The Gobsmacked Bookmaker

My very first job was working in a bookmakers. It was a busy pitch and sometimes exciting. It was always rowdy and noisy. Imagine it... a bunch of punters screaming and shouting at the big screen for their horse or their dog or their team.

Every morning the boardsman would write up the racing fixtures and the odds and during the football season he would put up the football fixtures. Some of the punters were professional gamblers others were the sort that had an occasional flutter or who bet on their team religiously regardless of odds.

Bookies are canny people they know that punters (for the most part) will bet on anything - so for the most part all sporting events were covered and even a few things that had nothing to do with sport. Bookmakers offered the odds punters took them. Plenty of money was won and lost in my pitch.

Saturdays were always the busiest of days for the bookie on the days of a big match the livescore of matches would come over the intercom as well as the results for races at places like Haydock. Sometimes men would run between the pub and the bookies (the pitch was often next door to a pub) to check the race results and then run back to the pub to watch the match and sup their pints. Now livescores come in from so many mediums radio, television the internet...future betting and predicting of tournaments are fast ...maybe too fast to sup your pint!

I remember one man getting a big win when he bet that Pope John Paul 1 would only have a papacy that lasted 33 days. He sort of felt bad about his win considering the Pope had to die for him to win; but he was a flutterer as opposed to a real hardened gambler and it was lovely to see someone beating the bookie. My boss was gobsmacked that day and the man give me a £10.00 tip which was a really big tip then (half my wages)! Although they say the bookie always wins sometimes he does get gobsmacked.

That was the days before the internet. Now you can go online and check out all your match fixtures and the odds from a list of bookmakers across the country to get the best possible odds for a win. You can also place your bet from the comfort of your own home. No more trudging through all sorts of weather to place your bet. For the old timers there may be something of the atmosphere and bravado lost...but like all new ways it does seem to be catching on and if your a gambling man (or woman) you'll still get the buzz of a win (when you win).

I Love Americans

I love Americans! I just love the way they do things, it's as though they have a limitless amount of optimism to keep them going; unlike us Europeans who have a tendency towards skepticism and pessimism. Americans that I know overwhelm me with hope, and at times downright silly happiness...for often the daftest of reasons. I know, I need that sort of 'overwhelming' for what on earth is wrong with having a sunny and hopeful disposition? Not one thing at all.

It didn't seem that long ago that my friend was complaining about having to find the money to get her car serviced and then out of the blue I get an email from my friend who is staying at a myrtle beach hotel... with a ps "postcard on the way" an old fashioned mode of communication but one I still love.

She was off on some sort of romantic assignation. Having fun with the new love in her life. It was as she put it "Early enough to be still exciting, fun and romantic." As it turns out he fancied himself as a bit of a James Bond character and wanted to do the helicopter tour and the sailing charter. She felt happy enough to lay beside the pool at the Oceanfront Myrtle Beach Hotel...although she had to admit the helicopter tour was thrilling.

She told me the Oceanfront Myrtle Beach Hotels are a spectacle of grandeur and luxury that I would truly love to wallow in. She reckons I need to have a little assignation to give me a boost ...much better than a coffee and a cup cake. I agree with her wholeheartedly and ask her has her new partner got a friend.

Baby...Toyota Camry ...Won't Be Put In The Corner

I have a friend who lives in Chicago, she owns a 2005 Toyota Camry and she loves it ...it is her 'baby'. Audi loves her cycles, her bikes, her cats, her dog and her car. She talks about them with a sense of love and affection whether they are living beings or inanimate objects that are there purely as tools. She attributes personality to them all and talks about them as though they are constant companions.

Her car is 'Baby' and the last time she had it serviced she wasn't overly pleased with the results or the price. She told me "No-one puts Baby in the corner". So when it came around for its annual service she went onto Chicago Auto Repairs to get a listing of repair shops to get a good choice. She really explored her options.

When the car was finally being serviced the mechanic told her there was a problem with her water pump and it would need replaced. So, Audi had the work done. This time she was very happy. She felt Baby was running so much better. She was glad she took the time to check out the different repairs shops and get estimates. Now she and Baby are gallivanting around Chicago quite happily. As she said "No-one puts Baby in a corner".

Hush a Bye Baby

When I had my first baby my mum marveled at the things that there were for babies that made life easier for the new mum. Bottle sterilizers, disposable nappies and wipes and such stuff. She recounted how she had to boil the bottles to make sure that they were sterile and how she had to be careful with them because they were heavy glass accoutrements; the nappies were terry nappy squares that also need to be soaked and boiled and sometimes took an age to dry around the fire. "How lucky you young women are" she said "with your washing machines and tumble dryers." She was a typical grandma nothing was too good for her grand kids and she delighted in buying little things on her daily shopping trips and helping with larger more expensive things.

Now I am at the age when a lot of my friends are becoming grandmas for the first time and they sound exactly like my mum sometimes talking about the acoutrements that you can get for babies. They to, think nothing is too good for their grand kids. One of my friends bought a white noise machine and a sound machine that looks like a toy but has different comforting sounds like a mothers heartbeat and whale songs and things like that. I have never heard of these sort of gadgets but apparently they are brilliant for helping to relax a colicky or unsettled baby and I hear myself echoing my mothers words. "How lucky you young women are".

Finding Inspiration When Facing Illness

Receiving a diagnosis of any serious illness can be a devastating blow to you and your family. If it is a rare illness such as pleural mesothelioma it can be more frightening. The fact that it is a rare form of cancer makes it all the more terrifying and perhaps even more difficult to come to terms with. I for one always imagine that rare conditions are less treatable because they are rare. Though like all cancers the best way to avoid a poor mesothelioma prognosis is to have the illness diagnosed in its early stages.

Unfortunately like so many illnesses some of the early symptoms are non specific and can be mistaken for other unrelated illnesses. If you do receive a diagnosis not only do you have to consider all the various treatments that may be available to you but you also have to realise that you are at a point in your life of readjustment and reevaluation. Your attitude to illness whether it is a bit of a cold or something like mesothelioma is key to your survival or whether you can live with a decent quality of life.

This is the time you don't just need medical council you need inspiration. You need to believe in yourself and believe that your life is worthy of struggling for. Some people are consumed by illness because they start to give up or they lose the will to battle this terrifying thing when they are faced with it. I personally believe we should reach out and find inspiration and help where ever we can.

Illness (like heartache) is a universal thing and sometimes listening to or reading about other peoples experiences can help and inspire you. Paul Kraus' book Surviving Mesothelioma A Patient's guide is a practical guide and also an inspiration for anyone who is going through or having to face any serious illness.

A Smashing Bedtime Story

She caught her distorted reflection in the chrome wall mounted wine glass rack. She looked a bit of a mess. The glasses glittered in the soft lit kitchen and she swayed feeling the room go woozy. She felt a little tipsy. Happiness burbled up inside her and she wanted to giggle. Sam came in and swept her up and twirled her around. He bumped against the table and her glass tottered and then fell on the floor shattering, little bits of glass and wine spilled around their feet. They both started giggling helplessly, both drunk and both happy. Sam staggered over to the wine glass rack. "You're a smasher" he said.

"Not to worry" I bought loads of glasses when I was checking out the stemware racks her giggles burst into a fit of loud laughter. For some reason his chatter seemed hilarious. She had never heard of glass racks being called 'stemware'.

She automatically started to clear the mess up for this had become a habit since she had started to visit Sam. It seemed they broke a couple of glasses every time she was there. She was smiling as she looked up at him. He was watching her with a tender smile on his face. For a few heart beats there was silence and then he said "Aww babe your beautiful" he crossed the room and she stood up and he took her in his arms. This was nothing that she needed to analyze or think about. She felt she'd come home.

Making Connections

I have a couple of computers at home. One is a desktop an antique by Computer standards (Gateway) and the other, a Dell laptop is an old age pensioner and I have a fondness for both of them because there are so many memories attached to them both.

The Gateway was my first ever internet computer and on it I made connections with people who in my ordinary reality I would never have met. There is an argument that online relationships (or friendships) are not real but I have many happy memories of spending evenings chatting to people and developing friendships with them. With feeling a sense of caring and love growing and being interested in what they are doing in their real lives. They were all to smaller or larger degrees reciprocated and for the most part I try to keep in touch with them. All the joy and sometimes sorrow was very real in my heart and I believe there is definitely a validity to the friends we make online whether we ever meet them or not.

I am very stupid were computers are concerned and they are forever confounding me and frustrating me. Even downloading proper drivers to run programs sends me into a bit of a tiz. it is for the most part painless but part of me is terrified when I agree to download something that it will be a virus.

In my own blog an online friend has given me assistance. BC Doan has tried to teach me how to work and rearrange my layout. When I do something wrong (which has happened more than once she has come along and rescued me. She taught me how to make links to other web pages. Some of what she has taught me I have forgotten...I have had a few blows to my head over the last lot of years and I worry a little sometimes that it has affected my ability to learn and remember, but BC Doan has the patience of the proverbial Saint in my opinion.

Other friends offline or online tell me things like you need a file extension to open that document or you need to update your reader. It all sounds like gobblygook for the most part but I do as they tell me to try and keep my computer healthy because it has allowed me to make such wonderful connections with people.

Next year I hope to have more free time I intend to do a proper computer and internet course so that I may be of assistance to my friends. Who I really appreciate.

If you would like to visit one of BC Doans own excellent blogs click here

Santa Monica, California And Califa

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley ..Well I didn't really -I just think that is such a famous first line. My dream was less memorable than the Daphne du Maurier classic. Last night I dreamt I went to California, well to be exact The Santa Monica Beach Hotel. I came across their website last night when I was surfing.

I was having a mindless moment because I was actually trying to find out about Queen Califa but initially I could only find out info about Santa Monica Beach accommodations. DUH! We all have those moment I suppose. Looking at the website it made me feel a little bit wishful to visit...Ah if only I wasn't so strapped for cash.

I did eventually find a little about the myth of Califa who it is said California is named after. She was apparently a beautiful majestic black Amazonian type queen that lived on an island (which was supposed to be California). Her tribe was supposed to be a fierce tribe of warrior women. Their only metal gold. I love reading about myths and legends but this is all i could find out about Califa

Keyless Locks

Paula and Peter are very pleased with their new home in Texas, they are especially impressed with the security arrangements. The doors have those keyless locks. The ones that you use your fingerprint with. Paula said she feels very secure with this type of lock. Peter says he thinks it is a bit odd but very handy for he is forever losing his keys.

It all sounds very new fangled to me but maybe I am a bit old fashioned sometimes. Keyless locks who'd have thought it? Sometimes i think are technology is catching up with our science fiction....Never mind catching up! Surpassing it.

Moving to Texas & Customer Care with Direct Tv

My cousin who lives in New Jersey have friends who are moving to Texas. Peter and Paula (yes the two Ps...I teased them they were two ps in a pod, they thought that was hilarious-I didn't think it was all that funny). Peter has gotten a job in Texas, I'm not sure what sort of job but I assumed that it was something to do with oil wells because that is what comes to my mind when I think of Texas. Oil wells and vastness.

Peter and Paula flew out to Texas to view houses. When they settled on a house that suited them they had to organize things like electricity, phone and television. They thought that organizing the television would be the most complicated part but they have become firm fans of Direct TV in Texas All they need do is leave their dish behind and take their receiver and remotes with them when they move. They found the costumer services to be very helpful and informative. When they make the final move they get a new dish and a qualified engineer will do the rest, it will be at no extra cost to them and they can hold on to their directv package. Direct TV is one of America's favorite satellite television providers.

When they got back they sold off most of their furniture rather than organise to move it. Lyn bought me a vase I had always admired, which I am looking forward to receiving. I always marvel about how Americans do things fancy selling all your furniture rather than take it? Peter and Paula were happy enough to do that they look on this opportunity as a fresh new start. All they are bringing with them are things of sentimental value and off course their receiver and remote. Good luck to them in Texas.