Photos

These are some of the photos I took when I was on my long walk the other day. The story of the walk is in the previous post.
Enjoy!


We decided to go off the main track. The Irish equivalent of a bamboo forest...lol


We had really great weather until the end of the walk. The sun was nice but no help for the cold.


The scariest, most dangerous looking tree!!!!


A beautiful sunset at the end of the walk. We knew it was getting late when we saw this.

Sore legs

Liza and I went for a walk today with her son and two dogs. We walked for about an hour along the river and through the forest. When we got back to the car we decided to walk a bit further along a path we hadn't walked before. What a mistake!!! The path went on forever and we kind of got lost. We kept saying we would turn back but then thought that we could keep walking and get back to where we were. An hour later we finally got back to the carpark. Poor little stephen was so tired and miserable and Liza and I were dying to get home, eat, rest and go to the loo. The weather was lovely right up to the end when it started raining and added to our misery...typical. I got home at about 5 o'clock, changed clothes and tried to thaw out.

Unfortunately I had to go out again...2 more hours walking. With elections looming I went out with Dad, Stephen and Sheila and we deliver a SDLP newspaper. Up and down driveways, steps, hills....what a nightmare. At least it didn't rain though so that was something. But I will tell you something.....my legs are killing me!!!! I doubt I will be able to walk tomorrow. After 3 months of being lazy and getting no exercise to 4 hours walking in one day...my poor body.

Will post some nice pics of the river and forest soon.

Celebrity Big Brother and Collusion

Strange mix eh? Well that's the news over here in the UK.

The Race issue in Big Brother has been a national and even international headline over the last few weeks. One of the Celebs is an Indian (Bollywood) Star and she was bullied and racial abused by some other less talented, insecure, nasty, ignorant Z-listers. It was very uncomfortable viewing! The good thing that has come out of it and one of the reasons I love Big Brother as a concept, is that it has been the ultimate social experiment and has brought a few serious issues to the public who have been able to speak out against issues that have needed attention and have gone nationally unvoiced for years. Often bullying and rascism are issues that are objective by nature and it is a he said/she said kind of situation. Often the bad guy of the piece escapes justice for whatever reason. Big Brother lets us see both sides of the story and the beginnings and endings. It also lets us have a say in the consequences. A similar thing happened in last summer’s BB with Grace being vilified as the “Bitch”. Let’s hope bully Jade isn’t able to recover from the nasty things she did which have murdered her pathetic career. I personally have boycotted her and her cronies.

The second big News Story is the Police Ombudsman Report into the Collusion between the Police in Northern Ireland (now called PSNI) and the Informers/Terrorists they were handling in the 90’s. It is an ugly issue and a problem that has been talked about for years but not totally proven. The report says collusion is a fact but further investigation is needed before anything will be done in terms of prosecution. Basically details and names are being withheld until investigations start into murder investigations, which have been hampered or affected by the police. I think it is despicable that we had/have a police force full of dirty cops. It is unfortunate and something the Nationalist community have talked about for years. It is something, which comes at a bad time for local politics. An election in March is the chance for us to move forward and have our own government and our own rights but in light of these findings I fear we will be thrown into the past again and will be locked into bigot wars. The past is the past and I wish we could all try to look past it and think about the positives like the investment coming from the Republic of Ireland, which could benefit us all. Lets hope extremist politics don’t last forever and the bigots will stay in the past where they belong.

Fingers Crossed!

Reality TV

Anyone who knows me knows I love Reality TV. From Survivor (thanks to Heath), to America's next Top Model, to the ultimate....Big Brother. I am currently watching Celebrity BB in the UK and it is proving to be a little strange. The first few weeks are always a bit slow but these few weeks have been filled with arguments, tantrums, celebrity break-downs and escapes. I love it! Can't wait for the summer BB!

Quotes

"A true friend stabs you in the front"
(Oscar Wilde.)

I came across this quote in a film the other day (Can't Hardly Wait - cheesy teen flick) and I thought it was a very interesting quote. I don't know the context of this quote but I have been wondering what he meant. Does it mean that a friend will be more honest with their deceptions or that they will damage you more in their deceit. I am heading towards the latter as the most logical or the two. Anyway, feel free to give me your opinions.

I might add a quote of the week bit to my blog....either to sum up my feelings or just for general interest or....for an easy blog...who knows!!!!

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2007! Are we all feeling a little older??? I hope everyone got drunk and snogged some stranger. If that doesnt float your boat, I hope you had a good time whatever you did.

I wasnt feeling too good and decided to stay home. So, I ended up trying to keep Diesel (our lovely dog) calm because he was freaking out due to all the fireworks that were going off. Poor Diesel was scraping at the walls, trying to get behind the tv, hide under tables and generally panicking. It took about half an hour and his favourite food...cheese!....to calm him down. So, as you can see it was a wonderful end to a wonderful year for me.

To be honest I am very glad this year is over. There are so many things I would like to do differently or things that I wish I could have done. I kinda feel like the last 3 years were a bit of a waste of time. But! No regrets! It is done now and all there is to be done is to move on and start something new.

I have a job Interview next week so fingers crossed I will get this one. I didnt get the last one but as my mum and my lovely friends said "You are overqualified for that job". I am hoping that's it...lol.

Anyway, make your resolutions! I have the usual resolutions and a few others that I still have to think out but I'll let you know how I get on soon enough.

I wish you all the best for 2007! Do everything you want and don't let other people get in your way.