my electric shower went kapputt. It was very old and had run its course really. So, today I had a local plumber come round to give me a quote to replace the shower with a new one, re-tile a section of the bathroom and do a few other odds and sods around the bathroom.

Now I have no idea at all when it comes to DIY. I must have missed that gene when they were handing them round...so I tried to act like I knew what he was talking about when he started to describe all the different steps he would take and how long things would take, but it all sounded like some strange foreign language to me. I did decipher that he'd like me to strip the old sealant off the bath so that would save him a job (and me lots of money) when he has to re-seal when he comes next week. So, this afternoon I set about taking the old stuff off...goodness me, what a job!! After about ten minutes I six different tools to help me: a flat head screwdriver, a stanley knife, a pair of scissors, a pair of pliers, a chisel and a plastic ruler!! It was a mammoth job. Then I reached out to steady myself over the bath and managed to sit on the tail end of the shower curtain which caused the shower rail to come down onto my head. I'd managed to pull the screw fixing right out of the ceiling, leaving a rather nice hole. So I had to go find the drill and some raw plugs from the shed to put a new fixing up...the result, lots of dust, lots of swearing...and in the end I had to go to Focus to buy some superglue to attach the new fixing to the ceiling as the plaster is so old it wasn't strong enough to drill through properly.

The moral of this story is...tradesmen, you get a bad rap but you are worth your weight in gold!!
I take after my Granfy, who, according to my Granny never learnt how to use a screwdriver in his entire life :)

P.S. Single ladies...I'm not a complete lost cause...I can cook!

June 29th 078 - Some time by the sea

I don't know what is about being by the sea, but I love it. I really like just going there and enjoying the scenery and listening to the waves. I live about a half hour from the sea and I wouldn't change it for the world. These are the cliffs just below the main lighthouse at Flamborough.

My Granny and Granfy lived by the sea in Northumbria and Nan and Granddad didn't live that far from the Norfolk coastline so we've always been able to go spend time by the sea all my life.

Being into photography helps too as the coastline round where I live offers some really diverse photo opportunities from quiet coves to great chalk cliffs, from busy seaside resorts to eroded groynes jutting out past disused lighthouses.

Whenever I need some time to think, or some Jon-time, then the seaside is where you'll find me...usually with camera in hand

June 28th 08 - Stripes on an eco-building

This stripey feature is on the side of the fruit market in Hull. A highly innovative building that is extremely eco-friendly. The roof is basically a huge gutter to capture rain water and along one side of the roof is a vast array of solar panels and wind turbines. They make a very strange fluttering noise as you walk past.

I like the building as they have really pushed the boundaries in design and made it as "green" as possible which is a great way to test out new technology and push to see what is possible and importantly, economical when it comes to trying to build a self-sufficient building. Well done to them.

If you want to go have a look yourself then it's signposted off the main A63 that goes through Hull and isn't that far away from the main marina.

June 27th 08 - The pollen count

Every morning at this time of year I have to undertake the pollen count. This involves me firstly changing the pollen trap on the roof of the Wilbert Court flats in Beverley, then taking the used drum into the office and analysing the tape under a microscope to actually count the pollen grains! As a team we are responsible for the data that informs the national pollen forecast for this region. We do it between beginning of June and start of August every year. The data is then phoned through to the National Pollen Research Centre in Worcester where they combine it with data from other centres and use it to model the grass pollen forecast which you see on your TV and in your newspapers etc.

I don't mind going up there on the roof every morning, as long as it's not too windy, but I do hate doing the count under the microscope, especially making the slides up as it's very fiddly and easy to make a hash of. The roof offers some great views of the town, and not something you see everyday. So I'll put up with the rest of it just for that.

Thankfully I don't suffer with hayfever, but if you do rely on the forecasts for your hayfever then spare a thought for us poor souls counting it on your behalf :)