YIPPIE - Weve done it at last

At last, its over. We have seen some really crappy houses, I dont know how these estate agents can even have the balls to put some of them on the market, and try for full asking price. We have seen one really run down place that needed about 20K's of work doing on it, one that had a garage with an asbestos roof that would have cost a fortune to remove, and then we finally saw a small property this morning that is very much like our current home, but with potential to extend. The asking price was only 160K so well within our budget, we bid 155K, and had to go to 156K to secure the property. At last the frustration and disappointment is over. now we can start planning our move and the new extension over the garage and around the back and front of the house. sounds a massive job, but it wont be really. Ive done this sort of extension work before and the hardest part is getting the planning permission. now at least I can relax and start packing for a move end of June time.

Damn and Blast

The stupid people, they only wanted to push us up to the full asking price for a total wreck, so we told them to go swivel. We are now looking at a nice house needing no work, on the edge of town overlooking a nature reserve, for the same price. so stuff them.

A Very Expensive Week

The past few days have proved to be very expensive ones. Firstly, on Thursday evening, I had trouble driving my car, then Friday morning, I couldn't get it into gear, so it was stuck on my driveway. A call to a mechanic and a quick inspection says the clutch has gone. Therefore as I can be called on by 'The Company' to be anywhere in the country at anytime, I had to hire a car for a week as the mechanic cant fix it until later this week. Then we booked two holidays for later this year, firstly Linda and I will be going to the Costa Del Sol. I've always had a bad feeling about Spain, its the thug'ish British thing, as that's were they all seem to go on holiday, cheap booze and loose women. Perhaps I'm a bit out of touch now, but as we will be going out of school holiday times, we shall just have to see. The second holiday is a family holiday to the up and coming trendy Bulgaria. We are off to Sunny Beach, and it better be.
Then the Biggy' I sold my little house on Saturday morning to a nice couple, first time buyers, and they had me over a barrel really, so I had to drop my price by 3K. Anyway,we saw a very nicely presented 4 bed detached in the posh part of town, and put an offer of 5k below the asking price, only to be messed around and the guy then withdrew his property from the market. Never mind, we then saw a really dilapidated 4 bed detached this morning and put an offer in 20K below the asking price, as we will need to make some significant changes to the place. This offer was rejected as we expected, but we then found out that the sellers minimum price was our absolute maximum for this property, so we should know in the morning if we have a run down old wreck of a house to move into, only to spend a few quid on doing it up into a really nice place. I try and look past the decor and fittings, and concentrate more on room size and possible room layouts. This place has really good room sizes, a fair sized garden and a double garage. So watch this space for an update.

Jerry Springer The Opera - Whats The fuss About

Last night we went to Milton Keynes Theatre to see the Jerry Springer Opera. Well we heard on the local television news, that there would be many protestors there trying to prevent people from seeing the show. Now, I am all for free speech and freedom of expression, but I don't want to be pestered when going to the theatre. Anyway, we arrived a bit early expecting hassle, only to find loads of old biddies outside the main entrance area, which is about 15 meters from the main doors, and people could freely gain access to the theatre, even by the side doors where there were no lobbyists. We went inside unchallenged and went up to the 1st floor balcony and watched them sing songs and hand out leaflets, so really all in all a bit of an anti-climax (oh er misses).
Anyway, by the time the show started there were about 100 old biddies out side, so we went and watched the show. Now, I'm by no means an atheist or a Christian, but I did have a Christian upbringing and was confirmed into the Christian faith many moons ago, so I was extremely intrigued to find out what all the fuss was about. Being a big fan of Jerry Springer back in the 80's when I watched him on Sky TV, I knew he would have gays, lesbians, transsexuals and many other types of people on his show, and hoped the stage performance would have a diverse range of characters as well.
Well, we sat down to a quiet start, and It is mostly all sung, so Opera it is (well sort of), at first I found it very hard to distinguish what was being sung, but picked up on key words, and managed to put them together to make half a sentence. I later fell into the thought train of the writer and could understand what was being said or sung. This show had me laughing from the start, all the way to the end. It was hilarious. I don't know if everybody would like it, but it is FULL of VERY strong language, and features gays, lesbians, hookers and transsexuals, the KKK even made an appearance (how funny where they! Abso-bloody-lutely hilarious).
I went to this to view it as a form of entertainment. I may not be perfect (heavens above, did I say that out loud), and can accept people laughing at me and my foibles, I can accept peoples views, but I don't necessarily agree with them, free speech and all that, and yes there is references to God and stuff, but if you take this as entertainment and not as a form of criticism or the cast slating off religion it is a very funny show.
This is after all a stage SHOW, so if you can live with very strong language for 2 hours, and I mean STRONG, then you must go and see it. It's a great laugh. I haven't giggled so much continuously in a long while.

Tour of Israel, and Tour Guides in General

Last night Linda asked me if I remembered the tour guide we had in Israel, she thought his name was Rudi, but I knew it was Udi, as I have several work colleagues and very good friends over there, one or two are called Udi.
She wanted his website for a friend at work who wants to go to Israel for a religious tour. That had me start thinking about tour guides. Since my divorce in 1999, I have taken three foreign holidays a year, and therefore have had the pleasures (sometimes dubious) of many a tour guide. Most are ok, some don't really give a shit, and to date, nobody has come close to the knowledge, friendliness and enthusiasm of Udi. His motto is 'To look is one thing, to see another. But to understand... Is an entirely different matter'
This is such a true statement, so often we only look at the surface and never see beyond that.

During this tour I was dressed in a totally girly outfit, tight shorts, and girly summer top with girls trainers, we had to cover up a little at some points as it was so hot at the top of Masada, so I covered up with an Indian style feminine top. I felt so at ease in our group.

Our itinerary for this tour was:
Pickup at the Egypt / Israeli border crossing which for me was a bit of a challenge, as I visit Israel pretty regularly, I know the drill, but this was one of the worst times I have had, also as I didn't look much like my passport picture, and wearing girly clothes...... They ask you have you been to Israel before. I said 'yes', they said 'not this passport', I said, 'I don't think so', they said, 'how about February', I said, 'Um, that's about right', but I had been asked not to get my passport stamped by my boss as it was a new passport and I was expecting to go on a trip to Saudi Arabia. That immediately raised alarm bells and both Linda and I were sent a different route to everybody else through the controls. We had been first in the queue, but where last to get to our tour bus. I wont detail what we had to endure, but if your a regular to Israel, you may have some good idea's.

Anyway, the rest of the tour was fine, except we had similar problems getting out of Israel back into Egypt. The rest of the tour consisted of:
1. Travel north along the Rift Valley till the Dead Sea, lowest point on the face of earth.
2. Lunch in a Kibbutz
2. Ascend Masada - Israel's foremost Archaeological Park, via cablecar.
3. A thorough visit gives insight to the rituals, politics and culture of the people who inhabited this desert fortress.
4. Descend to the shores of the Dead Sea for an afternoon of leisure.
5. Indulge yourselves in the mineral-rich black mud of the Dead Sea, float in its therapeutic waters or simply relax at the spa.
6. Return to Eilat at the end of the day


He takes pictures of everybody on his tours, and does not overdo the religious aspect, but does use the holy book as a point of reference for parts of the visits to help explain what was occurring at these places at particular points in time.

So if you want to see some of his recent tours, go to Udi's website and have a look around. I have no idea if his prices are high or competitive, but if you want the best, you must use Udi. To date, nobody has come close to him as a tour guide.