Category Archives: Family and Life

Its not all work and play there are matters personal too. In these posts I note those events in my family and life that invite comment.

Visibility wins Peoples Millions Prize

Posted on by

I got an email in my inbox today that made me smile.  I support several charities and don’t talk about it much but one of the ones I enjoy supporting the most is Visibility a charity that assists those in the West of Scotland who suffer sight loss or blindness in their efforts to live a normal life.  With the small support of myself and many, many others the charity won a prize of more than thirty thousand pounds with the Peoples Millions prize.  This will allow them to do so much more excellent work.

Huzzah!

GBS

50th Anniversary Doctor Who success!

Posted on by

Just a quick posting in reaction to last night’s 50th anniversary celebration of Doctor Who on the BBC.  I know, I don’t do reaction postings but on this occasion I will.   There are many critics and reviews of last night’s programme and the live reaction shows and so on which you can fine elsewhere but here is a link to the wiki page about the special episode.

What did the programme do for me?  I thought it was one of the finest of the new and modern episodes that is first off.  My three children sat glued to it for more than an hour which is testament to its quality.  Leaving aside the plot of the episode which the wiki will tell you I will mention my feelings about it as an event.  A cameo by THE Doctor made my night, Tom Baker, they kept that quiet but my feelings from my post yesterday was justified.   The bringing in out of the cold, finally, of Paul McGann who was short changed as the Doctor and is now official canon.  Lastly bringing Gallifrey back from the DEAD!  Can’t emphasis this one enough.  If my thinking is correct it mean that with Moffat at the helm the time lord will return to his roots in the original version of the universe.

Special surprise after ‘Day of the Doctor’ on the BBC ‘red button’, a one off accompanying short film called ‘The Five’ish Doctors’ starring Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Peter Davidson with many other characters appearing.  Well worth a watch and it beat the frankly cringe worthy after party hosted by Zoe Ball.  Have a look at the trailer below.

Well done BBC!

GBS

Children in Need 2013

Posted on by

Today is the annual Children in Need event on television and I, along with the rest of the family have done my part.   I enjoy watching the televised event and I do not donate money by phone.  I donate money by hand held boxes, by boxes in shops and by way of Girvan Primary School’s events.  Today’s event was a ‘wear your pyjamas to school’ day which mercifully it stayed dry for.  After what has been a hectic week at work (see the Havelock ESO results over on the Ion Age blog) I finished up a bit early and picked the three offspring up at the school gate.

There are a lot of charities out there…a whole lot.  In fact I have got to the point where I ignore almost all of them as the feeling of guilt at not dropping coins into every hand that reached out was getting me down at a deep level.  This does not make me a bad person.  In fact I am a ruddy good person as all who know me will point out but my resources are limited.  So I choose which I support and Children get some priority in this as does the UK so Children in Need is near top of the list (after Sense).  It is a very worthwhile cause.

So have a look, have a read.  Have a watch if you can.  Give them some money too.  If you live in the UK and you walk home after work, sometimes the child you see in the street needs your help more than you might know.

GBS

Wigtown Book Festival 2013

Posted on by
horacehaggis_2013

Sally Magnusson, Horace and The Poet

Yesterday I attended the 2013 Wigton Book Festival and I had an excellent time.  The weather was warm and sunny and there were a great many events and readings taking place across the pleasant little town of Wigton.   This was not the first time I had been, in fact last year I attended and posted here about it.  This time my prime reason for attending was once more Sally Magnusson and her creation Horace the Haggis who was out and about promoting his new book for the kiddies.

My middle son, The Poet, was literally vibrating with excitement to get into the large tent where the reading was to take place and he enjoyed it greatly.  He even got his copy, being held up proudly above, signed by the authoress who remembered him from the previous year.   My eldest went to a talk being held by Robert Harris who while discussing his new book is also the author of Talisman a board game from the 1980’s by Games Workshop which was a firm favourite of mine.  If Mr Harris was distracted by being asked about it rather than his new work he seemed delighted to discuss the game!  The smallest of the wee chaps went to a talk on Dinosaurs where he put forth his theories on evolution and asked if birds would turn back into T-Rex’s any time soon.  A picnic lunch was spread and the drive home was very nice too with the choice of music being two albums by The Alan Parson’s Project.

wigtonswag2013

Books from the Book Festival

I trawled the book shops in the town and managed to find three gems among the literally thousands of volumes in each and every shop.  You can see these above.  There is also a flyer for the special exhibit for ‘Wigton 2113’ which sadly I could not get into as it was booked out…sci-fi denied!

Fantasy Wargaming edited by Bruce Galloway is an excellent find as books about wargaming, what I do for a living mainly, are thin on the ground.  No training manual for my profession no.   I have several of these titles about different periods and genres and they are all very useful.  This one pre-dates the whole modern fantasy wargaming movement but it does give solid grounding in what is to be expected.  I look forward to reading it.  The other two are a pulp science fiction art and story  book made for children in the 1980’s in a series which if you can believe I own the others but have never seen this one missing volume EVER before.  Awesome!  Lastly a heavy weight academic text on Three Tomorrows examining tropes in sci-fi from a British, American and Soviet perspective.  Yes, Soviet.  Its not new but it dates from the same period as Terminator and Blade Runner.

If you can get to Wigton for next year’s festival then do so as it is an excellent day out.

GBS

Happy Birthday!

Posted on by

birthday2013dodo

Happy Birthday my darling wife.  Light of my life and inspirer of work and devotion unquestioned.  My adoration of you knows no bounds and your beauty is unsurpassed among all of nature’s creatures.  Is that enough….good, she put the cricket bat down.  🙂

Seriously though today is my good lady’s birthday and I have done my best to please her with gifts, food, attention, flowers and so on.  My last gift is this short display of public affection here on the blog.

Thanks also to everyone who visited today, who phoned, who sent cards and gifts.  Its nice to know friends are thinking of my good lady as she spends a lot of her time caring for children and doing favours for others.

GBS

First Appearance in Print for The Poet

Posted on by

firstbook_140913

During the week we took delivery of a special book from my children’s school.  This book, as you can see above, took entries from across the United Kingdom by children who like to write and put them into one volume.  My middle son, The Poet, is really keen to be a bit like his dear dad and to have a room full of books some of which he wrote himself.  He was one of a hundred in the book.  This is the first step as it were to becoming an author. Well done!

firstbook_2_140913

To avoid being a cynic I will point out that I was well aware that the massive seventeen pound price tag for this little book was a money making exercise but to be honest I did not care this time.  Seeing my son so happy about getting his little tale in a book was well worth the money to me.  Encouraging children is a prime part of parenthood and beyond keeping them safe, well fed and properly educated it’s at the top of the list.

GBS

Vodophone…a Customer Satisfaction Epic Fail!

Posted on by

Today is a good day.  Why you ask…well its simple.  Today I got back the near two hundred pounds that Vodaphone took from my bank account.  Let me tell you a little story.

On the 28th of August I looked at my current account and discovered that two hundred pounds was missing.  Now that is not small change to anyone.  Asking in the bank I was told it was a charge from Vodaphone against my good lady. Which was odd since she no longer had a phone contract with them having cancelled and paid if off a month plus earlier moving to another provider.  I, being a civilised fellow, thought that a quick call to the company would resolve this and get my money back.  But no….

On the evening of the 28th my wife made half a dozen calls to their call centre and I kid you not the workers there not only did not help her but they all ‘accidentally’ hung up on her during the calls.  Eventually finding a decent chap we were told that they simply did not know why they took the money as we had no account!  Don’t worry we will sort it out they said.  Time passed, time passed.  We phoned back and tried again the next week and were promised a speedy solution and a return of the funds.  Well that was the 31st of August and here we are on the 9th of September.  That is, in the age of Paypal and instant communications, nearly two weeks to get a resolution.  Just not good enough.  Not at all!

I had to cancel plans, cut down my expenditure.  No one suffered but I feel strongly enough about this to say that they just ‘stole’ the money and then sat on it.

Well done Vodaphone you moved me to make a blog post like this something I avoid normally.  You will never get my custom again.

GBS

A Present from Vegas and Boston USA

Posted on by
usa_sweets_020913

Give them Dice and Gummy Lobsters!

The Syme family got a gift in the mail this morning all the way from sunny Las Vegas by way of Boston Harbour and then back to England.  Within its cardboard walls the package contained three bags of bright red (the kind of red that only American candy customers get as those ‘e’ numbers are banned in the EU) Gummy Lobsters along with three silver metal dice.  Each of these dice filled with delicious Salt Water Taffy (something else that you cannot get with any ease in the UK).  Very kind to send these things in three’s it means that the three little Symes will not have to duel to the death over a share.

It always makes me smile when I get a gift like this.  It proves that people are good and that trying to be nice to everyone makes the world a nicer place.  Makes up for the potentially near fatal car crash I nearly had this afternoon with a primate who had both eyes on his phone and no hands on his steering wheel but…that is enough about that.

So.  Thanks Uncle Steve and Aunt Lesley!  Kisses from us all.  Expect a wee pressie from Girvan later this week or next.

GBS

A Day Trip to Belfast Zoo

Posted on by
belfastzoo1_300dpi

The Warrior and the Poet at the front doors of the Zoo

Last Saturday I went on a little day trip.  I say little, it was a twelve hour trip from here in Ayrshire across the sea to Northern Ireland, to Belfast, to visit the Zoo there.  A treat for the children and for myself since they behaved well for the whole school summer holidays and due to work it was the only holiday I got!  It was actually a scheduled day trip organised by Thomas Cook’s branch in Girvan and for just twenty pounds a person including ferry travel, transfers and zoo entry it was awesome value.

Leaving from Cairnryan Ferry Port the journey by Stenaline Ferry took just over two hours.  The ship was modern, clean, excellently equipped and the staff were very friendly too.  Upon arrival at Belfast we were taken by coach along with a group of other people on a short drive to Belfast Zoo where my good lady snapped the picture above.  If you remember I began the kids summer holidays with a visit to Edinburgh Zoo so how so the two places compare?  Well for a start the weather was much nicer in Belfast and that helped.  As far as the zoo’s compare Edinburgh is larger and has more animals but Belfast was cleaner and actually more interesting as it did not sacrifice all of its big animals for the ruddy Pandas.  Belfast had lions, tigers, elephants, giraffe and so on; all missing now in Edinburgh.  Belfast is much cheaper on ticket price too.  On balance they are both worth a day but I am more taken with Northern Ireland and might go back…ironically its closer to home too!

belfastzoo2_300dpi

Toucan play that Game!

An animal that really caught my attention was the Toucan.  I have never seen one before and its vivid colours really grabbed me.  Fantastic bird that, since I got two minutes alone with it against the glass, actually made eye contact and mimicked my motions.  Highlight of the day for me really.  Below you can see me with the Giraffe’s.  By a total fluke all ten of them were sealed in the indoor paddock.  I have never seen so many or so close, I even got to touch one that lowered it head to me.  No sugar cubes or hay from me since I had none and you never feed zoo animals don’t you know.

belfastzoo3_300dpi

GBS among the long necks!

The trip back to Scotland was pleasant enough and dinner on the ferry was well priced and good quality.  Aside from a brief encounter with a couple of ‘lower sorts’ (what is it about certain football shirts that turn human beings into morons?) which ended well enough for me, it was plain sailing.  I got myself a zoo key ring (its tradition in a gift shop to do that with me) and a discontinued Guiness bight red mug with a Toucan on it on the Ferry.

A day trip that I would recommend to anyone who lives near enough the ferry ports on the west coast to make it in a day.  Excellent Fun!

GBS

Getting Ready for School…less affordable now?

Posted on by

readyforschool2013_300dpi

The summer holidays are over and the rain continues to fall in Scotland (well it was actually a good seven weeks all in for weather this year) and my three are going back to the land of education.  Aside from this being the first time for the youngest, The Warrior, it also means the need to buy yet more school uniforms and supplies.  So off I went and bought what was needed.  I looked for bargains, for special offers, for value and then bought it three times over.  I got all that was needed and it took most of a day to do it.

Well what can I say.  Despite looking for the best offers and making a killer saving on the older two boy’s shoes the cost was more than last year.  I know there is a third child now but its more than that.  The cost of everything was up.  I ain’t moaning, I am just saying as the song goes.  I am glad I don’t have to do this more than once a year (but items do need replaced regularly!).  Above you can see most of the pile, not all of it but it gives you an idea spread out more than six feet across.

Is the new gear for school starting less affordable now.  My opinion is that despite the claims of major retailers it really is.  I won’t say how much I spent but it has left a sizeable hole in my pocket.  What do you do if you have four, five or more children…share shoes or hope the government aids you is all I can say.

Moan over…back to the positive once more! 

GBS