Today I've mostly bin...

[tricia]

Today I am messing about with these puzzles and sorting out my purchases from the craft fair I went to yesterday in Glasgow - It was a great day because it was the first tmime in about 3 months we could go out without a huge jacket on. I was able to walk around with a warm cardigan - the sun was also shining and I did not have to scrape the ice of the car - Yes spring is definitely coming

Tricia

[Bunnylump]

Yes, it's beautiful here today.

Yesterday I went to a party in the evening. I was actually really dreading it because I didn't know anyone there (it was hosted by one of my husband's bods from his newly formed "Stanley Dee" band). And yes, you guessed it, they play Steeley Dan songs. I'm spectacularly rubbish at "small talk" so I was dreading it. However, I was determined to make the most of it (OH was playing in the band for part of it - some Steeley Dan numbers and then some hastily improvised rock and roll stuff) and so I was left to my own devices quite a bit. I bit the bullet and started introducing myself to random strangers (gulp), and rather surprisingly, had a really good night! It's surprising what you can do when you put your mind to it, isn't it?

[Scurra]

Yes spring is definitely coming

Don't say that too loudly - someone might be listening...

[gill216]

I got my bike out today and went for the first (very short!) bike ride of this year. The sunshine was lovely and I had to start discarding the outer layers very quickly. I'm so unfit!!! Considering I awoke to no water- because the outside pipes were frozen -thats a quick weather changeover within a few hours.

Talking to my daughter earlier, she commented that she has had only 2 days without rain since xmas -on the Costa del Sol.

[MBH]

... finding a new shop in Eldon Square (Newcaslte).

The Marble Slab Creamery - specialist Ice Cream cafe bar

At the simplest level you chose 2 (or 3) scoops of ice cream and 1 (or more) "Mixins" [choc chips, nuts, marsh mallows, diam bar, dozens of others), and they transfer them to the titular slab to use scoops and blades to blend them all together.

I had a blend of cool mint and swiss chocolate ice cream with a scoop of dark chocolate chips blended in - excellent Although for £2.99 [plus extra 49p for a waffle bowl] it will be rare treat.

[Bunnylump]

Yum. I can feel a visit coming on to that if I'm ever up in your neck of the woods.

I make my own home made Dime Bar ice cream. It's also a rare treat, but mainly because if it wasn't I'd probably have had the heart attack associated with it by now. (It's made with double cream...)

Today I've mostly bin...
opening presents and eating birthday cake. And yes, I know it's not my birthday yet, but my daughter invited lots of people round today and made me a really nice lemon birthday cake.

So far I have had no fewer than 6 really pretty tops (do you think people are trying to tell me something about my clothes? ), some earrings, a book and a Woman's Weekly. Yes, you did read that last bit right...my friend Chris (another one!) bought me that. It was a reference to Freda and Barry (and hence my advancing years). And before you ask, yes, he did beat me on the bottom with it.

(For those of you who are still unfamiliar with this delight, these are the lyrics! My present refers to the last stanza.)

The Ballad of Freda and Barry.doc

(27 KiB) Downloaded 47 times

[Laura]

I love that song! Well, anything Victoria Wood really, but particularly that song.

[Bunnylump]

I did go through a phase of hating it. But that was because one of our friends wanted to do it as a "party piece" at a girls' weekend and asked my OH to record her a backing track. He obliged, but, not being a pianist, had to painstakingly work it out from a midi file, then record it bit by bit. I heard those phrases, what, about 300 times each? It does rather take the edge off it...

[MBH]

I can't hear that song (or, it turns out, read the lyrics) without tears of laugher dripping down my face. As well as the brilliance of the words, her performance is always great. How she can sing it and act out the 'emotions' on her face AND play that piano accompaniment at the same time is beyond me

I'm sure I heard a quote from her once where she described it as, "Always requested, a joy to hear, but a BEGGER to learn"

[pebbles]

Today I am messing about with these puzzles and sorting out my purchases from the craft fair I went to yesterday in Glasgow - It was a great day because it was the first tmime in about 3 months we could go out without a huge jacket on. I was able to walk around with a warm cardigan - the sun was also shining and I did not have to scrape the ice of the car - Yes spring is definitely coming

Tricia

What did you buy at the craft fair? All my craft purchases are on the internet.

[Biscuit]

Really excited about the new issue - have never read the hunting of the snark so i feel this will be educational too - and topical too with alice in wonderland at the pictures - has anyone been to see it yet?

Biscuit

[Bunnylump]

No, and I'm really cheesed off. It looks brilliant (and I'm particularly partial to Johnny Depp ), but for us folks without binocular vision, 3D movies are a non starter. All I can see when I look through those glasses is red and green blurry shapes. I've had three different friends asking me if I would like to go and see Avatar too, and I've had to refuse.

I do particularly like the Hunting of the Snark, well any any of the other nonsense poems. So yes, very enjoyable.

[gill216]

Hazel, have you asked them if you can go in for a couple of minutes to see how you go?

I've no knowledge of binocular vision or its effects so tell me if this will be rubbish anyway.

I was pleasantly surprised at xmas when I went to see a Christmas Carol. I put the 3d specs over my own specs, I was amazed at the quality of the specs supplied - nothing like the cardboard things I associated 3d specs with.

I love the Snark- not only for its puzzles. My comment to Scurra was that it was nice to see something in an issue that was educational too. I'd read the Snark many years ago- I think I could possibly recite it now.

[Bunnylump]

I have tried before. It was quite amusing though - everyone else was gasping and dodging things which were apparently heading directly for them, and I was sat there staring blankly at red and green blobs. I'm sure people must have thought I was very odd. I'm just hoping that they will be bringing out 2D version of Alice in Wonderland as well...

It's a particularly irritating condition - it also means that if a small object comes within about 2 metres of me, moving fast, I can't judge where it is exactly. Consequently you can imagine how funny it is for everyone else to watch me trying to play things like tennis and badminton. It's not funny for me at all - I move the racquet to where I judge the ball to be and miss it by about a foot. For the same reason I have also been hit in the eye socket with a cricket ball because I dodged the wrong way. And yes, that was funny for everyone else as well. But not for me, especially when I had a black eye for about a month. I think you will now understand why I used to bunk off games all the time at school.

Oh, and things like wordsearches are almost impossible for me to do with both eyes open. (Thanks Scurra, yes I do have an eye patch on as we speak..."arr me hearties". )

[Scurra]

The really irritating thing is that Alice wasn't even made in 3d - they just added the effects on later to "jump on the bandwagon". About the only good thing I will say about Avatar is that it was actually made with that in mind from the start; a lot of recent so-called 3d movies haven't been any such thing.

You need to get a pair of Mark Kermode's "anti-3d" glasses. Basically, they are two pairs of 3d glasses made into one by swapping the lenses over on one pair, and thus cancelling out the effect. So you can watch the film without getting a headache, but all the pointless gimmickry is also negated too. Win-win all around, really (One day someone is going to make a 3d movie which actually has a story and characters, but it hasn't happened yet. Although I'm hoping that Toy Story 3 might succeed.)

[gill216]

Don't know if they are Mark whatsisname's but I've got 2 pairs my grandson sneaked out in his pocket

Yours if you want them Bunny

[Bunnylump]

I don't think I want to have to wear two pairs of glasses, thanks. I have enough trouble locating one pair as it is! (I need them for looking at close things but not far away things, so have to carry them around and hence lose them all the time. They'd better not start making Cohen Brothers' films in 3D (they're my favourite!).

[Biscuit]

i wear two pairs of glasses - no problem but my son has double vision in his perifery (excuse spelling) and said he had a huge headache after watching avator(either that or he really didnt want to go out for a meal afterwards - a real possibility)
but i like to think it was because it was challenging his periferal vision. His everyday vision is ok.

Biscuit

[Redfraggle]

Helping my daughter today because she had a burglary. They completely trashed her downstairs and my daughter, her partner and baby were asleep upstairs! Gladly, no one was hurt though I wish they'd caught the burlgar (he'd have been hurting!)

[LAT]

Oh dear! how awful for her and what a worry.
Glad they are all OK. Hope they didn't lose too much that was personal.