For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.
35 Comments CherryPie on Jun 25th 2010
For some time I have been meaning to try out the option of emailing photos to Flickr so that they auto-post on my blog. I know it worked on Blogger, but the photo sizes didn’t go with the templates that were available at the time and as I am fussy about layout I decided not to go along with it. I thought it might be fun to take pictures on my mobile phone when I am out and about and upload the photos whilst I was there.
For now I am emailing from my computer and if that works I shall try again to configure my mobile phone to send emails. I struggled with it last time but I think I know where I went wrong.
Below is a picture that I took from the top of Clifford’s Tower. I thought I was very brave going up there because I don’t do heights very well!
Testing Email to Flickr to Blog, originally uploaded by KirscheTortschen.
6 Comments CherryPie on Jun 25th 2010
Clifford’s Tower is the castle keep and originally it was surrounded by a moat fed by the river Foss. It has three essential parts:
- The grass-covered earth mound which dates from William the conquerors reign
- The stone keep that was built on the orders of Henry III in the mid-thirteenth century
- The gatehouse that was erected in the seventeenth century to replace an earlier entrance
The English Heritage guide book gives a brief summary:
Clifford’s Tower is the central strong-hold of York Castle. The castle was first built by William the Conqueror to secure his hold on the north of England. It featured earthwork defences, a timber tower on top of the mound or motte, and domestic buildings in the courtyard (now occupied by the law courts and museum). Over a century after its construction, in 1190, the Jews of York took refuge from a murderous mob in this tower. This tragic episode ended in their mass suicide, during which the tower was consumed by flames.
It was rebuilt in stone by Henry III between 1245 and 1272, and has since survived floods, fire and partial destruction. Little now remains, however, of the curtain walls, towers and gates of the courtyard or outer bailey.
14 Comments CherryPie on Jun 24th 2010
I am sure you have all had enough of meetings by now, I know I have. So I shall now return to York and the photographs of the Blue Bicycle that I promised to post.
The food was excellent and I would certainly go back again next time I visit York. Instead of the normal bread roll on a side plate we were presented with little flower pots of freshly baked bread served with a slice of roasted garlic bulb and butter.
For my main course I decided to try something different and opted for pan-fried Bubble and Squeak with poached Duck Egg and Brown Sauce, it was delicious. By the time I had finished the main course I was quite full so I opted for a light dessert. I chose a contrast of Apples with Cinnamon Shortbread which was apples set in apple jelly with apple sorbet served in a glass cup, which was nice and refreshing. I must confess that it wasn’t until I had half eaten the desert that I remembered I was supposed to be photographing it! So on this occasion you will have to use your imagination 
10 Comments CherryPie on Jun 23rd 2010
Sound Asleep
You close your eyes and you will see
Micro-flashing neon lights
Open your eyes and you will see
It still looks like the same thing
Lie and wait for sleep and listen
To your heart beat too fast for sleep
Close your eyes and you will see
The sound asleepI want to go, I want to go
I want to go down to go to sleep
Your frame of reference
Is my swimming poolMy, my swimming pool
Still looks like the China Sea
Pool to sea and finally
The sound asleepFeel the muscles in your face
Twitch, relax, remembering
Everything that went down and will go down
I want to go down to sleepInsomnia, no sleep disease
Petties parking, feed me please
Lie and wait for sleep and listen
To your heart beat too fast for sleep
12 Comments CherryPie on Jun 23rd 2010
I had yet another meeting today which I won’t dwell on too much except to say it was in my lunch hour, it was about the proposed public sector cuts and the person who had asked me for a lift to the meeting was trying to dictate to me what time I would leave to go back to work. It didn’t matter what time the meeting finished he had decided we were leaving at a certain time, luckily the meeting was quite short because I had my deaf ears with me today
Even so, after the meeting when I spoke briefly with a few of my friends and colleagues before going back to work he was off out of the door and hovering impatiently in the corridor!!
Comments Off CherryPie on Jun 22nd 2010
Today has been rather hectic and it is nice to get home and relax. The first thing I had to do this morning was phone the RAC because I had received a letter stating that I hadn’t paid. I pay by direct debit so the card must have run out. When I got through to the number on the letter the lady on the other end kept telling me I had phoned the wrong number until I read out the letter to her. She then apologised and said I don’t know why they have put you through to me and then transferred me over to another number where I was put on hold listening to music for some minutes . Eventually I managed to sort out the problem with them.
Now on to the meetings. The first one was before lunch and it was the local Whitley meeting. For those of you that don’t know, this is where management and the Trade Unions meet to discuss matters of the moment including any current concerns and issues. The meeting ran smoothly as usual and finished within an hour; all meetings should be like this. The second meeting was in the afternoon and it was where staff got together to discuss their problems and concerns. This one was not at all like the morning session and at times there were several discussions going on at once. I am glad that I wasn’t writing the minutes! After a while the head of our business unit joined us so that we could ask him questions direct. Unfortunately I had to leave early to attend a pre-arranged appointment and felt a little bit rude in doing so.
The appointment I left for was a visit to the crematorium with my mum and brother. We had arranged for my dad’s ashes to be scattered in the Garden of Remembrance and we wanted to be present when they did this. We were a little taken aback when asked if we had walked round the garden and chosen a spot. We were expecting them to tell us where! After being given a little tour of the garden so we could decide, we chose to have the remains scattered in the willow meadow in the shade of a tree and overlooking the pond. There is even a bench nearby and you all know how I love to sit and ponder on a bench in a garden. The weather even had one of its special sunny moments for us.
Then to save the hassle of cooking an evening meal we walked from my mum’s house to a local Italian restaurant and had an enjoyable meal. There is a bit of a back story about the restaurant too, but I shall save that for another day.
PS: I forgot to mention that the meal was accompanied by church bells. The local church has just had it’s bells restored after many years and the bell ringers were practising. It brought back so many memories of listening to those very bells in years gone by 
6 Comments CherryPie on Jun 21st 2010
