Aginoth's Retirement Ramblings

Dear God

2008-08-29T09:41:00.003+01:00

Dear God,

Thank you for doing so much for us mere mortals on Earth, and for the Bible that allows us to understand God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your book, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. (After all, all things in the bible should be taken and followed as the literal law)

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific
laws and how to follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing
odour for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbours. They
claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus
21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is
in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is,
how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and
female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations.
A friend of mine claims that this applies to The Welsh, but not
Scots. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Scots?

e) I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2
clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill
him myself?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I
don't agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a
defect in my sight. I have to admit that I used to wear glasses, and have had laser surgery. Does my vision have to be naturally 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden
by Lev.19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me
unclean, but may I still play Rugby if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two
different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments
made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend).
He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that
we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone
them? (Lev.24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private
family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws?
(Lev. 20:14)

How safe is your data?

2008-02-20T13:36:00.000Z

A coupleof months ago my Laptop Hard Drive made a horrible grinding noise and died. Never mind I though I make a Daily Backup to another drive on my network. Spent a few hours installing a new Hard Drive to the laptop, then tried to restore the backup data...

My Network Hard Drive Failed halfway thru the back up, anothe phyical failure. Tried software method sof recovery to no avail....35 Gb of data down the pan...

I lost 10 years of Photographs, every picture I had of my children growing up, our honeymoon, our wedding, thousands of pictures of us at reenactments...about 15Gb
I lost 10Gb (7000 mp3 music tracks
numerous videos
all my documents and other data (about 5Gb)

Just goes to show that one back up is not sufficient, I now do two btw.

I now back up daily to a portable toughened Hard Drive, and I also back up to an online data Store. I use BT Digital Vault, where I have about 35Gb Stored out of a maximum of 50Gb, it costs £4.99 a month.

It cost me £404 pounds to have the original Laptop Hard Drive recovered from a physical failure so £4.99 is nothing in comparison.

The online storage is backed up by BT Daily to a seperate server, plus my computer now uploads any changed file to the back up every 20 minutes.

How safe is your data?

Monster Trailer

2007-12-16T08:58:00.000Z

So finally retired :o)

We've been promising ourselves for a couple of years to get a decent sized trailer for reenactment and yesterday we got one.

Had to drive 250 miles to Clacton and back to get it but even with the fuel cost it was a good price at a litle under £2000.

An Ifor Williams BV85 for those who care, about £4000 new....scary huh?

anyway our beast of a car towed it with now appreciable effort and no additional fuel consumption, not bad for a trailer that weighs 700kg empty !!!

now comes the less fun part of moving all our reenactment kit into the back of it....

Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

2007-11-27T22:22:00.000Z

Ripped Wholesale from a friends post on http://www.psoriasis-help.org.uk So good I thought I'd share. With my Retirement day looming I thought it was appropriate...even at 37 :o)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recently, I was diagnosed with AA.A.D.D. -
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.
This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,
put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table,
and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back
on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think,
since I'm going to be near the mailbox
when I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my cheque book off the table,
and see that there is only one cheque left.

My extra cheques are in my desk in the study,
so I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my cheques,
but first I need to push the Coke aside
so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Coke is getting warm,
and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold..

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke,
a vase of flowers on the counter
catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Coke on the counter and
discover my reading glasses that
I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk,
but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter,
fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realise that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
so I decide to put it back in the lounge where it belongs,
but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers,
but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table,
get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to
remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

the car isn't washed

the bills aren't paid

there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter

the flowers don't have enough water,

there is still only 1 cheque in my cheque book,

I can't find the remote,

I can't find my glasses,

and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all bloody day,
and I'm really tired.

I realise this is a serious problem,
and I'll try to get some help for it,
but first I'll check my e-mail....

Do me a favor.
Forward this message to everyone you know,
because I don't remember who the hell I've sent it to.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming

please give generously...to something

A Long time ago....

2007-11-19T21:04:00.000Z

5478 days ago me and Mrs A started going out together

that's 15 years !!!

coincidently it's the same day as the Queen and Prince Philip's Wedding Aniversary, although that has no relevance at all as I am not a Royalist :o)

No longer Trapped in the Body of a Civil Servant

2007-11-08T11:23:00.000Z

I have just signed off of the Official Secrets Act...doesn't mean much except now I am no longer allowed access to any of my, soon to be previous, employers properties or documents, and I agree not to profit from any knowledge gained whilst employed by them; yeah right, I know jack-shit about anything important, and endeavoured to always keep it like that.

It also means that as of 30th November 2007 I can no longer be sacked for blogging, as I was threatened with a cople of years back, which led to the hasty deletion of my previous blog "Trapped in the Body of a Civil Servant...Help!!!"

....hastily looks over shoulder for thought police...

Went to Craziequeens Birthday Bowling Bash last weekend, and risked bowling...wrists heavily strapped and using child weight balls I just about managed 2 games, but boy did it hurt towards the end, arthritis sucks, but had a good time and took a few pictures of the Birthday Girl being Drunk for you all...

Captions welcome :)

Harvest Assembly - Video

2007-10-20T09:30:00.001+01:00

So as promised yesterday here's the video of the Assembly...

Part 1

Part 2

Harvest

2007-10-19T19:11:00.000+01:00

Today was the last day of Term 1 for the kids at school, so that meant it was Harvest Assembly day. Up until about the 1950's children at this time of year would be excused school to go to help bring in the harvest from the fields.

Thanks have been given for successful harvests since pre-Roman times in Britain. The celebrations in modern times usually include singing hymns, praying and decorating churches with baskets of fruit and food in the festival known as Harvest Festival or Harvest Home or Harvest Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving.

In British churches, chapels, and schools people bring in food from the garden, the allotment or farm, although nowadays people tend to buy a few extra cans of fod or dried produce at the supermarket and supply that. The food is then distributed among the poor and senior citizens of the local community, or used to raise funds for the church, or charity. In the case of Aginoth Junior's School the produce collectd is being donated to teh local Meals on Wheels service that provides food for the eldery and infirm in the community who are unable to cook for themselves.

In the USA and Canada, the festival is set on a certain day and has become a National Holiday known as Thanksgiving (now you know it's origins :o) ). In North America it has become a national secular holiday with religious origins, but in Britain it remains a Church festival giving thanks to God for the harvest.

The modern British tradition of celebrating Harvest Festival in churches began in 1843, when the Reverend Robert Hawker invited parishioners to a special thanksgiving service at his church at Morwenstow in Cornwall. Victorian hymns such as "We plough the fields and scatter", "Come ye thankful people, come" and "All things bright and beautiful" helped popularise his idea of harvest festival and spread the annual custom of decorating churches with home-grown produce for the Harvest Festival service.

Anyway...

Me or Mrs.A always make sure one of us goes to the shcool functions and special assemblies, even thogh we are not at all religious, we like to show suport for the school and to Agi Junior...as we should :o)

I recorded it and i'm trying to get it uploaded so you can see it :) .... I can sense your excitement :o)

That was this morning.

I spent the bulk of today buried in more paper, this time sorting out my claim on my Life insurance under the critical illness clause we thankfully activated when we took out the policy...it covers me for being declared permanently disabled and unable to work by my employers medical advisor...which they have and I have a certificate to prove it. Now I just have to persuade our insurers. It feels a little odd claiming on your own life insurance I must say...

A quick break for lunch then put up LMB's new Dora the Explorer Nightlight (a birthday pressie from Nanny A). Then I spent an hour fiddling with my laptop and playing on the various forms I frequent.

Collected the kids from school(s) at just after 3pm, armed with Lollipops I took them to their favourite playground to enjoy the afternoon surprisingly warm Autimn sunshine, they happily burnt off some energy for an hour. A quick trip into town to post my Insurance claim ended up in a new Milkshake bar across the road from the Post Office...Shake King...over 150 flavours of Milkshake on offer, the kids we're suddenly awestruck....Want to see some of the list? remember you can mix and match....

Aero Mint
After Eights
Amaretti
Apple Pie
Bakewell Tart
Banana
Battenburg
Black Jacks
Blackberry Pie
Blackcurrant Jam
Blueberry Muffin
Blueberry Nutrigrain
Boost
Bounty (Dark Chocolate)
Bounty (Milk Chocolate)
Bourbon Biscuits
Bournville Chocolate
Cadburys Caramel
Cadburys Creme Egg
Cadburys Fruit & Nut
Caramac
Carrot Cake
Cherry
Chocolate & Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Chocolate Fudge Brownie
Chocolate Mini Roll
Chocolate Muffin
Chocolate Pop Tart
Coco Pops
Coconut Ice
Coffee
Cola Bottles
Crunchie
Crunchy Nut Cornflakes
Curly Wurly
Custard
Custard Creams
Dairy Milk
Devon Fudge
Digestives (Milk Chocolate)
Digestives (Plain Chocolate)
Dime Bar
Dolly Mixtures
Double Decker
Farleys Rusk
Ferrero Rocher
Fig Rolls
Fresh Cakes (Daily Specials)
Frosties
Fruit Cocktail
Fruit Salad Chews
Frys Orange Cream
Frys Peppermint Cream
Frys Turkish Delight
Fudge
Fuse
Galaxy
Galaxy Caramel
Ginger Nuts
Green & Blacks
Haribo
Hersheys Cookies n Creme
Hob Nobs (Milk Chocolate)
Hob Nobs (Plain Chocolate)
Jaffa Cakes
Jam Doughnut
Jam Tart
Jamaican Ginger Cake
Jammie Dodgers
Jammie Wagon Wheel
Jelly Babies
Jelly Beans
Jelly Tots
Kinder Bueno
Kit Kat Chunky
Lemon Curd
Lindt Chocolate
Lion Bar
Liquorice Allsorts
Love Hearts
Malt Loaf
Malted Milk Biscuits
Maltesers
Mandarin
Maple Syrup
Marmalade
Marmite
Mars
Marshmallow
Milky Bar
Milky Way
Minstrels
Munchies
Nutella
Oreo Cookies
Parma Violets
Peach
Peanut Butter
Peanut M&M`s
Penguin
Penny Mix-up
Picnic
Pineapple
Quality Street
Raspberry Jam
Reeces Peanut Butter Cups
Refreshers
Revels
Rolos
Roses
Sherbet Fountain
Shortbread
Skittles
Smarties
Snickers
Snowball
Soft Toffee
Special K
Special K Bar
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Laces
Strawberry Nutrigrain
Strawberry Pop Tart
Syrup Sponge
Terrys Milk Chocolate Orange
Terrys Plain Chocolate Orange
Tic Tacs (Lime & Orange)
Tic Tacs (Mint)
Toblerone
Toffee Crisp
Toffee Popcorn
Treacle
Treacle Tart
Trebor Extra Strong Mints
Twix
Walnut Whip
Weetabix
Werthers
White Crunch

We settled for a couple of Wispa milkshakes to share which were on offer (and not on the main list)...I now have 3 contented children who think Daddy is great...and probably a bit of a soft touch ... OK yes I know I am :o), but all this is helping me destress after a year of faffing around with work and suchlike.

Future plans

2007-10-18T20:32:00.000+01:00

Today I have mostly been gathering up paperwork from various sources.

I am planning to go to University next year to study BA(hons) Archaeology and Medieval History, that's if Cardiff University will have me. This means I have rafts of paperwork to sort out for financing the course, tuition fees, maintenance Grants, Benefits, Disability assistance grants....oh and I have to apply to the University as well (thankfully this is done online) through UCAS the University course central application system. Application for the course has to be in by JAnuary 15th 2008, and the initial application for finance has to be in by April 2008. Those dates are not actually as far away as at first glance, so I'm trying to get ahead of the deadlines now.

So what is this course I want to do? straight from the university website... (Full Info CLICK HERE)

The Bachelor of Arts Archeology and Medieval History degree is a three year course which provides a level of training, skill and knowledge that is respected within professional archaeology and which serves students well when applying for postgraduate study, for employment in archaeology and the heritage sector, and for employment outside of the discipline.

Over three years, students take 360 credits of modules and are able to balance the core requirements in both subjects (e.g., excavation) with a tremendous range of period and regional options (e.g., Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain, Egypt, Medieval Archaeology).

In the first year of the BA Archaeology and Medieval History degree, students study three subjects: a general introduction to the human past (Archaeology Part I A); a general introduction to the study of History; and any other subject offered by the university (e.g., Ancient History, Sociology, Italian) which is timetable compatible. Thus, in their first year, BA Archaeology and Medieval History students take the following modules.

I think it sounds good, within that I can take modules to concentrate on my main period of interest, that being 1200 - 1500, and also specialising on the rise of the English Gentry of that period and relations between England and her closest European neighbours; this is balanced with focus on archaeological methods for exploring the medieval period.

I'll keep you up to date with my application i'm sure.

No diagnosis today

2007-10-17T11:04:00.000+01:00

Look… A blog three days running.

This morning, me and Mrs. A have been to see the paediatrician who aginoth junior has been seeing with regard to social interaction problems. We had kind of hoped that there was an outside chance of some sort of diagnosis. Unfortunately there's still a long way to go, it turned out the appointment was just go through the report by Dr. S that was to inform the educational psychologist at his school, and will then lead to further tests, then to a case conference between the school Dr.S and the educational psychologist and then hopefully a diagnosis. phew!

I seem to be getting to grips with the speech recognition thingy, instructions did say that it would learn the sound of my voice and would eventually make less mistakes..which I suppose it has.

Home alone

2007-10-16T13:08:00.000+01:00

All by myself at home today, I had planned to do stuff around the house but my wrists and fingers are quite painful today, and I have very little grip. I able to type atm thanks to a large dose of Diclofenac, Tylex and Tramadol. Unfortunately the Tramadol leaves me very dozy and sleepy, I took it 3 hours ago and have just awoken from a non-consentual nap. On the bright side I missed most of the offerings on Daytime TV :) just kidding usually I tune into Radio Bristol during the day, I like talk and discussion based radio and it fits the bill.

Glad to say my back sic pay has appeared in my bank account so we have been able to pay off a coupl eof looming bills, and LMD can go to nursery.

Flicking through the TV channels yesterday I discovered a new Channel....called "Dave", odd I thought, but taking a look at the lineup, it appears someone has actually produced a channel that is actually for me...lol...who am I kidding I'm not that insane...actually it used to be UK Gold 2, but they changed the name due to the strange logic thateveryone knows a bloke called Dave, well those of you who read this blog do for sure (there are still a few of you).

Update: having been told off by Mrs. Aginoth for typing when my hands were hurting I have turned on the speech recognition software on my laptop. This update paragraph has been produced by me speaking to the computer. It's only taken eight attempts for it to actually get it right. With any luck it will learn as we go along; quite frankly it couldn't be any more cumbersome than it already is... We live in hope.

New Blog Title...New Start

2007-10-15T15:52:00.001+01:00

It's been all go in the Aginoth Household this last week or so.

Firstly, and at long long last I have won my seemingly endless battle with my employer to be retired on medical grounds. I have in my possession now the Certificate signed by the Ministry of Defence Medical Advisor that I am permanently unable to work for the MoD due to Psoriatic Arthropy (Arthitis).

Offically my last day of employment will probably be 30th November 2007, but I am still torteceive confirmation. So I have today been filling in the forms to claim on my Life Insurance which with great presence of forthought on our part includes critical illness cover for permanent disability certified by an employers medical advisor. With my pension lump sum that means we should hopefully be able to pay of a very large chunk of our mortgage before too much longer, and clear all of our other debts. This will leave us clear to move house early next year to somewhere a bit easer for me to get around now my joints are getting worse (our current house is 3 stories high and I rarely go to the top floor now).

Second. Mrs.A won a car !!! OK so it's a quadricycle really, a REVA G-wiz, and totally impractical for any real use where we live due to Somerset being Mainly Rural and populated by Cows and Sheep. So it's getting deliverd to my mother in law's house in London where it will allow the commuter we sell it to to travel for free into the congestion zone, and be able to park for free in Westminster (I hear Boris Johnson has one!)
Small isn't it?

More details on it here if you are interested. She won it on a webite called My Offers! which is full of competitions every month.

Third. I should finally receive some pay this month, I have been off sick since March, but have not actually been paid any Sick Pay since the end of June, despite my employer agreeing to pay me as if I was receiving my pension already, as you might imagine after nearly 4 months finances are a little stretched to say the least. I am watching my Bank account avidly for the money.

Fourth. Life changing time, I have started my application to study BA Archaeology and Medieval History at Cardiff University from September 2008. I have to do something with all this spare time I have now I am retired, and as I will be receiving my pension we can afford for me to go back to University, this time to study something I'm interested in for myself and not for work.

Fifth. I know I have been neglecting my blog over recent months and I will try to do better ... honest... no I will... probably :o)

PS did you notice The name of the blog changed :o)

Reclaiming the Colonies

2007-10-01T17:52:00.001+01:00

To the citizens of the United States of America, in the light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories.

Except Utah, which she does not fancy.

Your new Prime Minister (The Right Honourable Gordon Brown MP, for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a Minister for America without the need for further elections.

The House of Representatives and the Senate will be disbanded.

A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium." Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.

The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour'; skipping the letter 'U' is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters.

You will end your love affair with the letter 'Z' (pronounced 'zed' not 'zee') and the suffix "ize" will be replaced by the suffix "ise."

You will learn that the suffix 'burgh' is pronounced 'burra' e.g. Edinburgh. You are welcome to re-spell Pittsburgh as 'Pittsberg' if you can't cope with correct pronunciation.

Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up “vocabulary." Using the same thirty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "uhh", "like", and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication.

Look up "interspersed."

There will be no more 'bleeps' in the Jerry Springer show. If you're not old enough to cope with bad language then you shouldn't have chat shows. When you learn to develop your vocabulary, then you won't have to use bad language as often.

2. There is no such thing as "US English." We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of "-ize."

3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian accents. It really isn't that hard. English accents are not limited to cockney, upper-class twit or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier).

You will also have to learn how to understand regional accents --- Scottish dramas such as "Taggart" will no longer be broadcast with subtitles.

While we're talking about regions, you must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is "Devon." If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become "shires" e.g. Texasshire, Floridashire, Louisianashire.

4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as the good guys. Hollywood will be required to cast English actors to play English characters.

British sit-coms such as "Men Behaving Badly" or "Red Dwarf" will not be re-cast and watered down for a wishy-washy American audience who can't cope with the humour of occasional political incorrectness. Popular British films such as the Italian Job and the Wicker Man should never be remade.

5. You should relearn your original national anthem, "God Save The Queen", but only after fully carrying out task 1. We would not want you to get confused and give up half way through.

6. You should stop playing American "football." There are other types of football such as Rugby, Aussie Rules & Gaelic football. However proper football - which will no longer be known as soccer, is the best known, most loved and most popular. What you refer to as American "football" is not a very good game.

The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no one else plays "American" football. You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper football.

Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which is similar to American "football", but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like nancies).

We are hoping to get together at least a US Rugby sevens side by 2008.

You should stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the 'World Series' for a game which is not played outside of North America. Since only 2.15% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. Instead of baseball, you will be allowed to play a girls' game called "rounders," which is baseball without fancy team strip, oversized gloves, collector cards or hotdogs.

7. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry guns. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous in public than a vegetable peeler. Because we don't believe you are sensible enough to handle potentially dangerous items, you will require a permit if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

8. The 4th of July is no longer a public holiday. The 2nd of November will be a new national holiday, but only in Britain. It will be called "Indecisive Day."

9. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap, and it is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean.

All road intersections will be replaced with roundabouts. You will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call 'French fries' are not real chips. Fries aren't even French, they are Belgian though 97.85% of you (including the guy who discovered fries while in Europe) are not aware of a country called Belgium. Those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called "crisps." Real chips are thick cut and fried in animal fat. The traditional accompaniment to chips is beer which should be served warm and flat.

Waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.

11. As a sign of penance 5 grams of sea salt per cup will be added to all tea made within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this quantity to be doubled for tea made within the city of Boston itself.

12. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling "beer" is not actually beer at all, it is lager . From November 1st only proper British Bitter will be referred to as "beer," and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as "Lager." The substances formerly known as "American Beer" will henceforth be referred to as "Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine," with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser company whose product will be referred to as "Weak Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine." This will allow true Budweiser (as manufactured for the last 1000 years in the Czech Republic) to be sold without risk of confusion.

13. From the 10th of November the UK will harmonise petrol (or "gasoline," as you will be permitted to keep calling it until the 1st of April) prices with the former USA. The UK will harmonise its prices to those of the former USA and the Former USA will, in return, adopt UK petrol prices (roughly $6/US gallon -- get used to it).

14. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.

15. Please tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us crazy.

16. Tax collectors from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all revenues due (backdated to 1776).

Thank you for your co-operation.

New gardening toy

2007-08-28T09:06:00.000+01:00

So there I was facing a large pile of branches having recently decided to clear the jungle like growth at the end of my garden, pear tree and all.

The pile of wood and plants dwarfing my poor meager incinerator...oh the horror of all that work breaking it down into small bundles to burn.

Branwave !!! I'll go buy a Garden Shredder.

So off to the DiY stores I go, PDA in hand to garner reviews of the powerful machinery I am looking at. I looked round several stores, but baulked at the £150 plus price tags of the shredders that would have the power (2000W and over) and the feed capacity (thick branches) that I needed.

Eventually I entered The Wickes Store in Weston-super-Mare. Bank Holiday sale in fll swing, I still easily found a member of staff who was able to help me out, and pointed me to this piece of machinery, the Wickes 2500W Garden Impact Shredder.

I was struck by the price £67.99, less than have the price of com[arable models from other manufacturers, so of course I was wary of the build quality. The shop assistant assured me that the model was as robust as those more expensive models, and the price was a reflection of the fact Wickes still considers itself a supplier to tradesmen rather than the public.

Well it had all the features I was after:

40 mm cutting capacity (branch diameter)
2500W Motor (nice and powerful)
Wheels for easy moving
Safety Cut-out on Electricity supply
Safety interlocks on hopper lid

It was a little Heavy at 19Kg but on wheels not to much of a problem, and this actually reassured me as to it's robustness.

So I get it home and assemble it, 2 screws, 2 bolts and a couple of plastic widgets later it's built and ready to go.

I notice the clear warning signs in the manual and on the unit of the sound level it produces...103DbA, so it's in with the earplugs before using it, as well as Rigger gloves and safety glasses.

103DbA is about as loud as a very loud Nightclub btw.

I immediately set to work and test the unit with a branch that should be on the limit of what it can shred...a 40mm Pear tree branch. I feed the branch throught he top of the hopper (a window limits the size of branches that can be inserted). The 4 foot length of brach is pulled through with a very loud grrrrrrrrrrrr, and exits into the included collection bag as thousands of 5mm chips....bloody good.

and so after a couple of hours I have reduced a very large pile of branches and undergrowth to a bag of chips, which is duly put in my compost bin.

Guess I'd better go cut the grass next....

Back and busy

2007-08-27T14:13:00.000+01:00

Hi all,

Yes I am sporadically blogging again , for the first time in months. Been very depressed, still am really, but felt the urge to blog again.

Still waiting to hear about medical retirement from work, haven't been to work since the end of March though.

Felt quite good joint wise today so I have been hard at work shifting rubbish and dead wood in the back gsrden.

TRY THIS ...
Been playing with a review site

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk

best thing about it is they pay you in dooyoomiles for reviews of anything (and I mean anything) plus you get extra dooyoo miles everytime you get a review rated as useful by another user.

DooYooMiles????

Well they can be cashed in for Amazon Vouchers or Cash, or given to charity.

I have written 7 reviews in 24 hours and currently have almost 3000 dooyoo miles, that’s nearly £3 in vouchers (you can cash them in when you get to 10000)

Unlike many pay for users sites this one actually l;ooks like it is worth using, I reckon I could easily get £20 - £40 in amazon vouchers in a mnth without a lot of effort.

Btw my user name is Aginoth as usual….be sure to rate my reviews if you come on and add me to your circle of friends.

Haven Holiday Hell

2007-08-26T10:11:00.000+01:00

Woe is me.

My family and I (3 adults and 3 under 7 children) have just returned from a weeks "holiday" at a Haven Holiday's Site.

The Tale....

We were booked into Apartment 2 at Weymouth Bay Haven Holiday Park on 18th August 2007.

I am disabled (walk with a stick due to arthritis) and my mother has recently come out of hospital after a bout of Pneumonia and suffers from Obstructive Pulminary Disorder. Haven were told of my Disability and inability to walk long distances when we booked.

We booked in at 1330, having paid for Gold Standard Accommodation, and all seemed well, until the map came out to show us where our accomodation was. Now remember we have 2 disabled persons in our party and they had been informed of my mobility problems...the Apartments are about as far as it is possible to get from the central facilities area, I measured it on our car odometer at over half a mile...this is a BIG Site.

Not overly impressed by this we thought we'd make the best of it, after all there was disabled parking by reception, so resigned ourselves to having to drive accross the camp several times a day.

So we go to our accomodation. From the outside the apartment looks excellent, and large, then we open the front door (security provided by abysmal 3 lever mortice lock). That was when we encountered the beginings of our woes.

The first thing we noted was all the windows we're open; odd we thought as it was persistently raining outside and it was only about 14 Centigrade, hardly balmy. We closed them...well you would, and thought not a lot more of it...except there was the occasional waft of a "damp building" smell. The other thing we found was the beds had all been moved away from the walls, again we didn't really register what that meant. We unpacked, grabbed some dinner from the local Chip shop and settled the kids into bed that evening, not wanting to venture out into the foul weather.

Next Morning we awoke to a deeply pervasive musty smell of damp and mould, and my Mother awoke unable to breathe without constant use of her inhalers, thankfully it had stpped raining so we set up a table and chair outside for her whilst we investigated. What we found was abysmal.

- The Walls of the 2 twin rooms were deeply damp to a height of about 4 feet above the floor.
- The beds and bedding were soaked from where we had pushed them back against the walls.
- The was mould growth in small patches in virtually every corner of the apartment and around all the windows (we missed this upon arrival due to the poor light)

These 3 points in themselves made the accommodation unfit for habitation, and had seriously affected my mothers health overnight.

So we did a full survey of the property....I should add at this point I am a NEBOSH Qualified Health and Safety Officer and my wife is in the Legal profession.

This is what we found.

- Dead insects everywhere, sqashed on walls, desicated around the edge of the carpets etc.
- Mould everywhere (all around the bathroom/toilet, all corners, windows)
- Cobwebs and dust everywhere

The apartment had obviously not been cleaned properly in months (desicated insects...yuk)

And there's more the aparment was substandard against building regulations.
- the Toilet opened directly onto the Kitchen (building regs require a 2 door seperation for hygiene)
- the extractor fan vent from the toilet exhausted into the kitchen (against building regs) instead of to the outside of the building.

So I took photographs of all the defects and health risks and we went to the Weymouth Bay reception.

We went to reception at 9am, and refused the accomodation as it was not fit for purpose. We were expecting a bit of an argument, as it is high season, and they obviously would not be able to offer an alternative apartment as they were al occupied. We barely had to say what the problem was before they were agreeing with us that it was not acceptable .

This was quite odd; we got the feeling that they knew that it was uninhabitable before they even put us there! We gave them until lunch time to sort it out. Went back to the apartment, packed everything up again. Tried to explain to the kids what was going on.

Went back reception at 11.30. They offered us a standard class two bed caravan. We refused. They then offered a Gold 3 bed caravan on the next door site (Seaview) until Tuesday. We refused. We suggested they give us a full refund (£969) and we'd find somewhere else, and that we expected whatever happened to be sorted out by midday. We had already lost a day of our holiday.

The Supervisor on reception wen tto talk to the maanger...faced with a demanded full cash refund they decided the 3 bed caravan on the Seaview Camp was actually available all week.

So off we went, and spent the rest of the week in a caravan as opposed to an apartment, not ideal considering my mobility issues, and the fact my wife doesn't like caravans, especially considering our young children... my kids are not just like a herd of elephants but more of the full safari at 6am, and there is no escaping that in a caravan, whereas a cottage offers rooms to be sent to, and doors to be shut on.

Needless to say a long letter of complaint asking for compensation will be heading it's way to Haven this week.

And so onto the a review of the rest of the camp...

Staff - other than the lifeguards there were a total of 11 entertainment and Customer care/ Reception Staff...between 2 sites of in excess of 500 caravans, and maybe 2000 guests.

Swimming pools - Indoor pools on both sites were filthy, and over chlorinated to a level where my eyes were burning after a couple of minutes in the water. The Outdoor pools wer ecleaner, but only because they were hardly used, having had no sun on them in weeks to raise them to a usable temperature.

Onsite Shop - Well stocked, OK prices, totally incmpetent staff who were unable to answer the simplest questions, nor apparently were they trained to used the tills effectively.

Childrens Soft Play - Planted smack bang in the middle of the Amusement Arcades of both sites, very noisy, and deliberately placed to encourage spending in the arcades. The arcades themselves were very loud.

Entertainement venues - Overpriced Drinks from bars which were understaffed (£3.70 for a pint of Cider!!!), constant force feeding of camp mascot merchandise, Very loud (illegally so I felt). Mediocre entertainment, no adult bingo on Seaview Site.

Site Layout - Only stay at Weymouth Bay if you like long dull walks through caravan parks. Only Stay at Seaview if you like Steep Hills. Neither site is at all Suitable for disabled holiday makers

Epilogue: Unsurprisingly, come Tuesday, the cottage was occupied again - I expect they told whoever was suposed to be coming into the caravan we were now in that they had been given an upgrade!

It took until Thursday for my mother's Breathing to fully recover ruining her holiday.

Conclusion: We're looking at butlins next year, and will never stay at a Haven Site Again..ever !!!!

Off to Italy again

2007-05-10T16:26:00.000+01:00

Lo All

Well we're off to Italy next week again to reenact the Battle of Casorate at Morimondo near Milan.

Here's a video of the 2005 event.

Looking forward to a Weekend of fun and temperatures up around 28 Centigrade (82 Fahrenheit)

Here's somephoto's I took at last years event

CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW FROM ITALY REENACTMENT

And there is more on the Italian trip 2006 at Mrs.Aginoth's Blog Here and here

I aint dead....

2007-05-04T16:36:00.000+01:00

Call me Marvin

2007-03-23T14:09:00.000Z

Just been signed off work for a month by my GP, for depression;also had my prozac dose doubled.

So kind of looks like I have a few weeks of pretending to be retired whislt waiting to be retired...I live in hope.

Did I tell you about the pain in the diodes in my left hand side?

Anyway....the vegetables we planted in the garden have finally shown signs of life, after 12 days we have a single sprout...purple broccolli. Hardly gonna feed us for a while but at least it means we have planted it all correctly, or at least we will find out if more sprout or not :)

So at lest I have time to get some stuff sorted out for the impending re-enactment season.

How to take on your bank and win !!! + Retirement update

2007-03-15T13:22:00.000Z

You may recall that back at the start of February I decided to ask my bank back for all the charges it had levied on our acount for the last 6 years.

Last week when I hadn't heard from them in several weeks I began court procedings against them for the money.

Surprise surprise on the very day they were served the summons from the county court they have written to me and offered me over £2000, a little less than I asked for but we are going to settle. That'll cover the mortgage for a couple of months.

They of course say they do not accept the have done anything wrong or broken the law as that would require them to carry out a comprehesive review of their charging practices, and that the payment is a good will gesture...that's a bloody huge lump of goodwill (sic).

Anyway the whole process has taken about 8 weeks and I would recommend anyone in the UK who has been charges anything in the last 6 years by their banks to visit MONEY SAVING EXPERT and you'll find templstes of all the letters and the proces alid out in simple steps...you have nothing to lose.

Previous posts....
Give me My Money
Give me my Money Part 2

Now to get on with getting retired. I was denied medical retirement last week, however, I have right of appeal and grounds to do so. They agree that I am unfit for work and no adjustments would make it possible for me to give regular and effective service, but as my Family Doctor's report didn't specifically state that my Arthritis is permanent and going to effect me significantly for the next 23 years of my working life they couldn't retire me.

So anyway it turns out they addressed the request for a report on me to my GP's Medical Practice and not my GP himself, so the practice wrote the report based directly on my medical file, just diagnjostic facts and dates with no personal input from the Doctor who actually knows anything about my day to day issues. I asked my GP to write me a personal medical report in light of this and he has, stating the permanent aspect f my arthritis and so now I am awaitung the results of the appeal.

Stress Relief

2007-03-02T10:36:00.000Z

Picture yourself near a stream. Birds are softly chirping in the crisp cool mountain air.

Nothing can bother you here.

No one knows this secret place.

You are in total seclusion from that place called "the world."

The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity.

The water is clear and you can easily make out the face of the person whose head you're holding under the water.

Look. It's the person who caused you all this stress. What a pleasant surprise.

You let them up... just for a quick breath... then ploop!... back under they go...

You allow yourself as many deep breaths as you want.

There now... feeling better?

When they refuse to sit on the naughty Step....

2007-03-01T12:52:00.000Z

Not one of my kids I hasten to add...

STRIKE !!!

2007-02-28T18:04:00.000Z

I'm off work to day

My Union and I are on strike over a below inflation payrise that has been imposed upon us.

Initial reports say that 1000 staff failed to report for work today at my place of work.

I was supposed to be manning a picket line, but my Doctor told me I wasn't physically able to stand int eh cold and wet for 3 hours so told me not too. So I stayed at home, got the tyres changed on my car an fletched a few arrows.

Full Stry from my unions web pages...http://www.prospect.org.uk

Thousands join strike by MOD professionals
28/02/2007

Thousands of specialists, engineers and managers from the Ministry of Defence took strike action today in protest at a below inflation 2.5 per cent pay offer for 2006-07.

Their union Prospect estimates that at least 80 per cent of Prospect members stayed away from work in their campaign against the government's programme of pay restraint, job cuts and privatisation in MOD.

Civilian staff picketed at least 120 MOD sites across the UK including naval bases, RAF stations, maintenance workshops, training establishments, telecoms facilities, stores depots and other establishments. Six thousand specialists in Prospect are affected by the dispute, which is over a pay offer overdue from August 2006.

By agreement with Defence Secretary Des Browne, 65 staff in key safety and operational roles were exempted from the action, so as not to jeopardise essential functions.

Main centres of action today were at:

Defence Procurement Agency HQ, Abbey Wood, Bristol – excellent response from procurement specialists supervising commercial contracts. All three gates were picketed and almost 1,000 staff stayed away from work. Nearby DPA site at Foxhill, Bath, hit as 200 technical services staff working on equipment testing and measurement stayed at home.

Faslane/Coulport Naval Base, Clyde – big turn-out from members forced management to put Coulport on a 'silent hours' routine, effectively weekend working hours. Maintenance work on Trident nuclear submarines disrupted testing work not carried out. Local reps expressed concern that MOD had not asked the Nuclear Accident Response Organisation at Faslane to be exempt from the action.

Devonport Naval Base, Plymouth – all site entrances heavily picketed and logistics support closed down. No ship movements in or out of the base could take place as all Admiralty pilots were on strike. Work by contractors and industrial grades was slowed down as supervisors were on strike. In common with most other MOD sites, military commanders agreed not to put service personnel into civilian work.

Portsmouth Naval Base – 300 engineering and logistics staff took strike action in and around Portsmouth, including the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency's munitions depot in Gosport. Pickets present at HMS Sultan training centre and the Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre, Southampton, the UK's only military port facility for moving army equipment on to ships.

Bicester -RAF Cosford. Home of the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering, this ground to a standstill when only one civilian reported for work. Courses were cancelled and the training programme will have to be extended.

RAF St Mawgan, Cornwall- At the support centre for the RAF search and rescue helicopter force, five members exempted from the action because their work is safety critical asked to donate a day's pay to charity because they had to go to work.

MOD Main Building, Whitehall – Pickets were out in force outside MOD headquarters and the Old War Office opposite. More than 100 specialists stayed away from work and leafletted the other 4,000 staff as they started their day. Maintenance of IT and communications networks halted after the night shift stopped work at midnight.

Prospect National Secretary Steve Jary said: “It takes a lot to persuade men and women who have dedicated their entire working lives to supporting the armed forces to take this kind of action. Nationwide there has been a magnificent response. Members have made their point in their thousands and the response from the military and other civilian staff to our protest has been very sympathetic.

“MOD cannot say it has been business as usual and we call upon the department to reopen negotiations over pay as soon as possible. MOD's current policies are driving its most skilled staff out of the department and will do lasting damage to Britain's operational capability if it does not listen.”

I'm not really surprised...

2007-02-27T13:13:00.000Z

You Are 72% Cynical

You're a full blown cynic... and probably even skeptical of these results.
You have your optimistic moments, but most likely you keep them to yourself.

How Cynical Are You?

Waiting for the season to start

2007-02-12T13:32:00.000Z

Spent the weekend travelling to Bracknell in Northamptonshire to collect a new Medieval Pavilion and some other reenactment kit we'd bought off of some peeps giving up the hobby....odd thing to do...lol

Then Spent Sunday sat in front of a roaring wood fire cutting material for new clothes for the children (Aginoth Junior specifically)

Spent this lunchtime searching through piccies of lastseasons events and thought i'd share this one of Sunset over our camp at Morimondo Abbey, just outside Milan,Italy from May Last Year. Click to enlarge

Give me my Money Part 2

2007-02-09T18:42:00.000Z

Remember this post...Aginoth's Ramblings: Give me my Money...

My attempt to get my bank to refund the last 6 years bank charges because they break contract law in that they are punative charges...

Well today is day 7 after my bank received my initial letter, and I have had a reply

Here it is scanned and doctored to protect confidentiality click on it to read

Anyway the gist of it is I have got them to agree to send me my last 6 years statement and then they will consider paying me as a goodwill gesture...lol. Well actually I think that's a good start, so now i just have to plough through 6 years of statements and then tell them exactly what i am claiming from them.

Could this be a painless claim....possibly....shock.

Anyway anyone else interestedin getting there bank chargfes back for the last 6 years see here...Money Saving Expert and here on the bbc.

New Element Discovered

2007-02-08T13:46:00.000Z

A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science.

The new element has been named *Governmentium*. Governmentium (Gv) has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second to take over four days to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 4 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganisation in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganisation will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming iso-dopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as Critical Morass.

When catalysed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium - an element which radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

The Dark Sucker Theory...

2007-02-07T06:41:00.000Z

For years, it has been believed that electric bulbs emit light, but recent information has proved otherwise. Electric bulbs don't emit light; they suck dark. Thus, we call these bulbs Dark Suckers.

The Dark Sucker Theory and the existence of dark suckers prove that dark has mass and is heavier than light.

First, the basis of the Dark Sucker Theory is that electric bulbs suck dark. For example, take the Dark Sucker in the room you are in. There is much less dark right next to it than there is elsewhere. The larger the Dark Sucker, the greater its capacity to to suck dark. Dark Suckers in the parking lot have a much greater capacity to suck dark than the ones in this room.

So with all things, Dark Suckers don't last forever. Once they are full of dark, they can no longer suck. This is proven by the dark spot on a full Dark Sucker.

A candle is a primitive Dark Sucker. A new candle has a white wick. You can see that after the first use, the wick turns black, representing all the dark that has been sucked into it. If you put a pencil next to the wick of an operating candle, it will turn black. This is because it got in the way of the dark flowing into the candle. One of the disadvantages of these primitive Dark Suckers is their limited range.

There are also portable Dark Suckers. In these, the bulbs can't handle all the dark by themselves and must be aided by a Dark Storage Unit. When the Dark Storage Unit is full, it must be either emptied or replaced before the portable Dark Sucker can operate again.

Dark has mass. When dark goes into a Dark Sucker, friction from the mass generates heat. Thus, it is not wise to touch an operating Dark Sucker. Candles present a special problem as the mass must travel into a solid wick instead of through clear glass. This generates a great amount of heat and therefore it's not wise to touch an operating candle.

Also, dark is heavier than light. If you were to swim just below the surface of the lake, you would see a lot of light. If you were to slowly swim deeper and deeper, you would notice it getting darker and darker. When you get really deep, you would be in total darkness. This is because the heavier dark sinks to the bottom of the lake and the lighter light floats at the top. The is why it is called light.

Finally, we must prove that dark is faster than light. If you were to stand in a lit room in front of a closed, dark closet, and slowly opened the closet door, you would see the light slowly enter the closet. But since dark is so fast, you would not be able to see the dark leave the closet.

Next time you see an electric bulb, remember that it is a Dark Sucker.

Days at home

2007-02-02T13:46:00.000Z

It was LMD's Birthday a coule of days ago, so we are due to be invaded by a hoard of 2 year olds this weekend for her party. When asked what she wanted for her birthday she replied....Cake....Chocook Cake...so I'll be repeating my construction of a Chocolate Swiss Roll Catapillar tomorrow.

Over my infections I think, still quite tired, and my joints are improved, so i've been able to do a bit more about the house, dinner is cooking in the oven (Spaghetti Bolognaise), kitchen cleaned....got to do the lounge yet, but enthusiasm is waning now.

Not back to work until Tuesday...which is noce, hoping to have news on my medical retirment from personnel waiting for me....we live in hope.

Think i'll treat myself to an hour or so of playing on the Wii....

UpDate: OK so I found some enthusiasm and did the tidying up ....:o)

Give me my Money...

2007-02-01T13:19:00.000Z

Been a while since we had a decent complain at someone, so I have decided to try and get back all of my Bank Charges I have paid over the last 6 years.

Why?

Well it all stems from an Article I read Here by Martin Lewis at Money Saving Expert and here on the bbc.

Coincidently Martin Lewis was on the TV this morning and just brought up the subject of Bank Charges as I was sealing the envelope containing the letter form the bank.

So how cn you do this, well in a recent court case Murray v. Leisure play [2005] EWCA Civ 963. It was held that a contractual party can only recover damages for an actual loss or liquidated losses, the bank charges we pay (for instance £30-35 for going overdrawn and getting a letter) are disproportionate to the actual costs incurred by the banks (reckoned to be about £1 to £2).

The wording in my letter, copied from Money Saving Expert and bbc where you can find full instructions of how to claim back the hundreds if not Thousands of pounds you have been fraudulently charged.

Due to recent media coverage on bank charges I now believe that you, , have been charging me charges that are contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Schedule 2 (e) of the said regulations gives a non-complete list of terms, which may be regarded as unfair, such as a term that requires me as a consumer who fails in his obligation, to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation.

I believe that your charges are disproportionately high and therefore they are contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Regulations 1999. In addition I believe that your charges are a Penalty. Penalty charges are irrecoverable at common law. The precedent for this was Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor co Ltd [1915] AC 79 along with Murray v. Leisure play [2005] EWCA Civ 963. It was held that a contractual party can only recover damages for an actual loss or liquidated losses. It is clear that your charges do not reflect any actual and or real loss.

Furthermore if you fail to comply with this letter, I request without further notice a breakdown and proof of all costs involved, in regards to your actual or liquidated losses involved in any breach of contract to which these charges relate with yourselves, and that these charges reflect your true costs in relation to the said charges, and are proportionate to the charges levied on my account as defined in Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Schedule 2 (e).

There it is nice and simple...

You have nothing to lose in this, as I said above read up at these 2 links and send your letter off ASAP.... Money Saving Expert and bbc Templates for the various letters are included on both sites.

I'll let you know how I get on...on and btw I am claiming back several thousand pounds...I sent the letter by recorded delivery to my Branch this morning.

Slacker

2007-01-26T09:53:00.000Z

Sat at home, signed off for 2 weeks again, wrists are sore and ankles (Arthritis) they flared after a nasty little head cold earlier this week, on top of that i have a couple of minor infections that need Antibiotics...same old same old.

so whilst avoiding the dreary world that is daytime TV, and not really able to do a lot of DiY or sewing to prepare for the next re-enactment season I found myself time to read, yes I am restricting my time playing Eve too atm.

Currently reading Blood, Sweat and Tea by Tom Reynolds of Random Acts of Reality Blog Fame. I've read his blog for a couple of years and got the book of the best of his blog entries for Xmas.

It's a damned good read, especially good as I am already familiar with a lot of the entries, it's interesting to see them laid out in this format, i'm not pedantic enough to go scan his blog to see if anything has been edited, or which entries were omitted; but I would recommend this book to anyone as an insight into the way in which these ambulance folk serve us all and the crap they have to put up with, most notably from unecessary 999 calls.

Oh and go read Tom's Blog.....then buy his book.

What else is going on, been to the Dermatologist this morning for a review of my expensive psoriasis drugs, the Primary Care Trust agreed funding runs out in 2 months time and the Derm is now begining to make my case for continued funding (£9k per year). Enbrel is the only drug in 11 years of Psoriasis that has ever worked for a prolonged period and I am a little concerned that the funding won't be renewed in light of current NHS spending caps, I'm probably worrying over nothing, after all the medical experts think i should keep taking it, but there is just a smidge of a worry the bean-counters won't agree.

I'm still waiting to see if I am going to be medically retired from work; caught sight of a letter from my employer to my Rheumatologist in my notes this morning asking for a written report on me, and I know they should have also have written to my GP (Family Doctor). I saw my GP, Yesterday and he agreed to support my being medically retired when he is asked for a report, so that's good.

I just wish they'd get a move on so many possible future plans to sort out, but no basis in reality to get things moving. Stuck in Limbo at the moment.

OK Go

2007-01-25T18:55:00.000Z

This is one of the best Music Videos of the last couple of years...innovative use of treadmills :o)

saw it on TV at Xmas, and now tracked down to YouTube...Enjoy

And The UK number one atm....Mika - Grace Kelly

Freddie Mercury has been reincarnated....

just plodding along

2007-01-24T21:08:00.000Z

Still alive...still blogging occasionally...:o)

Still in the same job, trying to make people follow syatem safety rules and regulations they would rather ignore.

My Medical situation is unchanged, excepting my Arthritis is slowly getting worse, splashed out on a new mouse today more ergonomically suited for my hand, as my wrists are painful a lot of hte time now.

My employer is going through the motions of getting medical reports on me with a view to my possible medical retirement.

Anyway...things are hopefully going to be a bit easier financially as Mrs.A got another Job (see her Blog) in another Solicitors (Lawyers to you Colonials)

As i said in the title just plodding along, going day to day waiting for the bods in personnel to let me know if I am retired or not, can't make any definite plans for the future until we find out...ho hum

Defined by Cows

2007-01-22T10:07:00.000Z

SOCIALISM: You have 2 cows, and you give one to your neighbour.

COMMUNISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away...

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.

SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.

ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. Sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public buys your bull.

THE ANDERSEN MODEL: You have two cows. You shred them.

FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows. You go on strike, organize a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.

JAPANESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create a clever cow cartoon image called 'cowkimon' and market it worldwide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You decide to have lunch.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 2 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you. You charge the owners for storing them.

CHINESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

BRITISH CORPORATION: You have two cows. Both are mad.

IRAQI CORPORATION: Everyone thinks you have lots of cows. You tell them that you have none. No one believes you, so they bomb the **** out of you and invade your country. You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of a Democracy...

WELSH CORPORATION: You have two cows. The one on the left looks very attractive.

AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. Business seems pretty good. You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

ANARCHISM You ask the two cows if the want to donate their milk to he welfare of the individual

ANARCHO-SYNDICALISM. You ask the cow if they want to donate their milk to the collective welkfare of the individual

MEDIEVAL PRE-INDUSTRIALIST. You build a big tower to store your two cows while you go off raiding your neighbours cow towers for his cows.

ANCIENT ROMAN ECONOMY. You gather an army to kill any neighbours who might want to steal your cows

ANCIENT GREEK ECONOMY.You send your cowhearders to attack your neighbours two cows in case they might produce more milk than yours, look prettier or think of themselves as being better.

ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ECONONMY. Oh sacred cow, bless us with your divine drink . Please wait while my scribe counts your numbers several times, records every utterance you moo and attempts to press your wisdom into lumps of clay.

RENAISSANCE ITALIAN ECONOMY. Murder the least reliable one of your cows, pay one of your friends cows to join your one, Ship the dead cow to replace the one missing from your friend. Then, while he's wondering how his cow died, poison the surviver.

ANCIENT IRISH ECONOMY. b**ger building a tower, lets go steal their cows while their out stealing ours.

ANCIENT WELSH ECONOMY Oi, that cowhearder is eyeing your cow up

EARLY VICTORIAN IRISH ECONOMY. Swap you two cows for a bag of potatoes?

EARLY VICTORIAN ECONOMY. Two cows has a economic happness factor eaqual to 15.6 on the Bentham scale.

VEGAN ECONOMY: you eat the grass and the cows starve to death!

ISLAMIC ECONOMY Since the cows are female, you must milk your cow from in front of a veil as seeing a milk nipple will force you to commit indecent acts with your cow.

TALIBAN ECONOMY. Decides the cow is an idol of hindi religion and blows them up

RE-ENACTMENT SOCIETY You have one cow. You would buy another but you can't find one that is authentic for your period. The biggest drain on your economy is running a vehicle to transport the cow to events.

WEB ECONOMY: Your two cows have starved to death while you were reading this thread.

SAXON ECONOMY- You have 2 cows. You drive them to the top of a hill and the Normans have a barbecue.

POST-CONQUEST WELSH ECONOMY- You have 2 cows. Sell the cows to the English, steal them back but get taxed by the English for the money you made.

HIGHLAND SCOTTISH ECONOMY- You have two cows. Your landlord burns your cows and replaces you with his own cows.

PRE-INDEPENDENCE AMERICAN ECONOMY- You have 2 cows. Britain demands one cow in taxes. You throw the remaining cow in to Boston harbour and shoot anyone who wears red.

Belief in the New Economies

CALVINISM: You can only milk the cows whilst standing in freezing cold water and reciting psalms in case milking the cows starts to seem like fun.

CATHOLICISM: You are guilty for not milking the cows. So you milk them and feel guilty for milking them

METHODISM: You are forbidden to milk cows

MORMONISM: You go door-to-door asking if someone will milk your cows. You must milk both cows together.

PAGANISM: You scarifice the cow

NEO-PAGANISM: You wait until the Christian has milked the cow then say that it was your hard work

AETHEISM: There are no Cows

ANGLICANISM: You are allowed to milk cows. But only within the bounds of marriage.

THOMISM/SCHOLASTICISM
Please read the book on the five steps to milking cows.

GNOSTICISM Cows are creatures of satan. Milk is the drink of satan
Only through starvation will you see beyond the physical realm

EPICURIANISM
Do you want them Medium or Rare, with pepper or brandy sauce ?

EXISTENTIALISM
The cows tremble with fear realising they are no longer part of the herd.

JUDAISM: I'll just sit here in the cold, dark cowshed and milk these cows by myself.

EARLY JUDAISM Don't worry about milking the cows, God will provide

LATER JUDAEISM, They may not be our cows, but God gave us the field.

SOLIPCISM I don't know if the cows are really there, only that I can think about cows

EASTERN TRANCENDALISM Mooooooo Mooooooo

BIG ISSUEISM Buy a copy of cow monthly Guv'nor ?

EASTERN ORTHODOX There are two cows, but share the essense of the One Cow

BLAIRISM There is only one issue -Cows cows & more cows

THATCHERISM Cows, cows & more cows

Golden Sunset

2007-01-02T09:35:00.000Z

Sunset over Uphill Beach, Weston-super-Mare

Things I have learnt

2006-12-27T17:22:00.000Z

1. Never under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings"
3. There is a very fine line between "hobby " and "mental illness"
4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
5. And when God, who created the entire universe with all of its glories, decides to deliver a message to humanity, He WILL NOT use, as His messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle.
6. You should not confuse your career with your life.
7. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.
8. When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.
9. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
10. Never lick a steak knife.
11. Take out the fortune before you eat the cookie.
12. The most powerful force in the universe is gossip.
13. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.
14. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
15. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.
16. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.
17. The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.
18. A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter is not a nice person.

Thought for the day:
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that amateurs built the Ark and professionals built the Titanic.

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN !!!!

2006-12-25T08:26:00.000Z

HAPPY YULETIDE

AND A

HAPPY NEW YEAR

and the kids didn't get up until 7am !!!!!

Muhahahahaha

2006-12-20T19:44:00.000Z

How evil are you?

Just Because

2006-12-03T21:22:00.000Z

• Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak?
• Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough?
• Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
• Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?
• Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?
• Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
• Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?
• Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
• Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?
• If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?
• Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?
• Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?
• Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
• Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?
• Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?
• How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?
• When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, "It's all right?" Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, "That hurt, you stupid idiot?"
• Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?
• In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?
• How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?
• The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

Answers not required :o) unless your feeling particularly pedantic...lol

Stuff

2006-11-28T09:12:00.000Z

Couldn't think of a sensible blog title so Stuff it is.

What's been going on? Well My Skin is doing fantasticly on the Anti-TNF treatment (TNF is Tumour Necrosis Factor) called Etanercept. I am now 95% clear of Psoriaisis and it's bloody brilliant.

I'm signed off work again atm, I got myself a sinus infection last week and my Arthritis flared, so 2 weeks off for me. Glad to say the antibiotics have worked and I can breathe again, shame about my joints being on fire.

Went to the Rheumatologist yesterday, who is upping my Painkillers a level, I was Just taking Ibuprofen 6 months ago, 6 weeks ago I moved onto Naproxen, now I am to go on the the 3rd tier anti-inflamatory drugs, with a long medical sounding name I can't remember, i'll post it when i get the letter from him. I know it begins with M....

He also refered me to a hospital in Bristol for Hydrotherapy and physiotherapy, which I am told is quite energetic and exhausting....still it'll get me fit too and hopefully i'll lose a bit of weight. He also encouraged me to cycle more, so this morning I dutifully put on my Helmet and cycled Mstr.A to school, got him ther no probs, but as i went to push off for home my chain snapped, leaving me in a heap on the floor and with a very painful knee. So then a 1 mile walk home without a walking stick....deep joy. I'm now sat at home in pain waiting for the large dose of Codeine (Tylex) to kick in.

Mustn't grumble....I could be at work

So what does it really mean...

2006-11-27T19:54:00.000Z

You are 97% English.

Congratulations! You may now take your place as a subject of Her Majesty.

"And did those feet
In ancient times,
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
In England's pleasant pastures seen?"

Well, no, but it's a cracking good tune.

How English are you?
Create a Quiz

Lawbreaking Motorists to be fingerprinted in UK

2006-11-22T11:28:00.000Z

Motorists who get stopped by the police could have their fingerprints taken at the roadside, under a new plan to help officers check people's identities.
A hand-held device being tested by 10 forces in England and Wales is linked to a database of 6.5m prints.

Police say they will save time because people will no longer have to go to the station to prove their identity.

Officers promise prints will not be kept on file but concerns have been raised about civil liberties.

Bedfordshire are the first force to use the equipment, which is being distributed among the forces in Essex, Hertfordshire, Lancashire, North Wales, Northamptonshire, West Midlands and West Yorkshire, as well as to British Transport Police and the Metropolitan Police, over the next two months.

It's a first to search a national database and get a response back in a couple of minutes
Chris Wheeler
Police Information Technology Organisation

It is primarily aimed at motorists because banned or uninsured drivers often give false names, although pedestrians could also be asked to give prints if they are suspected to have committed an offence.

Police Minister Tony McNulty said: "The new technology will speed up the time it takes for police to identify individuals at the roadside, enabling them to spend more time on the frontline and reducing any inconvenience for innocent members of the public."

Under the pilot, codenamed Lantern, police officers will be able to check the fingerprints from both index fingers of the suspect - with their permission - against a central computer database, with a response within a few minutes.

"The handheld, capture device is little bigger than a PDA," said Chris Wheeler, head of fingerprint identification at the Police Information Technology Organisation PITO.

"Screening on the street means they [police] can check an identity and verify it."

Currently an officer has to arrest a person and take them to a custody suite to fingerprint them.

Electronic safeguards

The device will be used with the Automatic Number Plate Recognition team, who identify vehicles of interest.

If a vehicle is stopped, police will be able to identify the driver and passengers. At present about 60 per cent of drivers stopped do not give their true identity.

FINGERPRINTS
Argentine police officer Juan Vucetich made the first positive criminal fingerprint identification in 1892
Six years earlier fingerprinting pioneer Scotsman Dr Henry Faulds offered the concept to the Met Police
The UK's first fingerprint bureau was founded in Scotland Yard in 1901 with the help of Indian experts
No two fingerprints have ever been found to be identical in many billions of human and automated computer comparisons

Inspector Steve Rawlings, based in Luton, said it takes two sets of fingerprints and the fingerprints are not retained.

"The encounter can be 15 minutes on the roadside rather than three hours in the police station," he said.

The device has an accuracy of 94-95% and will be used for identification purposes only, say police, and there are electronic safeguards to prevent misuse.

It sends encrypted data to the national ID system using GPRS - a wireless system used by many mobile phones.

More than 6.5 million fingerprints are cross-referenced and sent back to the officer.

Mark Wallace, who represents the civil liberties group, the Freedom Association told BBC Radio Five Live that he had "concerns" about the scheme.

"I don't think we should be reassured by the fact that at the moment it's voluntary and at the moment they won't be recorded," he said.

"Both of those things are actually only happening in the trial because the laws haven't been passed to do this on a national basis compulsorily and with recording."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/6170070.stm

Thurday Thirteen full of Woe and lots of sweraing

2006-11-16T11:51:00.000Z

Thirteen Things about Aginoth

Stood in the Hazlegrove Services on the A303 near Sparkford, Wiltshitre in the Pissing rain with my keys locked in the car,

Got out to clean my mirrors and next thing theres a bleep a click and the car had locked itself !!!! With I may add my wallet, My Keys, My Phone and my Coat inside

Pissed off would be an understatement

tried to get teh McDonalds I was parking next too (and where I had just bougt Breakfast) to let me use their phone to call directory Enquiries and so contact my Breakdown service....would they....would they fuck...Bastards.

The Esso Garage over the way however had a payphone....which sensibly (NOT!) was barred from allowing outgoing calls to Directory Enquiries!!!! Luckily the Garage manager took pity on me and let meuse their phone (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU)

Called My Recovery Service, only to find that my membership had unbeknownst to me been cancelled by my Motoring Club (Civil Service Motoring Association) through whom I hold it. Took about 10 minutes of persuasion and a talk to a manaer (oh and threats of national newspapers - this is me remember) to get them to agree to send me help.

Britannia Rescue (My Breakdown Cover) finally got to me after an hour despite promising 20 minutes as I was badly in need of breakfast ….also locked in car (thankfully the garage manager gave me a twix so I didn’t pass out) by that time soaked, cold and very very Pissed off. Being a type 1 diabetic I am recorded withthem with them as a priority disabled memeber

Then as The doors of the car were opened, my boss called me on my mobile to tell me the meeting was cancelled and so I had to drive back to Work…I litereally screamed.

13 things I hate today....

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

1. Bastard Keys
2. Bastard Car
3. Bastard Central Locking
4. Bastard Weather
5. Bastard Civil Service Motoring Organisation
6. Bastard Britannia Rescue
7. Bastard Meetings
8. Bastard Cancelled Meetings
9. Bastard Parking Spaces
10. Bastard McDonalds refusing to let me use their Phone
11. Bastard Payphones not letting me call Directory Enquiries
12. Bastard Driver who drove thru a puddle in the Car Park and Soaked me
13. Bastard Fucking Everything Just for good measure!!!!!!!!!!!
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Coming down and Over-Excited 2 - Fireworks and Bonfire Night

2006-11-04T18:40:00.000Z

Coming down....

Holiday over {sniff}, fun week had by all. we visited are usual haunts in cornwall...Crealy, Tintagel on a very very foggy day, trips to the beach for rock-pooling where we found a few lungfish and lots of limpets.

Mrs A and the Aginothlings on Watergate Bay Beach, Sunday....was very foggy until tuesday when the weather turned to the most brilliant crisp set of autumn days possible allowing a full day trip to Newquay Zoo.

I have more photo's I'll pop them on next week :o)

Over-Excited ....

Guy Fawkes/Bonfire night tomorrow, but we celebrated a day early as saturday is a bit more conveinient for school and work sleep, just launched £50 of fireworks from the backgarden, we usually go to an organised display, but I had permission to play with high explosives from Mrs.A this year.

Anyway now we are sat indoors in front of a blazing log fire in lieu of a bonfire....here's the full version of the traditional rememberence ryhme

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,'twas his intent
to blow up the King and the Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below,
Poor old England to overthrow:

By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, make the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

A penny loaf to feed the Pope.
A farthing o' cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A faggot of sticks to burn him.

Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.

Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah!

Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual celebration (but not a public holiday) on the evening of the 5th of November primarily in the United Kingdom (especially in Lewes), but also in New Zealand, South Africa, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada), parts of the British Caribbean, and to some extent by their nationals abroad. Bonfire night was common in Australia until the 1980s.

It celebrates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, in which a group of Catholic conspirators attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London on the evening of 5 November 1605, when the Protestant King James I (James VI of Scotland) was within its walls.

The celebrations, which in the United Kingdom take place in towns and villages across the country, involve fireworks displays and the building of bonfires, traditionally on which "guys", or dummies, representing Guy Fawkes, the most famous of the conspirators are burnt. Before the fifth, children use the "guys" to beg for money with the chant "Penny for the guy".

The evening of November 5th is known as Guy Fawkes Night, but the day itself is not known as Guy Fawkes Day

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a failed attempt by a group of provincial English Catholics to kill King James I of England, his family, and most of the Protestant aristocracy in a single attack by blowing up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening. The conspirators had then planned to abduct the royal children, not present in Parliament, and incite a revolt in the Midlands.

The Gunpowder Plot was one of a series of unsuccessful assassination attempts against James I, and followed the Main Plot and Bye Plot of 1603. Many believe the Gunpowder Plot to have been part of the Counter-Reformation.

The aims of the conspirators are frequently compared to modern terrorists; however, their actions were not designed to merely influence government policy by evoking terror: their real aims were nothing short of a total revolution in the government of England and the installation of a Catholic monarch. So the retrospective application of "terrorist" is likely a political dysphemism.

At the time, the word "terrorist" was not in common use; the plot would have been regarded as a treasonous act of regicide. Far from helping their fellow Catholics avoid religious persecution, the plotters put many loyal Catholics in a difficult position. Before this period Catholicism had been associated with Spain and the Inquisition but after the plot it also became thought of as treasonous to be Catholic.

Our local celebrations continue on 13th November with the Weston-super-Mare Guy Fawkes Carnival part of a series of a dozen or so illuminated Guy Fawkes carnivals that take place in somerset every year....and it passes down the road at the end of our street...about 40 yards away.

Oh and Happy Birthday Craziequeen :o)

Over-excited?

2006-10-27T08:10:00.000+01:00

One day to go.....

Woooooooooooo Hoooooooooooo

What do you mean calm down...why? :o)

LOL

No work today....going shopping for new shiny things for re-enactment

Counting Down

2006-10-26T13:43:00.000+01:00

2 days till the gang head off to Cornwall...we're all getting a little fidgety now...so much so that a couple of the Crazies have started leave already, only 4 of the 6 us in work today, and I think only 2 tomorrow.

Me, Mrs.A and CQ are off to the Bi-annual Reenactors markets at Warwick and Ryton on Dunsmore tomorrow...generally with short shopping lists that are going to be ignored completely when we enter teh halls full of pretty shiny things :o)

I've got a new walkingstick in time fo the holiday, it's a aluminum adjustable length one with sprung shock absorbtion...my old wooden one was hurting my wrist, and so far today this one seems to be a lot easier on my poor joints.

Did I mention only 2 days til the holiday.....

Winding down at work...hah...carried out 3 audits today, wind down my @rse...still i'll leave writing them up untill i return to work in 10 days time.

Agi Junior (no this is not you RCA!!!) is staying at Nanny A's house tonight, last time in her old house as she's moving whilst we're in cornwall...and yes we do know her new address :oD, and the girls will be dropped off early to nursery so tomorrows shopping trip will be child free...mind you that won't stop breakages, Mrs.A is reminded to remain clear of the Roman period Glass stall this year...

Oh and btw only2 days till we go on Holiday :o)

Working from home

2006-10-25T09:53:00.000+01:00

As it says...I'm working from home today I have my flu innoculation at 12:15 so seemed silly to traipse all the way into work and back to home then back to work and back to home....environmentally friendly too

Talking of environmentally friendly, we at Chez Aginoth have been doing our bit more and more recently, just changed all the incandescant Lightbulbs in teh house over to Energy saving Flourescent ones, we're recycling everything we can, and looking into getting Solar and Wind power fitted ... next year we'll see about changing out our 15 year old Boiler, although it is a condensing boiler there are now more efficient models on teh market.

Anyway back to work....I am resisting the urge to play computer games too :o)

I know I should post more often.....

2006-10-24T12:53:00.000+01:00

I haven't been on a lot lately so thought i'd post an update. I know I know ...must post more often.....

I've been a bit under the big black cloud of depression recently, so haven't felt like blogging, but the desire to do so has come over me today ....probably a good sign

Still on Enbrel, the targetted immunosupressent / Anti-TNF, T-Cell inhibitor drug that costs £10000 a year I spoke about some time back; 20 odd doses taken now...i've lost count...the Psoriasis has cleared from PASI 45 to PASI 20 (PASI is the way Psoriaisis severity is measured (0-60) still counts as severe (20 plus) but to me that may as well be clear), I can go short sleeved again without being self conscious. I still have rough skin on flanks and plaques on Elbows, knees and ankles, legs still clearing.

Sorry to say the Enbrel is having little effect on my Psoriatic Arthritis, which although I only have to a mild extent compared to some of you is a right bugger...I have just been prescribed Naproxen for the first time for pain relief, 400mg of ibuprofen (3 daily) has become not enough some days.

I had a lump removed from my leg 2 weeks ago but as always the wound has got infected, spent last week off work on Antibiotics. The infection is gone and i'll have yet another bullet hole scar. Oh and btw the lump was thankfully benign, there was a few concerns when it turned out the lump had acquired it's own blood supply, quite odd seeing a small lump on the surface (5-6 mm) turn out to be the size of a marble below the surface !!!

I'm now one step closer to being Medically retired from the Civil Service, had a medical with a stupid doctor last wek...how is someone who sees you for 19 minutes (i timed it) meant to assess your medical conditions with no reference to your complex medical history? Utterly useless experience, i'm making sure they do get reports from my GP and 3 consultants (Dermatology, Rheumatology, and Endrocrinology). I'm also in discussion with my union over the opening remark made to me by the doctor..."Oh your only 36....no chance of you getting medically retired then" which is now against the law since the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 entered Statute earlier this month.

But anyway in addition to this I have received loads of paperwork from my employers Personnel Pension Dept that will allow them to release my pension to me...this is odd because I have not been granted medical retirement officially yet....me and Mrs.A suspect, and hope that this means that Personnel and Welfare have already decided I am likely to be retired and are just getting ahead of themselves with the paper work. Just have to wait a couple of weeks now for the medical reports to come in, can't realistically see anything happening this side of Christmas.

Mrs.A has started a new job and is becoming a normal human being again, much more pleasant to live with. This has meant though that the children all needed to go into full time Childcare. Mrs.A's new Job pays roughly £13000 a year the childcare will cost us about £15000 a year....do the sums....bugger....so I was very pleased yesterday after I spoke to a very nice lady at the Inland Revenue who informed me that we are entitled to just over £15000 a year in tax credits. This with my Disability allowance means for the first time in quite some time there is light at the end of the tunnel for us financially.

Clan Aginoth are off on holiday to Cornwall with the Crazies next week...see the counter at the top of the blog, a week in Watergate Bay (webcam). The weather forecast looks jolly good for the whole week bar a couple of showers and daytime temps of 16°C (should be around 8°-10ºC in November !!), there's also a steady breeze forecast most days so I think some time will be spent flying my power kite (arthritis willing), something i've not doing or felt like doing in ages.

Piccie of Watergate Bay....

AgiJunior has asked to go visit Tintagel Castle, supposedly captured by the last Roman Overseer of Britannia Utha Pendragon and incidently birthplace of his slightly more famous son Arthur...which reminds me must sort out going up to London to see Spamalot.....

If you read Mrs.A's Blog you'll knowwe had visitors early last week and had nearly £1000 worth of cycling equipment stolen, glad to say the insurance company are going to pay up and replace our bikes and trailers.

Just read teh above and it does sound quite upbeat...perhaps things really are getting better...

2006-10-05T07:54:00.000+01:00

Male Restroom Etiquette

I just had to share this...brilliant short from you tube...

Bring out your dead....

2006-09-24T18:58:00.000+01:00

Mrs.A is better...almost, she just got home from teaching a course in London (I did make my reservations known), and she hasn't had a coughing fit in the last 20 minutes !!!

So now it's my turn again...I'm off to hospital for a minor operation tomorrow. I have a lump on my leg that the dermatoloy consultant tookone look at and booked me straight in t have it removed. It looks like a dermatofibroma, so chances are 99% that it is benign...but still i've been quite stressed out by it and just want it done and over with.

Things you'd like to say...001

2006-09-18T13:21:00.000+01:00

I'm afraid I can't come to work today I have to stay at home and build Mecanno Models with my son.

A Diagnosis...at last

2006-09-18T11:41:00.000+01:00

Stupid Bloody Doctor (Dr.Z)....and thankfully one decent one (Dr.X).

Mrs.A has felt ill for weeks, and has had the most evil cough for at least 3.

She went to see one of our GP Surgery Doctors (Dr.Z) last week and was told she had a cough and was given some Pholcodeine linctus...which did bugger all. Dr.Z. didn't even examine her properly, used the stethoscope over 2 layers of clothes!!! , we've had problems with the abilities of this doctor in the past...

It's been like living in a TB ward last week at home, with all the hacking and coughing I had to abandon work one day last week to go home and rescue her from the children. Mrs.A hasn't slept properly in over 2 weeks, and I’ve not faired much better apart from when she has abandoned bed and gone down to the lounge to Cough elsewhere at night.

a week later and she is no better, she finally managed to get an appointment with our Named Family Doctor (Dr.X) (who we know well and is brilliant at his job). Dr.X took a look at her and told her she has a chest infection and has probably had it for FOUR WEEKS!!! So at last she's got the antibiotics prescription she needs, and I'll go pick it up from the pharmacist this evening.

So thanks to the lack of professionalism of the first doctor I have had the pleasure of living with someone with a raging chest infection for almost 2 weeks longer than I should, this is more serious to me as it sounds... I take immuno-supressents for my Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis that leave me very vulnerable to chest and sinus infections...I have just been very very lucky not to have caught this lurgy myself, which would have in all probability put me in hospital.

When I've calmed down I'm going to be writing a letter of complaint to our local primary Health trust who oversee the GP surgery and fund my drugs to the tune of £10000 per year.

Thursday 13 - Places to go

2006-09-14T07:00:00.000+01:00

Thirteen Things about Aginoth

It's Thursday again....

So what shall it be today

13 Places I'd like to go visit. One I've already been too, some I will definitely get too, one that is totally out of reach....I've spent an hour or so looking for good pictures and descriptions, I hope you enjoy them

1. Chitzen Itza, Mexico.
Been here (2002), fabulous place, climbed the El Castillo Pyramid in 42°C.

2. Petra, Jordan.
Petra (from "petra", rock in Greek; Arabic: البتراء, al-Bitrā) is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Wadi Araba, the great valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is famous for having many stone structures carved into the rock.

3.Jarlshof, Shetland Islands, Scotland.
Jarlshof is the best known prehistoric archaeological site in Shetland, Scotland. It lies near the southern tip of the Shetland Mainland, close to the settlements of Sumburgh and Grutness.

Buildings on the site include remains of a Bronze Age smithy, an Iron Age broch and houses, Pictish houses, Viking longhouses and a mediaeval farmhouse. Also on the site is a seventeenth century manor house, which Walter Scott named Jarlshof in his novel The Pirate. The rest of the site was not rediscovered until the late nineteenth century.

4. Skara Brae, Orkney, Scotland
Skara Brae is a large stone-built Neolithic settlement, located in the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of mainland Orkney, Scotland. The level of preservation is such that it has gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status. It is one of four such Scottish sites, the others being the Old Town and New Town of Edinburgh; New Lanark in South Lanarkshire; and St Kilda in the Western Isles. It is Europe's most complete Neolithic village.

5. Uluru, Australia
Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in central Australia, in the Northern Territory. It is located in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, 440 km southwest of Alice Springs. Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area, and has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. It is listed as a World Heritage Area for both its cultural and natural values.

6. Antarctica
No real reason other than curiosity. I want to see a real wilderness, and it's about as alien a landscape as I will ever have the chance to visit as I doubt commercial space travel will become a reality anytime soon

7. Nile Cruise and the Antiquities of Egypt
Pyramids...Valley of the Kings...What's not to like...

8. Kenya
Come see the Lions.... eating the Zebras. I especially want to visit the Masai Mara Game Reserve.

9. Canada
I'd love to do a Coast to Coast Tour of Canada, and maybe stop in at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, Binge on Maple Syrup Candy?

10. Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Been to Edinburgh many many times, but I'd love to have a Month off there and do as many Fringe shows as possible. The Edinburgh Fringe (or just The Fringe) is the world’s largest arts festival. It takes place in Scotland's capital during three weeks every August.
For some years, the official name of the festival was the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; it now (2006) seems to have reverted to the original Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

11. Pompeii and Herculaneum
Pompeii and Herculaneum are ruined Roman cities near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the commune of Pompei. Destroyed during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The volcano buried the city under many feet of ash and lost for 1,600 years before its accidental rediscovery. Since then, excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, they are one of Italy's leading tourist attractions and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

12. Machu Picchu, Peru
Machu Picchu (Quechua: Old Peak; sometimes called the "Lost City of the Incas") is a well-preserved pre-Columbian Inca ruin located on a high mountain ridge. Elevation measurements vary depending on whether the data refers to the ruin or the extremity of the mountain; Machu Picchu tourist information reports the elevation as 2,350 m (7,710 ft) [1]. Machu Picchu is located above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, about 70 km (44 mi) northwest of Cusco. Forgotten for centuries by the outside world, although not by locals, it was brought back to international attention by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham who rediscovered it in 1911, and wrote a best-selling work about it. Peru is pursuing legal efforts to retrieve thousands of artifacts that Bingham removed from the site.

13. Olympus Mons, Mars
The Largest Volcano in the Solar System. The central edifice stands 25 kilometres (about 88,600 feet) high over its base (about three times the height of Mount Everest above sea level and 2.6 times the height of Mauna Kea above its base); it reaches 22 km (13 miles) above the mean surface level of Mars, since it stands in a 3 km (1.8 mile)-deep depression[1]. It is 550 km (342 miles) in width, flanked by steep cliffs, and has a caldera that is 85 km (53 miles) long, 60 km (37 miles) wide, and up to 3 km (1.8 miles) deep with six overlapping pit craters. Its outer edge is defined by an escarpment up to 6 km (4 miles) tall unique among the shield volcanoes of Mars.
The size of Olympus Mons is so great (roughly the size of the American state of Arizona) that a person standing on the surface of Mars would be unable to view the profile of the volcano even from a distance as the curvature of the planet would obscure such detail. The only way to view the mountain properly is from orbit. Similarly, if one were to stand on the highest point of its summit, the slope of the volcano would extend all the way to the horizon.
]
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Thursday Thirteen - Things MOPs Say

2006-09-07T12:23:00.000+01:00

Thirteen Things about Aginoth

It's Thursday again....

So what shall it be today

13 things Members of the Public (MOPs) ask Medieval Re-enactors...

1. Is that Fire Real?....No it's a Hologram

2. Are you going to eat that?....Spoon poised to put food in mouth

3. Do you know Robin Hood/King Arthur/Ivanhoe....slight problem with them being mythical

4. How do you turn off the Doll?....The doll was actually LMB crying aged 6 months or so.

5. Of Course Swords never killed anyone....Parent to eight year old son - we tried not to fall over laughing

6. Do you live here all the time....What do these people use for brains?

7. Isn't it great that they built the Castle so close to the Motorway....American Tourists !

8. We're in the UK for 2 weeks to see all of the castles....all 1100 plus of them; that's some itiniary

9. Can I kill my brother with this....you could but we wouldn't recommend it, ahhh what the hell one less in the gene pool

10. Can I take this home?....MOP picking up my longbow; ummmm let me think...NO!

11. Really? There were no potatoes in the 14th Century?....the number of people who don't know potatoes came from South America in the 16th Century (Sir Francis Drake) always amazes me.

12. Can I go in your tent?....can I come in your house and poke around maybe wake up your children? No? Didn't think so matey, the door is tied shut for a reason.

13. Did they have children in teh Middle Ages?....OK...now first you need a Mummy and a Daddy, shall I carry on the explanation?

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Wordless Wednesday - Enbrel My Favourite Drug

2006-09-06T12:17:00.000+01:00

Hold your breath.....

2006-09-05T07:00:00.000+01:00

Warning: Oxygen is extremely dangerous and toxic!

Oxygen, is a very toxic gas and an extreme fire hazard. It can be fatal in concentrations of as little as 0.000001 p.p.m. Humans exposed to 100% oxygen concentrations at pressures above 1bar, usually when kept in storage cylinders below 6 metres of water, die within a few minutes. In lower concentrations, e.g. 20%, the toxic effect is somewhat delayed and it takes about 2.5 billion inhalations before death takes place. The reason for the delay is the difference in the mechanism of the toxic effect of oxygen in 20% concentration. It apparently contributes to a complex process called ageing, of which very little is known, except that it is always fatal.

However, the main disadvantage of the 20% oxygen concentration is in the fact it is habit forming. The first inhalation (occurring at birth) is sufficient to make oxygen addiction permanent. After that, any considerable decrease in the daily oxygen doses results in death with symptoms resembling those of cyanide poisoning.

Oxygen is an extreme fire hazard. All of the recorded fires that were reported on the planet for the period of the past 25 years were found to be due to the presence of this gas, in the atmosphere surrounding the event in question.

It is believed that 100% of deaths are caused, either directly or indirectly, by either the lack of, or presence of, oxygen. Oxygen is especially dangerous because it is odourless, colourless and tasteless, so that its presence can not be readily detected until it is too late.

Misinformation by the Oxygen Manufacturing Corp.

Warning: This information is false, and is designed to get you hooked on Oxygen. Just say no to Oxygen.

Essential for the life of nearly all living creatures, except Beluga whales. Regarded as "God's crack" by scientists, most human children are born addicted to it and are fated to live a life of addiction in search of their next fix.

Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin Killed

2006-09-04T07:28:00.000+01:00

Steve Irwin, known the world over as The Crocodile Hunter, has been killed whilst filming off the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

Apparently he was hit in the chest by the Barb of a Sting-Ray initiating a Cardiac Arrest. He died at the scene despite attempts to revive him.

Bit of a shock to hear that an iconic figure such as Steve Irwin has left this Mortal Coil, I have always enjoyed his unique style of presenting and so have my children. He will be missed. I expect Australia is in a state of shock today.

He was a complete nutter mind, always pushing his luck with wild and dangerous creatures, but we loved him for it, the world is a smaller place without him.

BBC News Story and personal messages

Thursday 13 - Just Relax...

2006-08-31T14:03:00.000+01:00

Thirteen Things about Aginoth

It's Thursday again....how did that happen?

So what shall it be today

Oh and btw it's LMB's 3rd Birthday today

13 things I do to relax...

1. Play Eve Online, OK yes I am still addicted to this MMOG (Massively Multi-plyer Online Game)...for those who don't know it's a Space trading/fighting game owing much to the old Elite Gasmes of the 1980's

2. Read...mostly Fantasy and Science Fiction, but also a far smattering of Histories and books on the English language and etymology

3. Shoot my Longbow...planning to get a Target set up in the garden soon, currently shooting on re-enactments or in a friends garden. It's a 40lb draw Hickory and Lemonwood traditional style English longbow btw.

4. Sit on the Beach watching the clouds, or at least trying too as I keep an eye on the kids. Sometimes I attempt to combine with Number 2 but it rarely works :o)

5. Have a Bag of Fish and Chips from Papa's Fish andChip Shop in Weston-super-Mare...yum...best Chip Shop ever, anywhere. Prefereably combined with Number 4.

6. Cooking for friends and family. I really enjoy cooking, but I like to have plenty of time to be able to do it properly.

7. Holding BBQ's for friends and Family...almost but not the same as 6

8. Playing Rough and tumble with my Children...must remember to remove all change, keys etc from pockets first, because they'll have it awaywith anything shiny that falls out of my pockets...bunch of magpies :o)

9. Singing songs with my children

10. Playing my flageolet / Whistle, well it's a 13th century fore-runer of the Soprano/descant recorder, more akin to a pennywhistle or Irish Fipple Flute. Mine is Wooden with 6 finger holes no thumb hole, Key of D.

11. Cuddling up with Mrs.A in front of a good film after the kids are in bed.

12. Taking Mrs.A out to our Favourite restaurant, Flute de Paris in Weston-super-Mare.

13. blogging :o)

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Thursday Thirteen - Drugs

2006-08-24T07:16:00.000+01:00

Thirteen Things about Aginoth

Haven't done one of these in a while so here's some drugsand stuff I am prescibed....

1. Etanercept (Enbrel) (2 injections a week)for Psoriatic Arthritis and Psoriasis
2. Humalog Insulin for Diabetes (3 injections a day)
3. Humalin I Insulin for Diabetes (1 Injection per day)

The above work out at 1564 injections per year !!!

4. Ibuprofen for pain releif from the Psioratic Arthritis
5. Rosuastatin for Cholesterol control
6. Fluoxetine (Prozac) for depression
7. Metformin to haelp reduce my Insulin Requirements
8. Betnovate RD Steroid Cream for my Psoriasis
9. Protopic Ointment for the Psoriasis on my face
10. Tylex (2 x 30 mg Codeine) for General Pain relief when the ibuprofen isn't enough
11. Betacap Lotion for Psoriasis on my Scalp
12. Cocois Cream for Psoriasis on my scalp
13. Atarax (strong antihistamine) for when I just get too itchy and sore to sleep.

There are more that I take on top of all this !

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Laptop Lunacy

2006-08-23T13:30:00.000+01:00

Rebuilding computers....I must have done something wrong in a previous life....

Why? Why can't reinstalling an operationg sytem, or replacing a component be a simple task?

Why is it that even though you carefully note all teh settings and perform the install teh same way as was sucessful previously the bloody computer juist will not work properly.

I've just spent 3 days refurbishing my old laptop for Mrs.A, and as appreciative as she is for it I was seriously considering binning the bleeding thing last night whe sufddenly it started working; there must bwe a mischeviuos spirit at work I think, som "puck" or imp that is deliberatly teasing me as I try to get the damnedable piece of technology to talk to the Network Hub abd Access the internet.

but it's done now, kind of, it is at least talking to the hub if you prod it in the right way. Windows is almost behaving and Office XP didn't order a re-format of the C:Drive when I installed it...still go tto transfer all the Email account settings.

The laptop needed a new Hard Drive, New Memory and a bloody good talking to.

Now I can finally get on with making 6 new arrows and a Sword Scabbard that I need to make for our next re-enactment at Caerphilly this Sunday, woooo 2½ days away from a computer !!!

unfortunately I have another laptop to service and fix up for Agi Junior next week....HELP!!!!

Funny thing the Brain...

2006-08-21T10:47:00.000+01:00

O lny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.

cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was
rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch
at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,

it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the
olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in
the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll
raed it wouthit a porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by
istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas
tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if
you can raed tihs psas it on !!

The Book Meme

2006-08-17T11:25:00.000+01:00

meme blatantly copied from my wife’s Blog…

One book that changed your life?
No book has suddenly opened my up to a revaltion that has changed my life for ever. It’s more true to say the many books I have read have introduced a multitude of new ideas and vistas to me and in so doing how can I have not been changed in a small way by each and every new intellectual experience. However one book that started me off with my love of literature and fantasy in Particular was The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe that I read at age 5 or 6. Mind you had I never read Terry Pratchett me and Mrs.A may never have got together...

One book that you have read more than once?
There is no “one” book I have read thousands of books and most books get at least a second reading…I have read many books dozens of times over far to many to list them all

One book you would want on a desert island?
Without doubt Lord of the Rings, A damned good read. Failing that The Bible, one of the old fashioned ones with really thin soft paper pages….better than using leaves….;o)

One book that made you laugh?
Most Terry Pratchett Books, I loved the Bible according to Spike Milligan, agin so many it’s really hard to come up with just one

One book that made you cry?
None that come to mind honestly, OK they’ll make me empathsise with the characters, but not to the extent that I want to become that emotionally involved, it’s just fiction after all.

One book you wish had been written?
The Idiots guide to getting along with one another (World and Religious Leaders Edition)

One book you wish had never been written?
There is no book that has not desrved to be written, however there are many books that deserve never to have been published…The Bible, The Torah, The Quran…anything really proclaiming a single idea is right at the expense of all others.

One book you are currently reading?
Jack of Ravens, Mark Chadbourn

One book you have been meaning to read?
The Perfect King by Ian Mortimer, a biography of Edward III…when Mrs.A has finished with it.

I'm still alive

2006-08-11T08:07:00.000+01:00

Hello all.

A whole month since I last blogged, sorry....just needed a break from it, had a lot going on in real life and something had to give, the blog was one of them. My ststae of mind has been really askew recently, my depression had worsened, my various disabilities were getting the better of me. I just need some time to sort myself out, I'm getting there.

anyway....theres that word already.... what's been going on...

Chez Aginoth carries on as usual in a state of chaos, fatigued parents chasing 3 balls of energy that are our children.

Last week I finally got a formal diagnosis of Psoriatic Arthritis after years of tests and doctors appointments; I finally got to see the consultant Rheumatolagist and he was willing to put the name we already knew to m increasing joint pains.

My Psoriasis has flared again, but at long last I have started taking Enbrel one of a new family of drugs called T-Cell inhibitors that target a specific part of the immune systems response (in this case blocking a receptor on skin cells), i'm hoping to avoid a third stay this year in hospital; especially as I am under threat of discipliniary action at work. mind you bein medically retired wouldn't be such a bad thing...but only if Mrs.A can get a job so we can afford to eat :o) we may even be slightly better off.

The reenactment season is coming to an end soon :o(....just one event left this year in a couple of weeks time; back to Caerphilly Castle. I've put some links to pictures at the end of this post.

We're busy getting ready for Agi Juniors 6th Birthday this weekend, then it's only a couple of weekd to LMB's 3rd. Agi Junor is off to teh Bowling Alley for hi sparty tomorrow, but we still have to tidy the house and garden cos MiL is visitiing.

Bekeley Castle Pictures

Cosmeston Pictures

Caerlaverock Castle Pictures

33 things to do before you are 10...

2006-07-11T11:10:00.000+01:00

I posted this on my old Trapped Civil Servant post about a year agho, and just came across the text again...enjoy....

If you can come up with any others please add them in the comments

1. Roll on your side down a grassy bank
2. Make a mud pie
3. Make your own modelling dough mixture
4. Collect frogspawn
5. Make perfume from flower petals
6. Grow cress on a windowsill
7. Make a papier mâché mask
8. Build a sandcastle
9. Climb a tree
10. Make a den in the garden
11. Make a painting using your hands and feet
12. Organise your own teddy bears' picnic
13. Have your face painted
14. Play with a friend in the sand
15. Make some bread
16. Make snow angels
17. Create a clay sculpture
18. Take part in a scavenger hunt
19. Camp out in the garden
20. Bake a cake
21. Feed a farm animal
22. Pick some strawberries
23. Play pooh sticks
24. Recognise five different bird species
25. Find some worms
26. Ride a bike through a muddy puddle
27. Make and fly a kite
28. Plant a tree
29. Build a nest out of grass and twigs
30. Find ten different leaves in the park
31. Grow vegetables
32. Make breakfast in bed for your parents
33. Make a mini assault course in your garden

Off on me hols

2006-06-17T08:52:00.000+01:00

Off to Cornwall for a week, I will try and find a hot spot when I'm away but can't guarntee it.

Party lasty night was great, we all had a good time, and I got very very drunk....Bottle and a half of wine, couple of spirits and 7 or 8 glases of port I lost count at that point.

A good haul of pressies, I thank everyone who has given me something, gonna keep me busy.

Oh and yes I am hugover, but working through it :o) pint of apple Juice and plenty of paracetamol plus a couple of vitamin tablets has eased off the worst of it.

See you soon

Extended celebrations.

2006-06-16T07:54:00.000+01:00

Well that's it then I am 36, had a lazy day yesterday thanks to Mrs.A :o) making up for it this morning by letting her stay in bed while I sort the kids breakfast.

Next comes the struggle of getting Agi.junior to put his uniform on.

Got the Crazies coming round this evening and a couple of friends from our re-enactment group to head over to my fave restaurant, Flte de Paris in Weston-super-Mare; where i'm sure several bottles of Zinfandel will be quaffed through the course of teh evening. Nanny A is baby-sitting, and then staying over because she's coming on holiday with us to Cornwall as of tomorrow.

Busy Busy Busy

So all that remains for me today really is to get the house relatively tidy and do a couple of odd DiY jobs.

My arthritis flare is subsiding and I can now get aroud teh house without my stick omewhat, plus I have reduced teh codeine I am taking, so I may actually be able to drink to celebrate my birthday after all.

Right back to the kids.....

Thirty-Six Thursday Thirteen

2006-06-15T10:15:00.001+01:00

Thirteen Things about Aginoth...36 TODAY

It's my 36th Birthday today
I'm off work sick due to an arthritis flare up
I'm off on Holiday to Cornwall Next week
I have received the DVD of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe from my 3 wonderful children
My Wife bought me a new Padded Jack for reenactment (padded armour)
I'm off to my fave restaurant for dinner tomorrow night with Mrs.A and eight friends.
I keep being told that I'm old now that I'm i n my late 30's, but to be honest I'm not at all bothered.
I thought about doing a Thursday Thirty-Six, but I have enough trouble doing Thirteen once a month !!!
I got breakfast in bed today, Bacon Sarnies :o)
I'm going to spend the money Nanny A gave me for my birthday on some new arrows for my longbow.
We're busy planneing next year's holiday, if we can find the money it looks like we'll be off to Turkey in September 2007
I jusy got a big pile of Birthday Cards from the postman...well not actually from teh postman as I don't know him that well...he just delivers them ;o)
I'm going to settle down witha book and relax the day away....curently reading "The Gold Falcon" by Katherine Kerr

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They Shoot Horses

2006-06-14T16:48:00.000+01:00

Guess who's been signed off work .... again....

go on I know you can get it....

It's.....

ME

2 Weeks this time, my Arthritis has flared, been in bloody agony for the last 2 days, and was unable to drive to work this morning cos it's mainly affecting my right knee and ankle. I've been to prescribed Tylex, big doses of Codeine (60mg) to deal with it.

so anyway I'm on my walking stick again. On the bright side I get to reclaim the weeks Annual Leave I had booked for next week, and still get to go to Cornwall.

and i get the day off tomorrow...which is great cos it's my birthday :o)

35years 363 days

2006-06-13T06:05:00.000+01:00

I think I missed my 1 year blogging Anniversary, it was back at the start of May last year that I started "Trapped in the Body of a Civil Servant...Help!". I remember the first time I got a comment, and was quite surprised at how fast I picked up regular readers. A year on, a different blog (be careful what you blog about) and over 20000 hits later I still enjoy this.

As a consequence of blogging I have learnt how to write HTML, how to manipulate and embed video and graphics, and most importantly make many friends accross teh world.

I've been a bit of a sporadic blogger of late; I do apologise for that. So many things going on and demads on my time...Family, house, re-enactment, computer games...I do try to make time to blog but get sidetracked.

I'm 36 on Thursday....Late 30's !!! I'm not that bothered but people seem to think I should be. Inside I think I got stuck mentally at about 21 (or 12 sometimes). I see people I started work with with greying hair (if they still have hair!!!) and it seems quite odd.

I share my birthday with a few notable Historic events. My favourite is that on June 15th 1215 King John put his Seal to Magna Carta. I also share my Birthday with Edward the Black Prince (1330 - 1376), who is closely connected with the period of history we reenact.

Other historical events on my Birthday...

It's also the anniversary of the birth of Rev.W.V Awdry - Author of the Little Railway Engines Series of Books which includes Thomas the Tank Engine)

1520 - Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther.

1752 - Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity.

1919 - John Alcock and Arthur Brown complete first nonstop transatlantic flight at Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.

and last but not least in 1946 - Noddy Holder, Lead singer of Slade was born... :o)

A joke....

How many mice does it take to screw in a Light bulb

two... but getting them in is really hard

How many bloggers does it take...

2006-06-12T06:02:00.000+01:00

....to change a lightbulb?

1 to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been changed.
14 to comment and share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb could have been changed differently.
7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs.
7 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs.
5 to flame the spell checkers.
3 to correct spelling/grammar flames.
6 to argue over whether it's "lightbulb" or "light bulb" ... another 6 to condemn those 6 as stupid.
2 industry professionals to inform the group that the proper term is "lamp".
15 know-it-alls who claim they were in the industry, and that "light bulb" is perfectly correct.
36 to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, where to buy the best light bulbs, what brand of light bulbs work best for this technique and what brands are faulty.
7 to post URL's where one can see examples of different light bulbs.
4 to comment that the URL's were posted incorrectly and then post the corrected URL's.
3 to comment about links they found from the URL's that are relevant to this post
5 to comment that they will no longer post because they cannot handle the light bulb controversy.
4 to comment "didn't we go through this already a short time ago?"
13 to comment "do a Google search on light bulbs before posting questions about light bulbs".

_________________

The Company of Chivalry at Farleigh Hungerford Castle June 2006

2006-06-09T06:30:00.000+01:00

Here's some footage I took of our reenactmetn group last weekend.

The Video below is also available Here

And heres a slideshow of some of the piccies I took, It was a great event fabulous weather, plenty of Mead quaffed :o)

Facts and Fluff

2006-06-08T12:43:00.000+01:00

1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.

2. A day without sunshine is like . . night.

3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.

4. 42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

5. 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

6. Remember, half the people you know are below average.

7. He who laughs last thinks slowest.

8. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

9. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets
the cheese in the trap.

10. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.

11. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

12. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

13. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

14. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.

15. OK, so what's the speed of dark?

16. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

17. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

18. Every one has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.

19. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?

20. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

21. What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

22. I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.

23. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

24. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what
happened.

25. Just remember - if the world didn't suck, we would all fall
off.

26. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear
bright until you hear them speak.

27 Save the earth. It is the only planet with chocolate.

Unusual Bank Holiday Weekend

2006-05-28T17:04:00.000+01:00

Unusual for us in clan Aginoth as we don't have a reenactment event to partake of this weekend...SHOCK HORROR.

So instead we have just had to go visit one insted, we took a trip up to Kenilworth Castle to see the medieval village they have set up in part of the celebration of the 900th anniversay of the founding of the castle.

(not a pic I took <<<) Here's a couple of pics I took today.

Oh and if you are wondering what happened to the Italy reenactment pics.... I have set up a slideshow here for your enjoyment....

CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW FROM ITALY REENACTMENT

And there is more on the Italian trip at Mrs.Aginoth's Blog Here and here

Translating Job Adverts

2006-05-26T12:26:00.000+01:00

Translating Job Adverts

"JOIN OUR FAST-PACED COMPANY": (translation) We have no time to train you & you'll have to introduce yourself to your colleagues.

"COMPETITIVE SALARY": (translation) We remain competitive by paying less than our competitors.

"SEEKING ENTHUSIASTIC, HARD WORKING, PEOPLE": (translation) Who still live with their parents and won't mind our student -level salaries.

"CASUAL WORK ATMOSPHERE": (translation) We don't pay enough to expect that you'll dress up well. A couple of the really daring blokes wear earrings.

"JOIN OUR DYNAMIC TEAM": (translation) We all listen to loony motivational tapes.

"MUST BE DEADLINE ORIENTED": (translation) You'll be six months behind schedule on your first day.

"SOME OVERTIME REQUIRED": (translation) Some time each night & some time each weekend.

"DUTIES WILL VARY": (translation) Anyone in the office can boss you around.

"MUST HAVE AN EYE FOR DETAIL": (translation) We have no quality control.

"NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE": (translation) We've filled the job; our call for CV’s is just a legal formality.

"PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS A MUST": (translation) You're walking into a company in perpetual chaos.

"REQUIRES TEAM LEADERSHIP SKILLS": (translation) You'll have the responsibilities of a manager, without the pay or respect.

"GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS": (translation) Management communicates, you listen, figure out what the hell they want, and do it.

Were Back Again

2006-05-23T15:31:00.000+01:00

Absolutely knackered.

I'll do a full post later, and sort through the 300 odd photos I took.

Away again

2006-05-18T19:43:00.000+01:00

we're off on our travels again, We'll be away until Tuesday.

Where this time...

More exotic...

Off to Italy...Morimondo, South West of Milan.

Why? For a Multinational re-enactment...should be really good fun

Photos on our return... Cya

Nice weather for ducks...

2006-05-17T16:38:00.000+01:00

Ths is where we stayed on Sunday night...an 18th Century Farmhouse called Ribden Fam about 2 miles from Alton Towers...

View from our room... which was hard to get as the window was at floor level being as were in the converted attic room :o)

Nice Weather for Ducks indeed, it was a tad wet at Alton towers on Monday, here are the other visitors we met at the Theme Park...

Very wet was an under statement but at least it kept the crowds down so we go to go on all the rides we wanted too.

This is Oblivion, a very fun ride with a very sheer drop into a dark pit...

and some video of it too...

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This is Ripsaw....as if Mrs.A wasn't already wet enough she then went on this...

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And this is Mrs.A after going on Ripsaw...just a tad soggy :o)

And just to show it's not all scary rides at Alton towers here's a nioce shot of teh gardens...

We had a great day out both despite of and partly because of the weather. Nemesis was our favourite ride I think for both of us.

Dirty Weekend

2006-05-14T11:05:00.000+01:00

Off for a couple of days for a weekend of no Kids :o) Back Monday Night.

Snap Happy

2006-05-13T18:14:00.000+01:00

I've been out to Chew Valley Lake in Somerset to try out the Camera properly now....Here's some of the better ones of the wildlife there.

As usual Click to Enlarge... Hope you like them

This one was not at the lake, it's in my Mum's Garden

DiY 2 : Me 1

2006-05-13T11:44:00.000+01:00

The Plan: remove the old toliet from the downstairs bathroom cos teh old plastic Cistern has warped and it leaks constantly...then rerplace with nice new shiny modern water saving push button toliet

The Reality: removed the old cistern no problems at all, then tried to undo the bolts holding the pan to the floor, snap snap snap went 3 of them (40 years soaking in bodily fluids does that to steel bolts) 4th one refuses to buge so I have to break the base of the pan to remove it. pull up the waste pipe...boy does that smell, plugged it with some plastic bags. OK. hmmm thinks I as I see teh state of teh concrete floor, it is so completely sodden that I am not going to be able to fit the new Toilet until it dries out (about a week I think) and we'll need to completely reflorr the room as well. So work halts for the week

Luckily we do have 2 other toilets in the house.

Next job then is to fit new Windscreen wipers to the car...more problematic than it sounds, because my car is a foreign import no-one actually lists what spare blades it should use, but I have acquired them and they fitted in a matter of seconds, so at least one job worked today.

Test drive for the new toy today. My new Camera...just one shot for now in dodgy light, crap weather, not bad at all. Oh and it's the street where we live btw :o)

Click to enlarge

Fantastic Friday

2006-05-12T17:35:00.000+01:00

7.44mbps Internet connection now active....muhahahahahaha feel the speed

and I have got confirmation of my Disability Living Allowance (State Benefit) award today...Middle rate Care component of £41.65 a week.Whichhh also more than triples our Child and working Tax credits a year !!! wooo hooo..In effect I now don't actually pay any income tax as we will be returned over £800 more in tax relief than I pay out in tax :oD

All this means Mrs.A can afford to go to University again this year to get her PGCE (Post Graduate teaching degree)

And I got me a new camera A Fuji Finepix F10 ;o)

A good day

We also had pediatriciancian appointment for Agi.Junior today as well, he displayed all the social problem pointers admirably during the 45 minute consultation, including a full blown tantrum and hiding under the examination bedthe teh doctors office. So she is going to refer him to speecheach and learning specialists to assess what is going on communications wise. Another rung up the ladder towards diagnosis.

We've arranged to start the process of having Agi.junior change schools as well, we're not particularly happy with several aspects of his current schoespeciallyiall the fact the school became totally Church funded without consultation with the parents shortly after he started there. Plus we feel that his reception class teacher tarred him wthe teh label of "unruly and naughty" and it has stuck even though it is down to a medical problem, despite our best efforts mostthe teh teachers are finding it impossible to change there view of him. So a fresh start in a new school we feelthe teh best option.

We're off to inspect the potential new school, next Thursday, and have informed the headteacher of his current school of our intention to move him. In the meantime am resigning as a school governor for several reasons as well as this...I'll go into them at a later date when all this is sorted out.

Now off to load the car to deliver or kit and equipment to the collection pint ready to be transported to Italy next week ....

Then just a couple of days till we go to Alton Towers without the kids :o)

Glorious Weather

2006-05-07T15:41:00.000+01:00

What a fantastic day of sunshine we've had her. Good thing too because we spent this morning selling unwanted items at a Car Boot Sale in Cheddar. Didn't do to badly we made £135 before going off to spend some of it on some jugs for re-enactment, and a silver tankard also for re-enactment. After costs and spending we still ended up with £100 (think that's about $185 or €146)

Sold a lot of baby stuff we no longer need and a few computer games amongst other things.

The plan is that it will cover our expenses for our couple of days away from the children for our 7th Wedding Anniversary next Sunday/Monday. First time we have been away together without children in 6 years or so !!! Nanny A is coming to stay to look after the brood; while we get to stay in a nice little B&B near Uttoxeter and get to go to Alton Towers without a Pushchair in sight !!! WOO HOO!!!

Would probably have been easier if we hadn't stayed up to watch the first to episodes of Season 2 of Lost last night, and got to bed before 00:30....maybe an early night would have made getting up at 05:15 more bearable

And sitting out in the sun next to the lake at the sale I finished off LMB's Re-enactment Shoes....So as promised here's piccies, not to bad for my first attempt at making Turn Shoes :o)

As always click to show enlaged picture...

Pretty chuffed with the results, the fit and LMB says they are comfortable too :o) Yay Me !

What I need... According to Google.

2006-05-05T13:38:00.000+01:00

What I need... According to Google. I know I did this before about 6 months ago but that was on the old blog that I was forced to delete and so I thought I'd do it agin :o)

This is funny: go to the Google search engine and type in your name and "needs" after it, e.g. "John needs". Write down the description of the first (or your favouite!) 10 websites that appear.

Then do it with Wants as well....

Aginoth needs to be identified as the author of this work
Aginoth needs a Martini
Aginoth needs to get a diagnosis Aginoth needs a f**k**g village
Aginoth needs to change a diaper
Aginoth Needs to let them know that my love for them is still as deep as it has always been
Aginoth needs to set up gigantic tents
Aginoth's need for attention is paramount
Aginoth needs an ambulance
Aginoth needs to keep a few secrets

Aginoth Wants to run away
Aginoth Wants to make a point
Aginoth Wants people not to touch his shit
Aginoth wants people to clean up after him
Aginoth Wants to wing one over the ether
Aginoth Wants to share
Aginoth Wants to reduce the breadcrumb, eyes and goolies
Aginoth Wants to Dance maniacally
Aginoth Wants to get some exercise
Aginoth Wants to know how it feels

Have a go yourself, Leave a comment for me and put a link back to yours here....

Tonight I have mostly been...

2006-05-04T22:17:00.000+01:00

...sewing.

Not Cloth...Leather...again.

Shoes for LMB this time, 14th Century Turn shoes to be exact...Pattern Here. Upper of Calf Leather, Sole of Cow Leather, Lining Thread and very sore fingers :o)

No Photo's yet, cos I have only finished the Left one so far, will sort out the right one tomorrow evening, and hopefully get a piccie up for you all to see my handiwork.

Our car has decided it needs attention, the grinding noise from the frot nearside wheel was an obvious cry for help..it needs new brakes, so i'll be on the train to work tomorrow while it goes in for a little TLC at the Garage accross the road. Looking at about £150 for New Brake pads all round.

And I've made a purchase on Ebay this evening...a new Longbow for Agi.Junior to replace teh one that broke just after we bought it last autumn. So when we go to Italy I can spend the weekend teaching him how to shoot poor defenceless targets :o)

Did you Kill Anyone This Weekend?

2006-05-02T08:46:00.000+01:00

Caerphilly Castle again this weekend gone, weather wa better than expected, if a little gray, but it was iffy enough to keep the crowds small, which was a pity. It absolutely heaved it down on Sunday Night, Thunder included, but we awoke on Monday toa Cold but Bright Start which didn't last and threatened rain all day that never came.

My Soapmaking has improved the latest batch of Honey and Oatmeal Castille Soap has turned out really well, and may at last be of Sale-able quality. Should be able to get £2.50 for a 4 oz block, and 20 blocks from 1 batch that costs about £10 to make; a nice profit if I can sell it :o)

This is a quick bit of footage I threw together this morning from May Day. It is the edited highlights.
Apologies for the resolution but my still camera is somewhat limited in it's video capabilities

The Music is played by The Company of Chivalry's Minstrels and is called Kalenda

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Hope you enjoyed that. It is also viewable here ((LINK))

Now as Promised some photos of the Family in 1370... as usual click on them to enlarge :o)

Mrs.A and The Girls (and the Company Doctor who'll you'll recognise as the person that walked in front of me as I was filming the Fight in the Video clip above :o) )

Mrs.A giving a talk on the food of the period

LMB taking her sword very seriously

Me Me Me !

Agi.Junior trying to pull My War bow

Off to 1370 again...

2006-04-29T12:12:00.000+01:00

Car is all packed, weather is OK, forecast is iffy though...but it is a bank holiday after all.

and in an hour we'll be off to Caerphilly Castle for a couple of days reenactment, I'lltry to ge t apiccie of me in kit this time :o)

More Bills

2006-04-26T20:55:00.000+01:00

Here's some more footage of the Reeenactment group at Caerphilly over teh easter weekend.

The guy shouting is Master William

Here's one I made Earlier...

2006-04-23T09:39:00.000+01:00

Here's the Belt Pouch I spent yesterday making for Mrs.A. It measures about 8" x 5" x 1.5", it took me best part of 4 hours work to cut, punch and sew it. No Metal parts at all so it is good for our reenactment forays.

Now how many wives can say that their husband actually made their handbag/purse?....

Smug look ():-)

Still need to finish it off, gonna do a but of punch-work on the front and put a Celtic knot Design on it, plus the tightenig pull needs a glass bead on it to stop it pulling through...but it's almost done.

Today DiY Dad will be building a Shutter for Aginoth Juniors Bedroom window so he can black out the sunlight in the morning that is waking him up early :o)

Oh and happy St.Georges Day :o) .... But more importantly Sahkespears Birthday (and Deathday) ... There really should be a National holiday, this is our National day after all !!

Update: 1300 We've just spent the last 2 hours at ASDA in Weston-super-Mare in 14th Century Kit raising money for the reenactment group ao that we can fund another group in Italy to come visit us and do a joint event later in the year. Agi,Jnr it turns out is a natural at taking donations, in an hour he took over double what an adult managed to take !!!

Busy Day at the Leatherworks...

2006-04-22T22:21:00.000+01:00

Just a quick hello, as I am making an effort to post at least once a day...and it is still Saturday just :o)

Been Busy all day doing some leatherwork, Mrs.A needed a Pouch for Reenactment, as we don't have any pockets, so I have spent the day making her a pouch. Has taken me quite a few hours...all hand sewn and hand made clasp, I'll take a piccie and put it up tomorrow.

Despite my best efforts to make Mrs.A have a lie in this morning she still go tup at 8am, I wasn't going to wake her till at least 9...ah well.

Took Agi.Junior and LMD out this afternoon for a couple of hours down into town, went to the one-day only continental market that was on in town and treated myself to a couple of and made salami (Smoked Pork with red wine) and introduced Agi.Junior and LMD to Bratwurst and Saurkraut...they liked the bratwurst, but Saurkraut is a bit of an adult taste I think and they weren't so keen.

Off now for a supper of Mature Cheddar on toast and some of that Salami...yummy

Vlog - Weekend Activity

2006-04-21T16:21:00.000+01:00

Here's a short video of what our reenactment group do at the weekends, this is the Bill Drill that I posted a piccie of a few days ago... this was posted by one of the spectators on another site.

I do like the Vlog thing :o)

Thursday Thirteen

2006-04-20T20:15:00.000+01:00

Thirteen Things about Aginoth

1. I'm Impressed with Myself I learnt how to embed a Vlog into my Blog today see previous post for the clip of Mrs.A on the News talking about our incident at the Pool...

2. We are well and truly back into reenacting

3. I play a PBEM game called En Garde set in 17th Century France, and everything I planned worked this month :o)

4. I'm still addicted to Eve-Online

5. I've been stopped in the street by people who have see me and Mrs.A in the National and Local Press over teh last 2 weeks.

6. I'm Skint

7. I now know how to make Soap

8. I have made 68 bars of Saop in the last week

9. I hope I can sell all that soap

10. I don't use soap !

11. NO I don't Smell it's bad for my Psoriasis

12. I use something called emulsifying Ointment instead.

13. Only 7 days till teh next reenactment at Caerphilly Castle.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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We have the Technology...Here come my First Vlog

2006-04-20T20:02:00.000+01:00

This will be interesting...my first attempt at vlogging.

So if this works the clip below should be of Mrs.A on ITV West News from last week about the Sedgemoor Splash Swimming Pool Incident... Fingers Crossed

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And I shall now expect a large round of applause and many pats on the back...:o)

Exubera

2006-04-19T18:30:00.000+01:00

So there I was driving home thinking "I know what I'm going to blog about this evening...."

And what do I find? Mrs.A has beaten me to it...Diabetes Inhaler rejected for Prescription in UK on Grounds of Cost to NHS She has covered it here. But I'm going to do a bit on it too anyway

Exubera for Type 1 and 2 diabetes costs on average £1,100 per person per year but patients would still need injections at night. The inhaled insulin is the first non-injected option for insulin therapy since the discovery of the treatment for diabetes in the 1920s. Currently About 800,000 people in the UK manage their condition with daily injections of which about 100000 are type 1 (Don't produce Insulin) the rest Type 2 (produce insulin but their bodies use it inefficiently)

I'm a Type 1 Diabetic, I inject 4 times a day. The current cost of my insulin prescription to the NHS is approximately £1100 by complete coincidence. Of this about £600 is my daytime insulin (3 shots), £400 is my Night time dose (1 shot) and the rest is the cost of the needles.

For many of us injections are although necessary only done because it's that or die slowly, I myself was very needle phobic before I had to start injecting, and still occasionally have problems despite having been shooting up insulin 4 times a day for over 6 years now, I still hate to be injected by anyone else. I would love to have the inhaled insulin.

Think about it...that's 4 injections a day...28 injections a week...1456 times a year, for the rest of my life. And that doesn't include the extra innoculations, regular bloodtests, blood glucose testing. Sometimes I feel like a bloody pincushion and I really would like not to.

For the sake of £8 Million Pounds, No that's not right....actually £3-4 Million Pounds more than what is now being spent, the lives of 800,000 people could be improved. What is £3-4 Million pounds to the NHS that last year had a budget of over £69 BILLION.

Perhaps they could sack a few hundred unecessary managers to fund it? Did you know that despite spending increases of 12% on the NHS last year the actual increas in money spent on Medical care Doctors and Nurses only went up by 2.4%, something isn't right there.

Absolutely Knackered....and 20,000th Visitor :o)

2006-04-18T17:14:00.000+01:00

Firstly congratulations to Old Old Lady for being my 20,000th Visitor :o)

We're back from the Wilds of Wales and Caerphilly Castle. We got home at a sensible time yesterday evening, about 1930, and we we're filthy; quite frankly we stank. It's one of the hazards of reenactment as a hobby, several days of living under real canvas (single skinned) exposed to 18 hours of Wood smoke a day whilst having no real washing facilities at all other than a sink in a toilet tends to make one pong slightly.

But it was fun.

We go to tthe Castle at 1430 on Saturday for our first event with the new group (The Company of Chivalry) and terrified a few tourists by driving in through the front gate over the modern replacement Drawbridge

And set up camp in the Outer Ward...

Our Tent is the White one at the back with the awning on the front...

The Siege Engines at the Castle were right next to our camp

From Front to back you can see a Catapult, A Trebuchet, and a Man-powered Catapult (There's a Mangonel/Onager as well just out of shot)

Anyway we got there unloaded and then had Dinner of Sausages, Eggs and Bread cooked over our Fire Box, went to bed in eager anticipation of the next couple of days.

Sunday morning 0700 the kids woke us up, not to bad for them in teh tent, they usually awake when the sun comes up (just before 6am) but thankfully this hadn't happened. We got up and dressed and headed up to the "Kitchen Tent"

Drill was at 0800, all the men have to take Drill with the Bill. The Bill is a Polearm weapon, dating from the Late 14th Century and used for several hundred years after in various forms. It is between 6 and 12 feet long with varying shaped heads that were developed from the agricultural Billhook Tool

Drill was actually a quite light-hearted affair (Agi.Junior and LMB joined in on Sunday Morning too with limited but amusing sucess)

After drill was a HUGE Breakfast of Sausage, Bacon, Eggs, Black pudding, and Bread tasting all the better for being cooked over an open fire.

After that we moved all our vehicles and all trappings of the 21st Century out of sight and went medieval...to 1370 to be precise. This shot from the rear of the castle... also free of modern clutter...

We spent the rest of the day in 1370 demonstarting to the public the making of soap. We made Castille Soap from Beef Dripping (Tallow), Olive Oil, Lye, Salt and Water. Due to time constraints we had to cheat a little and use Caustic Soda instead of Lye and Salt, but it's the same thing (excepting Caustic Soda wasn't discovered til several Centuries later). I'm not going to go through the whle process, but I'll just say that it needed to be stirred constantly for 2 hours before it thickened enough to be poured into it's mould.

24 hours later it is hard enought o turn out and to cur up into bars.

(Place holder for Soap Picture)

LMB was detirmined to make her self useful so we had her make Daisy tea to be added to the soap (it acts as an astrigent). Her she is doing just that...

In the afternoon there were a couple of demonstrations by the soldiers in teh group, one of Bill Drill done properly....

But then they did have a little encouragement.....

And later the French invaded......

Dinner Was a Great huge bit of Beef cooked over the fire, with Lamb Stew and Trenchers of Bread...Yum

Day 2 (Monday) was much the same excepting the weather if anything improved, we had sun for most of the day and temperature of about 14°C, which meant we all got a little red cheeked and I managed to sunburn my Neck. D'oh.

We finished at 5pm on Monday packed everything away, and other than a few tyre tracks there was little sign of us having been there.

We'll be back at Caerphilly castle in 10 days time to do it all again, and maybe sell some of the finished Soap

If your near by come and see us :o)

I'm sure I was fitter than this...

2006-04-15T09:00:00.000+01:00

Packing teh car for this weekends reenactment, It's 9am and I've already been at it for an hour...when any sensible person would be in bed having a weekend lie in. But I have around 500 kilos of kit to shift and pack into the car (thats about half a ton to you Imperial users).

Haven't done this for 2 years, and Bloody hell this stuff is heavy ! I'm gonna be knackered by this evening, still have to drive to Caerphilly and unload, then set-up camp. Still all this hard work must be good for me; at least that's what I keep telling myself. Looking forward to a few bottles of Cider this evening and a glass of 5 of Mead.

Time for a bite of Breakfast then back to it....

I'll try and moblog if the system lets me when we're away, if not I'll post piccies of the event on Monday Evening.

Only downside to this weekend.....I'll Miss the start of teh New Series of Doctor Who tonight :o(

Beer Scooters - Myth or Reality

2006-04-14T09:02:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Bionic Dwarf for this one....

As hard as you try, you cannot piece together your return journey from the bar to your home. The answer to this puzzle is that you used a beer scooter.

The beer scooter is a mythical form of transport, owned and leased out to the drunk by Bacchus the Roman god of wine. Bacchus has branched out since the decrease in the worship of the Roman pantheon and bought a large batch of these magical devices.

The beer scooter works in the following fashion: The passenger reaches a certain level of drunkenness and the slurring gland begins to give off a pheromone.

Bacchus or one of his many sub-contractors detects the pheromone and sends down a winged beer scooter. The scooter scoops up the passenger and deposits them in their bedroom via a trans-dimensional portal.

It is not cheap to run a beer scooter franchise, so a large portion of the passenger's in-pocket cash is taken as payment. This generates the second question after a night out 'How did I spend so much money?'.

Beer scooters have a poor safety record and are thought to be responsible for 90% of all UDI (Unidentified Drinking Injuries).

An undocumented feature of the beer scooter is the destruction of time segments during the trip. The nature of trans-dimensional portals dictates that time will be lost, seemingly unaccounted for. This generates the third question after a night out 'What happened?'

With good intentions, Bacchus opted for the EMIT (Embarrassing Moments In Time) add on, that automatically removes, in descending order, those parts in time regretted most. Unfortunately one person's EMIT is not necessarily the EMIT of another and quite often lost time is regained over a suitable period.

Independent studies have also shown that Beer Goggles cause the scooter's navigation system to malfunction thus sending the passenger to the wrong bedroom often with horrific consequences. With recent models including a GPS, Bacchus made an investment in a scooter drive-thru chain specialising in half eaten kebabs and pizza crusts.

Another question answered!!

For the family man, beer scooters come equipped with flowers picked from other people's garden and Thump-A-Lot Boots. These boots are designed in such a way that no matter how quietly you tip-toe, you are sure to wake up your other half. Special anti-gravity springs ensure that you bump into every wall and the CTSGS (Coffee Table Seeking Guidance System) explains the ringbarked shins.

The final add-in Bacchus saw fit to invest in for some scooters is TAS (Tobacco Absorption System). This explains how one person can apparently get through 260 cigarrettes in a single night.

All much clearer now?

More Media coverage and birthday celebrations

2006-04-13T08:26:00.000+01:00

I know I know no blogs for 10 days then I do 2 in the space of 3 hours !!!

The BBC have picked up on the story...we are now on the BBC News Website

LINK TO BBC STORY

Scan of Story in Weston and Worle News Above (Click to Enlarge)

Although theyhave missed out a couple of salient points such as the Approved Code of Practice the Council claims to be following was recinded over a year ago because it was discriminatory to larege and Single Parent Families, and could restrict the chances of children in those circumstances from learning to swim at as early an age as possible.

Anyway...as I'm here, we're still Dress Making...nearly done now 1 shirt, 2 underdresses, 1 pair of Hose Completed. 1 Kirtle (Sleeved Dress in Wool) Cut and ready to sew. in process of cutting a Wollen Tunic and a Kirtle for LMD. Then just 2 Cyclas to go (Wollen Sleeveless Overdress)

That's the morning taken Care of

We're off out celebrating Cyberkitten's mumbly mumble Birthday this afternoon, going out for Pasta blowout, Bowling and then off to see Ice Age 2: The Meltdown....

What do you mean why am I not at work? It's Maunday Thursday today and all UK Civil Servants get the Afternoon off today as an extra public holiday (taken Annual Leave this morning)...

So what's special about Maunday Thursday that warrants Civil Servants getting a Half day you may well ask....History Lessons are us...So in addition to being a day when all teh Civil Servants in the UK head out to get bladdered down the pub. Follow the link below about Maundy money That's why we Civil Servants have today off.

Courtesy of Wikipedia....

In the Christian calendar, Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, is the Thursday before Easter, the day on which the Last Supper is said to have occurred.

The Middle English word Maundy, used only in this context, derives from Old French mandé from Latin mandatum novum do vobis, "a new commandment I give unto you, love one another as I have loved you" (John xiii:34), words spoken by Jesus to the Apostles after washing their feet in preparation for The Last Supper. Foot washing is increasingly popular as a part of Maundy Thursday liturgies in many churches. Washing of the Feet has been a traditional component of the Armenian Orthodox Church.

The day has also been known as Sheer Thursday, due to the idea that it is the day of cleaning (schere) and because the churches themselves would switch liturgical colors from the dark tones of Lent. This name is a cognate to the word still used throughout Scandinavia, such as Swedish "Skärtorsdag", Danish "Skærtorsdag" and Norwegian "Skjærtorsdag".

In the Roman Catholic Church, it is generally referred to as Holy Thursday.

In the United Kingdom, the monarch traditionally distributes Maundy money.

In Germany, the day is referred to as "Gründonnerstag," a word built of two roots, "grün" ("green") and "Donnerstag" ("Thursday"). However, the word "grün" probably does not mean "green" in this case. While its etymology is somewhat unclear, many trace it back to "grinan" ("to wail") in Old High German, a word connected with the English "groan".

In the Philippines, a popular Maundy Thursday tradition is the Visita Iglesia (Church Visit), which involves visiting several Churches at which the faithful commemorate the vigil that the Apostles kept while Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. The last Mass before Easter is also celebrated on Maundy Thursday, usually including a reenactment of the Washing of the Feet of the Apostles; this Mass is followed by the procession of the Blessed Sacrament before it is taken to the Altar of Repose.

Thursday Thirteen

2006-04-13T08:00:00.000+01:00

Thirteen Things about Aginoth

1. We Complain well and we complain Loudly

2. Shops and businesses really should beleive me and Mrs.A when we say we are going to go to the media (see the posts before this)

3. I have today off work cos I'm a Civil Servant and it is Maundy Thursday :o)

4. I am covered in bits of lint and thread from cutting out dress patterns

5. Our Medieval reenactment season starts this weekend

6. We'll be at Caerphilly Castle reenacting on Sunday and Monday.

7. Amazingly it looks like the weather forecast is good for this weekend, very unusal to reenact if it isn't raining

8. Looking forward to going to see Ice Age 2 today

9. So far in the last 2 weeks me and the Family have appeared on or in ; The Daily Mail, LBC News, The Wright Stuff (Channel 5), ITV West News, BBC online News, BBC Somerset Sound Breakfast show, Various local newspapers in Somerset.

10. We have learnt The Sun may be interested in running the story

11. What Story....Oh go see my wife's blog

12. It's about now that I run out of things to say...

13. Just been handed a letter by Mrs.A. North Somerset Primary Care trust have granted my funding for the drugs I want to try to keep my Psoriasis under control...cost is £10k a year and it has taken me over a year to get the funding

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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No More Anonymity....

2006-04-12T19:48:00.000+01:00

Well I really want to post the story run in the National Press about us today and our ongoing fight against Sedgemoor Council and Sedgemoor Splash swimming pool...see Mrs.A's Blog for full details, posts since 26th March have been dominated by it :o)

Slowly we have been contacted by a wide spectrum of the media in the UK who want to run the story, today is teh first day it has gone national, we warranted a 3/4 page spread on Page 5 of The Daily Mail, and have been featured on one of Londons main radio stations LBC. In addition we have alread been on BBC Somerset Sound, in several local papers, on the ITV West News (Morning Lunch Evening Discussion, and Late Evening)....and now the BBC has called us today as well !!!

Anyway here is the Daily Mail Picture and the text of the story, so all in one go you'll know what we look like and our real names SHOCK !!!

Click to Enlarge

and here's the body text of the story...

Sunk by safety rules
Lifeguard instructor is told she can’t take children in swim pool
Barred: Keren and David Townsend with their children

A LIFEGUARD instructor and her husband, a health and safety officer, were banned from taking their three children into a toddlers’ pool – because of health and safety rules.

Keren and David Townsend took Ethan, five, Caitlin, two, and Alyssa, one, for a swim in the 2ft 6in-deep pool.

But staff at Sedgemoor Splash in Bridgwater, Somerset, refused them entry because council regulations demand that each child must be supervised by one adult.

Yesterday, 33-year- old Mrs Townsend, a former swimming pool manager, said that such stringent rules put lives at risk because they deter parents from teaching their youngsters to swim.

‘It was absolutely ridiculous,’ she said. ‘The children are all happy and confident in the water and we can hold on to all three of them.

‘This attitude is going to cause more drownings because swimming is such a vital skill.

‘Councils should be encouraging more parents to put their kids into the water so that children can learn in a safe environment.

‘If children don’t go with their mum and dad when they’re young, then they try swimming alone or with their friends in rivers or quarries. It’s a recipe for disaster.’

Mrs Townsend, of Westonsuperhas several diving, swimming and lifesaving qualifications, including the Royal Life Saving Society’s lifeguard trainer certificate.

But her qualifications counted for nothing when the family visited Sedgemoor Splash fun pool on March 26.

The pool, which is run by Sedgemoor District Council, is 5ft 2in at its deepest point of the adult pool, but the toddlers’ pool is separate.

The outing was meant to be a treat after 35-year-old Mr Townsend – an environmental health and safety officer for the Civil Service– had spent time in hospital.

The family were refused entry unless they had a third adult to supervise the children. Mrs Townsend asked the duty manager if he could bend the rules because of her extensive experience and qualifications, but he refused.

The pool was following guidelines issued by the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management, which oversees swimming pool management in Britain.

That advice originally recommended a ratio of one adult per child under five, and one adult for every two children between five and seven.

However, last year the guidelines were relaxed to state that in a ‘controllable non-swimmers area’ one adult can safely supervise two under-eights.

Despite the revised guidelines, Sedgemoor Council has stuck to the more conservative advice.

Mrs Townsend said: ‘What are couples with more than two young kids supposed to do? Find another adult out of nowhere or leave a child behind?’ A council spokesman said: ‘Sedgemoor Splash is a fun pool, with lots of jumping around. That’s why we insist on the ratio.

‘Our customers’ safety is our top priority. We are not killjoys.’ A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: ‘The council is probably being conservative, but each pool has to be assessed on its own risks.

‘There are lots of reasons why a pool could be difficult to patrol safely, including foliage or furniture, as well as the shape of the pool.

We work work work work, work work work work, work the weekend through

2006-04-02T16:03:00.000+01:00

This weekend we have mostly been playing tailor and seamstress. In preparation for the new re-enactment season we have started amking teh childrens clothes which we hope they won't grow out of to quickly (fat chance)

So far we have completed a linen underdress for LMD, and patterned and cut the parts for a tunic for Agi.Junior, the rest of the week will be spent in a similar guise, with only 2 weeks to go until we trot up to Caerphilly Castle, pictures may become available at some point :o)

For those who don't know we are members of The Company of Chivalry, portraying life in 1370 just before the Black Death hit Britain (1374) and the Peasants revolt.

Our events list is on the group website and your welcome tocome along and see us in action, I'll probably be seen making soap whilst Mrs.A is helping with the clothing and seamstressing display this year.

Caerphilly Castle (From Castlewales.com)