Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Becky! 

Wishing our wonderful daughter a very happy Birthday today.  Unfortunately she and the boys both have this awful cold thing that is still plaguing me.  Sore throats, streaming eyes, tight chest, temperature etc. etc.   Not a great way to spend a Birthday but she has still let Dean come over for the day to get stuck into our kitchen worksurfaces replacement. She is a daughter in a million.  Becky, here are some flowers for you. Dad and I love you so very much.

I do feel bad about not getting to all your journals at the moment and I hope you understand.  I cannot even do all the re-installing programmes that I wanted to do because I just do not feel well enough. Well, that can wait.  I promise to be commenting very soon.

My previous entry will explain what has been going on here for those of you that have not read it yet.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Many thanks to Chris for making the wonderful nominee graphics shown on my sidebar. Big hugs to you my friend.

Aaaaaaaargh!

Hi everybody,

Please stand well away from your computers whilst I scream at the top of my voice.

My computer had to go in for repair last Monday after we were refused an engineer to come out despite having a service agreement.  All three drives had packed up completely so I was unable to back up anything and Windows had also developed a fault.

We were promised that we would have it back by Tuesday afternoon.  Errr - No.  Tuesday came and went, Wednesday came and went. On Thursday afternoon Mike trundled down to the store to find out they had not even started working on it.

We left specific notes as to what was wrong including the fact that we had not been able to back up anything.  Later that evening I got a phone call.  Err, do you want us to back up your data?  I asked them what the instructions said.  Oh, you must want your data backed up then I was told.  That will be £30.  I was told.  Oh well, at least I would not lose quite everything.  I was promised it for Friday afternoon.  Friday afternoon Mike goes there again.  Yes, nearly finished he was told.  Then they said they wanted to ring me.  I was told that everything was fixed APART from the floppy A drive.  They had been unable to rectify that.  That would have to order in the part.  I told them forget it, as long as the other drives are working, I can live without floppy A.  I just wanted my computer back.  No can do I was told.  Once it is in for repairs we cannot let it out until it is fully working because customers will accuse us of not doing our job properly.  But I will sign a piece of paper accepting responsibility I told them I just want my computer back.  It is my property and I want it.  Hurried words from the engineer to his boss.  No can do.  You can have it back in ten to twelve days.

Loud scream from me.  Mike then phones.  I will get another cheap computer he says, that will tide you over and I can have it when yours eventually does come back. He suggested this because this is the second time the drives have packed up on that computer and I no longer trust them.

So the new computer comes home.  I tried to load AOL - it was not having any of it.  I tried repeatedly.  Nothing.  I phoned Dean in desperation.  He came over and spent three hours fiddling.  Nothing.  In the end we gave in and phoned the helpline.  Oh yes, we have upgraded the BT drivers since you installed it, you will not be able to get online unless you do this and this and this.  Luckily Dean knows quite a bit about them and flew through the instructions in no time.  Hence I am able to do this entry now.  But it is 1.20 a.m. now.  I also have a stinking cold and a splitting headache and tight chest.

Was that the end of my problems?  Oh no.  I needed my family tree maker programme back on.  Luckily I had backed up all the information around two months ago.  Dean puts the programme on for me and then goes to re-install the data.  Remember, this represents over twelve years research and several thousands pounds.  Many of my informants who supplied information and photograhs have now died.  Dean checked the disc, the data was there. But will it load on - NO.  It keeps saying that the disc I am trying to load is newer than the programme.  This is utter rubbish.  I have not bought a new family tree maker programme in about three years and the back up disc, as I said, was only created two months ago.  Of course, I do have it also backed up on floppy discs, over fifty of them but I have no floppy disc on this computer.

By this time it is quarter to one a.m. and Dean is on his knees and so I am, especially since I feel so awful with this cold.  He had to give up.  So at the moment we have no idea how we can retrieve those twelve years of dedicated research.

Oh, I also lost all the games I bought and paid for and all my favourite places have gone, all my graphics sites, special sites where I purchased things.

To say I am pig sick is an understatement.  I shall have to spend the weekend, if I am well enough, trying to re-load programmes and trying to find sites again.  If anyone has some good graphics sites please send them to me.

No, Dean cannot help tomorrow. He and Mike are replacing all the work surfaces in our kitchen. Dean has been delivering stuff all week, they have everything they need to get on with it so there will be plenty of banging and hammering going on.  It badly needs doing and I am so grateful for Dean's help but, why of why, does everything come at once!!!!!!!!!

I hope to get back to your journals early next week, provided I have not gone totally insane by that time. 

P.S. Sorry this entry is not accompanied by my usual graphics and a signature but I do not have any loaded right now.  Also well done to all the nominees in the Vivi Awards, many names I recognise.  Big thanks for the organisers for their hard work.  Thank you all for your congratulations on my nominations.  At least when I actually got into my email I had a nice surprise as I had no idea that the nominations had been announced.  Now I must get to bed before I fall off this chair.  It is almost 2 a.m. now. Sighs.

Please Enter Your Journal

One of our journal friends has offered to set up a new journal directory so that people can find journals much more easily.  There used to be a journal directory, but due to the passing away of the author, it is no longer updated.

Kate has taken on quite a task here for the benefit of us all so please back her and make sure you leave the URL of your journal.  Also, could you give this a mention on your own journals so that the word will spread and more people can participate.

Thank you.  Here is the link

2006/2007 Journal Index

Voting Open

Voting is now open for the 2006 Vivi Awards.  There are only a few days to get your vote in. I think these votes are for the final nominations and there will be another vote when the nominations are sorted. 

Did you keep the URL of the journals you were suggesting for an award?  No, neither did I.  Some of the journals I suggested are not on my sidebar either  but some are, so that will keep you guessing.  I have to go on a hunt today to find them all again.  I know quite a few thankfully so I do not anticipate it will take too long.

Anyway, please cast your votes now. You can only vote once.  The organisers have worked hard to bring this together so please support them.  Good luck to each and every one of you.

VOTING LINK IS HERE:

2006 VIVI AWARD JOURNAL

Shattered!

What a day yesterday was!  Turned on the computer and decided to save some of the videos Mike and I have been making to disc.  Also quite a lot of photos needed that treatment as well.

So, I put in a disc and started  to save.  Just a minute, what was that?  My disc drive started to make a grating sound followed by a high pitched whine and then nothing.  Yes, the drive had packed up.  Now, it is only just over a month since the drive went before and, as the computer has a service agreement, after a lot of haggling over the telephone, they did send us a replacement.  Mike was a bit concerned at the time because it came in a tatty box and there were scratch marks down the side.  It did not look new to him.   It seemed o.k. though but just a short few weeks later..........phut.

After hassle over the telephone (I think they thought we were playing around and just wanted to get extra new parts) Mike took it down to the shop.  They tested it and proved it had conked out.  Mike said he thought it was a second-hand unit they had sent us.  The manager smiled and said it was standard practice.  When a part is returned as faulty, they are "mended" and sent to the next poor mug. Mug is my word and not the managers.  They could not offer a replacement in the shop, that had to be done over the phone with the service department.  Oh no,  been there, done that.  So him indoors decides he might as well buy a new drive.  At least he would know it was new and not get fobbed off with rubbish.

So, he comes home and fits the new drive. It completely changed the system on my computer.  When I wanted to copy and save photos or similar to disc in the past, all I had to do was highlight them and then click on Copy To Disc and they went straight through. Well, the copy to disc feature had gone.  After a lot of fiddling and adding the "burning" disc that came with the drive, I did figure out how to burn my files onto a CDRom.  Err, well I thought I had, the programme went through, there was the name of the items I wanted copied, the blue lines went across,then I was told my disc had been burned successfully. Good.  Took out the disc and did a couple more.  Better check them I though, went to play them back.  "Windows will not recognise this file" was all I got.  I spent hours going into device manager, trouble-shooting.  Mike tried playing them on his computer. No go.

Him indoors takes the drive out again, I have to remove from the computer the programme that came with it.  Back he goes to the shop.  You must have put it in wrongly he is told.  They had a fiddle around with it and told him to change it over and put it in the top slot on my computer and that would solve the problem.  Back he comes again, puts the drive in exactly as told.  Nothing.  It would not copy, it would not play discs, not even ones we had previously saved to CD.  By this time I was just about getting ready to sling the computer into the garden.

This was about 9 p.m. by now and I had been on the computer mostly since 10 a.m.  So I went to bed and grabbed a bit of shuteye.  Back up at 11 p.m.  I asked Mike to try once more.  He took the drive out again and put it back the way he originally had.  I re-loaded the programme that came with it.  About another hour of fiddling and hey, I had managed to burn a video onto disc and it worked. 

Not wanting to leave it here in case I could not repeat my success, I sat and did the rest of the videos and also photographs.  So far they have all saved and are playable.  The only snag I have is with my graphics file.  Like I said earlier, it used to be so easy to save my graphics to disc.  I just went into Edit, Select All, so that they were highlighted and then click on the Copy To Disc on the left hand side.  Now that facility has gone.  I can burn them but it means importing the files one by one, adding them to a list and I have around 900 graphics on the computer right now.  As it was 2 a.m. by this time I decided to save that little delight for another time.

So, I eventually fell asleep around 3 a.m. and had to wake at 7 a.m. for my medication.  I feel shattered!!!!  So does Mike who did all those trips to the computer shop, plus having to walk the dogsand spend hours fiddling withthe disc drive. Yes, it was Friday the 13th!!!!!!

Becky and Dean are back from holiday.  I do not know when we will be seeing them. She has to pick up their cat from the cattery today and then pick up her car, remember it was damaged in an accident, well the first garage that the insurance company insisted she used, made a right hash of the re-spray and it did not match.  Lots of hassle with the insurance company over that.  Eventually she got permission to take it elsewhere and it has been away being attended to whilst they have been on holiday.  However, I have spoken to her and they had a good time.

Now, I have another little niggle.  For some reason my skin has become very very dry and I have itching all over which is driving me mad.  I have not changed my washing powder, I have not changed soap, I have not changed or increased my medication and I have been on all my medication for several years.  I have not made changes in my diet.  This has just happened.  Believe me, it is very uncomfortable.  I just hope it will not mean another trip to the doctors!

I was wondering which one of you would be most observant, maybe several of you.  Well, it seems that none of you have noticed.  A couple of days back I changed my picture on All About Me.  Figured it was time.  I have been writing this journal since July 2004 and the photograph I used when I started was then six months old.  Yes, I have aged in that time but then, haven't we all?

I hope to catch up on all your journals sometime over the weekend but I am very tired and, we will be seeing the family at some point and hearing all about their week away. So please bear with me.

Oh, I looked out of the bedroom window this morning and saw a beautiful Blue Jay.  Not seen one of them around here for years.  It had one of our Rowan berries in its mouth. I got such pleasure from just watching it.

Have a good weekend, my friends.

 

A Village Tour (Video Entry)

It is a lovely bright sunny day here and this October is set to be one of the warmest on record if temperatures stay at this level.

I watched one of my favourite programmes on t.v. last night. "Who do you think you are?"  The person researching their family history was Nigella Lawson and although I am not a great fan of hers, the programme had me gripped.  Her Grandfather was a managing director of J.Lyons & Co. and during part of the programme she had a conversation with Peter Bird.  Hey, I realised, I know that person.  Mr. Bird and I corresponded quite a lot when I was researching my family tree. Several members of my family worked for J.Lyons and I contacted him to ask if any work records remained that would be available. Alas, they were not, but this started a correspondence between us. When I told him I still had my Grandfather's pass card (my Grandmother should have handed it back after his death) he was very interested and asked me to send a scan to him. When I did, he kindly included it on the J.Lyons site where maybe it still is.  I am so glad I watched the programme and found out more about the founders of the firm.

I have another video for you today which I hope you will enjoy.  At least it will give you a few minutes in your busy lives to sit back and relax.  So, without further ado -

 

I mentioned a cross in the graveyard.  There is no name on it and it is made of iron.  Iron was well-known for keeping witches firmly underground when they had departed this mortal coil.   In some cases, the joints of bodies of suspected witches were riveted together with iron bolts just to make sure they could not return from the grave.

They do say that if you run around the church anti-clockwise three times on New Year's Eve, you will come face to face with the devil.

On Halloween, the police have to close the road in and out of the village due to the large number of people drawn to the place by legends and folklore.

Finally, a reminder that the suggestions for Vivi Awards nominations closes this coming Sunday. Then the voting site will be announced and you have three days thereafter to cast your final votes.

 

2nd Entry Today - Old Photos

When I told the story of my Great-Grandfather and his mysterious death, I mentioned that I had a photo of some of his children.  The photograph is not good quality although we had it enhanced by a professional.  The original is so poor that he did what he could.  Anyway, I am sharing it with you today.

Going by the approximate age of the boy, this picture must either have been taken in 1892 or 1893.  From left to right they are my Grandmother Mary, long time readers will know I did a complete series of postings about her and her house quite early on in my journal.  Next to her at the back is Margaret (she is the daughter that attended the inquest).  Margaret returned to live in Scotland. I have no name of the man she married but I know she had a son George because I met him once when I was about twelve. I have not been able to trace the family.  On the right is the eldest daughter Jessie, she was the one who sadly died at the age of sixteen.  She is holding baby Lilias.  Lilias became a seamstress and married an omnibus driver who had a very similar surname to her own. They had several children.  I used to visit her in Kensington where she and her husband lived in a basement flat and all you could see from the window was legs walking past.  Unfortunately she developed a liking for drink as her father had done.  The boy is Hermon who was named after his father, my Great-Grandfather.  I managed to track Hermon up until 1921, I have a record of his marriage and the birth of four children, then he disappears.  I think he also returned to Scotland. I do know that he was a ship's steward.

The two other children had not yet been born, they were Andrew and Ellen.  Andrew was to die at 35 years of age from tuberculosis a very short time after his only child, a five year old boy also named Hermon after his grandfather, had succumbed to the same disease.  Ellen as I mentioned in the previous entry was brain damaged and spent her life in institutions although she did take holidays with her family. She was very sweet and very childlike and I loved her, everybody did.

Whilst I was getting out the above photograph, I came  across an envelope with assorted odd photos in it.  My mother had cut the photo into a strange shape for some reason, maybe she intended to put it in her locket but never got around to it.   I played about with it and got a reasonable print.  I had not seen it in years and it brought back happy memories.  It is a tiny photo and I had to enlarge it so the quality is not wonderful. This must have been one of our last holidays there, then we started going to the Isle of Wight.

It is myself and my Mother taken at Walton-On-The Naze where many of my childhood holidays were spent.  I was twelve at the time.  The little dog was a red Pekingese.  We called him Chuey although his pedigree name was Yun Chu of....... etc. etc.  He lived to be seventeen.

I also came across a photo of Becky when a teenager but she would certainly tell me off if I posted it here.  It was the days of "big hair" and she also had a brace on her teeth.  Lovely to find it though.

Talking of Becky, she Dean and the boys are away in Skegness at the moment at a holiday camp.  They chose it because there is so much for the children to do.  She phoned me yesterday and told me that Nathan is always the first one on the stage dancing to the music.  That's our boy!  They have been doing a lot of swimming and Daniel even fell asleep in a rubber ring in the swimming pool, bless his heart.  We miss not seeing them this week but they will have so much to tell us on their return.  Dean has such a stressful job, it is nice for him to get away with the family.

Have a good day everyone.