The hidden costs of free services… Matron, take them away!

Kenneth Williams shocked
I have managed to create a new ring-tone and text-tone for my iPhone! You can hear the text-tone below if you wish. It would have been easier to buy one but, as people tend to, I like something for nothing.

 
Indeed I often expect it. I expect my social interaction on sites such as Facebook to be free, I expect sites such as Youtube to pander to my whim to hear childhood TV theme-tunes for free, and I expect large corporations such as Microsoft to provide my email for free. In the case of my bank I not only expect them to safeguard my money for free, but also to provide me with a free online service to manage that money and pay me interest for the privilege!

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Early morning amusement

hot drink

 
One of the advantages of waking up early on a Sunday is that you get to see all the scurrilous and amusing drunken status updates from the night before, before people wake up and delete them.

Well poor show, people, I say this Sunday! Were you all just drinking ovaltine? Where’s the scandal? Where’re the embarrassing photos? Where are the indiscreet comments?

I’m expecting better next week, so go away and practice!

Cat-echism

Cat with church behind it

Early one Sunday Yasmin,
With the meows of the street-cleaner outside
Calling the faithful to morning,

I swept up to find the bed-covers woken down:
A church on my chest,
Its whiskers tickling my matins cold.

Protesting its breakfast call
For a chin of tuna or an earful of biscuits,
I prayed it would let me wake on just one more bowl.

But the tinny sermon of fishy pleas
Lightly drove me from my breath
And I rose down to find the day had taken me.

Bedded open, the curtains loudly showed
The netted calling of passers-by
Proceeding up for salvation below.

I laced the bowls with hope and donned my dream,
I buttoned my questions and my coat,
I shod my gloves and joined the stream.
 

Piano peaks

piano

I seem to have managed to learn playing 2 octaves with one hand whilst playing 3 octaves with the other on the piano! Probably doesn’t mean much if you don’t play the piano, but I’ve been trying to manage playing the 2 notes against against 3 rhythm for ages:-). Now to try for 4 against 3…

Happy Raksha Bandhan

Rakhi bracelet on a hand

Happy Raksha Bandhan everyone! I must admit I didn’t know of this Hindu festival before a kind friend gave me the Rakhi pictured. These sacred threads are given as a sign that you are considered a brother. We spent a lot of time together growing up and it’s wonderful to have friends we think of as family. Thank you, Lydia!

Bar retribution

yin-yang

Barman just gave me change from £20 when I gave him £10. After a moment’s soul searching (well more than a few moments if I’m honest) I let him know and gave it back.

He said it would have come out of his wages and got me a shot. And from now on whenever I’m at the bar no matter how many people are waiting I get served first.

£10 well spent as far as I’m concerned!

Bopping the night away

Party balloons

Nothing like making you feel old than waking up early and going for a walk along the sea front and walking past kids still bopping in the clubs down there.

They do still call it bopping, don’t they?