30th ------ I don't want to worry you but it's December tomorrow. I don't know about you but I think the whole year has flown past at a rate of knots. Talking of which........I finally bit the bullet, and my lips in the process, but I finally finished off the last TMA on my Day Skippers course and emailed the paper off to the tutor. I'm not at all hopeful of the outcome but decided to just go ahead with it and learn from my mistakes which I'm sure will be many. It's not as if I don't know what to do 'cause I do it's just putting it all into practice especially when they hit you all at once. Here is an example...........In the early evening of Friday 6th September a vessel is heading for Namley Harbour....... a) At 1819 UT the position on the GPS is 46º 19´.20 N 005º 47´.10 W. Plot this fix.........b) What is the magnetic course to steer from this position to the Namley Bar Beacon?..... (Use Tidal Diamond M The boat’s speed is 6 knots.).... c) About how long will it take to get to the beacon?.......d) There is a strong wind from the East and the skipper estimates 10 of Leeway.What course should the helmsman steer to allow for the Leeway?.........e) When the beacon is sighted will it be dead ahead, on the starboard bow, or on the port bow?..........I know that it isn't rocket science but if you get the first part wrong then every other answer is going to be wrong as well.............This of course meant that even though I was up out of bed a lot earlier than normal for a Monday I spent all morning inside only venturing out into the beautiful sunny but very cold day earlier this afternoon. Again I decided against taking my big camera out with me opting for the compact instead because I wanted to take more video. Another two again today.......the first taken outside the town hall / library in Parliament Square.....Which I'm having terrible trouble trying to locate so you'll just have to click on the link. Unlike the second...

..........taken whilst I was standing by the swing bridge which I've managed to find straight away so I can link to it direct. I think it may have something to do with how I name the files to start off with........Parliament being quite a common name used...........Whereas there aren't that many Ramsey Harbours about I wouldn't have thought........Anyway I managed a couple of stills as well........



.....which were taken on the ordinary setting and which I think are too bright.....Isn't it odd how I'm more critical now whereas this time last year I would have been more than pleased with today's offerings......
........Been checking my emails all afternoon awaiting my TMA results.....they've just arrived and I've just had to get myself up off the floor as it read.......All of these are OK so now you are ready for the exams.....Here they are attached.........Good luck........Just goes to show you doesn't it that I should have more confidence in my ability.........I'm well made up.....as the youth of today say..........Judith glad you like the videos. I quite like the idea of one a day or at least one every other day if I get chance.......So keep on popping in........
....And so finally for today.....

"If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut."
    Albert Einstein


29th ------ The party season got under way last night with the annual Ramsey lifeboat Christmas dinner at the Harbour Bistro and a great night was had by all. It's not very often we can all get together so it was nice to all meet up and have a good chat and catch up with all the skeet. We didn't stay too late, in fact we were home for ten thirty as both G and I were tired having had to get up early. G for her flight back to the island and me to go and pick her up from the airport.....Because the weather was so poor, even worse today, we drove up in the car and parked it in Market Square and left it there overnight with me walking back up there in blustery conditions to pick it up earlier today.........

.........Walking along the quayside I stopped just outside Wilfie Youngs place and took some video with my old compact camera. I hadn't wanted to take the big one out because of the weather. Once again I'm pleased with the outcome except for the excessive wind noise. You know I will have to find a way as to preventing this as it's even louder in this next video taken when walking along the north breakwater....

...A tad bracing what?..........I just love it like this with the wind howling and the waves breaking into surf that is when I'm dressed for the occasion. This morning I wasn't so I didn't stop too long just long enough to take a few still photos which felt really odd taking them with this camera.....

..........This one looks a tad blurred towards the left of the image but it isn't. It is in fact sand being blown up from the beach and over the wall. As you can see there's quite a bit building up on the prom. A bit like a snow drift I suppose....

......On my way to my favourite spot quayside I stopped on the swing bridge to capture the above image. Not a pleasant sight if you were just leaving harbour for a crossing.....Think things may be a bit lumpy out there......

......Flushed with success regarding the roof repair, things are still dry up in the loft, I turned my hand to fixing the curtain pole in SD1's bedroom which had slightly come away from the wall and after my fix it is in perfect working order and not in imminent danger of falling onto the floor....Think I'm on a roll here which is perfect timing as G has decided that it is about time that both the bathroom and the front lounge were re-decorated and so paint and materials have been purchased and it looks as if I'll be busy for a while in the new year......What joy.........I can't wait...........Dave thanks for your post....I've just had a skeet at you weather.....My it's cold out there........How do you survive?...
.....And so finally for today.......

"Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Thou art not so unkind,
As man's ingratitude."
    William Shakespeare


28th ------  It's not often that I can disagree with something that the Beeb have on their brilliant website. In fact I can't recall ever having disagreed with them in the past but on this occasion I just can't help myself and have to say something..........The topic they were talking about was the scariest roads in Britain and though I agree with some, they have completely ignored us here on the island which in my humble opinion has some of the worst junctions ever.........Out of the top ten they gave I'm very surprised to see that I have at one time or another had to negotiate seven in a car, two on foot (Marble Arch and Piccadilly Circus) with only one never having been seen that being the Magic Roundabout in Swindon and to be honest with you we have a lot worse on the island.....Okay I know I went on about the Magic Roundabout at Hemel Hempsted when on holiday but have you tried negotiating Quarterbridge during rush hour?...No, I didn't think so.....Okay it's not the most complicated junction in the world being two mini roundabouts very close to each other,  but what you fail to understand is the driving abilty of the locals especially at roundabouts or islands........SCARY is not the word....TERRIFYING would be more apt. If you can negotiate this junction without hesitation then you should be able to cope with any place not only in the UK but also that of the entire world....And that I can say with much conviction as I've spent quite a while watching the traffic circumnavigating the Arc-de-Triomphe in the centre of Paris and that is a wonder to be seen but Quarterbridge is way ahead of that even though it has a hell of a lot less traffic.......The thing is ....the Manx way.... it's an Island and accordingly cars have to stop at an island regardless if you have the right of way or not as in most cases........Never mind the golden rule of give way to traffic from the right.......Here they even look to the left even though there is never going to be anything come coming in a month of whatever never mind a month of Sunday's.......................Soooooooo chaos ensues......No make that utter chaos....Sooooooooo BBC get yourselves over here with a camera and film the goings on at Quarterbridge during rush hour chaos then I'm sure you'll change your mind...........
............Now still on the great Beeb website another thing caught my eye........An article about a new beer......right up my street you may think.......with an alcohol content of 32%....NOT up my street I must add...........Okay I like a drink, normally lager at % of 3.8 and even that to some is way too much but 32%. what is this new stuff made of rocket fuel????? ....I'd only have to have a sniff and I'll be on my back.......No, I don't think I'd even have to sniff it before I was laid out on my back seeing as it's £30 a bottle......... Think I'll be on my back before even tasting it............No make that ordering it...........So I think I'd better stick to something a lot safer than alcohol......I know music.....and thanks to Carol in Vancouver I have a great video for you all to watch..........The fantastic Bohemian Rhapsody Muppet style...........



27th ------ We’ve all seen the hype and the marketing gimmicks that advertising gurus now use to move things off the shelves. You know the type of thing I mean…..”Now with added vitamin C for longer legs” or as in the case of hair products where they even go to the lengths of inventing new words..... “Includes fast working ceramides, loose your hair quicker” What on earth are ceramides I want to know?........Why they even advertise the fact that there is less of some things in the ingredients for instance sausage manufacturers might say............”Now with less meat ” but last night at work I saw something which beats all these hands down...........On the side of the Toyota fork lift in rather large letters was the statement.........”SAS EQUIPPED”…..Now I was intrigued so I took a closer look and you can imagine my disappointment when there were no soldiers dressed in combats and balaclavas riding shotgun, or should that be Kalashnikov. No the SAS was referring to some safety thing or other called System of Active Stability and not the Special Air Service. Shame really as I'm sure they’d have livened up the place a little............And on the subject of livening things up..........
.............I adore reading a good book more than watching a film anytime, though I do struggle to find the time as of late, as your own imagination brings it alive and so when I came upon this brilliant video by the New Zealand Book Council I thought I'd share it with you. I think it gets the point over in a great, clever and well thought out way........

.....Today was going to be perfect. Well that was what I had planned last night whilst at work but the reality couldn't be further away from that if it tried........Firstly I had wanted to take some images of a packed harbour in the first glow of dawn only when I arrived quay side there weren't that many boats still berthed and those images I took were nearly all blurry 'cause I forgot my tripod so that was really a waste of time........Okay sleep next which wasn't that good either. First I was woken by the post man knocking the door but I managed to ignore him and roll over and get back to sleep but I woke with a terrible sore throat probably because I was snoring as my nose is all blocked up. Just hope I'm not coming down with anything......Then.........Then things deteriorated..........My brain just wouldn't get into gear however how hard I tried. The plan was that this afternoon I would complete the last TMA on my day Skipper course. I had briefly looked at the questions the other day and had gone over in my mind what was required only when I came to do it this mind of mine for whatever reason just wouldn't compute. In the end after only answering two of the five questions I put everything away until another time when my mind was more alert......Twelfth of never springs to mind for some reason.........Dohhhhhh....So because of all this I haven't ventured outside and what's more I don't intend to 'cause it's too cold and I'm feeling......Well I'm not feeling in the mood even though I have a good enough reason to go out which is to capture the switching on of the Ramsey Christmas lights.....WOW......Unlike Birmingham, which attracted hundreds of thousands of screaming teenagers in anticipation to meet their idols JLS and in doing so brought panic and pandemonium to the area the Ramsey affair will be more subdued.......And instead of the hottest band around (JLS....for reasons unknown to me anyway) the lights in Ramsey are going to be switched on by............are going to be switched on by............Well if I'm honest with you I've got no idea who it is who is going to switch the lights on probably some commissioner or one of the RTC work force called Juan Skillicron or something or other.......But does it matter that he or she isn't famous?.....Of course it doesn't........You know I just don't get all this fame sort of thing for stuff like this....The lights will be the same regardless won't they?...In fact ours in Ramsey will be great, just plain and simple and we will have yet again a lantern parade which I hope to capture this year on film that is if I'm not asked to participate as in previous years as part of the Ramsey RNLI crew.......Maybe if she's back from college I'll ask SD2 to carry the lantern whilst I will take photos.....Mmmmm I feel a plan forming........Probably go the same way as today's but hey that's life I suppose........In the meantime a few piccies from this mornings attempt to capture Ramsey in the early morning darkness..............

...........No it's not some UFO that has landed here looking for intelligent life because if it was it would have had a hard job on it's hands.....No it's the new swimming pool looking very moody.........

.....with the above, East Quay but not from my normal spot because the Mezeron wagons are hogging all the space which I suppose will be the norm from now on now that they have the new boat bringing in cargo other than building materials etc from across..........

.......and last but not least for today a view from North Shore Road.......I did take a shot of North Shore Road itself with all the street lights especially for Maurice and Phil but it was so blurry that it went straight into the bin.......maybe next week.........
.............................Yippppeeeeeeeee..........The lights and the music are back on in Mannanan's Mansions and celebrations are afoot as the Tesco man has been and even better.........he had everything that I ordered...certainly celebration time......This of course means that we will be able to stuff our selves silly as planned and not starve due to lack of food stuffs....Not that we did last week 'cause we didn't, but the siege mentality thing was there...........So I'm off now to put all the stuff purchased in it's right place..........Ahhhhhhhhhh................ look...........draught Guinness...................I know just the place for that..................Judith......My Manx isn't what it should be so please bear with me.......I am fine....and may there be good with you also......Took me a while but I think I got there.......Carol....thanks for your brilliant post bringing us all up to date with your world.........I've missed you..........Never mind Twitter....Mannanan's the in thing......Can't wait to see Vancouver and surrounding areas when the Olympics start especially as we have some local interest........Keep your eyes peeled for Zoe Gillings who will be there vying for gold flying the three legs of Mann.
.....And so finally for today.....

"O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains! that we should, with joy, pleasance, revel, and applause, transform ourselves into beasts!"
 William Shakespeare


26th ------ I thought I’d start off today’s proceedings on the subject of newspapers. Not that I know a great deal about them because I don’t as I only ever buy one once a week on a Saturday, The Mail, and then only really for the free TV magazine that comes with it so my knowledge is very limited indeed, but because of something which caught my eye in one of the red tops which was left in the canteen at work. Not that you can call this red top a newspaper because it really isn’t. More of a comic if truth be known or to some a soft porn magazine but whatever names you give it I was reading it. Well reading isn’t the correct word to use as browsing would be more apt, and so whilst I browsed I came upon an article that even though I thought was very, very funny indeed, it made me wonder about the gene pool and the future of this once great land of ours............Now I’m sure most of us have fancied our chances at one time or another on one of those TV quiz shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. I know I have many a time, and have even tried on numerous occasions to get on the show and to get a pop at some of the prizes that are on offer all to no avail I’m afraid which is a tad annoying but what makes it worse is why do they nearly always get contestants who never in a million years of trying are going to win the big money? Anyway it was this subject under the heading Dumb and Dumber that this particular article, which in fact happened to be promoting the latest Private Eye book Dumb Britain’s 2, was all about and I’m sure that after I’ve given you a number of examples you will share my concerns regarding the future…….Now this one creased me to start off with…..Question = What man made structure, built in the third century BC is often said to be visible from space ?….Answer = The Millennium Dome ?.....Okay maybe ancient history or modern buildings of the late twentieth century for that matter wasn’t this persons forte so maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt  just like sport wasn’t this persons forte either…..In six nations rugby, what is the traditional emblem of the French team ?........An onion.....Not rocket science are they?..........Here are a few more.......What T did British prisoners of war use to escape from World War Two prison camps?.......Errrr is it herbal ?....Who was the Roman God of war, I’ll give you a clue it’s the name of a chocolate bar?........Twix..........Three stumps with two bails balanced on top are essential equipment in which sport?......Horse racing............and my favourite.......What B was a pseudonym used by Charles Dickens?.......Bart Simpson.............Yes people and their brains are a wonderful subject matter aren't they?.........
..........But enough jokes for one day how about the more serious stuff like my mission to secure a decent wedding anniversary present for G. Well I'm pleased to announce that after my walk around Ramsey in the bitter cold I succeeded and I must say I'm very pleased with my purchases. All of course will be revealed after the third 'cause it wouldn't be fair to tell or show you before I've shown them to G now would it so you'll just have to wait a few more days yet.......
..........Really pleased to say that the wind has dropped right down and that the sailings to and from the island by the Steam Racket have re-started so with a bit of luck I might be getting some shopping tomorrow. The change in weather has also had an effect here in Ramsey with the harbour full to bursting when I had a walk around there earlier this afternoon. I had, against my better judgement, took with me a carrier of stale bread to feed to the ducks and swans and no sooner had I thrown the first morsel than I was surrounded my a squawking mass of hysterical gulls all wanting a piece of something to eat. Not wanting that to be a piece of me I threw the whole lot up in the air and watched in utter amazement at the speed and awesome flying skills of these much maligned birds as they managed to gather most of my offerings in their mouths before it touched the water.......I had hoped to get some images but all I got was a flurry of feathers.......here are some that turned out a bit better........





........As you can see not the best light in the world but at least it was dry for a change........Phil thank you for your post. I'm sure your taste in music isn't as square as you think. You should see some of the stuff that is in my collection. Pleased that you liked the photos and video. Hopefully there will be more soon........JMW.......thank you so much for your very kind words especially the Manx. I had an idea as to the translation but had to do a bit of Googling and when i did I came upon a few other Manx sayings one of which amused me no end.............Ta my haagh crowal lane dy astan.........Why anyone in any language would want to utter those words I don't know........Now I know for certain....Nowt stranger than folk......
.....And so finally for today...........

"It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated."
    Alec Bourne


25th ------ I'm almost certain that if I dug out my old school reports from the dusty old box in the attic (which is still amazingly dry....You know I never new blue-tac and sellotape could withstand such a battering) where they've been stored for the last millennium they would all say the same thing........Has ability, tries hard at first but lacks the stamina to carry his ideas through......I only mention this as yet again another of my ideas for this site seems to have fallen by the wayside and is gathering dust like my old reports mentioned earlier. Yes the page TWTWTW managed two whole weeks before I ran out of steam and though I still have some ideas and images half produced I've nothing like the amount that I had hoped for. Maybe an image a day was asking too much in the first place but then I do get carried away at times. I know some might think, and say for that matter, that maybe I ought to be carried away but each to their own. The thing is I'm just pleased that I've never really given up on the daily blog as I derive a great deal of pleasure from bringing it to you, mostly each and every day.....And you can rest assured that it will carry on in much the same vein with some new great ideas getting worked to death over a period of a few days then left to wallow for a while until the mood takes me again. I suppose in some weird way it adds to the rather eclectic mix that is this site and today's offerings are no different.......
........'Cause I'm going to start off yet again with the weather, add a few piccies then go on a chat a little about music maybe a few more piccies then I'll be off to make the dinner then off to work and then it all starts off again much the same as normal.....Hum-drum some people might say but I don't think I'd change anything.....Anyway the weather as promised........WINDY........bloody windy in fact, yet more sailings cancelled and rather cold with it. At this rate the whole stores will be bereft of any stock never mind the odd shelf. Still I managed to brave the elements and walk along the beach (am I mental or what) to get some piccies for today......











......Makes me feel all cold again just looking at them and I'm in the comfort and warmth of my house......I suppose you could say that I'm comfortably numb.....which is a very cheesy way to get on to the next subject of music........Mark, many thanks for the link to a stunningly awesome live version of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb. You know it must be one of the best ever tracks ever written way up there in my top five I would say.....But would you agree ?......Let's have a little banter going if you do, and if you don't all the better. Let's see what music and sounds float your boat but please no Barry Manilow or Tiny Tim though how they would float anybody's boat is beyond me.......So get those posts coming in we can't have Judith being the only one now can we as I know for certain that I've more readers out there than posters 'cause I'm averaging forty hits a day which I think is pretty damn good......So come on down and don't be shy it would be great to hear from some new and for that matter some old friends who've never posted before. Don't worry I don't bite......Well not on these pages anyway.........Fantail, yes I think it a wise move telling you know who not to mention anything to G about my idea of home made jewellery though I think I may shelve the idea.......

.....'cause looking at those sharp edges on a piece of swarf, that I thought would look great hanging from a delicate ear lobe, I'm not now sure....Maybe they would cause too much damage.......back to the drawing board then.....
.....And so finally for today......

 "I like our music to feel three-dimensional. It's about trying to invoke emotions in people, I suppose. You feel larger than life in some sort of way. Let's face it none of us in Pink Floyd are technically brilliant musicians, with great chops who can change rhythms, fifteen or sixteen bars here, there and everywhere. And we're not terribly good at complicated chord structures. A lot of it is just very simple stuff dressed up. We stopped trying to make overtly 'spacey' music and trip people out in that way in the 60's. But that image hangs on and we can't seem to get shot of it."

Dave Gilmour

24th ------ My concerns of last week regarding what I should buy Mrs Mannanan for Christmas have, I’m pleased to say faded because all of a sudden mid-way through the week I had an idea and things snowballed the consequence being that I have now purchased a number of gifts which I hope will make her smile when opening them Christmas morning. However one concern has been swapped for another of a similar nature.............which is....... what shall I buy her for our tenth wedding anniversary which is just over a week away on the 3rd of next month?............Being ever the romantic there will of course be the obligatory flowers and as I like tradition as well I will, thankfully, choose a gift from the traditional list and not the modern. I say thankfully because, and this I can categorically say, with hand on heart and swearing on the bible whilst at the same time performing a triple toe loop, double salchow combination, that it has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that the gift on the modern version is diamond jewellery. Okay those on the traditional list (I have a choice), are either tin or aluminium but they can make great presents they really can..............For instance I’m sure I saw in the supermarket the other day that they now put rosé wine (G’s tipple) into tins and seeing as the tins are made from aluminium if I buy her, say ten of those, one for each year, I will be killing two birds with one stone in getting her both exotic presents in one and the wine itself will be a bonus.........However if by chance I was mistaken and the tinned wine doesn’t come in rosé I’m sure with my skills I will be able to fashion out of some aluminium swarf (that I’ll ask at work if I can take out of the scrap bin) some sort of ultra modern earrings or even a necklace which I'm sure she will like........So who needs expensive diamond jewellery ?.............
..........Once again the weather is causing utter havoc and chaos here on the island with two more sailings cancelled already today with the outlook not too good for those later on..........More empty shelves in the shops I expect......Still I suppose it's one way to enforce my diet.........
....Anyway despite the heavy rain and strong wind I ventured out, in the car I must add, to do some errands and first stopped quayside by the closed Ellan Vannin.......



.....managing to get a few decent images of The Frey before driving over the swing bridge to my normal parking space over the other side of the harbour only there was no room in the normal place I park 'cause Mezeron had parked a number of trailers there instead I had to park further up....

.....and with the weather getting worse by the second, I was even getting wet in the car with the window down I decided to drive home via Mooragh park where even the water on the lake was being whisked up into a frenzy........

.......Judith, yes that Mersey launch is pretty scary isn't it. Ours launches exactly the same  and though I haven't been on board when it was as rough as that we have launched when it's been pretty bumpy with the waves coming over the fore deck. The problem you have is once the chains are knocked off the boat can then be flung by the power of the waves back onto the carriage or heaven forbid the roof of the tractor causing all sorts of problems............
.......And so finally for today.............

"It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary."
David Bailey

23rd ------ Very similar to yesterday in that I haven't got a great deal to say. I know that to some it might make a pleasant change but to me it seems as if I've missed something out. Anyway the reason for all of this is a pretty good one as I've been in the loft attempting to fix the leak. All seems okay now but the only way I'll be able to tell is  when the next time it rains which will be later on today, so fingers crossed that the fix has worked and all remains dry.....
.......I did find time to go out with my camera but there wasn't a great deal that caught my curiosity and I ended up only taking a couple of images.....

....with the one above of two guys mooring their boat quayside being the best of a bad bunch. Hope that there will be more of interest tomorrow........Judith, touch wood I've never been seasick yet and have never felt as if I was ever going to be either, unlike a number of the crew who do suffer in this area and have to take tablets if things get really bad. I find the whole thing rather exhilarating us battling against the elements but we have to train in these conditions because it is likely that these are the conditions that we will have to go out on a rescue. We never did any deck work whilst out in the rough stuff yesterday but have done in the past in a similar sea state with the waves crashing over us on the deck which was rather uncomfortable but it goes with the job. Of course we were strapped on with our lifelines to stop us being washed overboard which in itself makes everything that more different as you have less room to manoeuvre and are restricted as to how far you can move..............I have at long last managed to find the elusive video from yesterday and have linked to it on the lifeboat page.....
.....And so finally for today...

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."
    Abraham Lincoln


22nd ------ Not a great deal for you today I'm afraid 'cause I've been busy doing other things least of all being out on exercise on the lifeboat which was exhilarating. As I mentioned yesterday I was hoping to be chosen to go on board and as I was I took my compact camera along with me and managed to get some video though I'm having problems trying to locate those I've uploaded on YouTube.......Hopefully if you click on this link it will show you the conditions we experienced once we'd got out past Maughold Head.....

......As you can see from the above image, which was taken as we were just coming back into Ramsey, the bay is well protected and things weren't half as bad as they were out past the head, though by the time we were on the beach. The wind had changed considerably, it had started raining and conditions weren't at all nice so the recovery was completed in record time as we wanted to get in the warmth of the boathouse for a well earned kipper tie..................
.........The technology these days.............Still having problems with YouTube though I have just managed to find the second video I uploaded...... The first one though is still in the ether somewhere missing................

......I will endeavour to find it but first I am in search of a friends past........To be exact grandparents and I'm just about to trawl through the 1911 census. Hope I've got better luck with that than I have with YouTube......
......And so finally for today.........

“We are all in the same boat in a stormy sea, and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.”
 G. K. Chesterton
 

21st ------ Well I suppose, seeing as it was the last thing that I mentioned last night when I signed off, that I should start on the kipper tie business that I mentioned.......There are a couple of Polish guys that I work with and one of them, Lucas came into my office last night and the conversation went a little like this ......."What's a kipper tie Pete ?" --- Well Lucas it's a tie which we wore many years ago with a big bottom ----- No Pete what's a kipper tie ? ---- As I said Lucas (waving my arms around and in doing so drawing out the shape of a large tie on my stomach) it's a tie worn around the neck; You have ties in Poland I'm sure? ----- Yes Pete we have ties in Poland but what's a kipper tie ? More gesticulating by me or was it testiculating I couldn't tell but Lucas still wasn't understanding what I was on about. All he was intent in doing was laughing and taking drinks from his cup ------ No Pete I mean what's a kipper tie ? he carried on trying to contain the laughter......It was then that it dawned on me.....he was taking the p.......and I was the fall guy and had fallen straight in.......You see what he was asking me, in a supposedly Brummie accent, which is great coming from a guy who was born a few steps away from Warsaw or was it Krakow, was if I wanted a.....cup of tea..........kipper tie.....cup of tea.....Get it ?.....
.......Anyway, unfortunately the rains have returned and the roof / attic never dried sufficiently for me to carry out the repair so the buckets are still in place. Also it's meant that today has been a tad grey not brightening up at all. It was so bad that SD1's driving lesson was cancelled and seeing as she was going to be driving into Douglas and staying at her boyfriends house the night G and I decided to take her in so I took my compact camera along because I've remembered that it takes video whilst my good camera doesn't so I've been messing about and am in the process of uploading a couple to Youtube which I will link to when they are finished. I managed a few yesterday and I'll post the link to those as well....I did however take a couple of stills with this one, when we were stopped at the traffic lights opposite the Villa Marina being the best of a bad bunch.....

.....Pleased to be able to say that the videos have uploaded okay and are now available to view on YouTube. I've been able to directly link to the clip I took at Port Jack today below and if you click on the blue YouTube above you'll see a clip taken from the side of the sea terminal.........

.....Others available are..........Port-e-Vullen............A drive from Maughold Head........and Douglas Head..........Others will follow.including action from the lifeboat which I hope I will be able to capture during tomorrows exercise that's if it goes ahead and of course if I'm chosen to go out.....
...And so finally for today..............

"If you can give your son or daughter only one gift, let it be enthusiasm."
    Bruce Barton


20th ------ They are nothing if not tenacious.......Wow I can't believe I spelt that correctly at my first attempt as it’s a word that I don’t think I’ve ever used before mainly because it’s not in my top 100 words to use list as I haven’t got a great vocabulary but I think it’s the perfect word to use to describe the people I’m going to waffle on about today, that’s if I’m in a polite mood of course. If I wasn’t it would be a lot stronger I can tell you.......They are back.....I thought I had heard the last of them a while ago when I filled in various forms on the internet and things certainly went quiet on that front however they have, over the past week or so become more noticeable and more annoying.....Yes you’ve guessed correctly the cold callers are back on the phone-------Ello could I speak to Mista Braddeeeee --- Speaking --- Ello Mista Braddeeeee I can help you get redd of all debts wit notheeng to pay------You can, that’s great news ----- You have debts Mista Braddeeee, how much ? ------ Around £2 million if my memory serves me correct....Ahhhh £2 meeelion a lot of moneeee Mista Braddeee.......Yes, I needed a lot of money to buy the 10.000 umbrellas I wanted, to make a killing with the help of the poor weather we are having ----- Mista Braddeeee you gonna kill someone with brella ---- No just joking  ----- Oh good Mista Braddeeee, now who many creditors you have Mista Braddeeee --- Yes of course all the credit card companies, Barclays, Lloyds, MBNA, RBS, Cahoot, Egg, all of them I owe each at least one hundred thousand pounds ---- Oh very good Mista Braddeeee we can help ---- How much you pay each month Mista Bradddeeeee ----- Oh around two thousand pounds ------ A lot of money Mista Braddeee we can help you ------THANK YOU.......It was at this moment that I got fed up of playing along with them that I said I'd got a much better offer and hung up. I wish I could have kept it going that much longer just to see what it was they were going to give me......Not a lot I suppose......Just a thought.....do readers suffer with this sort of thing in other countries?........
..........Two sailings missed again today and the shelves at Tescos are well and truly empty as we had a phone call to say that our shopping wouldn't be delivered....arrrggghhhhhhh......This will mean a couple of things....either we go shopping at Shoprite or we could live on the stuff that we have stored in all the cupboards and either of the two freezers. Think I'll go for the second option as there is way too much stuff already stored in different places and it will give us the chance to get a little more space for any extras we may require over the forthcoming festivities.....
......With the rain having stopped I ventured out to further fields attempting something different which was successful and which I will show you as soon as I have completed the task. It may be today. If not tomorrow but do look in as some changes are afoot. In fact I've made one already today which is I've added a You Tube movie to the Ramsey Lifeboat page which I'm not sure you have seen yet......It was something I made quite a while ago and had basically forgotten all about until my new venture........Whilst I was out I did manage some photos and here are the best of them.......













...................Completely ran out of time today and I haven't told you about the kipper tie so please come back and visit tomorrow I can assure you that you will not be disappointed...........
.......And so finally for today........

"Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing."
    Oscar Wilde

 
19th ------ One of the drawbacks of living on such a beautiful island as we do is that we are always at the mercy of the weather and whatever it throws at us, and this week it’s certainly throwing things. So much in fact that all sailings have been cancelled today which will mean empty shelves in the shops over the next few days. It also means chaos on the roads and for some unfortunate people an interrupted power supply................

........Another thing conspiring against us weather wise is the very low air pressure as shown in the above image of the barometer that I have in the hall. This has a large effect on the height of the tides, the lower the pressure the higher the tide. Thankfully they aren't at their highest, only seven metres today, and the wind is a south westerly or else we would be having to get the sand bags out. Grand news for us here in Ramsey but not so good for those on the west coast like Port Erin and Peel who are getting the worst of it......
.......Not wanting to get either cold or wet I never ventured out at all, deciding instead to spend some time surfing the net in the relative warmth and in doing so came upon this short film......The technology these days I ask you....I also had time to return to one of my favourite sites where the photography is stunning to say the least....
........In addition I also found time to inspect the loft. Not a task I was looking forward to as I was expecting some sort of deterioration since the last time I inspected things seeing as the weather has got that much worse and I'm afraid to say things are looking pretty poor. Another leak has now appeared and another bucket has been put in place to try and contain the drips and those already in place have gathered a tad more which is not a great deal in the whole scheme of things, no more than 5mm in the bottom of a basin, but more than enough for my liking. The worrying thing about it all is that the weather is predicted to get a lot worse before it gets better so if there are any roofers reading this get ready for a call off me........Through all this chaos I did manage a few photos just a few minutes ago to show how dark things are here......The two images below were taken just after three thirty......



......Not very nice conditions at all and just think in a few hours time I will have to venture out in it all to get to work. You would think that the company would give me a call advising me to stay at home for the night wouldn't you but nothing as of yet........I can live in hope can't I............Still the weather has one plus....It keeps our minds off the Manx economy.....

.........which is in a sorry state at the moment as the government don't seem to know which way to go after all the changes made to the VAT sharing scheme by the UK government........
.....And finally for today.....

"Barometer, n.: An ingenious instrument which indicates what kind of weather we are having."
    Ambrose Bierce


18th ------ It’s been said numerous times in the past, and I’ve no doubt that it will be repeated many more times in the future, some people find me boring. I’d like to think of it as being predictable. It is the way I am. Well it is the way I normally am because last night at work I changed things slightly. No I never parked my car in a different space as that would be just too much of a change to cope with all at once. No what it was, I threw caution to the wind and instead of being safe and playing my well worn albums or specifically made playlists I stuck my earphones in my ears, pumped up the volume and pressed random play............I tell you how daring and different is that especially seeing as the last time I did this, even though you would think things would be pretty safe, seeing as I have a total of 4,715 tracks on my MP3 player, I was rewarded with the horrors of Tiny Tim Tip-toeing through the bloody tulips which I must tell you scarred me for life. In fact I think I mentioned it on here I was so traumatised.  I’m glad to say that things this time were different starting off with Stevie Wonder’s, Yester me, Yester you, Yesterday. Not in my opinion his best track, which I think is Angie Girl, but a pretty good one all the same. This was followed in quick succession by Pink Floyd’s The Nile Song, Dvorak’s New World Symphony as recorded by the Beijing Central Philharmonic Orchestra (I think it came with the player when I bought it, not really my cup of tea but still better that Tiny Tim), Rhiannon, Fleetwood Mac and another Stevie Wonder track this time Lately and I was just getting into the groove when disaster struck......No, not a Barry Manilow track, good God no ‘cause that would have been dreadful, no it was a Jamie Cullum number......No I’m only joking there ‘cause I’m pretty sure that I haven’t got any of his music on my player, but I just have to say here I just don’t get Jamie Cullum at all. For the life of me I just don’t see what people see in him. Okay his partner Sophie Dahl is a bit on the gorgeous side, no make that a lot on the gorgeous side in fact stunningly so but that’s a different subject altogether, but his music just doesn’t do it for me. No what the disaster was..........I dropped a cup of hot chocolate over my desk and my mobile phone !!!!!!! But before I tell you all about that I’ve a music question which bugged me somewhat last night at work...........Because of the randomness of the tracks up popped Chopin’s Minute Waltz but on my player it lasted one minute forty eight seconds. Does this mean that I’m getting a bonus, Chopin lied, or what?.....And so now back to my rather moist mobile phone.........Well as you can imagine I was mortified which in itself amazed me 'cause I'm not a great fan of mobiles as you know but it is a contact to the outside world and I could see it disappearing at an alarming rate. Anyway that wasn't my only problem as the hot sticky drink was also starting to cover some electronic measuring equipment I had on my desk close by as well as the computer underneath.......Did I panic?.....In a short answer....YES......As luck would have it I had nearby a very large roll of absorbent paper which I unravelled at an alarming rate and started to pad up the by now cold, but still sticky liquid. With most of the excess taken up I then picked up each individual item to give it a more thorough clean. The good news was that my phone still had light which pleased me but I still had to mop up elsewhere. Once all was cleaned up I concentrated on my phone giving it a good polish with a dry cloth especially in the area of the buttons. This proved not to be my best idea ever because it had the effect of locking everything up........This of course meant that I had to take the back off !!!!!!!....Now this to most simple folk is a simple task.....To me who is useless with mobiles......can you see a theme building here?...a giant one.........I wasn't too sure but I went ahead and as I took the back off spilt chocolate poured out like the dividing of the Red Sea and the whole inside was wet, wet, wet......Arghhhhhhh.....Battery was pulled out quick followed, to my amazement, as it was the first time that I had attempted such a thing, the sim card. These were dried as was the inside then for good measure I blew the whole inside out with compressed air.....Then with fingers crossed I left all the different parts out on my desk to dry.......A while later I returned to the task and re-assembled it all and switched it on but the buttons weren't registering any pushes so I took everything back out again out and left them for a while longer.......On my next attempt I was able to boot up the phone receive and send text but I hadn't any sound and I had numerous rather odd looking icons on the screen which I had never seen before so that was when I had to ask for help of someone a bit more savvy on mobile phones. he managed to get rid of a number of the items but still I had no sound so I took it all apart again and left it like this for a longer period of time and when I finally put it all back together as if by magic the screen was back to normal and thankfully the phone was functioning as it should...........Phhheeewwww was I relieved ?...........You bet I was...........
.............A sad time for the drinkers of Ramsey I'm afraid as yet another pub bites the dust........The Ellan Vannin formerly the Commi or to give it it's proper name the Commercial closed its doors for the last time at the weekend. I for one wont miss it as I always thought it a bit of a dump.....................
..............I know someone who will though............Those who supplied it with the small yellow blocks used in urinals........... If the smell was anything to go by when I was last in there, not only in the gents but the rest of the pub as well, they must have spent half their takings on the smelly blocks 'cause the place stank to high heaven........The rest of today's piccies were taken as I took a quick walk along the quayside. Quick because I wanted to get back to the warmth of the house because I was cold.........Bring on the summer that's all I can say.......





.......Mark, thanks for your post.....yeah I suppose those of Queen that are left did a pretty good turn on Sunday night. Think maybe they should audition for a spot on Britains Got Talent......Judith that sounds like a perfect idea.....Ellen as I said on the phone I'm very impressed.......JMW, thanks for putting me straight. When I was writing it down I had a nagging feeling that I wasn't correct but I thought that the house that was built at the front a few years ago called fountains was named after it........Judith, yes I did read it thanks a bit of a worry though is that there is more of the same on the way......
..........And so finally for today......

"If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name in a Swiss bank."
    Woody Allen

17th ------ I knew it had to happen sooner rather than later and when it did I'm glad it was with one that I liked, but now the flood gates are going to open and pretty soon we will all be quite fed up of them, I know I will.....What am I on about ?.......Christmas songs that's what.....As I said at the very least I enjoyed listening to the track which was Mike Oldfield's In Dulci Jubilo so it could have been a lot worse such as Slade's Merry X Mas Everybody or heaven forbid Wizard's I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day. Is it just me thinking that these tracks from the early seventies are way past their sell by date ?.....
......Another thing that miffs me at this time of the year (oh God I'm getting to sound like a right Grumpy Old Man aren't I ?) is that invariably I have used up my whole holiday allocation for the year, whereas Mrs Mannanan hasn't and so next week she is off to visit SD2 in St Albans and poor old me will have to stay at home. It will be a great chance for G to see and talk to her tutors as well as the Arsenal management and coaching team and a real bonus is that she will get to see SD2 play a game. Just a pity that I can't go but there will always be another time I'm sure. In fact I'm going to wait until she makes her first team debut....Now that will be a game to watch..... With this in mind G has been getting a few knick-knacks ready to take with her and first on the list.....A tin of Manx Knobs.............

......These come in various containers and styles, the one above being for the discernible traveller, but they all contain the same contents, Manx Knobs which are a type of humbug. SD2 had chosen this type because of the writing on the side of the tin...

......size of knobs may vary.....such is life..........which she has told her new friends about and whom I would think find it rather dubious as well as funny and that she was maybe telling them pork pies...........As you can see from the pretty poor images she isn't........

........And it was only when trying to capture that image that I read for the first time all the other writing. Quite funny and right up my sense of humour street..........
.....The problem is there are only so many ways that you can photograph a tin of sweets just as there are only a certain number of ways one can photograph the piers at Ramsey but today I have managed to capture them from a new angle.......Ballure promenade.......

.....I think it's only the second or third time that I've ever been down this very small road probably because it's well hidden and out of the way but the views are great........

....Years ago there used to be a large hotel on this site, the Fountains if I'm not mistaken, but that is now well gone and in its place stand a large group of purpose built apartments with spectacular views over Ramsey Bay.....
.....And so finally for today................

"It is no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase 'As pretty as an Airport' appear."
    Douglas Adams


16th ------ You know something ? That chap Pavorotti had a pretty good voice didn't he ? A rather odd statement to make on a Monday morning I know but let me explain.....We had friends around for dinner on Saturday night and I struggled with what to give them to eat until G said why don't you do Italian so that was it. I scoured different websites and books and found three courses that would suit so set about getting it all ready when G was out shopping on Saturday. To add to the ambiance I had a skeet through my CD collection and found a Three Tenors album which someone had given me and which I hadn't played before so I put it in the player, pumped up the volume and spent the whole afternoon preparing dinner listening to the voice of a master.....WOW....I couldn't understand the lyrics because of course they are all in Italian, then I struggle with English don't I, but it didn't take anything away from my enjoyment. When G and SD1 finally arrived home they wondered what had happened and whether or not they had returned to the right house and if I'd had a fall or something. It took me a while to convince them that I was fine and that I was really enjoying myself.......Funny isn't it how tastes can change ?.....
........And staying on the subject of music.....I must admit that I succumbed to all the hype and watched a bit of The X Factor last night, just to see what everyone is going on about and I was quite surprised with the verdict. However it isn't the music during the show I want to go on about but that from one of the adverts......During the main interval the new John Lewis Christmas advert was aired and the music just blew me away. I knew the track straight away, Sweet Child of Mine but not the artist. The girl's voice singing it was just haunting and so I jumped on my computer and within seconds had found the song on You Tube......

....What an awesome cover version. Better than the original in my mind and if it doesn't get to number one there is no justice in this world.....I was going to say I'd eat my hat but as the last few tracks that I've said would do good have failed miserably I think I'll refrain.........
............Another miserable thing is the weather. Yesterday's improvement hasn't lasted long and the winds have grown stronger and the rain heavier so it's batten down the hatches again and I still haven't managed the fix on the roof....OOPS.....I've just had a skeet and the bucket that I put there on Saturday has about a thimble full of water in it so the leak isn't as bad as I first envisaged which is good news........Other good news today is that I heard back from the doctors regarding the suspect mole he removed from my back a number of weeks ago and it was all clear...phhheeeewwwww...That's certainly a weight off my mind I can tell you...........
........Thought for a change I'd go further afield for today's piccies seeing I was out in the car and so I ended up at Port Lewague car park............

........and by the phone kiosk in Port-e-Vullen which is right next to the house we used to live in when we first came to the island, The Old Chapel........

............Then on the way back into Ramsey I stopped off at the railway crossing to take a number of photographs. It was here that a few years ago when cycling home from work one night at ten O'clock in the pitch black darkness that I went over the tracks a bit too quick and the vibrations made my lights fall off the bike and I had to stop rather quickly before I ended up in a ditch..............

......Thankfully the bulb didn't break so I was able to retrieve the light easily and carry on my way none the worse for my very bumpy ride.........
.....And so finally for today......

"The very first law in advertising is to avoid the concrete promise and cultivate the delightfully vague."
    Bill Cosby


15th ------ I know that in the past I have talked about some weird and wonderful topics on these pages but nothing as odd as today's subject which is urinating.....Yes you have read it correctly and I bet that you are all thinking what on earth can I say on the subject....Well the green brigade are advocating that men instead of going to the toilet as normal go down their garden to the compost heap and urinate on that. This they say wins on two levels firstly it speeds up the compost making process and secondly it saves flushing clean water down the drain....How do I know all this? Well I read it in the Telegraph......Not sure that I can see myself taking them up on their suggestion, too damn cold in these parts even in summer, anyway I'd probably get arrested for exposing myself in a public place...........
........Thankfully the storms have abated, for now anyway, and at present we are experiencing some very welcome sunshine. In fact when I went down the boathouse this morning it was quite warm but when I took my camera out to get some images of what the storms had washed up onto the beach sods law states that it should start to rain.......

.....so I didn't get chance to take that many, however I did get time to take a quick detour along to the south breakwater and take a photo of the Silver River berthed in a most unusual spot against the wall in the channel....

........And that's about it for today I'm afraid. No other skeet just a relaxing Sunday with me not doing a great deal at all. G has been busy however making Christmas decorations for where she works and a great job she is doing of them as well.
.......And so finally for today.........

"Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which colour to slide down on the rainbow."
Douglas Pagels


14th ------ The island is, as far as I can make out that is, still in the same place, which after last nights storm is an amazing feat. Yes, like most of the UK we've been battered and had, in the early hours of the morning an amazing display of thunder and lightening which is a very unusual occurrence here on the island. One clap of thunder shook the whole house it was that loud and it's probably that which has dislodged a number of tiles on the roof and then it goes without saying the rain has got in. Hopefully when things are dried out a bit more I'll see if I can attempt a stop-gap repair from inside, well you weren't expecting me to go out and climb on the roof were you? Which will hopefully last another year because we've got it planned to have a new roof and skylight put in this time next year so fingers crossed that I will be able to do something.......
......I had planned to go out down the rugby pitch with my camera to capture the action but with the rain still about I've decided against that idea and have instead, like last week concentrated on images inside..........

....and had a quick skeet in the cupboard under the sink where I found the obligatory tin of Brasso which must be ancient because I can't recall using it since we moved into this house and my brass telescope was confined to the loft.....I was hoping to find another item which most households have, a box of Brillo Pads but sadly I drew a blank on that one so instead photographed the last of the roses that G cut the other day and brought in...

..............and whilst I was at it put my large lens on and played around again with the macro settings once again not getting very far in the process........

.....Maurice, glad you like the photos, hope all is well your end.......Judith, no trouble whatsoever just glad that I have been of help...Still looked the same grumpy old man when I woke this morning.....bloody cream no use nor ornament!.....Fantail....I think you've got the right idea......I think I've got as much chance of finding a genie in a lamp as the cream is working!!!
.....And so finally for today

“May God give you...For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer.”
 An Irish Blessing

13th ------ If being Friday the thirteenth isn’t enough, especially for those who suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia .........which I’m glad to say I don’t, but then again how would I know if I did because I have a fear of all days equally, especially when I have to work, I now find myself in a right quandary and so have been wondering if any of you dear readers are in the legal profession or know a little about the law, and if so would you be willing to give me some advice. You see the thing is I believe that I have a strong, no make that a very strong case to be able to sue Boots the Chemists for quite a substantial amount of money. However saying that I thought that before I start litigation I’d run it past you all just to see what you all think just in case I’m so far wide of the mark that I make a fool of myself.....A while back now I spotted, in amongst all the lotions and potions on G’s side of the shelf beneath the mirror in our bedroom, a cream manufactured by the Boots company from their No 7 range called Age Rewind Cream......Then a thought quickly crossed my mind........ if it works for G, which obviously it does ‘cause she looks great as well as a good ten years younger than I do; why she must look all of thirty five if she’s a day, then it’s bound to work on me…SOOOOOO........I quickly took the cap off, squirted a good dollop onto my fingers and started to massage it into my face targeting the worst areas around and under my eyes then waited......Nothing happened.....I kept on looking in the mirror and still nothing happened the wrinkles hadn’t disappeared. And what’s more they didn’t look as if they were going to either so I squeezed a dollop more of the so called magic lotion on to my fingers and repeated the process only this time I used a tad more pressure, more akin to pummelling rather than massaging I would say, and yet again concentrated on the worst parts of my face, waited and looked.......and looked......and looked......and still looking back at me was the same old looking face. As far as I could see there had been no discernible change and there was me believing that this wonder cream could reverse age.......The thing is Boots aren't the only ones selling this stuff 'cause when I was sitting down having my cup of tea this morning I was scanning the latest Avon brochure that had been popped through the door, well us men have to keep abreast of these things, and spotted another of these anti-ageing creams with this one stating it was, and I quote, " a miracle in a bottle"......Well if it was to do anything to me it would have to be "a miracle in an ocean." 'cause those little bottles have no effect on my wrinkles whatsoever......Just a thought does anyone know if they do industrial strength creams ?......'cause I think that before I take my case to court I should try all avenues; as I said earlier I can't be making a fool of myself now can I............
......And so now more serious matters........This week has been one of remembrance and quite rightly so as we have a massive debt to pay for those brave souls who gave their lives for our freedom. People like Pvt Wilfred Arthur Clarke who at the age of nineteen was killed in action in 1918 somewhere in France. These young men deserve all the plaudits and recognition that they get....He was a lad still in his teens from Douglas who had his whole life ahead of him but when asked he went and paid with his life which was cruelly taken away by the act of war.....I know this because Judith and Carol are related to this very brave man and they asked if I could at some time see if his name is engraved on any stone or epitaph on the island.......I'm only too glad to say it is...........

...........it is here on this cenotaph which is situated on Douglas promenade along with the names of all those who gave their lives for our future.......

............I spent quite a while here this morning, just me and these names.....Thinking and wondering what type of people they were and what lives they led...........and what they sacrificed............These poor chaps never even got the chance to get wrinkles, a lot never got the chance to live really.......not like me......

...........and yes for my tomorrow they gave their day........Thank you..Pvt Wilfred Arthur Clarke and all those like you wherever you are............I for one will never forget.............
......I tell you working the night shift does have its good points 'cause here I was all alone on Douglas promenade and it was great to be alive and I thought how lucky I was......I was a tad luckier moments earlier.........I'd left work at my normal time of seven but the light was pretty poor mainly because the sun hasn't risen sufficient in the sky by then so I went down the battery pier to take some photos.......

....and I was in luck as the Ben was just starting her last turn into her docking station so I jumped out of the car and clicked merrily away using various settings.......

.....getting it just about right on some, the first image, and getting it too bright on others, the second image....Still it's all good practice so when finished in this spot I drove further down......

.........parked the car by the oil terminal and started walking down the pier clicking as I went. There were puddles everywhere because it had rained for most of the night but thankfully things were now dry..........



.......It was only when I got back into the car and was putting my camera away that I noticed that the end piece was missing off my lens. A quick search of the car proved fruitless so I retraced my steps back to the end of the pier but my journey proved fruitless........A tad disappointed I then started driving home and when I passed where I first jumped out of the car I thought I'd stop and have a skeet just in case and there in the middle of the road was the cap.....result.....

.....Still it gave me the opportunity to start clicking again and this time I managed to capture the small tug above as it left the inner harbour towing something........It was then off to the promenade for the job in hand.......

...........whereby this time the sun was well on its way to illuminating the surroundings and the light on the Gaiety theatre caught my eye......as did the lights on the prom itself.........

..........So all in all a very successful start to the day.....and so who was it that started all this about Friday the thirteenth being unlucky.......Not for me it isn't 'cause I'm really pleased with all my piccies today and there's more.......But these are photos with a difference.....if you pop over to this page....TWTWTW....you will see seven images, one for each day of the past week which I've played about with on Photoshop......hope you like them............
.........Phil, my that's a lot of rain and family. I can understand your sentiments entirely and thanks for the driving tip. I think I will keep that bit of advice on board from now on.......
........And so finally for today.......

“We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness”
Anonymous


12th ------ I hate this time of year, I really do. Now I know that’s a rather brash statement to make but I can defend it, I really can.........This feeling has nothing to do with the weather ‘cause I quite like the autumn especially if it’s dry............Granted it would be nice if it was warm and I had golden sands to walk along but I’m more than reasonably happy with my little lot here in Ramsey..............No, what it is that throws a dark cloud over everything is the impending holiday on the 25th of next month...............See It’s so bad I can’t even begin to say the name and it’s not because of that feeling of dread I get when my bank account is emptying at a rate faster than the money going in, and that is a bad feeling believe me. No the reason I dread the run up to Christmas.............oops there I’ve said it now.........is that I know I’ve got to start giving some thought as to what I am going to buy Mrs Mannanan which is no easy task at all.....I'll give you a few examples......Like most women G likes shoes. No, I've said that wrong, G adores shoes. I’ve lost count of the amount of pairs of shoes and boots there are in her collection but it must be enormous because I had a phone call the other day all the way from the Philippines from one of Imelda Marcos’s aides enquiring as to the correct amount in G's collection because their mistress was a tad worried that she might be knocked off the top spot of the world’s greatest shoe collector....and that was after The Guinness Book of records had woken me from my slumbers with similar probing questions......So you can see my dilemma; do I get high heels or flats, red or black, plastic or leather, high leg boots or Dr Martens the list is endless so I don’t bother just in case I get the wrong thing which would just ruin Christmas morning. Anyway the shoe boxes are slowly taking over the bedroom, similar I suppose to how a triffid takes over a garden and so any more and there would be no room for me which would certainly be bad news on my part..........The problem is the same with handbags, a complete no-go area which makes my shopping experience real nightmare stuff...........I know some guy’s who wouldn’t think twice about buying their loved ones say a vacuum cleaner or an iron as a present and the thing is they’ve gotten away with it. Now me, if I even thought of giving G a present like that it would be like one of those boomerang presents I’ve mentioned before which come straight back to you and to be honest in this case it would be totally warranted because who would want a present which is for the house really at Christmas, isn't that's what Birthdays are for ??? and anyway what would I do with another vaccuum or food mixer.......Now on the other hand jewellery would be a safe bet, but seeing as Mrs Mannanan has expensive tastes in that area (three sets of engagement and wedding rings since we got married ten years ago on the third of next month) and that just as of late my very short arms seem to have got that much shorter and the deepest pockets on my trousers are now way past my knees I'm not sure if I should go that way at all. Whatever, I know the next few weeks are going to be a cause for concern on this matter I only wish it was as simple for me as how easy it seems G finds to buy for me and the thing is she hasn't been wrong yet and for that matter neither have I, it just takes some thought and a lot of worry........MMMMMMMM........that's an idea....Google is my friend........Isn't this inter web thingy brilliant......Just in a matter of clicks all my problems have been solved I've found the perfect present........Hope she'll like it.........Then of course if I buy her that I would'nt have much change for stocking fillers would I so I did a bit more inter web thingy searching and came upon this gem of a store where I can get a candle massage for £40 or a snood (what's one of those) for a mere £89..........and the best present of them all for a give-away £88......Yep....all my problems vanished........I tell you this Christmas shopping for a loved one is a doddle......
.........G, if by any chance you are reading this to catch up on things........I'm only joking.........and rest assured I am putting all my brain power into ensuring that this years present will be the best ever 'cause you deserve it, 'cause you're the best and despite my disparaging remarks on here sometimes I do love you.........
.....Wish I could say the same about the weather but I can't because right at this moment we are experiencing monsoon like conditions with the rain coming down like stair rods which has washed away any thoughts that I had about going for a walk. I did however manage a drive earlier because I took G and SD1 back to their places of work to save them getting soaked to the skin and on the drive back home went via my normal spot on the quayside and a new one......Mooragh park......





.....Not at all welcoming is it ? The thing is the forecast for the weekend is things are going to stay much the same. Looks like I'll be spending some time in side then......Judith, thanks for your post. It would seem that things are very much the same down your neck of the woods as they are here, weather included......
..........And so finally for today.........

"Rain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life."
John Updike


10th & 11th ------ Well that was certainly a first.........In the five years I’ve been writing this blog that’s the first time everything has crashed and I’ve been off line for any length of time so I really can’t complain, though it did annoy me that I couldn’t finish of yesterdays meanderings................Still I’m going to make up for it today (hopefully) ‘cause I’m going to amalgamate the two, which should mean if all goes to plan that you get double the whammy including piccies...... so where was I oh yeah.........more firsts.......................
.......................Brace yourselves for a surprise today because instead of the normal chit-chat about the weather or music (though I will in most probability touch on one if not both subjects later) I’m going to talk on a subject never covered on these pages before........secrets.........No I’m not going to lay bare my soul and tell you all my inner secrets and drag skeletons out of the cupboard because if I’m honest with you I don’t really have any. And also I can’t see the point in either having them or being privy to someone else’s because for the most part they are the cause of a lot of hurt and pain and I don’t want anything to do with all that.........No I’m going to be telling you some one else's secret today because they are quite funny, and I’m not, you'll be pleased to hear, when telling you, about to break anybody’s confidences because they’re not secrets any longer seeing as they were aired for all to hear on the Chris Evans radio show last night.....I'm not sure what prompted the discussion in the first place but I was utterly amazed and two listeners who contacted the show and told Chris their inner secrets.......Both male, the first one confessed that he had, unknown to his wife went out and bought a car for quite a large sum of money. Because it was so large an amount he decided not to tell her just in case she didn't approve of his spending and so hides it at a friends garage and goes and drives around in it every now and then.....Must have more money than sense I think but it was this next confession which I thought real odd 'cause this guy has kept from his wife of six years that he has false teeth. How on earth he has managed to do that is amazing but why not tell her in the first place it's not as if it's something to be ashamed of and hide is it ?..........Still it takes all sorts I suppose.......Anyway another first for you now with yesterdays piccies........Funny that I've lived in Ramsey for eight years now and it was the first time that I had walked along this footpath going across the tram lines onto Waterloo Road....













.....And now before I get onto what's happened today, which is not a great deal, I want to chat about the wrong song lyrics again 'cause for years now I've wanted to know the correct words to a certain song because I knew for certain that I was just singing a load of old rubbish in places which turned out to be correct. The song in question Scarborough Fair by Simon and Garfunkel and just to give you an insight into how my brain works in the first verse I've been singing "Tell her to make me a candlewick shirt" and the real lyrics are, which I must admit aren't that far removed from mine, "Tell her to make me a cambric shirt" but it is then that mine just go off on a tangent and to be honest are so bad that I would just embarrass myself way too much if I wrote them down here because they just wouldn't make any sense at all, not that the real lyrics do, but there you are. You know I'm sure I'd be on a real safe bet if I said I didn't think anyone apart from Simon and Garfunkel that is, have ever sang the right lyrics. Go on have a look here and see where you've been going wrong all these years. I bet you that you will be amazed..........But enough nonsense........Today has been dark.......







........Believe it or not all of the above were taken just after two this afternoon when I went for a walk around the shipyard. You would think by the look of things that it was a lot later in the day because of the lack of sunshine but that's what the whole day has been like, dark and miserable. And another thing it's gone a lot colder as well and it wouldn't surprise me if we had frosts before the end of the week.......Time to get the stew pot out I think...........
........And so changing topic rather quickly I have a question for all of you........"Is it just here on the island that it is a prerequisite to owning a BMW that you have to be aged between 16 and 30 and be a complete dick head or is it everywhere ?.....I only ask this because I'm fed up of the number of times chaps fitting this description, ( I could have called them worse but as I know young children sometimes read this I thought I'd refrain) just ignore the rules of the road to the detriment of others.....Take today for example.....As you can see it's been pretty dark so the first thing I do when conditions are like this are turn my headlights on. So there I was driving down the Bowring Road towards town and had negotiated the first mini roundabout by the quay, indicated to turn right and had already entered the second mini roundabout by Shoprite, when this Richard Edward, 'cause I'm sure that must have been his name, in a grey beemer, no lights on, came speeding from the opposite direction with no intent on stopping, which he should have done seeing as I had the right of way being on the roundabout in the first place, cut right in front of me as I braked, looked, smiled and stuck his tongue out at me..............
.........Judith I call those a lazy wind because they go straight through you and can't be bothered to go around.......
........And so finally for today...........


"When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today"

The Kohima Epitaph
9th ------ You know something ? I've got a sneaking suspicion that the editor of the "Weekend " magazine, which is given away free in the Mail on Saturday's, has been reading these pages 'cause where else would he or she get the idea of funny old English words for a full page spread ? It would have been nice of them to ring me up and ask my permission or drop me an email but I suppose that's the way of the world these days. Anyway besides my moaning the article was very good. In fact it's obvious that they have a larger budget than myself because they go into more detail covering numerous subjects one of them being a real favourite of mine, collective nouns for animals....You just wonder sometimes how on earth the names came about for instance a group of ferrets is called a business ? What's all that about then ? But on the other hand a group of rhinoceroses is called a crash ! How perfect is that ?....Other subjects covered included children, where in Shropshire a child born to a couple within six months of them getting married was called a barley child (alluding to the time which elapses between barley sowing and barley harvest......The adults themselves weren't left out of this name calling, oh no there were some crackers for them for instance a fubsy describes someone being chubby and squat whilst a windlestraw was a thin lanky person and my favourite which could describe this site......floccinaucinihilipilification.....the categorising of something that is useless or trivial.................
......Still chuckling to myself and getting the odd funny look from passers by I had a wander up the town as I had some errands to attend to. It was fairly cold so I had my hat and scarf on but at least it was dry......







.....I couldn't stay out too long as I had an appointment back at the doctors surgery with the nurse to see if she could clear my right ear this time and also to see if the infection in my left ear had improved any. I'm glad to say that both were a success and that my hearing is now back to 100%. I'd driven up to the doctors so I thought I'd go for a little drive and ended up on the beach at The Dog Mills......





.......Not surprisingly I had the whole beach to myself apart that is from a couple of rather large crows a few jackdaws and of course the resident oyster catchers. They all would have made good images but I hadn't got my large lens with me so I just messed about trying various things with my standard lens........Yes Ellen that verse from the WWI poem, For The Fallen, is always very poignant and thought provoking......You can read that, along with all the other verses here........
...........And so finally for today........

"I find it rather easy to portray a businessman. Being bland, rather cruel and incompetent comes naturally to me."
    John Cleese


8th ------ Thankfully the rain stayed away and we were blessed with sunshine at this mornings remembrance day parade. Though it was cold there was a great turnout which is always nice to see. It's the least we can do.........





.....Once the parade was finished it was back to the boathouse for a warming cup of tea and a natter after which I walked home and picked up my camera as I wanted to get a few images of a new visiting boat quayside....

...........along with anything else that caught my fancy such as the fishing boxes, ropes and nets that are left strewn all over the floor in this area........

.........Judith, yes I found out about the Tate & Lyle logo how odd. I've always liked the look of the tins but never had a real close look until yesterday and was surprised to see a lion and what I thought flies which as you say are bees....
....And so finally for today........

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."

Laurence Binyon

7th ------ GOOD MORNING VIEWERS.....or should that be readers ? Anyway I hope I've caught you bright and early, that is of course if you are up bright and early because there are those that I know, like myself who like a lie in on a Saturday morning and if you are one of those....GOOD AFTERNOON..........Anyway.........I've some skeet for you.......If you haven't noticed already, though I'm sure you have, I have a NEW PAGE..............TWTWTW....in abbreviated form or as they say these days... text speak....It stands for, and I'm sure those of the older generation like myself will recall....That Was The Week That Was.......for those that don't know, it was the name of a television program in the early sixties........Anyway.....on this new page I will be bringing you seven images each week....I will, well I hope I will change all images week by week on a Friday / Saturday and will encompass the past week. The images will not have been posted on this site before in the same form because I want this as an experimental page where I can show manipulated images.......
..........I haven't checked yet, maybe I should seeing as G has gone Christmas shopping with SD1 in Douglas, but I want to dream a tad longer. You see in yesterday evening's Euro Lottery which had a whopping £90,000,000 first prize, there were two winning tickets and both were purchased in the UK. This means that there are two lucky people sitting on a £45 million fortune. Yes I grant you it is an obscene amount of money but I would love it 'cause it would mean both G and I could give up work and I would make a lot of people very happy. Would it change me?.....You bet it would. But don't worry 'cause I'd still keep Mannanan's Cloak going......But that's not going to happen....so as I said I can dream a tad longer.......In the meantime here in Ramsey it's been raining on and off all day so I haven't had chance to get out and about with my camera. G and I did venture out earlier and I did take it along but it started to rain so I had to quickly hide it inside my coat and G, ever the one to tell you as it is, said I looked deformed........But was I bothered ?....No not really. Anyway since we got back I've been left on my own so I've been looking for different things to photograph and for a change ended up in the kitchen.................
....where like most kitchens we have a notice board which is full of everything except a notice. It is however home to this recycling clip thingy which holds G's washing up gloves.....Now before anyone says I'm being sexist I do do the washing up but I'm a man and tough so I don't need rubber gloves.........Next I raided the cupboards.............

....and the first thing that caught my eye was this box of "Oxo" cubes.....I love an Oxo drink every now and then but on reading the ingredients I might have second thoughts because I don't want to be digesting Disodium Guanylate nor for that matter Autolysed Yeast Extract whatever they are because they sound disgusting. However I'm very pleased to notice that it doesn't contain nuts .....I only mention this because nearly all the food stuff you buy these days has a "Does Not Contain Nuts" label warning on them quickly followed by the get out clause...."but cannot guarantee made in a nut free environment"............Another thing I noticed on the packet was that the "Oxo" cube has a new shape.........Yes my thoughts exactly. Isn't a cube a cube, was and always will be amen ? Not so to the "Oxo" manufacturers and so being intrigued I opened up the box and took the foil wrapper of the cube and lo and behold it has changed... .......Yes the "Oxo" cube as we knew it has changed and is now in the shape of an X. A three dimensional X but cube like though.......Not sure what the advantage is 'cause it still tasted the same.....Still I expect it keeps someone in a job re-designing all this stuff.........Anyway back to the kitchen cupboard piccies....................

...............Well maybe not the cupboard for this one, more like the work top 'cause this is where this box of chocolates, which we've bought for our friends where we are going for dinner tonight, were stood............

...............You know something it's amazing what you find in the back of your cupboards. I never knew I had a special edition tin of Tate & Lyles golden syrup lurking in the back..............And what's all that stuff about...."Out of the strong came forth sweetness"...............and for that matter what's a lion covered in flies got to do with syrup ?............

....Yes I know the above piccie isn't of anything out of the kitchen cupboard. It is of course an image of our hall and I took it because whilst rumaging in the cupboards for my next subject I spotted that the sun had made a welcome return and was shining its light through the windows and doors............And so I thought I'd have a go at capturing the rays before I returned to the task in hand.............

.....and I didn't have far to look 'cause right at the side of the golden syrup tin was a tin of black treacle coming forth with sweetness and that same old fly covered lion..........Obviously it must mean something so I will, when I've a few spare moments see if I can find out.......And I didn't even need minutes just seconds. Just the time needed to type Tate & Lyle logo into Google and I had the answer. Apparently they are bees and not flies.......
.......And so finally for today........

"It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required."
    Sir Winston Churchill


6th Nov ------ The battles in the kitchen between myself and various items such as the opening of black bin bags have been well documented on these pages in the past. What hasn’t been documented are the battles I’ve had trying to get the aforementioned black bag out of the bin once it’s full, that is up until now anyway because today I’m going to rectify that situation….We are pretty posh in Mannanan’s Mansion’s when it comes to our kitchen bin ‘cause we have one of those pedal Brabantia stainless steel jobbies with a plastic inner bin which we place the black bin bag into. Now, because the bin is one of those tall ones the bags that I buy are quite large themselves. In fact too large really but the others are way too small, so to remedy this, once the bag is in the inner bin you have to fold it over the lip gather up the excess and tie it into a sort of knot...........Now we’re not talking a bowline here or any other type of knot which I use on the lifeboat like a sheet bend, no this is just basically a ball that could I suppose go by the name of a Mannanan Mess which it resembles, that is of course if  I’ve done it whereas if Mrs Mannanan had done the task then it would be called a Mannanan Masterpiece because that’s how she does things, all proper like...........Anyway whatever you call it, it keeps things tidy once the lid has come down.........or should I rephrase that by saying it should keep things tidy..........Obviously this one I’m talking about, the one yesterday, was one I’d had the pleasure of battling into place because the mess err I mean knot resembled a mess, (seems I was right in the first place)........well that’s if I could see what should have been a knot because I couldn’t, the reason being that it was now inside instead of being on the outside and worse still it was covered with the all stuff which I had placed in the bin earlier, which weren’t very pleasant at all, (packaging that had contained the salmon fillets that we were having for tea which I will be talking about later because there’s another story altogether) and which were now slowly falling out onto the floor.......This in itself was bad enough but add Mollie into the equation, who was besides herself sniffing and biting at things that she’s not normally allowed and the word mêlée springs to mind. The thing was, the battle was only just commencing............My first attempt at trying to get the plastic bin bag out of the bin itself, so I could then start putting the stuff that had fallen out on the floor back inside failed miserably because my grip kept on slipping on the liquid that had seeped from the now empty fish packet. Once I’d got a grip and started pulling, the bag wouldn’t budge because there was way too much stuff packed into it. This meant that I had keep on banging the bin on the floor to try and loosen up the contents at the same time as pulling the bag slowly and thankfully it started coming out an inch or two at a time. Mollie at that moment thought that this was a game to be enjoyed and started jumping up at me trying to lick my face which was to say a tad annoying........Then a near disaster........I had to suddenly stop everything as I had noticed that the bag had ripped and if I’d pulled it out completely the entire contents would have spilled out onto the kitchen floor joining its cousins already there.........This meant that there was only one thing for it and that was to take the whole thing outside in the drizzle with another black bag put the whole contents, bin included into this new bag and tip it all out. Bingo at last a success so I could then go back into the kitchen to pick up all the stuff left on the floor. once that was all cleared away and the floor mopped I could then start preparing the dinner which in itself proved to be a little stress inducing...........
...........I had chosen pan seared salmon steaks in a balsamic glaze which entails firstly covering the steaks in the gloopy dark brown glaze then frying them in butter over a high heat. Well all was going great guns until I had turned one of the steaks over and I left the spoon I was using in the pan to do something else but when I returned instead of picking the spoon up as one should I inadvertently knocked it out of the pan and onto the floor splashing very hot hot, very thick, very sticky balsamic glaze everywhere.....It just wasn't my day at all......
.......And I'm pleased to say that today, so far anyway is a big improvement, which wouldn't take a great deal, though I am having some problems with Photoshop......I went out earlier to get some images and I've been working on a couple ever since and though things worked correctly at the start they aren't now so I can't bring you what i had intended. Instead you'll just have to put up with this little lot........









.....A far nicer day than yesterday on the weather front as well but it was bitterly cold so even with my hat and scarf on I didn't want to spend too much time at the waters edge, the warmth of the house was much more appealing........
......And so finally for today......

"All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that."
    Baltasar Gracian


5th ------ Bring on the tuba and whilst you’re at it the lederhosen too.........Well I’m of the mind right now that if you can’t beat them you might as well join them.........Yes you’ve guessed correctly, that damned song is still in my head though thankfully not as much as before because I did go some way to getting rid by wearing my earphones which proved to be a rather novel experience in as much that my left ear was hearing things a split second behind my right making the sound a tad different…As things turned out It didn’t spoil my enjoyment in any way at all. In fact I think it may have been beneficial somewhat ‘cause I’m sure the vibrations, caused by the volume that I had my mp3 player turned up to, must have dislodged something at least, especially seeing as I was in a take no prisoners kind of mood regarding my choice of tracks. Having been deprived of loud frenetic music for over a week, I started off going straight to the jugular with The Who’s brilliant “Wont Get Fooled Again” (can’t get much better than that can you ?)  which was quickly followed by The Killer’s Read My Mind,     The Moody Blues’ Questions,     Fleetwood Mac's Second Hand News and by the time the church bells at the start of The Herd’s From The Underworld reverberated around my ear drums I was feeling pretty good and my ears were nearly back to normal...........The thing is, the volume was set two or three notches lower than what I would normally have it so my hearing must have been pretty poor............But that’s enough Oom-Pah and deafness for quite a while how about I talk about something else..................and I think I'll stay on the subject of music for a while longer........As a fan of music I am at times intrigued as to how a bands name came about so I was pleased to happen upon this site which delves into the sometimes mysterious minds of the artists. I've always been of the thought that if I were ever in a band then choosing the name would be a very hard task 'cause I lack any imagination whatsoever so I was pleased again, (wow twice in one day I'm on a roll here) when looking through my favourites I came upon a site that helps you in this task. I think I may have in the past mentioned this thing before but hey ho it gives me something else to fill this page with and I'm really pleased with the result it gave me (see image to left)....So when I have finally mastered the inticasies of the guitar and met up with some like minded mates and formed a band we will call ourselves the Smurphs Go Po and our first alblum will go by the name of Neither Useful Nor Enjoyable which in all probability would sum up the album completely...Anyway the method is as follows.......

1 - Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to Random quotations: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

If you want to do this again, you’ll hit refresh to generate new quotes, because clicking the quotes link again will just give you the same quotes over and over again.

3 - Go to flickr’s “explore the last seven days” http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Put it all together, that’s your debut album.

......Simple but effective isn't it........a bit like me at times I'm sure because I'm missing something on the macro photographic front because today seeing as it was raining again I thought that after dropping G and SD1 back to work and taking a very quick detour via the quayside that I'd get home and take some macro images 'cause I'd seen some on a site the other day which I thought looked really cool but most have turned out poor, that's if the camera would let me take a photo in the first place..........Looks as if I've a lot of reading to do..........But anyway I did take some fairly decent  piccies when out to add to the macro stuff........









.......I did have a few more images to post but they can be saved for another day mainly because I came across another blog site that asks you to contribute....Called The State of The Nation the chap who's site it is asks that on the fifth of each month you post five images. Stephen Chapman, the guy in question calls it Five on the Fifth so that's what I've done..............
.........From reading today's post it would seem that my son Mark has jumped onto the same band-wagon as my two daughters and is making comments regarding my DIY skills. And I thought us men were supposed to stick together. Don't forget Mark I know a thing or two about you....Anyway if you both took the time to look at the image in question you will see that I am not fixing anything just getting a CD down from the shelf where my collection is stored, and I must add here, ebven though some think me sad....in alphabetical order............
.........And so finally for today.........

"Years ago, I thought up the name Queen...It's just a name, but it's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid...It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations. I was certainly aware of the gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it."
 Freddie Mercury


4th ------ Quite a bit to get through today ‘cause I’ve a number of topics I want to cover, which will include, in no particular order, music, ears and language so without further ado........My hearing has returned but not as I had hoped due mainly to a couple of  things. Firstly the blockage in my left ear, which was removed successfully by means of a jet of warm water, under pressure, perfectly administered by the practice nurse, revealed an infection. Secondly the blockage in my right ear proved too much for one sitting so I have to return next week which I’m not too bothered about as the whole experience wasn’t that bad at all. Seeing that I had never had this procedure carried out before I was rather intrigued and at the same time I suppose apprehensive though my fears were allayed when I heard from two different people that it could only be described as an orgasm in your ear ......Well no wonder I had to wait over a week to have it done.........Orgasm’s on the national health whatever next You know I quite expected to see the surgery bursting to the seams with those who had been in before me grinning like the cat’s who had got the cream and those who were waiting to go in with stares of wanton longing but there was neither just the odd assortment of rather ill looking people so I sat myself down amongst all the airborne germs and made myself as comfortable as I could, picked up the nearest germ ridden magazine and started dreaming........Well I was really reading but it all seemed so unnatural, so dreamlike….No I wasn’t reading the latest ladies fashion magazine’s lead story about the ins and outs of the latest “in” celebrities new boob job, though there were plenty of those type of magazines lying about. No I had picked up Country Life and was reading the estate agents promotions of Gentlemen’s properties (why are there never any ladies residence) that take up the entire first half of the 100 so pages..........All I can say is WOW.......The spiel on some went something like this.........”This elegant, absolutely gorgeous grade II listed Georgian mansion dahhhhling has it’s own frontage to the River Isis........Comprising of seven reception rooms, (one for each day of the week I presume) four drawing rooms (only good I suppose if there is an artist amongst you) a fully fitted kitchen dahhhling with an “Aga” and not forgetting the attached three bedroomed servants cottage with direct access via the cellar and underground garage. Next to this is the indoor sports arena which includes an Olympic sized fully heated swimming pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, children’s paddling pool, games room, snooker room and an annexe with a fully fitted music room with production decks..........From the grand entrance hall one makes one way up the staircase, an exact replica of  the one in Tara from Gone With The Wind, where access to the seventy eight all on suite bedrooms with walk in wardrobes and chandeliers you can swing from if one is inclined, is available. Outside there is a miniature zoo, stables for fourteen polo ponies and a couple of loose boxes for any loose change that you might have left after purchasing this country pile, all contained within 300 acres of idyllic Oxfordshire countryside”...........I was just thinking who do they get to write this stuff ?. More to the point who buys places like this, certainly not people like me sitting in a doctor’s surgery waiting to be called for my inner ear orgasm, when I was broken out of my reverie by the nurse shouting my name at the top of her voice.........My turn had arrived..........Fifteen minutes later I emerged back into the waiting room with a smile on my face........only because I could now hear after a week of deafness........All I will say is that those I spoke to before must have very sensitive inner ear cavities because though it wasn’t an un-pleasurable sensation neither was it orgasmic............But the feeling I had having a good 80% of my hearing back was to say the least euphoric............
.............And talking about hearing..............I’m still hearing the Oom-pah-pah song..............Yes the entire night again at work and it drove me to distraction...........Now I’m getting really concerned just in case someone is sending me subliminal messages and that come this Saturday I will rush out to the nearest music shop and buy myself a tuba or a trombone and start playing it which then in turn may, God forbid, lead me to buy a pair of Lederhosen…..The thought just doesn’t bear thinking about, me in leather shorts............arghhhhhhhhhhh.......Certainly something I’m not ready for I can assure you ‘cause it’s far too cold for that my legs would freeze...................
.......................Not only would it be cold  but it would also be hilariously funny just like the next topic I’m going to bore you with today. A topic which I’ve covered on here before..........The beauty of the English language.........and in particular new and old words..........Firstly the old words...........Dictionary maker Collins is launching a project - using that most modern form of communication Twitter - to try to identify whether there is any life left in a selection of weird and wonderful words mainly those of a local dialect......... For example here on the island we use the word skeet for having a gossip or look at something but do you know what puckaterry means…..No, I didn’t either. Apparently it is a word local to Norfolk meaning to be in a muddle or a panic…..Now if you come from East Yorkshire you might have heard the word parzle which means to saunter and nearer to my neck of the woods in and around the Black Country a wassuck is a fool..........Great words aren’t they .............And secondly the new...........It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, that at the same time as we are losing those magnificent words from our vocabulary new ones are being added all the time, which makes it such a weird but wonderful language and I was sent an email the other day containing some of these words though I do think that maybe they were more rather tongue in cheek than serious but I think that they deserve a place, my favourite being Testiculate,  which I’m sure could describe a lot of people especially politicians for instance Tony Blair springs immediately to mind..........(and just a note of warning here, if you are easily offended look away now because I’m going to use a word not normally seen on these pages which I’ve omitted some letters from to make it less harmful to the eyes ) describing someone who moves their hands around a great deal whilst talking a load of bo****ks .........A few more in this vein are......Beer Coat.......The invisible but warm coat worn when walking home in the freezing cold after a night on the town at 3 am........A Monkey Bath......A bath so hot, that when lowering yourself in, you go: 'Oo Oo Oo Aa Aa Aa @......And the last one for now anyway.....Percussive Maintenance.....The fine art of whacking the living daylights out of an electronic device to get it working again........
..........With the ever present threat of rain hanging over Ramsey like a cloud just waiting to deposit its contents on the ever suspecting people below I drove Mrs Mannanan back to work and from there went to somewhere I hadn't been for a while to get some piccies only this is when the rain decided to fall rather heavily and with no prospect of it abating quickly I just clicked through rain covered windows.....
........Then as soon as I'd moved on sods law dictates that the rain stops so I stopped the car just down from Queens Pier and snapped an ever obliging seagull..........

...........Before making my way back home along East Quay where I managed to find a parking space and pull the car in to take a few photos of, surprise, surprise, the harbour..................



.........Laura, I would have thought three of me would have been wonderful...and what's this sarcasm thing you're on about...me fixing things.....As you know I was a dab hand with the sellotape and blue-tac. What more could a child want..
........And so finally for today.........

"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing"
Homer J Simpson


3rd ------ It is official, I am losing my marbles. Not sure if it’s the problem with my ears but last night at work I had this song going round and round in my mind all the time. I wouldn’t mind if it was a song that I particularly like but it wasn’t  Also, and this is the worrying part, I’m not entirely sure how it got to be in my mind in the first place and I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I tell you the name of the tune.....Oom-pah-pah…Oom-pah-pah........Well that’s what I think it’s called....You know the song from the musical Oliver  (and a very quick Google has confirmed this) ......The thing is, do you think I’ve got something serious ........I certainly hope not..........I must admit I am a tad worried about it but saying that there is one consolation because I would be really, really worried if I was singing something by John & Edward those terrible twins  on the X-Factor who keep on getting voted through.......Yes I’ve succumbed, like every other type of media it seems, by mentioning these two. I don't watch a great deal of the program, probably only half an hour on Sunday evening top, but from what I've seen these are the worst act ever......A tragedy of justice if they get through again this week in my opinion. The thing is, who is it who keeps on voting for them 'cause it's certainly nobody I've come across yet ..............
........Anyway that's enough moaning for one day especially seeing as the sun has returned. Okay it might only be in very short bursts between the showers but at least it has had the effect of brightening up the whole place. And it gave me the chance to get for a brisk walk along the north breakwater.......





.....I'm beside myself with excitement........In an hours time I will be at the doctors hopefully having the blockage cleared in my ears so that I will be able to hear again as normal. I will of course report back...So until then......
.......And so finally for today........

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
    Aristotle


2nd ------ Isn't it odd how most of us take things for granted and really only appreciate things when we no longer have them A prime example of this is my hearing loss in my left ear which I'm sure has now spread to the right, though not as bad. Since it came on in the middle of last week I've been so frustrated. It's as if I'm living in a bubble, it's really weird. Yesterday down the boathouse was really awkward trying to have a conversation in a group 'cause those on the left of me I couldn't hear at all and those on the right were at a very low volume. All I wish for is that my appointment at the doctors surgery tomorrow will cure the problem because the drops I've been putting in have made no noticeable difference at all........In addition to this I must say that I'm feeling very lethargic and not wanting to do a great deal. I don't feel ill, unlike poor SD1 who has come down with a dreadful cold which is so bad she's taken time off work, but it's just that I don't feel full of the enthusiasm I normally have. I don't suppose the weather is helping much 'cause yet again things are a tad wet and windy. In fact when I just went out in the car to get a few things for SD1 I'm sure there was sleet in the heavy rain which was falling......I did take my camera with me in the hope of capturing something worthwhile but I couldn't get into my normal place on the quay because there was a lot of other vehicles manoeuvring in the area so no new images from outside today instead I've been experimenting...............

........The one above taken last night is as it was taken without any alterations on Photoshop except a crop. Quite getting the hang of the exposure times now so the practice is coming in handy. The second image though is a completely different kettle of fish 'cause for this one I've spent a fair bit of time manipulating a number of images to create a type of self portrait...............

.....For a first attempt I'm really pleased how it has turned out, except that my stomach does seem to be somewhat hanging over the edge of my trousers which is annoying  as on weighing myself this morning I'm the lightest I've been for quite some time.....I had hoped to use this procedure with images of me taken in the garden because there is much more room outside, but because of the rain decided to use the back room which was rather cramped and I had a bit of trouble trying to get the light even over the whole image and should maybe had a few more changes of clothes....Still despite these little niggles I'm pleased with the effect....More will follow later..........Judith, yes the weather has been rather odd over the past week hasn't it with some day's warm then others rather wet. Thankfully we haven't had it as bad as some places though............And for no other reason than I nearly died laughing when my son sent it to me.... I bring you the best ever spoon game.....

...............I'm looking at it for the umpteenth time and I'm still laughing. It is so funny.......
...........And so finally for today............

"Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends."
    J. R. R. Tolkien


1st ------ Wild, wet and windy. That just about sums up the conditions here in Ramsey today, which I suppose is just what we should expect at this time of year, well it is November already isn't it ...... November ....... November .....Whatever happened to October, did we really have one this year or has someone stolen it from us  ......Anyway because I wasn't going out 'cause I was nice and snug indoors I've been messing about with Photoshop and in particular layers and have at long last discovered how to do a certain thing which will become apparent in a few days when I finish what I'm attempting for the first time and post a new type of self portrait....Beware you have been warned......However I have within the past half an hour popped out into the back garden with my camera and taken a quick photo, uploaded it to Photoshop and deleted the telegraph pole and all the lines..............

.......Well that was the intent but after saving my work and uploading it and posting it on here it is not as good as I would have hoped and some lines can still be seen....Oh well better luck next time....Anyway I've ran out of time I'm afraid..
....And so finally for today......

"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."
    Groucho Marx