Tag Archive | Market Harborough

Laptop drama

Jun11

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Yesterday/today, I have had what one of my colleagues very politely called a “laptop drama”. Over the past few weeks I have noticed a marked deterioration in my focus, concentration and memory to the extent that when I wanted to make an appointment to see my GP yesterday, I had to ring up the surgery and admit that I couldn’t remember her name. Now that’s quite worrying for me as I am normally mentally very dextrous and able to juggle many many balls in the air without overlooking anything.

This is just one sign that all is not well in my head-space but whilst chatting to a colleague about it I did try and laugh it off and not get too wound up about my current poor state of mind. It’s no good worrying, it won’t help.

Things got worse however when I managed to leave my laptop in it’s rucksack on the train. I take 2 trains to and from work, and last night I boarded the Birmingham to Stansted airport train (I get off at Leicester) with my laptop. I put it up on the overhead racks as usual and travelled to Leicester where I got off the train on platform 2, crossed over to platform 3 and caught my second train to Market Harborough. At this stage I still hadn’t realised what I had (or hadn’t) done and I was oblivious to the fact that my laptop was happily winging its way across country to Stansted Airport.

When I got off the train at Market Harborough, I was walking along the platform towards the exit when it finally dawned on me. No laptop. No rucksack. Damn. It was too late to re-board the train and see if I had left it on there but deep down I knew that I had left it on number one train.

I got the number of Lost Property at Stansted but the train wasn’t due in until after it closed so there was nothing I could do until this morning.

I was about to start ringing around at 08.00am when I noticed a text message on my work Blackberry-this is unusual as I use my own phone for texting my friends and family so I opened it to see what I had missed. I had a very pleasant and welcome surprise. It was a text from the train guard on the Stansted train who had found my laptop sans owner and had taken it to lost property at Cambridge station. He found my business card and contacted my work mobile to let me know.

What a hero! A huge thank you to Mr T Wood of Cross Country trains (who will be receiving a thank you letter in due course) for saving my bacon.

So today, I have had to take a day off work to go and fetch my errant laptop from Cambridge. It has taken almost all day to travel there and back and I am exhausted but it could have been a lot worse. It could have been stolen. It could have been taken to Stansted lost property which would have taken me a lot longer to get to and cost me £120 in train fares instead of the £33.50 I spent today.

Thank goodness for small mercies and celebrate that there are some great, honest and caring people still around.

This restores my faith in human nature! Long may it continue 🙂

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The Olympic torch is coming to Lubenham….

Jun18

On Monday 2 July, the Olympic Torch relay comes through my village, Lubenham in Leicestershire and will pass about 50 yards from my front door before making its way up the hill to Foxton. This will be day 45 out of 70 when the torch will be travelling between Coventry and Leicester.

The torch is expected in the village between 15.45pm and 15.55pm and the Torchbearers through and around the Market Harborough area  include local citizens Dean Barnett and Rob Gomez who both get their “moment to shine” on home territory.

We have flags secured to the lampposts and traffic cones are at the ready.

Did you know?

  • The Torch will come within 10 miles of 95% of people in the UK.
  • The relay involves 8,000 Torchbearers.
  • The Torch will be transported by steam train, horse and zip wire.

We are looking forward to seeing the Torch and Torchbearers and understand that there will be a “kiss” of  2 torches outside the village pub, The Coach & Horses.

Not long to wait now……..

   

Where I live in 80 treasures (3)- JLT Crafts, Lutterworth

Jun4

When I set out to give you an idea of the area in which I live by describing 80 treasures, I did say that some would be unexpected and a little offbeat. My treasures don’t have to be stately homes, National Trust or English Heritage properties or of particular intellectual interest. They just have to be treasures for me.

I discovered such a treasure last week when searching the internet for craft supplies in my vicinity. During periods of low mood I find it therapeutic to sit quietly and be creative. Lost in my own world of papers, buttons, brads and stickers, I get absorbed in writing my blog, poetry, photography, water-colour painting or scrap-booking. Whatever the mood takes.

This week I have been quite happy to sit and create more pages for Will’s scrapbook which I started last year. The great thing about scrap-booking is that you can keep coming back to it as and when you feel like it and if you put it away for a few months it doesn’t matter. It’s a work in progress.

It’s always wonderful however to find a source of supplies and inspiration and if that happens to be coupled with only a 15 minute drive from home and a warm, friendly welcome, what more can I ask? This was what I got at JLT Crafts in Lutterworth, a business that has been open only since October last year but deserves to be a huge success if the client service (I was offered a cup of tea whilst browsing), varied selection of products and ease of access counts for anything.

I will be returning as and when I feel the need and in the meantime if you are into card-making or scrap-booking, try JLT Crafts. You won’t be disappointed.

This is what I’ve been up to this week.

Where I live- In 80 Treasures

May5

One of my favourite historians and journalists is Dan Cruickshank and his two TV series “Around the World in 80 Treasures” and “Dan Cruickshank’s Adventures in Architecture” had me glued to the screen each week when they were first broadcast in 2005 and 2008. I now have both series on DVD and often delve into them still and treasures such as The Blue Mosque, Machu Pichu and Easter Island never cease to please.

Staring at my bookcase this evening I noticed the “80 Treasures” book and I suddenly thought that I’d like to do a similar exercise by finding my “80 Treasures” around where I live. Thinking a bit more and setting some ground rules, I have set myself the target of finding 80 very personal treasures to see and write about, all found within 1 hour’s drive from my village near Market Harborough.

It will take me some time to complete this task, and some of the “Treasures” will not be what you immediately think of as traditional booty, but they will be my “Treasures” nontheless. It will give me an opportunity to get out and about with a purpose together with my camera. On days when I feel more confident and chatty I can choose  to engage with people around me whereas on less confident days I can just chill out, take my pictures, gather my information and come home.

Perfect.

I’m off to find a map and plot my first treasures.