Sweet Dreams

James got me thinking about the things I love in life. From his wonderful description of the area, I know I would love to be here!

Dreaming lyrics
When I met you in the restaurant
You could tell I was no debutante
You asked me what's my pleasure
A movie or a measure?
I'll have a cup of tea and tell you of my dreaming
Dreaming is free
I don't want to live on charity
Pleasure's real or is it fantasy?
Reel to reel is living rarity
People stop and stare at me We just walk on by - we just keep on dreaming
Feet feet, walking a two mile
Meet meet, meet me at the turnstile
I never met him, I'll never forget him

Dream dream, even for a little while
Dream dream, filling up an idle hour
Fade away, radiate

I sit by and watch the river flow
I sit by and watch the traffic go
Imagine something of your very own
Something you can have and hold

I'd build a road in gold just to have some dreaming
Dreaming is free
Dreaming
Dreaming is free
Dreaming
Dreaming is free

Lyrics by Blondie

Blog Awards

My blog friends have been really generous and I have received 3 awards in the past week. Thank You xx
Now I need to follow the rules and share the linky love :-)

JMB awarded me with the "BFF Gold Card".

The rules for this award are:

1. Tag 5 people.

2. 4 have to be dedicated followers of your blog

3. One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world.

4. You must link back to whoever gave you the award.

For this award I choose - James, Welshcakes, Nunyaa, Sally and Crashie (new and from another part of the world ;-) )

Crushed has awarded me with the "Brilliant Weblog Award".

For this one I need to think of seven people to pass the award on too. So I nominate - Jams, Eve, Jmb, Calum, Dragonstar, Aileni and Ginro.

Dragonstar has awarded me with the "super commenter award" I nominate this award to - Crushed, Mutley, Denise, Ellee and Liz.

I think I need to create a separate page so I can permanently display the awards.

C is for Cragside

Cragside was the home of William George Armstrong. He started his career as a lawyer and later changed careers to become and engineer. As an engineer he applied hydraulics to the lifting of weights, then he moved on to gun-making and finally to ship building.

William employed the London architect Richard Norman Shaw to extend the existing house. You can probably see from the picture the different building styles to the house, the inside is just the same. It was the first house to be lit by Hydro Electricity.

The grounds are extensive and have formal and rock gardens, lakes and parkland. Far too many things to see in a day.

Cross posted @ ABC Wednesday

Mr Linky

System Failure

More joy with train journeys, or on this occasion rail tickets. I was given meticulous instructions for ordering on line rail tickets to Clapham, it was supposed to be easy and hassle free. It took me over 30 minutes, it would have been quicker to drive to the station and buy them direct from the ticket office.

Fast forward to yesterday. I had a nice leisurely walk to the station, bought the ticket for the first leg of the journey and hopped on the train. My colleague joined me along the way and we alighted the train at Wolverhampton, there was half an hour before the connecting train so we had plenty of time to pick up the pre ordered tickets from the machine. Unfortunately the ticket machine had other ideas and only supplied my colleague with a return journey ticket. Ok! No problem, someone on the help desk should sort it out, or perhaps not there was nobody to be seen. Oh dear we had to join the back of the very long ticket queue.

When eventually we arrived at the ticket desk my colleague was told that the ticket machines didn’t work properly and then was informed that, “You should really ring this number but we can help”… They delved into a box of what looked like business cards, scribbled something on it and passed it across. What he received was a card pre printed in large red letters with the words ‘SYSTEM FAILURE’. The outward journey details were hand written underneath. He still had no underground ticket, which could only be purchased in London. We dashed across the bridge and by now I am sure you have guessed we missed the train (by about 20 seconds). There was plenty of time for a coffee and to witness another incident….

A little while later my colleague spotted someone filling up the machine with blank tickets and helpfully told them that the machine wasn’t working properly and the reason it was empty was because half the tickets just had the word 'VOID' printed on them. The response he got was ‘I am only here to fill up the machine’.

Utter madness, why didn’t they just turn them off and put up a sign saying ‘Out of Order’?

I Am Not a Number...

The Financial Times have reported that on Friday the Home Office awarded Thales a four year contract to help deliver the national identity scheme project. The contract is worth £18 million and Thales have been tasked with designing and testing the computer system that will deliver the national identity database and the cards.

Firstly what a surprise yet another scheme being pushed through without a proper public debate. Secondly I can see this being another Public Sector IT disaster, which will cost far more than expected and will ultimately be undeliverable. Another huge waste of tax payers money.

PCS are strongly against the national identity scheme and consider it a threat to our personal data. They are not prepared to sit back and let the scheme sail through unhindered.

"After the loss of 25 million people's personal details and National Insurance numbers in the past last year, and the recent revelations that DVLA has already made £15m by selling our personal details to car park operators and wheel clampers, the Identity Cards Act of 2006 now looks less like a sensible way of serving the public."

The current estimated bill of £19 billion, greatly exceeds the originally proposed estimate meaning the government has to seek efficiencies in order to deliver the scheme.

"While computer consultants continue to be paid private sector rates, the first 100 Identity and Passport Service (IPS) jobs have already been axed in Glasgow and pay rises stifled."

Actions you can take to oppose the scheme:

• Ask questions, demand answers and protest – email Union Liaison for advice

• Visit no2id to download more about he campaign and join NO2ID

• Visit NHS Confidentiality for a model letter to demand your name is not placed on the NHS Spine database ‘automatically’

• Renew your passport now, before it gets irrevocably linked to the national identity register

• If you have children in education, tell the school you forbid them to fingerprint your child; if they’ve done it, ask what is being done with the record.
  

More on the PCS Campaign can be found in the latest edtion of Activate.

PhotoHunt - Cloud(s)

These were all taken in the Lake District on my holidays last year. The sky looks quite ominous, but it didn't rain once whilst I was there. I love lake Buttermere and the way it changes colour every time I see it. I shall have to collect some of my photos together and share them in a blog post with you.

For more PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.

From THE CLOUD
I BRING FRESH showers for the thirsting flowers,
From the seas and the streams;
I bear light and shade for the leaves when laid
In their noon-day dreams.
From my wings are shaken the dews that waken
The sweet buds every one,
When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,
As she dances about the sun.
I wield the flail of the lashing hail,
And whiten the green plains under,
And then again I dissolve it in rain,
and laugh as I pass in thunder.

I SIFT THE snow on the mountains below,
And their great pines groan aghast;
And all the night 'tis my pillow white,
While I sleep in the arms of the blast.
Sublime on the towers of my skiey bowers,
Lightening my pilot sits,
In a cavern under is fettered the thunder,
It struggles and howls at fits;
Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion,
This pilot is guiding me,
Lured by the love of the genii that move
In the depths of the purple sea;
Over the rills, and the crags, and the hills,
Over the lakes and the plains,
Wherever he dream, under the mountain or stream,
The spirit he loves remains;
And I all the while bask in Heaven's blue smile,
Whilst he is dissolving in rains.

THE SANGUINE sunrise, with his meteor eyes,
And his burning plumes outspread,
Leaps on the back of my smiling rack,
When the morning star shines dead;
As on the jag of a mountain crag
Which and earthquake rocks and swings,
An eagle alit one moment may sit
In the light of its golden wings;
And when sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath,
Its Ardours of rest and of love,
And the crimson pall of eve may fall
From the depths of Heaven above,
With wings folded I rest, on mine aery nest,
As still as a brooding dove.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Stairway to Heaven