TV, or no TV, that is the question ...

Ok, so I decided that having a telly is a waste of time, money & space. 
It usually has depressing news, advertisements & repeats.  I refuse to organise my evenings around soaps & if I do want to watch anything, it will be on iplayer at a time that I choose. 
My cancellation date was the 9th May & I was really looking forward to having the freedom to rearrange my lounge so that the focus is the fireplace not the box in the corner of the room.
I managed to ignore numerous sales calls from my provider until the Friday before lift off (or lift out, should I say).  I was caught unawares & picked up the phone - it was the retention team at Virgin. 
How difficult can it be to explain that you just don't want TV?
Anyway, all I can say is that the cancellation date has passed & I still have my set top box.  It's tucked away in a cupboard gathering dust until the Six Nations next year I expect.
I'm paying less now to keep it than I would have had I got rid of it & saved myself twenty quid!
How?
Money talks - silly really ...  

Fear - a four letter word

I have always had problems with being faced with a blank sheet of paper/empty screen. 
That is, a whole space full of nothing that needs you to write down something of worth on it! 
I overcome this by scribbling random ideas in note form (Like when you're out to your local on a Friday night with the girls and get an inspired thought during a quick trip to the loo.  All you have to write it down with is toilet paper and a pinched pen from the bookies.  And you so hope your hieroglyphic letters make sense when you get home, sober up and the paper hasn't disintergrated ovenight!)  When I have filled up the area with rubbish, I can put down what I really mean to say and delete the rest.  Works for me ...
Now, I seem to have developed a fear of forms too and it's come at exactly the right time time in this decade when we have a 32 page census to fill in, like it or not. 
Personally, I like not!
So, between the two fears, I've hit a bit of a sticky wicket. 
Can't I just write on the top of the page 'See previous'?
Very little has changed (except kitty Horatio lives here now!). 
In fact, since this purple piece of tree waste is addressed to 'The Occupier',  I may even fill it out in his name Horatio Szmidmeister, revered Jedi Master of the Old Jedi Order. 
Ah well, keeps someone in a job anyway.

How a day can change direction ... just like that!

So I got up this morning at 4.30 with the intention of finishing my new website (everything in place - just needs tweeking) when the service provider decided to stop working. 
Taking this as an opportunity see what weird and wonderful things are going on in the world, my next point of call was the net and surfing in general.  Any inspiration is welcome, any time, anywhere!
When, suddenly out of nowhere, a ladybird pops onto my desk light - quite out of the blue, don't know where from - just wandering around getting its feet warm.
Not knowing what to do regarding their eating habits - I always give guests a snack - it seems that I'm now getting into a bit of a scientific research situation. 
It turns out that this is a Harlequin ladybird (rather than our usual british type one that has fewer spots and is quite friendly) and I'm not too sure if my visitors presence is a good thing. 
I also recalled that I saw a number of these spotted critters (What do you call a group of ladybirds anyway?  A herd? Gaggle? Flock of ladybirds? Answers on a postcard please.) settling in a corner of my porch for the winter and went down to check.
Sure enough, there they are in a huddle doing ladybird things.  So now I need to get a picture off to the ladybird survey people to let them know that these invaders are making their way up north.
How exciting!  
More red and black than a match at Old Trafford on a saturday!  Blimey!!

Almost as good as the real King?

I'm back on track after a bit of an absence which I don't intend to happen again!
Normal service is now resumed...

Those of you who are close to me know of my fascination with Ancient Egypt - those who don't know me, now do!
Many years ago, I had the honour of visiting Luxor, travelling the Nile, the Valley of the Kings, the Pyramids, Cairo Museum and more temples than you can shake a stick at.  Unfortunately, after seven rolls of film (I did say it was a while ago) and a crisis later, the only thing I have to remember about that extraordinary place are memories. 
So when Manchester Museum of Museums announced Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures exhibition, I jumped at the chance and booked my ticket as soon as I could.
Now, I knew that the real Tut artifacts were over the pond in the America at the time and was curious as to what 'wonderful things' were in store for me here.
I was also a little apprehensive as I had seen the original golden treasures, statues, coffins on my trip to Egypt and so knew exactly what the standard was about ... I also had an image of Blue Peter in my head - egg boxes and sticky-back plastic - which made me even more intrigued. 
What a splendid surprise!
Not only has everything been made exactly to scale and the same shiny quality to the originals, it is also displayed in such a way that you can imagine being in the tomb with it all in situ - the articles up front and personal. 
I remember these objects on show at the Museum in Cairo behind thick glass and alarmed!

The individual headsets for the commentary also allows you to go at your own pace and disappear into this other world for a few riveting hours.
I say, 'a few hours' because that is the amount of time I spent there without even realising it ...
And so,
if you ask me my opinion, this is one of the best displays that I have seen and would recommend it to anyone with even the vaguest interest in Egyptology. 
It is well worth the entrance fee and in some ways, better than the real thing simply because there are no barriers between you and the past ...
If you get the chance ... Go see!!