I have joined Tumblr.

You can find me here.

S'great innit?

(Anything Nik can do, I can do betttter . . . . )

Tags: Tumblr, Geek

I totally forgot to mention our trip to Ikea in the round up of my weekend away. You would be surprised to hear I forgot had you been with me as I walked around the massive store near the Metro Centre in Gatehead. I started to squee the moment we walked in the front door and saw the itty bitty pencils which were just-oh-so-cute and continued to squee during the whole mind blowing experience!

The past couple of times I have visited Jacqui's I have stared longingly out the car window at the store as we passed by. This time I happened to mention that perhaps I might like to see the shop. And POOOOF, no sooner said than done, we were in the car park looking for the entrance.

OK so, I KNOW Ikea is great. I KNOW we are missing out by not having one here yet. I KNOW people think it is so wonderful they travel far and wide just to be able to pack their boots and trailers with their purchases - but DUDE! No one told me how truly GREAT it is. It has to be experienced in real life for that to sink in!

The store in Gateshead is truly massive. It started off large but has since swallowed up two other shop units beside the original one. It took ages to walk round it all and all we really did was trot, glancing (and stroking) as we passed items we fancied.

There were definitely several book cases I would like. And items for the shop. Display cabinets and similar. And more book shelves. And And And - too many to mention!

So, on to the good news. For those of you who haven't been keeping up to date with the progress of the new store in Belfast.

IT'S NEARLY READY!!

Thursday 13th December. Guess where I will be spending my Christmas money this year!

Can you wait?

Tags: Shopping, Ikea

That's me back then. Did you miss me? Much?

I've been away to Jacqui's for the KT Tunstall concert. Jacqui bought me the tickets as an early birthday present. You haven't forgotten about THAT have you?

The weekend kinda started two years ago when I saw KT Tunstall was coming to Belfast. I immediately went online and ordered three tickets, not having anyone in particular in mind to go with. How disappointed I was when no one I knew was all that interested in going with me. One person actually said "KT Tunstall? Oh no! I hate her!" no beating about the bush there then!

Nearer the time I still hadn't received the tickets and when I went online to check it out - there was no record of me purchasing any tickets, no money had been debited from my credit card and it looked like the whole thing had been a bad dream!

Jacqui remembered all that and when she saw the tickets for KT in Newcastle (and no planned dates for Belfast) she bought them without even asking me first.

I left on Friday night amidst all sorts of flight delays - when we landed we had to wait for the steps to be brought round, then they only brought one set and all the poor people anticipating a rear disembarkation had to turn and wait their turn for the front steps. And wait. And wait. As they also only sent one bus. Which had to take the first load to the arrivals and then come back for the second load.

While waiting, most people turned their phones back on and one woman made a call which started with a very loud "Ho Ho Ho" which had the rest of us giggling away. Finally I made it on to the bus, to be taken 500 yards to beside another just-landed plane. As there was a zebra-crossing the bus driver waited for those passengers to walk past him before moving again. I swear he waited as the last passenger stood up from their seat, made their way down the aisle, trotted down the stairs and sauntered across the zebra-crossing before moving off again. We only had to move a further 20 yards before we were at the arrivals door - it would have been much quicker to have left the bus and walked! I think he was having a laugh.

On Saturday Jacqui and I headed out to The Angel Of The North. A place we have driven past before but I had never visited. Arrgh - the PEOPLE there! There weren't many but the ones who were there insisted on having their family reunion right bang in the middle of my photo opportunity! Didn't they KNOW who I was? We spent a while there taking all sorts of photos, watching most of the posers grin at their partner whilst stretching their arms in true Angel mode, mightily pleased with themselves that they had dreamed up such an original stance!

Saturday evening saw us at Newcastle City Hall for the KT concert. We had each admitted that we weren't all that excited about the concert. There was something missing from the excitement factor - a complete lack of anticipation. Or something. Completely by chance two of Jacqui's hockey friends had booked tickets right next door to ours. Perhaps the thought of meeting them for drinks before hand was throwing me slightly but they cried off at the last minute.

King Creosote was the support band. I had never heard of them before but quite liked them. They were funny, I liked the music but there seemed to be a lack of energy from them. We joked at the size of their drum set - it looked like something a wee lad would get for his 13th birthday. This was in complete contrast to the full size kit KT's band had!

There was something very endearing about KT. I know she says it every night - but she really did seem to genuinely want to be there and want to perform for us. She commented on the lovely weather we had had all day and how she had been out on the town (sorry, toon) and had been recognised by a local band - she really did seem chuffed by that.

The highlights of her chat were when she asked the producer, several times, for updates on the Rugby score and when she encouraged 6 people (three lots of couples) to move seats to empty ones in front of her, right at the front. She assured them that IF the people EVER turned up she would take great pleasure in humiliating them. They never did turn up!

I have listened to her new album a few times, not liking it as much as Eye To The Telescope but there were plenty of familiar songs to listen to on the night so she must have played many from the old album - or I have heard the new album enough for it to have sunk in by now!

In the middle she sacked the band and appeared on her own, with her guitar and played my all time favourite KT song - Throw Me A Rope. I have listened to this song many times but it just did not occur to me that she would sing such a quiet song, without the band, at the concert and it just blew me away. So much so that I blubbed through the last couple of verses.

So throw me a rope to hold me in place
Show me a clock for counting my days down
Cause everything's easier when you're beside me
Come back and find me
Cause I feel alone

She came back on for an encore of two songs - one of which was The Bangles' Walk Like An Egyptian. It was a great song for us and she seemed to really enjoy playing it.

I hadn't bothered to take my camera with me but pocketed Jacqui's compact before leaving the house - just in case. The photos I took were so bad they were good! I love some of the weird effects I got - might not have taken one single clear photo of her - but I got some cool effects!

Last time I was in Newcastle I fell in love with the Baltic Mill and took loads of photos there as well as seeing a couple of exhibitions. We were headed to The Sage this time on Sunday afternoon and I fell in love all over again with the inside of the building. I love a couple of the shots I got there.

We went to the cinema to see The Kingdom starring Jennifer Garner and Jamie Foxx . It was, perhaps, a little more political than my norm but it was a good action movie and had quite a familiar feel to it for anyone who has watched Alias. Although, I don't recall ever seeing Jennifer quite that scared in Alias.

On Monday afternoon we nipped in to a local pub to have a quick lunch but ended up staying for hours, playing pool! We had a great giggle at some of my fluke shots. I potted many more balls than Jacqui. The only trouble was, not all of them were mine. I really shouldn't have potted that many of HERS and strictly speaking potting the black is a bit of a no-no. We had great food and great fun. After beating her hands down at the Air Hockey last time, it was only fair that I let her find a game she could beat me at. Wasn't it?

Crikey, 5.30am comes early in the morning! We left the house before 6am for my return flight this morning and back at home by breakfast. The pilot was incredibly chatty, explaining that someone hadn't grasped the "rocket science that is *getting to the gate on time*" and why we had to wait for their bags to be off loaded before we could go anywhere, giving weather reports, traffic reports ("I had a good look at the motorway traffic over Belfast") and general traffic advice ("If I were you I would give the motorway a miss and seek an alternative route") and by the time we taxied in to position I was still asleep enough to be thinking "Just drive Fly-Boi and less of the chat."

I don't do *cheery in the mornings*.

So - good weekend all round. Great concert. Great craic. Great photo opportunities. And all thanks to surprise tickets from Jacqui - had she asked me if I wanted to go to KT Tunstall in Newcastle I would have said I would wait until she made it to Belfast. I am so glad she didn't ask. It was one of the best concerts I've been to and much better than anticipated.

Tags: Holidays, Jacqui, Weekend Break, Concert

A LONG LONG TIME AGO, before I had my Powerbook, I *ordered* three second hand G3 iMacs. They have finally gone round the world for a short cut and made it to me! And how delighted am I?

VERY!

They are so cute. With their wee 6 gb, 6 gb and 9 gb hard drives, 128mbs of RAM each and iTunes 3.

Can you read all that without grinning from ear to ear?

iTunes 3. Awwwwwwwww.

So cuuute!

My Aunt Margaret and Uncle David arrived as foot passengers on Friday afternoon's Belfast Stranraer ferry. I had visions of them having to strap these things to their backs but no - who'd have though that ferries now have trollies like the airports? It is many years since I last was a foot passenger on a ferry. In fact - I found a photo over the weekend of the last time and must upload it for you as a laugh sometime. I think I was 13.

We got home and had a truly scrumptious tea and I very kindly refused to bring two of the machines in from the car. You know there would have been no trailing me away from them had I brought them in. Dude - there was wine to drink!

Saturday was a different matter though. I started to work on them. Ew - I so would not have liked to work with OS 9.1 or 9.2 - not nice at all. I got that upgraded as far as 10.2.8 and got all of them on to the internet via ethernet.

While I was doing the updating David and Margaret cleaned them as best as they could with only fingernails and warm water.

There are two green ones and a blue one. The blue one is a higher spec - it is the one with the larger hard drive and it is 400 mhz compared to 333 and has firewire ports where the other two don't. Wee David thinks he is getting that one but he hasn't a hope! I think I will keep it in the kitchen to check my emails on!

That kinda shouldn't have been the highlight of the weekend - should it? I should mention the fact I took my Uncle see Lough Neagh for the first time in his life and that we walked the dog, were treated to a gorgeous meal and inherited the remains of a bottle of 8 year old Bells which Iain and I are trying to acquire a taste for. (The liquid is called *Bells 8 year old* - they didn't bring a half drunk bottle which they opened 8 years ago . . . you know? )

Bloody Tourists have a way of asking questions that we don't bother to ask ourselves. Oxford Island ISN'T an island - but used to be! And although I still don't know much about the Lord and Lady themselves - I know the history of the park they donated to the people of Belfast now. Thanks to the Bloody Tourists.

Great weekend. Great to see the folks. It's lovely when people come bearing gifts huh? Am now watching eBay for more RAM and perhaps a bigger hard drive!

Tags: Apple, iMacs, G3

I asked David to describe me as a photographer to help with a bio I have to write. I am not sure if he is totally off the mark or spot on - it made me giggle anyway.

"You take really good photographs all the time. And when you don't take a good photograph you MAKE it a good photograph in Photoshop."

Huh uh?

THAT'S how you do it then?

Tags: David

After some time, effort and considerable help from all concerned, I have finally put enough content in to my business blog to allow it to go live!

There are a couple of interesting things in there that have happened to me over the past while - but most of the wording will have been copied and pasted from here.

Go and have a look at it - if you don't have the url or can't make it up (it's my full business name dot com / blog) - let me know and I will email it to you - I really don't want it to be published here!

Tags: Blog

Last night I was in work til late, meeting with a Bride, filling in some last minute details, chatting away to her and generally taking another payment of DOSH from her!

I couldn't get a handle on her age. She is young - maybe between 20 and 23. Certainly nothing more than that.

She explained that she had recently lost a Grandad and her fiance and her had decided to bring the wedding forward so the remaining three grandparents could all attend the big day. She was close to tears at this point and then quickly changed the subject by bringing up her mum.

She explained how close she is to her and how everyone thinks they are sisters rather than mum and daughter. I nodded away as I took notes.

Then she dropped a bomb shell.

"My Mum is very young. She is only 40."

My jaw visibly dropped as the significance of this sank in.

*glances at calendar*

Tags: Work, Clients, Birthday, 40

For the past couple of months I have been working hard putting together a panel of photos for a personal exhibition to be held in a local Gallery between the 5th and the 10th November.

The photos are picked, printed and sitting at the framers waiting to be framed and signed as Limited Editions. There were originally 30 possible images to pick 10-12 finals from and I didn't like the idea of leaving the rest out totally so I have ordered a hard back book to be printed with all the images. If people like the ones which are in the book more then the ones on the wall they will be invited to order from there too. The book has been shipped and ought to be here in plenty of time.

The book gives me the chance to leave the *exhibition* behind at the gallery for the foreseeable future should anyone wish to call in and see it.

I have all my part done and feeling quite cocky at how smoothly it has all gone.

In order to pull in more visitors I jumped at the chance of sharing the gallery space with a local photographer I am friendly with. We worked together on a calendar shoot late last year and have kept in touch. He is a much bigger gadget geek than I am - forever buying new lenses for his Canon. We regularly have very lively discussions on Canon vs Nikon.

Craig took on the designing and printing of the invitations and these arrived today just in time for me to start mailing them to friends, family and previous customers.

Currently, I spend the daytime hours swinging from smugly confident that this will make me a fortune to stomach churning dreadful certain knowledge that the whole thing will crash terribly and I'll end up not recouping my costs.

I'll let you know how it goes!

If you are *local* and are interested in coming along to meet me (and Craig) on one of the two Open Nights (Tuesday 6th and Thursday 8th) then send me an email and I will pass on more details.

Tags: Work, Exhibition

I hate banks.

I hate them.

Hands up who likes their bank. Can anyone point me in the direction of a bank which is able to make non-robot decisions like "Let's ring this girl who has been banking with us blemish free for the last X number of years as she may wish to run down to us with the cash that has been in her pocket for the past week and lodge it against this cheque we are about to refuse as it is for £25 more than she has in the account at the moment." I would love to move to that bank rather than stay with the current ones I deal with.

Nah - they will just go on ahead and bounce the cheque rather than allow the account to go in to the red.

How come *they* will allow their fees to put you in the red though? Huh? Surely there ought to be a law against that. someone ought to do something about that.

(Ok, I admit, there are two different banks involved in my rant but that doesn't make my rage any less.)

Banks are evil. They frustrate the hell out of me and I hate them all. Some are more evil than others but they all have a certain level of evilness running through their vaults.

*goes back to work muttering about the evils of the banking world*

Tags: Banks

Listening to Radio 2 on the way to work today there was a woman on the phone with Jeremy Vine. She has set up the "Happy Ending Foundation" (the tag line on her site is SAD BOOKS ARE BAD BOOKS) . . . and

is planning a series of Bad Book Bonfires for later this month, when parents will be encouraged to burn novels with negative endings.

Hhhmmmm. . . .. .

Ooooooooook.

There was a great debate between her and the other guests, backwards and forwards with Jeremy in the middle. . .

Each camp made good points and I understood where she was coming from. May not have agreed with them but she made a good argument I suppose.

Until. . . .

She made the biggest faux pas of all radio station phone-ins when she happened to mention, in passing, during her personal conversation with the nice chap on the end of the phone, not realising that anyone could possibly be eavesdropping, like the MILLIONS of Radio 2 listeners, that Santa isn't real.

:O

:O

What?

Seriously, I nearly crashed the car. What if I had had Jessica in the car? The cat would have been out of the bag then wouldn't it? You think that Radio 2 is fairly child friendly.

Oh the irony of it all. The woman who wants to protect little kiddiewinkles from the horrible nasty unhappy endings of some books goes and then goes on to tell EVERY CHILD IN THE COUNTRY CURRENTLY BEING PICKED UP FROM SCHOOL THAT SANTA ISN'T REAL!!!!

OOOOOPS!

It may take a wee while for her to recover from the embarrassment of this one!

Thankfully, another mummy rang in and asked Jeremy to put the record straight. Santa, perhaps, doesn't come to OLDER children but still visits all the younger children.

Nice save!

Tags: Oops

There are three kinds of visitors to our work premises.

Those who come to see Iain.

Those who come to see me.

Those who come to see Bailey.

By far, those who come to see Bailey outweigh the ones who visit BOTH Iain and myself.

In the time it took me to type this post three different people called in to see him. We spend more time talking about him than we do about our own businesses. And so far only two or so visitors to us who have not wanted him in the room. He is the best sales assistant we have and the best ice-breaker. I love it when people we haven't seen for a while call in and remember his name!

And he is still the best decision we have made for a long time.

Tags: Work, Customers, Bailey

HeHeHeHeHeHeHE.

I love to see stories like this.

Doesn't it warm the cockles of your heart?

Tags: Apple, Geek

A while back I stumbled upon a Danish photographer called Keld Helmer-Peterson and all of a sudden I felt comfortable with the type of photography I wanted to pursue with passion. The photos I was particularly interested in were his colour industrial shots from the 1940s when many photographers would have still been using black and white film.

As soon as I saw his work the photos looked reassuringly familiar. They are very similar in theme to the ones I have been taking, or at least composing in my mind. The stuff I would love to be paid to take. And, here, whaddya know, there is a guy who has been making a living from that very thing! YAY!

So, last month I decided that I missed the quarterly excuse to buy photography books for college and set out to find a book by him. I couldn't find one. Oh, well, I found one place that seemed to have his photos on display but, being Danish and published some time ago it was hard to find anything. Yes, I checked eBay too.

So I did the only sensible thing I could do. I asked Jacqui to find a spare moment during her hectic busy work day to try to track down a book - remember Jacqui? Google Queen? I reckoned I would have her stumped at this one cos I really HAD looked hard for a book (and by that I mean one I could afford).

I think it took her about 2 minutes to find me three copies. And that is only because she had to break off to answer the phone.

I could buy a Used but also SIGNED copy at £122ish or a Brand New one for £40 including postage. It was a hard struggle. I really did fancy the signed copy - but - there was no way to justify the extra money for a scribble!

So I got the book and was absolutely delighted with the service. I paid £4 for postage and when it arrived the postage had been £7. It isn't often it works that way without someone whining at you for the difference. The packaging was fantastic and I loved loved loved the book.

Fast forward to this evening when I picked up the book to check something out and discovered, inside one of the first pages, tucked really close to the inner spine: a SIGNATURE!!!

YAYAYAYAYAYAY

How full of squees am I?

Very full!

If you call over I will let you stroke it.

But not for long.

Yay for the Google Queen. Yay for little surprises. Yay for a lift in an otherwise yukky day.

Tags: Books

It's Iain's birthday today yayayayayay - poor soul - nothing much is happening for him - no surprise party and I think only his Mummy has remembered him. He annoyed Jessica so much this morning by revving the car engine to hurry her along that she refused to even say Happy birthday to him never mind sing it!

Here he is, on holiday in France last year, holding up his mental age in fingers.

Just to prove that you don't get any more clever as you grow older here is a conversation we had the other day while watching a makeover show with Mica Paris hosting it. . .

Him : Who is that?

Me : Mica Paris - she's a singer.

Him : Oh. Yea. Um. What's she to that Hilton woman then?

*smacks head*

Tags: Birthday, Iain

Twice this week, cafes have shut in the middle of their working day in front of my very eyes. With a shout of "Everybody Out!" the tables were cleared and the staff closed the doors behind them.

One was on Eastenders and the other Coronation Street. I don't know what prompted the scene in S'tenders but I glanced up in time to see all the customers leave the cafe with nary a complaint never mind a demand for a refund. At least on Corrie the customers grumbled a little before meekly leaving.

How likely is this to happen in real life? What's the chances of people allowing themselves to be turfed out as they prepare to dip their sausage in their egg in the middle of their Ulster Fry. How long would the queue be as they waited for their food to be packed *to go* and how many people would sit still, refusing to move at all?

T'would NEVER happen in Starbucks.

Would it?

Surely not!

Tags: Television, Corrie, Eastenders