Dear Tina

I recently received this correspondence from Chris N regarding my blog:

Tina, I don't want to be that guy but I can't help but notice that your blog hasn't been updated since the 17th of October. We all had a good giggle over the grapes but I think it times for some fresh material. I understand you're very busy/so much as happened since your last post you don't know where to start. Therefore I thought I would make it easier for you by giving you three topics you could choose to write on.

1) A tavel story. Whether it was a quick trip on the bus to town or a flight to some obscure place (like the Isle of Man), traveling places usual means funny/awkward/rewarding/embarrassing experiences. We would appreciate getting to laugh with/at you as you travel.

2) A childhood anecdote, preferably one which connects into an experience which you had recently, thus bringing together the past and present together; some might call it a historical rainbow (okay, by some I mean me).

3) The impact of Larkinism on the Irish Working Class

Now you have these handy topics to focus on, I'm looking forward to a new blog entry any day now.

Well Chris, thank you for your feedback. The management has taken the matter seriously and would like to offer this reply. 

Let me deal with the points, in order:
1. I had no idea there is a stereotypical blog monitoring guy, but I am thrilled to have one!
2. I'm glad you liked the grapes. I like the alliteration you used in that sentence. Truthfully, if I'd realised that photo was what had been greeting Princess visitors since October I would have updated more quickly.
3. I am very busy and so much has happened since I last posted; how well you know me!
4. Thank you for the material ideas. Following this post will be a blog on each of your helpful suggestions!

Also, if you could kick my butt into gear in other areas of my life I would be most appreciative.

Item 1 will be to create a butt kicking list.

The awkward silence

It didn't start out awkward but it definitely is now. I didn't mean not to blog in 2013, it just sort of turned out like that. And once you don't blog, the stories build up and then it becomes more awkward because you have too many stories to tell you don't know where to begin.

I've been asked by, literally units of people when I'm going to blog again. Ruth even asked me when I was going to delete my blog. I'm surprised she asked me that though because she lived through Lost in Space and knows I throw nothing away and the collection of stories, photos and recollections this blog brings up for me is far too valuable to throw away just out of embarrassment at not having blogged for seven months. I mean really, what's seven months between friends, eh?

At some point though, you just have to take the bull by the horns or the blog post by the keyboard and put something down. So here it is. My first blog post to break the awkward silence. So how have you been keeping...?

My view of 2012

I have neglected my blog this year. In all my years blogging, which I think you'll agree are numerous, I have never blogged so little. But today, the last day of 2012, I would like to give you my view of 2012 (this is based on the joke my parents used to make when we were 'revising'..."more like vision" they'd say. You can imagine how well that went down.

Blogging so little makes it seem like 2012 wasn't a good year. And it was, it so was.


Let's (re)view, shall we?

1. I was a vegetarian. For a whole month. One of the highlights of this was definitely Spinach Pie. 

2. I made a spaceship and made a little boy's dreams come true by picturing him with his hero.

3. I saw the stupidest car that ever lived.

4. I visited Emma in Nashville and went back to North Carolina on a mammoth one day road trip.

5. I judged a singer/songwriter contest show in Franklin, TN. (All the restaurant guests did, this wasn't based on my previous experience of CHW's Got Talent 2008).

6. I went skiing in Colorado. I heart skiing. I heart Colorado.

7. I was skiing on St. Patrick's Day - for the third time in my life, quite an achievement I'm sure you'll agree.

8. I saw where the best burger in Denver is served. Unassuming I think you'll agree. They weren't open, otherwise I might have checked the veracity of their claim.

9. I was interviewed for local TV in Denver. I don't know if they ever showed it though.

10. I went to Mile High Stadium on the day Tim Tebow's future was unclear.

11. I had a cake decorated for me celebrating my dedication to CHW. Although, also accurately points out that I have been '1986-2012 minus some'.

12. I joined the rest of the smart phone world in playing Draw Something. These are two of my favourites. I though I really got the spirit of New York and covered Ringo's career highlights accurately.

13. I went to Serbia.

14. I did some Serbian dancing. Well, it seemed only polite.

15. I drank some Serbian rocket fuel. They don't market it as that though.

16. I made cake pops. They are the ultimate in bake-faffing.

17. I saw the Olympic flame. Lots, actually. But this photo is in Belfast.

18. I went to the Olympics. Oh my goodness! I went to the Olympics and had the time of my life! At some point I'd like to blog properly about the experience.

19. For now I will say this: being in the stadium on Super Saturday was one of the best nights of my life. (The Opening Ceremony would definitely be another.)

Jessica Ennis on her lap of honour with the other heptathletes. And, why yes that is the sandpit that Greg Rutherford had just jumped into on his way to Olympic Gold. (We were much closer than this picture would make it seem.)

20. I learnt that Rhythmic Gymnastics is a lifeskill. Granted this was from the commentator in arena; he may have been biased. (Yes, rhythmic gymnastics, it wasn't all about Team GB gold medals.)

21. I rode the London Underground with Becky Adlington and the Team GB swim team .

22. In other famous swimming news from 2012, I met Ian Thorpe. 

23. I got the plane with Austin O'Callaghan. He was on his way back from the Olympics too.

24. I got a fringe. And then I grew it out. 

25. I got to go to meetings where things like this are at your place. Yes! 

26. I made beer butt chicken. And proved that life is a Friends episode.

27. I moved out. Again. And into a house where these get made...and there's spares sometimes! Yes!

28. I spent way too long looking at these blue chairs when I was waiting to hear that I hadn't broken my jaw.

29. I carved an Ulster pumpkin. It was my first pumpkin carving so I was fairly chuffed with my efforts. 

30. I saw Ben Howard live. Keep your head up, keep your heart strong.

So that's 2012. I loved it!

But like Jed would say 'what's next?'

Ee by gum

Shut up. It still counts as this week, even though I blogged last Sunday that I would blog this past week.

So here's the list of stories I need to blog about:
Movies (January '12)
Visiting Emma (March '12)
Visiting NC (March '12)
Flying to Colorado (March '12)
Colorado (March '12)
Serbia (May '12)
Getting home from Serbia (May '12)
Exam answers (June/July '12)
The Opening Ceremony of the Olympics (July '12)
The Olympics in general (July/August '12)
My new house (August '12)
Music (January - September '12)

So with that list in mind I'll start with my visit to the dentist this week. (Leave it.)

I have had that nightmare that your teeth fall out and it is horrible because I like my teeth. When I was at summer camp, I got hit in the mouth by a tree branch that someone was moving. I know, I don't know quite how it happened either. But I do know, even today, what my first words were afterwards: 'Are my teeth all still there?' Thankfully they were. What appeared over the next hours was a bruise on my chin the size of China. (Which is not to say I've got a chin the size of China, but that the bruise was massive.)

So I like my teeth and they are surprising good for all the Coke I drink. I didn't get a filling until I was 28. Actually, I may have been 29, I can't remember, but I know it was after Singapore. I have a couple more now, but all in all they're not bad.

Up to August, I'd only ever had one dentist. My entire life only one person had ever looked at my teeth. I never needed a dentist in NC or Singapore. But she retired and closed her surgery last year. I was beyond sad because I trusted her and I liked that she knew my teeth and knew exactly what had been done. Her children were about my age, and Peter had gone to YF at the same time as me, so we used to catch up on what we were all doing. Knowing I was a teacher, she'd ask me about the Transfer Test and its merits. That's when I made it a policy never to disagree with someone who's about to mess with your teeth.

I've started going to a new dentist now and it's different. Firstly, she's young. Like younger than me. And she has a dental hygienist so rather than Ms. McVeigh just having a look in silence and then telling me what needs done, this girl talks to her dental hygienist and gets her to...pass her things that I don't know what they are. The other thing that is weird is that the seem to use my chest as some sort of tool bench for setting down these unknown instruments. Ms. McVeigh never did that. In fairness though, Ms. McVeigh never put that apron thing on me or those weird glasses (to stop 'flying debris' getting in my eyes apparently. Eh what?!)

But the thing I miss most about going to the dentist is the waiting room. Now, don't get me wrong, the waiting room in this place is lovely, very modern and clean. But there's no picture of Foggy, Clegg and Compo. You know, from Last of the Summer Wine.

There is it, in all its former glory. Also, check out the gold patterned wallpaper. Another gem.

I had to take it sideyways to stop my reflection. I hope it doesn't diminish its beauty.

Honestly, I can't tell you the hours I've spent wondering why there was a picture of the three amigos in my dentist's. So much so, the last time I was in there I had to take a photo of it.

I mean, why would you even buy it, let alone put it up in a place where other people will see it?

Distracted

I plan on blogging this week. So much to write about sometimes it's hard to know where to start. At the beginning I suppose. But this week? This week I plan to make my comeback to the blogging world for it has missed me.

I'm sure.

Shocking Princess performance.

I must do better at blogging.
I must do better at blogging.

I must do better at blogging.

I must do better at blogging.

I must do better at blogging.

I must do better at blogging.

I must do better at blogging.

I must do better at blogging.

I must do better at blogging.

I must do better at blogging.

Seriously. I don't think I've ever gone that long without writing anything on here. Tomorrow is May. Tomorrow is my comeback. Tomorrow I will start to fill you in on the past six weeks. Well, the exciting parts anyway.

Unless of course I don't.

Sounds promising eh?

'Resolutions'

My resolution this year was to write more. I wrote my dissertation, all 20,000 words of it (60,000 if you include appendices. Just saying.) So check that one off the list.

I also vowed to blog more. And I did do that too! Last year I blogged 64 times. This year, I'm up to 66. Oh yeah! I say 'up to' because obviously this one will make it 67. Plus if you include the drafts that I never quite published (but am about to) I'll beat the dizzy heights of 2009 level blogging. Not sure the glory days Princess blogging in 2005-2007 will ever return. Ah, glory days.

I'm not sure the point of resolutions is to do them on the last day, but I do like the pressure of a deadline.

Click here to read:
I've got a golden ticket
Old computers
Crafty games

How long have I been away?

I thought it was only a couple of weeks but I came back on here tonight (at Jud's insistence, poor girl is in Ibiza with nothing to do but to read my blog apparently) and Blogger is all different. Honestly six years on here and it's hardly changed but tonight when I came on...bam! I didn't know what I was looking at. I couldn't find my dashboard, when I found that I couldn't see where to press to get a new blog. Heck, I even had to pause the DVD so I could concentrate on it. Even now I'm sitting open mouthed at the changes. Sorry if you don't blog and this means nothing to you, but it really is different. I feel like an emigrant arriving back to the old country to find there's a motorway through your father's farmland. It's the same, but it's so not the same.

Anyway, yes three weeks I've been away and 'where have you been?' I hear you cry. Well let me tell you:
1. I marked exam papers.
2. I went to Wimbledon. Yes again! I know!
3. I marked more exam papers.
4. I graduated.
5. I marked even more exam papers.
6. I met up with Clare and the girls from Singapore. Not in Singapore you understand.
7. I marked yet more exam papers.
8. I watched The Kennedys.
9. Yes, you guessed it, I marked more bloody exam papers.
10. I got sucked in and watched some golf. What the what?!

So I think we can skip on past the dullness that is exam papers, until the now annual exam answers post. And Wimbledon will probably be a post on its own, so we'll start at point 4, graduating.

Graduation
Good times. It seems a lifetime ago I graduated with my undergrad and as Queen's robbed us of a graduation for our PGCE, so I enjoyed this one. It was nice to see the girls who were on the course with me, especially after the lonely year of dissertation writing. James Nesbitt was the honourary grad at my BA and it's good to see he's traded that in to become Chancellor of the University now. I, along with every other graduate, got to shake his hand as we walked in front of the stage. After the Arts PhDs, I was the sixth person and I desperately thought of something witty to say in my 0.5 seconds, but instead settled for 'Thank you. Thank you very much' which might have made me sound a bit Elvis. Excellent.

We had front row seats, it gave an opportunity to take a few surreptitious photos. Yes, I'm sure Jimmy didn't notice me at all. 

At the end of the ceremony, we got our Bucks Fizz and so happened to be at the door where our dear Chancellor emerged. To scared to ask for a photo, we (oh yes, more than just me) settled for this instead.

That's me and my friend Jimmy there. He just had to step away for a minute.

Our honorary grad was the Director of Amnesty International UK, Kate Allen and the actress Susan Lynch. Kate Allen made a very nice speech and was clearly there to please the academics, Susan Lynch...well she said thank you and that was about it. Awkward. (Turns out Susan Lynch plays James Nesbitt's wife in Monroe. Wonder who suggested her for this award then?)

A big change I noticed since undergrad was in the hat throwing rules. I think it was the first or second year of the hats when I graduated first time, and it was forbidden to do any sort of American movie style throwing of the hats. Not now. In fact I saw one official photographer expressly ask for it from a group of graduates. If you can't bet 'em, join 'em eh?!

Getting ready for the catch, my face isn't as carefree as it should be.

Clare and the girls
They're getting so big now (I'm talking about the girls here). Fionn is 6! Caoimhe is 8! Clare is much the same I suppose. We went to Carrick Castle and they loved it (again the girls, Clare could probably take or leave it, like most of us I imagine. Makes me miss them. Especially as Fionn as absolutely no memory of me ever being in Singapore. Not even for the return trip in 2009. Sad face.

[At this point I'd put a picture of us, but I haven't imported the photos yet and my camera is all the way upstairs.]

The Kennedys
I had this on Sky+ for ages but hadn't watched it. Then our Sky+ started to die a slow painful death, you know the kind that's hard to watch (believe it or not, no pun intended). But you know what I mean, I was forced to watch them all this week, box set style, in that I nearly ODed on them. If you haven't seen it, I wouldn't bother. It's not brilliant. I can't really put my finger on why; Greg Kinnear is decent, maybe labours the MA 'cah pahk' accent, Katie Holmes is nearly convincing as Jackie, Bobby kind of emerges as the star of it, albeit with some remarkable teeth. So all that considered, it must be the script, it's just a bit...well fake. No wonder the US History channel dropped it.

With our Sky+ dying we're upgrading to HD. We don't have an HD TV but never let that stop you in upgrading to something you don't really need. True to form Sky offered us an engineer a matter of weeks after we phoned up, so in the meantime we've a Sky+ box that only sometimes records programmes set, won't pause or rewind live TV and won't work on half the channels. Good, good. Oh and we daren't turn it off for fear we'd lose even that.

Golf
I'm sorry, I don't know how this happened. I don't even really understand the rules of golf. Well, yes, less hits the better but somehow I've been drawn into it even though I don't even consider a sport. Conclusive proof of this came today when Darren Clarke, leader of the Open, on his third round was caught on camera having a smoke. I'm sorry, any sport where it's acceptable for the leader to be having a smoke part way through is not a sport. Sports need to be physical, get your heart racing a bit (not through nicotine intake) and some degree of physical fitness. They don't even carry they're own bags for pity's sake! That said, something about it has had me watch about eight hours of it today and yesterday. I blame Rory.

I'm back!

As you might have gathered from my previous post a few weeks ago I took a little break from technology. It was nice actually. So nice that I still haven't tweeted anything since I started reading tweets again. I kind of feel like I have nothing to say now. I think once I tweet something though, that'll be it, the flood gates will have opened and I'll be back tweeting all the time again! But for now it's Twitter silence from Tinaarena22.

I found it too hard to be at my computer most of the day and not to check all those sorts of things. So I went cold turkey for a while. Why was I at my computer most of the day? Well, I finishing off my dissertation, silly! It was long. 75,000 words long. 180 pages long. See, long. Now, don't get too impressed there, only 20,000 words were mine, the rest were interviews and appendices and what not. 

According to my supervisor they 'added weight to my argument'. Yeah, no kidding.

As is the rule with anything to do with Methodism and their relation with anyone else I was obliged to use the 'Friends of all' motto in my title. No, seriously, it's a rule. 

There'll be more of my research findings in the coming blogs. Oh, not serious stuff! Stuff that might make you laugh!

Since I finished it I have:

1. Got my hair cut. This was an important part of my week of celebration.

2. Started back to walking, with a view to starting to run again. In the latter half of last year I ran twice. Twice! What with getting a bike and then a knee injury (doesn't that make me sound sporty?!) I didn't do any real exercise towards the end of last year. In 2011, unless we're counting skiing, I have done nothing. The infamous 'Golden Steps' currently have me beat. Honestly I sound like a smoker going up them. Not for long, I will beat you Golden Steps!

3. Tried to sort out my iTunes. This was prompted by Ruth getting a new computer. She joined the Mac Club and so has now realised how much fun computers are! She's even started her own blog, with a nod towards her new addiction!

4. Watched The Good Wife. Well not all of it, but a lot of season 1. Bethem sent me a message when I was skiing asking if I'd ever seen Miranda. I said no, she said I would love it and she'd lend me the boxset. So ever keen for a new TV show I reminded her to lend me and I got given The Good Wife instead, something to do with her sister already lending to someone else or something, not that I'm complaining, I love it! And all of season 2 is 4OD. So once I finish this I'll be able to catch up on recent developments! Win.

Next I'm supposed to be doing the job that I put off last summer: tidying my roofspace. That'll be a major piece of work and it'll be a trip down memory lane because I have thrown nothing out. Since we moved, when I was ten, I have barely thrown out so much as a cardboard box. Everything in the eaves beside my room. Well not everything, the rest is in David's old room. It's going to be painful. 

Maybe I'll go for a run just to avoid it?

So that's Christmas for another year

After a disappointing November, December hasn't turned out to be any better in terms of blogging. I thought I had it cracked, I had things I wanted to blog about and nothing. No blogs happened. Much like writing my dissertation. I'm looking forward to 2011 because (hopefully) this thing will be done. Although it's hard to imagine that right now. Agh. Motivation, where for art thou?

So today I give you my new year's resolutions:

1. Write

This applies to both here and dissertation. I like writing my blog, I should write more often. I like learning stuff, I should write about what I'm finding out.

I said resolutions plural, but I can really only think of this one. I'm not going to start crazy projects (let's not mention the dismal end to project 365. I liked it, but blogger don't really make photos easy anymore.

Right, if you'll excuse me I must go and do something constructive to my dissertation. Well, the best resolutions are the ones you start immediately.

Happy five years

Today is my blogging anniversary, my blogiversary if you will. Much like Josh and Donna in The West Wing, I have an earlier blogiversary but I chose to celebrate this one. As five years ago today I wrote my first post on here (that actually stayed). There have been highs and lows since (I think I'm definitely in a blogging low right now) but I didn't want this to pass without it being noted. My life is so different now compared to then. And yet so strangely the same. And on here I have a record of most, ok, some of it.

Happy birthday Tina the Princess. You could start school now, if, you know, you were a real person and not a blog.

You'll find this truly inconceivable

It's 1.00am. I have to be in Castlewellan in 11 hours. And you've guessed it - I haven't packed yet.

There's no real reason for it. Mostly just down to me thinking I had loads of time only to discover that I, in fact, did not have loads of time. I had great plans of blogging this week - where I went on my bike and exam answers amongst other general stuff. But you'll excuse me if I first of all make sure that I have enough clothes for this week instead.

August. August is going to be my blogging month. Yup, August.

I did it, but I did not do my essay (yet)

Hopefully you're reading this on my all new layout? Do you like it? I think I do, although there are a lot of things that need sorting out. Like in the archives, pink is still the colour for my early posts. And I'm not sure about the columns, I might go back to two. But otherwise, I like the change to blue, I like the photo and I like the little tabs at the top. Blogger in draft is pretty cool.

So what say you?

Re-decorating without the smell of paint

I just spent about twenty minutes there looking at changing my blog template (that's the background and colours and what not). You'll notice I didn't do it. But I think I will. Maybe. I just couldn't decide if I should go all out different or stay largely with the white and pink theme. So I left it.

I realise you probably don't really care, but I've had this one since I started way back in 2005 so we've gone through some good times. In fact, when I see it on someone else's I think of mine. And if I change it this one will be lost to the mists of time (I did make some changes to the default). I might need to take a few screen shots of the little map and statue of somewhere I don't know and that little orange box that goes with nothing else before it goes forever.

I know, I'm getting all sentimental about a blog template. Seriously.

[Updated on 18th April 2010: I did change my template. Just for old times' sake here's what it looked like before.]

Put your hand up if you're not here

I just spent about fifteen minutes reading other people's blogs. I started off with people I knew and linked through to other people that I had no clue about. Most people are way more deep than I am. Part of me thinks they're smarter than me, part of me thinks they're putting up a front (or at least they have different aims from their blog).

My blog is meant to be nothing other than a way for me to let my friends know what I am up to. Sometimes (although probably less and less often) I might make you laugh about something that happened to me, other times I might, just might, make you think about something. But most times I hope I at least provide you with a tinternet doss that you were looking for.

But seriously, who are you and why do you read this? Are there people I don't know reading this? I just ramble on here about nothing in particular.

So in that vein, here is the top layer of my brain arranged in no particular order:
-I went to the supermarket yesterday. I bought lizard traps for the geckos and it made me laugh about the whole different set of problems I get in my house this year compared to last. Although the geckos are not really a problem, I have guests coming to stay and I don't want them to think they're some sort of pet. Mind you, I'll get rid of the traps before they come. They might get scared if they knew!
- I also got a window cleaner (the instrument not the person) as I noticed my windows weren't the cleanest and I have guests coming. They better notice clean windows.
- I didn't eat dinner tonight. This was mostly because I ate chocolate (so as not to be too specific I shall be cryptic but it's the most geometrically interesting chocolate and the kind you tend to get in the airport). It was given to me by a parent whose child is pretty much getting bullied. I must be a great teacher, I haven't even really begun to try and help and I'm being showered with gifts! Huh! Maybe it's a bribe? Although for what I am not sure.
- I watched 'The Last King of Scotland' the other night. Fantastic film, although not a popcorn film but so many things going on in it. I talked about it today in two separate classes and am seriously thinking about some sort of History movie club in school. This might mean that I actually see 'Schlinder's List'.
- I laughed with my class about 'The Pianist', not that it's a funny film at all, but if you're 15 and still adjusting to a NI accent then what you hear when I say 'pianist' is funny. (It helps to adopt the brain of a fifteen year old.)
- I also showed some Peter Kay to my class the other day. The bit about emergency chairs. They didn't understand him but I laughed to watch it again. Thinking all this might be contributing to why we are a few weeks behind the plan. Oops, but I am educating the whole child!
- I'm waiting for Grey's Anatomy to start, that's why I'm still up.
- August 07's playlist contains:
Kings of Leon - Fans (they were in the Live Lounge an age ago doing this and it sounded unbelievable!)
Better Than Ezra - Desperately Wanting (you'd know it if you heard it)
Heaven 17 - Temptation (sang this all week because I was teaching a lesson on, yes, temptation. I didn't sing to the class because I didn't think it was target.)
- but also really like that Plain White Ts song and seem to rememeber liking Scouting for Girls when Scott was in for Chris a week or two ago but I have never knowingly heard it since so I can't be sure that was it.
- really need to back up my computer as I think it is now only a matter of time before it pops it.

C2K: now worldwide

There has been a disaster in school. Classroom 2000 or C2K, bane of every student and teacher’s happy dossing on tinternet has reached Singapore. For those of you who simply remember school computers as BBC computers with that cat and mouse game, or Pod, or that thing in the corner of the library where you had to type in a million commands to get it to even print one thing, let me explain. Classroom 2000, is the network that NI school computers runs on. And with that comes a web marshall thing that prevents you from accessing anything untoward. Fair enough you say, school is not the place for porn! I quite agree. But it often means that the most harmless of sites is inaccessible, such as the National Farmers’ Union. It also means that you can’t look at things at home and expect to be able to use them in school.

Well, it seems that not only can I not get onto the Radio 1 website in school (I miss Chris Moyles!) I can no longer access Blogspot! Gutted! What am I to do in my free periods now if I can’t blog?!

Anyway, here is something I tried to put on on Monday.

Sony Ericsson 1 - 0 Blogger Beta

So last night I was playing with my phone and discovered I could blog from my phone! Except that I can't transfer those blogs to Blogger Beta only the old Blogger. Grr! So you can go here to see what I put up!

No seriously, sign up for Blogger Beta, it's great.

Blogger Beta Appeal

So last night I signed up to Blogger Beta and on the whole I am quite pleased. The layout works well and you don't need to know HTML (or in my case guess at HTML) to modify your template. You'll also notice the wonderful new labels and archiving system and you can change the heading fonts and colours easily. Publishing happens more quickly and you can see how many comments have been made to each post on your edit post list page. The only slight minus I came across (until now) is you have to work on your template if you have links, clocks and weather ladies.

There is a bigger downfall in the plan for me now. With Blogger being part of the Google empire it would have made me sign up for a Google account. Perhaps all Greek to you I appeciate, but basically because I already had a Gmail account, that is now what I sign in under, not my old Blogger ID.

And here lies the snag. Blogger Beta and Old Blogger are not compatable and now I am unable to make comments on others' blogs if they aren't on Blogger Beta. Neither can I sign in under my old Blogger ID.

So in the long term, if you have a (Blogger) blog that I comment on from time to time, sign up to Blogger Beta and then you can still value from my witty comments and pearls of wisdom.

In the short term, Rosstopher I want to see your holiday photies!

Thank you.

PS fully marks to Blogger for this ingenious idea of getting more people to sign up to the new version. Manipulative gits.

Oh lordy

I've updated blogger and in the process lost my links, weather girl and clock!