More silly stuff to break the day up

For some odd reason I can't quite remember, the national anthem just came up at work, which reminded my of this which, unlike the Gordon Brown song, I found instantly on You Tube. Enjoy.

Pizza Shut

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear.

The family are all (except DS who is allergic to milk) like pizza. Pizza of all kinds is popular, and sometimes only a Pizza Hut will do. I'm not saying that this is the finest pizza available, just that it has a certain something that others do not (DW makes finer pizzas). It is not a cheap business though, so for a treat a couple of weekends ago, while DS was away, we turned up at Pizza Hut in Newport, and ordered two take away pizzas. As is usual given the dull waiting area, the wait appeared to go on for ages. Eventually we started wondering how long it had been, and had the brainwave of checking our receipt (doh). Over 45 minutes! Just then a couple who had arrived sometime after us asked where their takeeaway had got to. It was mysteriously found, so we asked about ours, which was too. Staff were bewildered at why we were cross they had not bothered telling us our food was ready at least 20 minutes before, but eventually DW managed to collar the manager who apologised and offered to remake the pizzas (haha) or give us two free pizzas on a return visit.

Having swum our way to fitness on Tuesday, we decided to gorge ourselves on our free pizzas. We arrived back at Pizza Hut at around 7.35, DW waited at the takeway counter for 5 minutes before eventually a staff member volunteered that she couldn't order pizza, as they were closing at 8. Now, I know it doesn't take them more than 20 minutes to make a pizza if they get their act together, so this was ludicrous. And closing at 8? I can only guess they can't find staff to work for them (and would you work for an employer this inept at serving its customers). Maybe one day we'll get our replacement pizzas, and maybe they'll be hot. But we'll probably have to get there at breakfast time to be sure....

A little light relief courtesy of Weird Al

In our house we have long been fans of Weird Al's ebay song, but yesterday DW came across a veritable treasure trove of Al's stuff on You Tube. A particular favourite is a classic Star Wars song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-gi4Nt_xxg but there are just too many great songs to list, go watch.

Isn't it obvious I'm not sweet enough?

If I want a diet drink, I'll buy a diet drink. If I don't, it appears I'm stuffed. Bought a can of RWhites (I think) lemonade (actually a colleague kindly bought it for me as I had run out of money so resorted to scrounging) only to discover it was stuffed with artificial sweeteners. Yuck! I understand some people prefer diet drinks, like their teeth more than I do, want to keep their colorie intake down etc. etc. Fine. But why can't we have an alternative, with tried and tested sugar for those who want it? You can now have a 0 cal cancer causing drink (allegedly) or a 40 or so cal cancer causing drink (allegedly). They both taste foul. This isn't the first time this has happened, cheap brands have been at it for a while to avoid nasty expensive sugar, but the big brands.... shame on you.

Gordon Brown Spitting Image Song

Am I the only one who remembers this? Spitting Image song to the tune of "Golden Brown" but with words changed to suit Gordon? I was amazed I never heard it when he took over as PM. I can't find it on You Tube either, despite loads of other Spitting Image songs being on there. Did I dream it?

Disenchanted.....

...with being disenchanted.

Life is good. I know I like to have a grumble and moan here, and that's the point of the blog, but really, I'm sick at tired of petty grumbling (he complained). Sometimes living here on the Isle of Wight we forget just how lucky we are to live here, and instead spend our time complaining about the cost of housing being pushed up by holiday home owners, overners (like me (an overner that is)) etc., the high cost of the ferries, the poor standards of the local authority, the lack of facilities at the hospital (like any other population of under 135,000 has there own general with A&E, maternity etc. etc.). I know there are issues with some of these things, but if we *just* complain endlessly, does that really help?

So this post is dedicated to the fantastic beaches, vibrant arts scene, vast array of festivals and activities, laid back attitude, fantastic countryside, friendly people, great restaurants and cafes, hundreds of miles of footpaths and bridleways, brilliant off road cycle tracks and fantastic home education group on the Isle of Wight. As for the stuff that's not so good, lets work to make it better. And lets not just rely on the government (central or local) to do that for us. No use grumbling, do something positive instead.

Please note: normal service of muttering and moaning will be restored shortly.

Give way to those travelling uphill...

I was going to rant about car drivers not giving way to cyclist travelling uphill, but see the Weekly Gripe has beaten me to it. (Great title by the way!). I share their grievance. Travelling along National Cycle Network 23 I had the same problem the other day. In a car, stopping to give way to a bike takes mere seconds and no effort (unless you count depressing the brake pedal). By following the correct procedure you will, however, save the cyclist from losing momentum, and expelling lots of effort restarting on a hill. Get a grip guys, it costs you mere seconds.