My life ... My way

Why I became a Chemist

2012-01-27T14:59:00.002Z

One day I hope to be able to say this...

"Just for a laugh, we sealed a bottle of vodka with our membranes and found that the distilled solution became stronger and stronger with time. Neither of us drinks vodka but it was great fun to do the experiment." Dr Nair on his graphene membranes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16747208

Question, Why not use an alcohol that they did drink?

Ice Lorry

2012-01-16T22:30:00.005Z

Scary!
(Nobody was hurt in the making on this image, thankfully.)

Snow days

2012-01-16T21:27:00.007Z

On Friday we went to the pub with a few UK folk, who work at TMW. While there Wayne was talking to Jayne saying that we hadn't seen any snow yet! I looked out of the window and thought it was snowing, but Wayne wasn't convinced and thought I was making it up! When we went outside it turned out I was right and it was snowing. By the time we had driven home it was starting to settle on the road, and by the Morning we has over seven inches.

After digging the car out with bits of wood, we decided that it would be a very good idea to invest in snow shovels so we braved the roads as the snow was melting a little and invested in some. We where amused by some Canadian snow parking ans very impressed with how quickly the roads where cleared and everything was moving.

Sunday was uneventful but we did notice a weather warning for further a 5cm of snow on Monday and being not to worried we went to bed. By the time we got up 5 cm had fallen and snow was getting worse, we thought about and realized that if this continued all day that we may make it into work but we wouldn't make it out again in the evening.

Wayne and Neil took the 4 by 4 and went to pick up their laptops so they could work from home, they came back at lunchtime. Helen and I re-cleared the drive as the snow had continued to fall all morning and is still falling. Last time I was out there it was deeper than my snow boots. Wayne's work have just been sent home too, so It looks like we did the right thing.

Hopefully we won't be snowed in for too long and normal work patterns will resume shortly, in the mean time I will sit back and enjoy the weather.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

2012-01-08T18:53:00.002Z

Before

After

So cute! Daddy its cold outside

2011-12-16T21:17:00.001Z

Operation Christmas tree

2011-12-12T02:11:00.006Z

Hi from Beautiful British Columbia!

Sorry I haven't written anything sooner it has been hectic, what with the jet lag, finding a Christmas job, My birthday (thanks for all the well wishes) and generally setting in to a new place.

I could tell you a lot more about it ... but I thought I would tell you about our expedition to find a Christmas tree instead.

We decided to have a real Christmas tree this year as it seemed a Canadian thing to do and there where signs everywhere advertising them ... most of them said 'U Cut'.

So off we drove to find Christmas tree place ... not really knowing what to expect. We arrived to a very busy looking place, with lots of people carrying or wheeling trees to there car. We spent a few minutes looking around the ready cut and the the 'Charlie Brown' (not quite straight trees) and thinking that this would be the easier options, but to be sure we thought we would take a saw and have a look around.

There where hundreds of Fir trees, 4 different species and all varying heights, widths etc, we didn't know where to begin.Eventually we found a tree, and we cut it down and put it back to the car. The Tree shop people then provided with hot chocolate to warm our hands up with.

A quick trip to the shop, to get lights (not quite enough) and decorations and we had a good afternoon decorating our tree.

Helen and Neil, brought us an early Christmas present - a fire set so we lit the fire to achieve the Christmas Card picture. Now all we need is the snow!

hand warmers

2011-11-20T20:44:00.007Z

After a wonderful leaving party last night, I was wonder what to do with myself, after about 10 seconds of thought I decided to do and do the last of my Christmas shopping. So after church, I wondered into town and started looking about ... I didn't have a clue what I was looking for, so I was surprised when I found some pocket hand warmers (see example pic)

Mine look better than these bit I don't want to spoil the surprise! A friend had mentioned these to me so I knew what they did and thought they will make really good Christmas presents.

After buying a few other gifts and some travelling clothes, I headed home and have spent the afternoon wondering how they work. (Yes, I am chemistry geek and this is chemistry in action).
In fact it is wonderfully simply chemistry in action ...

The liquid is a highly concentrated solution of a salt (e.g. sodium acetate) in water, and a bit of colouring. There is so much salt in the solution that no more of the salt will dissolve. There is also a curved metal popper. A few crystals of salt form on this metal disc. When the popper is popped the crystal are dislodged into the solution, this triggers rapid crystallisation in the solution, the solution becomes a solid and heat is released. The temperature cools slowly (approx 1 hour).
So that is an hour of nice warm hands!

And to reuse you boil them (put the heat back in) the solid will become a liquid again, ready for their next use.

It is so simple it is brilliant!

The Periodic Table of Element

2011-11-14T20:05:00.003Z

Martyn Poliakoff and Brady Haran have made a whole series of video about all the elements of the periodic table

They also get to do a lot of fun things this one is quiet impressive

The End is Nigh

2011-11-03T23:13:00.002Z

Well the house is sold, everything is packed and redistributed (almost).
I have spent the last week trying to see i remote working was a possible, its not so I have handed in my notice.
My Flight is booked so now all that is left to organise is my leaving do ... I am thinking 'Dairylea and Lambrini night'
Watch this space....

Packing, tiding, more packing and throwing away!

2011-10-23T22:01:00.003+01:00

As the title indicates this week I have mainly been clearing out the house, ready for the sale completing, hopefully on Wednesday next week.

Surprisingly, despite Wayne and I spending a year "decluttering" there had been so much stuff to rehome or recycle. Some stuff we have been getting rid of have been a bit strange such as taking the kitchen bins to the tip, giving the BBQ to the scrap metal man (we thought we could rehome the BBQ but it had got a bit rusty), i also gave the cutlery to the scrap metal man ... that was weird too.

Mean while in Canada, Wayne had been buying stuff that I have been throwing away. it is very strange. Wayne starts his new job tomorrow so things should start settling down over there. Meanwhile I will be mainly working and tidying!

Were all going to the Zoo tomorro...er...last weekend

2011-09-30T20:27:00.010+01:00

So Wayne had disappeared on a stag do to Oktoberfest in Munich and I was left wondering what to do what to so with myself ...so i did the logical thing, invited my mum to stay and had a girly weekend.

On Friday we looked at all the furniture we wouldn't buy in Ikea...then on Saturday we decided to go to Tycross zoo. We didn't get to see the show leopards but we did see lots of monkeys, elephants penguins and a baby orangutan and a litter of baby meerkats.

We then went to find hobbycraft in Coventry, we failed and ended up at a garden center in the middle of the country.

On Sunday we cooked a roast and spent the afternoon playing cards ans scrabble... I lost lots

We then went and picked a very tired and hungover Wayne ... who brought some yummy looking chocolate back from Germany

The Travellers Return

2011-09-10T16:01:00.002+01:00

Well we came back from are travels missing the earthquake on Vancouver (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14862800). We didn't feel a thing at the airport and we were looking around shops after having cheesecake for lunch.

We stopped for lunch at Wayne parents and caught up on all the local gossip. then made are way back home. After working are way through the mountain of mail (mainly junk). We found cards from DHL (US) which we think our are Canadian bank cards. These are most likely on their way back to Canada.

Then I noticed a dead wasp on the stairs and then another, and another and another and a lot more around the house. So out of the house I pottered and found a wheelie bin for recycling (it wasn't there when we left for Canada). And a lot of wasp near the roof happily making there way in and out.

Wayne checked out the loft and couldn't see anything, so we decided to call in the experts. A quick glance and he knew where the nest was. To confirm he went to the office and tapped on the ceiling. - he looked out of the window and saw the wasps leaving. the nest was in the flat roof. 15 minutes later and the problem was sorted and I have stopped stirring at the light fittings. (wasps will come into the house through low voltage light fittings)

Right now the drama is done, I might start unpacking.

More strange things from Canada

2011-09-07T06:05:00.004+01:00

Well we have, a busy few days, over the weekend we went to Vancouver Island to visit friends and relatives. All of which are well and are wished us luck in starting a life in Canada.

Monday was a bank holiday - Labour day, where they celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. (something they should do in the U.K.) Sensibly the bank holidays are more spread out here and there is every month except February, March and June.

We went to grouse mountain, where we where entertained by bears and a lumberjack show. Lumberjacks where once so bored that they made a competition out of who can make the other person fall off a log first (it is more entertaining then it sounds).

Today it was back to job hunting and then we went to the Metropolis at Metrotown (a huge mall probably the same size as meadowhall). I went looking for shoes and Wayne just went wondering for an hour.

Anyhow I have found a few more things that in are different in Canada that may take some getting used to.

1. I am a size 3 in children's shoes (same as the UK) but a size 5 in the adult shoes

2. You can get baked beans, but they taste different to UK baked beans

3. The Junction to get onto the highway can be before the junction to get off the highway.

4. You can get Bacon on Cheesecake (bacon, dark chocolate and maple syrup)

It wasn't unpleasant, but was a bit too sweet for my liking.

Other than that, it has been quiet strange walking round the shops looking at winter clothes, when it is 28 degrees centigrade outside. However, I suppose that could happen in the UK...

A few days in.

2011-09-02T02:42:00.006+01:00

Well we have been here 5 days and the place now looks like a home...

We have a bed and a nice new mattress.

We have a table and a sofa (Borrowed with thanks). Plates, pots, pans etc etc.

We have noticed a few things that will take some getting used to

1. the 10 cent coins are smaller than the 5 cent coins

2. the screw drivers are square ended

3. you can't get alcohol in the supermarket

4. herbs coming in big tubs/packets not small 10g tubs.

5. Malls are huge and NOT overcrowded

6. you can always get a parking space.

Canadian Observations

2011-08-28T22:02:00.005+01:00

Hello from the middle of the countryside in Beautiful British Columbia. where after weeks and weeks I finally found some time to write a few words. The sensible thing for me to do would be to fill you in with all the fun things that I have been up to since I last blogged, such as the walk along the Monsal Trail, Thomas' Baptism, Cropready. I will get round them, in between job hunting and investigating the 40 acres of land our apartment is on.

I thought I would list out all things I have found out so far.

1. Don't try and land (activate your permanent residence visa) in August as all of he foreign Students are arriving and the Immigration officers are stressed

2. Car hire does not come with insurance, insurance is expensive!

3. The apartment is huge (compared to 1bed room apartments in the UK)

4. I have blueberries, blackberries, and apple in my garden and possibly kiwi's and grapes

5. The neighbours are really friendly

6. There is no sign of bears (phew) but there is signs of cougars!

7. Walmart (asda) sells everything but food.

8. Everyone says 'your welcome' a lot.

9. It is cheaper to buy a new printer then it is buy replacement ink

10. Store cards give you approx 15% - 20% off your shopping if look out for the deals

Here is the view from the balcony our pas, I will enter the woods later...

Social life

2011-07-10T10:15:00.009+01:00

It has been a week of doing stuff and meeting people, and a very nice week it has been.

On Monday I meet my brother and his family in Birmingham, so watch my nephew sing in the Music for youth festival (http://www.mfy.org.uk/coreseason/national). They where very good and so where all the other contestants.

In the evening we had the 'Monday Group' round for games and wine. They were also very patient and supportive as I sort out my insurance claim

Thursday we went to London to hand in are passports. While waiting to go into the embassy a lady approach Wayne and said that she recognised him from the forum so he felt a bit famous. after we handed are passports in and picked up are raffle ticket (high tech!) we went to Islington and met Kevin and Ollie, who used to play a well known online game. Kevin has just that his own business and Ollie is trying to become a sound engineer. They both had different jobs which they didn't really like. I was very impressed with there courage and wish them both good luck.

We had a little walk round Marble Arch and Oxford street before heading home.

Friday we went to Lucy and Paul's for a bbq and met you with lot of people we haven't seen for a while. We left them drinking marshmallow vodka, which smelt sickly.

Saturday and we were in Birmingham again, meeting with Brandi and Tasha. We chilled by the canal and then went for Japanese food. The food was cooked in front of us which was very impressive and it was very yummy.

Today is lunch with the inlaws, which brings us back to Monday again!

19 Holes

2011-07-03T10:23:00.002+01:00

Well...I am always up for trying new things and yesterday I found myself on a golf course swinging some bats (clubs) and trying to play a game I don't/didn't understand.

It is a game all about consistency and accuracy - two things I am not particularly good with sport. I blame weak arms. It was fun and required a lot of concentration. I learnt that I need more power in my drives and less in my putting.

I think I could play again ... but maybe not very often.

We then deiced to visit the 19th hole for a spot of lunch, which ended up with us staying in pub(s) most of the afternoon and at Stu and Helen's. We watched Withnail and I, Wayne fell asleep but did amuse us by talking in his sleep.

An awesome unplanned Saturday.

London Adventure

2011-06-22T20:16:00.006+01:00

We have just have two days London, learning about how to find a job in Canada, (if you are interested then you can read about it here http://get2canada.wordpress.com/our-ciip-experience/)

While not having our brains overloaded with very useful information, we found a pub that sold 2 drinks for £10 pounds. We are went to a very nice Thai restaurant and went to see The Women in Black. An awesome and dramatic ghost story with a few dramatic and scary moments which where made worse by a group of 14 year old girls who screamed at every little thing. The story was very good however the ending a little obvious.
The elder actor was Patrick Drury - and I spent a while trying to place where I had seen him before and it turns out he was in Father Ted.

He was the shop keeper John O'Leary, who always argued with his wife, a very different role from this one.

bargain?

2011-06-19T17:08:00.005+01:00

We did another carboot sale today and I can now spot a buyer, from a browser, from a bargain hunter from a chancer.

Buyers - attack your car before you unpacked it - looking for anything collectible. Their favourite thing is to ask have you got any instruments, Lego, mobile phones...

Browsers - these are the people that come to see what other are selling, they maybe looking for a specific item but generally just like to have a look a round. Most people fall in to this category.

Bargain hunters - these are regular at car bots an will knock some money usually 50p off whatever you say the price is. this is not to bad cos as a seller you have just added an additional 50p to the price.

Chancers - these people amaze me, the will ask for a ridiculous amount items. A lady next to us was selling a large piece material, which could have made several cushions and she had told us earlier in the day that she wanted to get rid of it so was selling it cheap - 30p. She was asked how much, said 30 p and chancer said that was too expensive!

Another lady was selling cushions at 50 p each (a reasonable price for a cushion), when asked the price she said '50p each' the chancer then said "50p for 5"!

Finally, in a personal case, we had a fan heater that we where selling a 3 pounds, we were asked how much? "£3" we said - 50p said one guy, £1 said another Chancers! "no" we said.

It surprises me every time we sell stuff, that what we think are good/bargain prices then some others think are ridiculous high and will chance their arm with a stupidly low price.

Steve and Lucy's Wedding

2011-06-18T13:45:00.004+01:00

On the 21st may My cousin Steve married Lucy at the Esplanade hotel, Newquay with wonderful views of Fistral beach.

Steve was very nervous but is all went wonderfully well and a awesome time was had by all.

I have just been looking through the photographer's photo and have found an awesome one of my mum with Lucy's bouquet (and she didn't even have to catch it) and a very nice family pic.

The photographer, allows free downloads for facebook (and blogs!) which I thought was a great idea.

A great day was had by all and Wayne and I wish they lots of happiness in their married life.

Hello

2011-06-17T16:50:00.003+01:00

Yo!

I am back.

It has been a busy year and a bit since I last posted.

The biggest news is that we are imigrating to Canada and have lots of fun sorting out the visas.

Will update you about that later and then keep you all updated as to how it is all going shortly.

speak to you sooner than last time.

Free Bread

2010-02-19T19:24:00.002Z

some time poeple do nice things...like bake bread and give it to the towns folk

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/8522830.stm

but there is always someone that want to spoit it

Police in the town warned people not to eat the bread in case it was contaminated.

Sime people have no faith !

‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees should be kicked into touch

2010-02-15T18:55:00.002Z

Richard Pike, Chief of the RSC has issued a statement on Science education

‘Mickey Mouse’ degree courses should be swept away, and priorities in university education and research should reflect the challenges facing the country over the forthcoming decades.
No longer should the government be paying 18-year-olds to start courses on celebrity journalism, drama with waste management, or international football business management. These courses should be kicked into touch, especially at a time when the UK is desperately short of funding research into Alzheimer’s and other diseases of ageing, alternative energy sources and wider, more effective health care provision, all of which depend on leading-edge work in the fundamental sciences.
Massive cuts in the science budget have already been announced in this country at a time when President Barack Obama is seeking $66bn, an increase of 5.9% over 2010 levels, to address the strategic priorities on the other side of the Atlantic.
The number of undergraduates studying chemistry, physics, biology and mathematics here had stayed relatively constant over many decades, and the enormous expansion witnessed in tertiary education was largely in the non-science sector. This sector, too, played a vital role in the development of the country, and our future relies on exploiting the synergies provided by a workforce with a wide range of skills, but we now need some realism over the way ahead.
We need a population with an enduring set of skills, such as an understanding of the physical world around us, literacy and communication, numeracy, how to function and continue to learn in a complex society, and above all creativity, rather than an ability to satisfy some ephemeral demand that in ten years time will be viewed as a curiosity.
To take a leaf out of the US’s book, that means that science must not be cut in the same proportion as other subjects at university, but its central role for the future of this country recognised, and funding effectively ‘ring fenced’, so that in effect it becomes a more dominant component.
This is not a question of pleading a special case; such a move is essential if we are all to enjoy the lifestyle we have become accustomed to, and to ensure that we are prepared for the changes that will affect us all in the future. '

Here here Say's I

Chemistry: A Volatile History

2010-01-21T19:51:00.002Z

Yes I am still alive...

Anyway here is a good science program for you to watch either tonight on BBC Four or on iplayer.

It is Chemistry: A Volatile History www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00q2mk5

Well it should be good, the Rsc are raving about it.

personally I think the BBC should move these types programmes from BBC 4 to BBC 2 where more people are likely to watch something and maybe learn something interesting too....

but that's just my opinion

Photo Challange: Your Christmas

2010-01-03T19:22:00.006Z

The Challenge:

Christmas is almost upon us, and I expect many of you will be busy. To reflect this, the deadline for this week’s Challenge isn’t until the New Year.
The theme is simply your Christmas. All you have to do is take any photo that summarises the Christmas period for you. Let us know what you did with your time off, who you visited, and which was the biggest present!
Entries in by noon on Tuesday 5th January, please. I know it’s a long way off so I’ll post a reminder a few days before, so you remember to send your photos in

One picture that reminds me of Christmas....

This is an saffron teddy bear (unbaked)- saffron bread is like an English tea cake with saffron in it, it is only really make in Cornwall and only made into teddy bears by my family. The Saffron tea cake is traditionally eaten a sign as friendship, and we usually have the saffron bear for Breakfast on Christmas morning. This year though we where visiting people over the Christmas holiday for my friends little boy got the teddy bear and and I took some saffron buns to the homes we went to as sign of friendship. It is just not Christmas with out it.

New Year Wishes

2010-01-03T18:58:00.005Z

As promised here is a picture of my christmas cake. We had a really nice Christmas and new year. However I though I would have write a quick note to say thanks to everyone we saw over the Christmas holiday for making this very sociable season. If we did not make it to see you then where is always 2010 and we hope this year is full of joy and promise.

We didn't get much snow but but I did make a snowman!

I am not one for making New years resolutions but this year I have decided that I really need to sort out my address book and make sure I have everyone birthdays written down is one place so I will be contacting people shortly for information. I apologise in advance for not knowing the information already I know that I should but I have a memory like a sieve.

I am also getting in to a positive frame of mind for work 2010, after the last 3-4 months on 2009 I figure this year has to be better.

Anyway I hope you all have a great 2010 and that the year is full of hope, good news and blessings

A wedding gift

2009-12-24T13:29:00.006Z

Wayne and I have been married for two years now and one of the wedding gifts that we received was a hand carved picture frame, well we finally got around to find commissioning a picture that was perfect for it.

So here is the finished product

I think it looks great and It will look even better when we put it above the fire place but we need to get the right supports for it first as we don't want it to fall down!

Thanks for the great frame Ella and James and the awesome picture Stu... check out Stu website (http://www.stuart-carter.co.uk/) when you need a photographer

Christmas preparations 2

2009-12-24T13:14:00.005Z

Tomorrow is Christmas and we are spending it with the in-laws so over the last few days I have been finishing off all the things so i thought i would a few pictures of our preparations
As well as the Christmas tree and all the wrapping... and the marathon journey visiting family we have:

A good use of a Birthday present and a family Christmas tradition

The promised Christmas Cake and some Flowers for Val

I find myself looking forward to midnight (10 o'clock) mass tonight and to the Methodist service in the morning, there is that anticipation in the air that I love about Christmas eve

Happy Christmas everyone

Christmas preparation 1

2009-12-16T19:04:00.004Z

I have done most of the Christmas shopping, wrapping and writing cards and cake baking ( will post a picture soon)

I have been singing carols all week and fell that I am in the Christmas spirit and am looking forward to seeing people over the next few weeks and passing on the joy of the season.

but in the mean time I can pass on this link from James's blog (http://www.lovingit.co.uk/) it is 10 very cool science party tricks

I really want to try the one with the candle

Party week

2009-12-13T19:00:00.002Z

Well it started with a birthday meal, at the new Italian in town for my birthday...it is very nice but the service is very relaxed.

We then went to Wayne's Christmas party , where there were fire eaters, dancers and dodgems!

Wayne really enjoyed it!

Friday was my Christmas party and oops I forgot to take that camera :)

this week is wrapping pressies and getting early nights...at least it is nearly Christmas

Carols at the Priory

2009-12-06T17:58:00.006Z

Friday evening we went to a carol concert but rather than at a church, this was at the ruins of Grace Dieu Priory (http://www.gracedieupriory.co.uk/). It was a Priory for Augustinian canonesses which was dissolved in 1538 and left for ruin. A few hundred people trundle too sing a range of carols, some of which I new and some that i didn't, We also had some mince pies and a mulled wine.

It was a great start to the Christmas season now all I have to do is the shopping and the wrapping and more partying :)

christmas cake - update

2009-11-29T18:40:00.002Z

One Marizpaned and Iced Christmas cake - Marzipaning is easy, icing may need some more practice (and short nails)

75 cm of Holly and lots of individual Holly and Ivy leaves

I have also made a christmas tree but I am not sure what I am going to do with it.

I need to ice my cake board and put some ribbon on and stick the leaves on it and do the piping - Hmmm that seems like alot

Saturday

2009-11-29T18:34:00.004Z

So this Saturday was catch up it with friends day. Both Wayne and I seem to be very busy doing 'stuff' so we figured that Saturday would be a good day to catch up with some friends, Luckily they were all in the same town :). The plan was to see some old college friends of Wayne's then pop in and see Ella and James then Stuart and Viv.

Unfortunately Wayne's Friend had a similar idea and where drive south as we where heading north! so to Ella's where James had been showing Leona pictures of us so that she would be able to say our names , I think that Wayne's hair put her off a little though.

But she was very enthusiastic that I open one of my birthday - it is a retractable pen - called Man - it is very cool.

Joanne was also very cute and is enthusiastic trying to imitate her big sister. Ella and James are doing really well and we all had a jolly time catching up.

We then went to See Stuart and Viv, and they are well and busy...they live next to my old house and it is always fun to see how the street has changed and to get all the gossip. We then went back to Nottingham and after a quick change met up with some old uni Friends for a nice meal. Next year will be 10 years since we started uni and it great to catch up with everyone and see how well they have/ haven't changed.

I hope to see everyone again very soon and if not before Christmas, I hope they have super Christmas and a great new year.

ChemSpider

2009-11-21T15:47:00.003Z

It runs around the web and finds out lots of information about any molecule you can think of and Links to papers important information.

If you have a need to know the met ling point of Sugar (glucose) or the pH of vinegar (acetic acid) or any other chemical based question then the ChemSpider will find it out for you

www.chemspider.com

check it out

(also available on iPhone)

If you are more interested in chemistry it also has molecular structure, and spectra, you can also uploads your molecular information and comment on unverified structures

World champions

2009-11-19T21:21:00.003Z

A few weeks ago we went to see Leiciester tigers play South Africa.
Wayne and I didn't hold out much hope for a win as the South African team are the current world champions

We had a nice surprise

We won...we are world champions ... technically

cookies

2009-11-19T21:17:00.002Z

Wayne's work are having a bake sale for children in need and as Wayne 'doesn't do baking'
I was asked to make some cookies. Since I never pass up an opportunity to support a event (and to practice my icing) and since there is not much I can do on my cake this week as I am waiting on the marzipan drying
I made some biscuits and some brightly coloured icing for decorated a lot of cookies.

The faces are my favorite... I hope Wayne remembers to take them to work!

Hmmmm coffee.......

2009-11-16T18:12:00.002Z

Artist assistants stand next to 3,604 cups of coffee which have been made into a giant Mona Lisa in Sydney , Australia . The 3,604 cups of coffee were each filled with different amounts of milk to create the different shades!!

Now this is what I call art!

Party Season

2009-11-14T13:27:00.002Z

last night we has a girlie night out to catch up and to kick off party season.

It was great to meet up with everyone, giggle about old time and made plans for next year we are having a come dine with me competition and a maybe a 10 year reunion. We his a few bars in Quorn, which was different and ended up in Choas in Lboro...I don't think echos Friday night music is my kind of music...cheesy music is a must :)

Next Friday I am at a RSC party, the week after we are nottingham. Then Birthday drinks and 2 work parties - at least we have some time off at Christmas.

Change of plan

2009-11-05T20:22:00.003Z

We had another one of THOSE meeting at work today and after confirming that the high level business model has not changed they preceded to tell 'some work has been moved in to next year' and some other business has emerged. As a result there is a reduction in the number of people being made redundant.

the up shot is that they are keeping 4 of the 5 data analysts - yeah and the 5th Data analysts has taken violently so it is looking very good! Also I have a interview for another position in the company so things are looking up.

watch this space but I think the worse is over

Stu's Tuesday (Friday) Challenge

2009-10-28T18:22:00.004Z

Stu's moved his challenge to a Friday so that we have the weekend to get our picture and then the week to get it in to him.

This week the theme is Limitations:

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to come up with the most fantastic idea. What would you shoot if time, money and skills were no issue? Then work within your limitations to realise your dream. See what unique surprises occur.

I am a bit slim on fantastic ideas at the moment so i thought i take a nice picture of my cat...

what I got was

and

never work with animals...

Sugarcraft: Colour

2009-10-28T18:01:00.003Z

This week we started adding colour to out flowers.

To be honest I played a little at home, but Chris seemed to think it was the results were alright :)

They look more realistic when there is a little colour on them
(the bottoms one is real)

As well as dying the paste you can also use the powder to make speckled carnations

this is not the best picture but one is green and one is gold, along with the the peach one and the old fashion white one.

Next week we are turning a powder and paint using alcohol may need to get a better powder and some vodka.

Also I will be working on a Starburst at home.

Job update

2009-10-21T16:51:00.004+01:00

today they told us that they ere extending consultation period

this is there reason:

"It is acknowledged that the consultation process is taking longer than the original 30 days, this is due to the constructive nature of the discussions that have taken place so far. In view of this it is proposed to extend the consultation process by a further two weeks to Friday 6th November."

constructive nature of the discussions ... surely is they are constructive it will be faster and not slower!

I am sure it has nothing to do with the lack job offers and people being on holiday! anyway the consultation is extended by 2 weeks which means more waiting,wondering and pay!

the cake - pictures

2009-10-20T17:45:00.004+01:00

Nom!

Sugar Craft - half term

2009-10-18T19:38:00.002+01:00

So for this week I have tried my hand at making a few more carnations, which a fiddly but I will get there with practice.

I have also made my first Gluten free cake, turned out better than expected.

I've decorated it for Helen's birthday tomorrow , and for a first attempt it is not to bad but I have a list of things I need to improve on for next time.

I will post picture tomorrow or Tuesday as I don't spoil the surprise

There is 7 months until Helen and Stu wedding which should give me to perfect baking, icing and decorating skills.

Priorities

2009-10-18T11:51:00.003+01:00

The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus: Contains infrequent strong language, scenes of threat, hanging and smoking

we need warnings in case people are smoking now! seems a little OTT to me.

Sugar Craft Week 3: Calix, rosehips and Carnations

2009-10-14T19:13:00.003+01:00

So another Tuesday night and I took five new roses to my class, the old ones had a little accident and smashed into very small pieces. This we we put the calix on the rose (it is the little green leafy bit at the bottom) and then we put the rosehip on.
Rosehips are the little round bit at the bottom of the rose where the seeds grow. they are usually green but turn orange/red in the autumn.

So the roses now look like this.

we then made a carnation, they are fiddly to make but the look affective.

there is no class next week but I have a birthday cake to make...

British biscuit advisory board

2009-10-10T15:58:00.003+01:00

You may have seen the TV ad about eating biscuits safely and healthily but according to several papers over half the have been injured by biscuits...

http://bbab.org.uk/promoting-reputation-uk%E2%80%99s-biscuit-and-snacking-sector

With the most dangerous biscuit is the custard cream the safest is the Jaffa cake (which is a lie because it is not a biscuit)

Anyway if you need to check out the safety of you and your favour biscuit then try taking the BITE test

http://www.rockybiscuit.co.uk/bite-tool.html

I have a moderate threat with ginger nuts!

Sugar Craft Week 2

2009-10-07T17:36:00.004+01:00

The mission for this week was to find a list cutters and tools that we would need for this term. The local shops recommended either, bumped there prices up by selling cutters singly instead of groups or denied ever hearing of well known brands. Luckily the trusted Internet came to the rescue.

I also practiced making some more fondant icing flowers

This weeks class we made roses on wires which used the same techniques as last week on a thin wire so that you can form it in to a display. These roses are made from sugar paste which you roll until they it is so thin it is see through.

It is more awkward making the roses on wires and I think I will need this week to practise, these are last nights attempts.

We will be adding the calix and rose hip next week so we need to hang them upside down to dry, I think that is wear my spice rack comes in handy!

Next week - Calix and Rose hips

Wayne and the Steinway

2009-10-07T17:22:00.002+01:00

We went to Cornwall at the weekend and popped in to Kingsley Village ( a local produce shopping center) to pick up some Fudge/Biscuits for work.

While wondering around we came a cross a antique Steinway Grand piano with a sign which read "Feel free to play me if you are any good, No Age Limit "

Wayne met the criteria so he played a few tunes and then asked if he could have it as a birthday...um no!

I did have a picture but have accidentally deleted it from my phone. Doh!

sugar craft week 1

2009-09-30T17:19:00.005+01:00

I Started my sugar Craft course last night and we made some roses out of fondent icing

as you can tell I got a lot better as the evening went on, next week we are making roses on wires but I have to go shopping first and buy some flower paste and some wires and and some tools.

I can't wait.

job update

2009-09-30T17:02:00.003+01:00

They told us the new structure of our new group - and which group would face redundancies

Most of it was fairly obvious - minus 1 manager, minus 1 scheduler, minus 1 Work group leader , 2 from enabling, and 3 from data analysis.

Yes 3

None from Process, 3 from Data analysis

There is only 5 in our group - so my chances are now less than 40% that I will keep my job.

I say less because we have a person that has 'specialist 'skill sets which means that although his job is on the line he has a slightly better chance of keeping it.

They are sending out some other jobs for different parts of the company tomorrow so I will be applying for them.

Wrong

2009-09-24T18:06:00.002+01:00

So all is well, work is busy and we even taken on some temporary staff it looks like tings are settling down after last years shenanigans.

WRONG...

Today we were told, despite meeting all targets and working really hard this year, they need to get rid of more people. grr

I now have about 20 % - 25 % chance of losing my job, but what I feel is worse than that is 30 days of not knowing and no guarantee that they won't do it again next year!

watch this space!

Lego Guinness

2009-09-21T17:27:00.002+01:00

Guinness, the Lego cat.
It is in James May Lego house (which may be knocked down)
It is on the BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8266896.stm

Not Helpful...

2009-09-20T21:25:00.006+01:00

but cute!

I may get the silly root out before Christmas.

Failed!

2009-09-20T15:28:00.003+01:00

It my Sister's birthday next weekend, but since they are away next weekend we went to her and John's new flat this weekend.
Being prepared I went into town on Friday and got her a Wii Beach sports for her birthday.
they only have a few Wii games so I thought this would be a safe thing to buy...
Fail!

They already have that game

Since, we are going to discover Cheltenham town center anyway we decided to swap it for something else...Lush bath bombs :)

Cheltenham is a very nice town and we look forward to going back there soon.

Stu's tuesday challenge - one million giraffes

2009-09-13T14:12:00.002+01:00

Stu's challenge for this fortnight was to make a giraffe, take a picture (for Stu's challenge) and submit it to http://www.olahelland.net/giraffes/ and to Stu.

This Bloke has been challenge to collect 1millions giraffes by 2011 - you have to make a giraffe and send him the image - you can't use a computer or any store brought items (which is a little hazy)

here is my giraffe made from modelling clay that I've had in my house for ages (don't think it counts as store brought?)

if you fancy a go, you can submit your giraffe to the link above.

2nd Anniversery

2009-09-10T20:45:00.004+01:00

Wayne and I have been married for two year (yesterday The 9th).

We had a lovely evening with some Pink Fizzy! while we exchanged Cotton gifts (a shirt for Wayne and a spotty top for me) and opened cards, (Wayne put sparkly Hearts in mine) thanks everyone. We then went out on a unplanned food crawl. We started in Fifty for Tapas - yummy! and then we went to the Unicorn for pudding and finished the night with diet Irish coffee (no cream)

We had a lovely, relaxed evening and it was a nice chance to talk and reminisce about the last two years and talk about the future.

Heres to many more anniverseries

Too Early

2009-09-09T17:13:00.003+01:00

Don't the supermarkets realise it is only september...they haven't advertised any of the halloween stuff yet.

baking ...

2009-09-05T18:43:00.002+01:00

I have been baking some its for Joanne's first big day tomorrow (her christening).

I have made some Ham and veg quiches and Bira Birth which is a welsh tea loaf. It tastes a little like Christmas cake :)

All the cooking has made me realise that I need a better oven as the gas one we have does not have a constant heat.

I hope people like it tomorrow.

Raglan Castle

2009-09-01T20:18:00.004+01:00

On the way back From Wales we thought that we would make a little stop at Raglan Castle which is near Monmouth. It is the ruin of a Castle from the 15th century (House of Lancaster, House of York and the Tudors).

It saw the War of the Roses through to the civil war and was abandoned when the war ended and left for Ruin.
It was great fun to look around and had lots of little passageways and a vaults. It also had a great tower, which was octagonal in shape.

There was also multilingual warning signs which were very amusing...

We then travelled back home, went shopping and cooked an awesome Chinese in Stu and Helen's kitchen and then played Trivial Pursuit...A game I am rubbish at! It was fun though.

Mr and Mrs Joyce

2009-08-31T16:40:00.003+01:00

Congratulation to the newest Mr and Mrs Joyce.

We had a wonderful weekend in Wales, and a brilliant day yesterday,with lots of partying and fun with the extended family and listening to the awesome band!
The happy couple are off to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, I wish I was.

I got a PhD!

2009-08-25T20:22:00.002+01:00

Snigger....

It has two meanings apprently! Mine is the real one

Stu's summer challenge

2009-08-24T20:55:00.004+01:00

Stu asked us to create a collection of images around a common theme over the summer.

My initial theme was flowers but I misplaced those (found them again!) so instead I took pictures of the adverts for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

they are posted on facebook

http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=105138#/album.php?aid=105138&id=512228148

check them out!

my festival review will follow

clever cat

2009-08-16T20:30:00.002+01:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

pictures

2009-08-15T19:47:00.002+01:00

Wayne needed the camera for the weekend so I downloaded the camera so that I could blog last weekend and sort out my pictures for Stu's summer challenge, I thought that I had put them on my pen drive but there not there :(

I will have to check the laptop but I think all is lost.

DOH!

Edinburgh fringe festival

2009-08-07T12:00:00.002+01:00

The 10 most unusual fringe venue

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8182611.stm

I may try the fudge shop.

Catch up in Hull

2009-08-07T11:13:00.005+01:00

I have a few days off work, so I thought I would take the opportunity to to visit a few friends in Hull.

So off I tottled in the car, (Wayne cycled to work and got soaked on the way home, sorry Wayne!) and got to Hull for lunch time wherea spenta wonderful afternoon with Ella and Leona and Joanne (Baby). James popped in for lunch and it was nice to see him too, I hope he got his work problem sorted out.

Mainly Ella and I put the world to right and watch Leona play. We where very amazed when we thought Leona had gone to find her new wellies and came back with crisps and then chocalate! It was an very impressive trick, but she wouldn't tell us how she did it.

I then popped down to catch with with Viv who is very well and we spent and hour gossiping on general things and then I thought I better come home before it got dark. I did run into an old freind of mums before I left.

Mr and Mrs Corn

2009-08-02T21:50:00.003+01:00

Congratulations to our neighbours Mark and Jen who where married on the 1st of August.

We have a lovely evening and I really liked the lilac theme.

Our day out!

2009-08-02T21:25:00.003+01:00

On Friday evening we though we would have a day out at the beach in Nottingham... Yes Nottingham - they decided to make a beach in the center of town.

So off we went on Saturday morning, it was a little cloudy but looked like it would brighten up. However as we got Nottingham the rain came a tumbling down so we decided to go for a curry. At the end of the curry they gave us some postcards to write - so it was a little like being on holiday. Wayne spent some tine concentrating on what he was going to write.

Luckily the rain had ceased to we went to the beach

And then we played Crazy golf - Wayne won.

We then wondered back to the tram and saw the biggest bottle of beer ever - and it walked!

All in all a good day at the beach!

On the road again

2009-07-31T18:41:00.002+01:00

yippie!

the car is fixed and has passed it MOT.

Best of all it is now very very quiet :)

long may it last.

Failed!

2009-07-28T18:16:00.003+01:00

The seicento failed the MOT :(

to pass it needs:

4 new tyres

and the windscreen wiper to be fixed.

I have found a great garage that will fix the wiper for about 50 quid, which is a lot less than we expected.

Hopefully the car will be fully repaired and the MOT renewed by Friday evening.

luckily the MOT is not due till August!

Simon's Cat

2009-07-26T16:42:00.002+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat

these are so true they are scary.

very very funny!

My favourite is cat man do!

Shhhh!

2009-07-25T19:12:00.003+01:00

You won't here us coming any more.

The seicento has been silenced :)

Now we hope it passes the MOT.

Now I've seen everything...

2009-07-24T20:14:00.001+01:00

Facebook: the Musical!

Book by Jason Orbaum and Daizie Inglis, Music Anthony Stephen Springall www.FacebookTheMusical.co.uk
Musicals C (-1)
Just how far can a Poke War go? A journey of companionship, heartache and love through the blue and white windows of the world's favourite social networking site. Fresh romantic comedy with a darker adult edge. www.facebookthemusical.co.uk

while as least I will when I watch it :)

Saving Seicento

2009-07-24T17:32:00.004+01:00

So the Seicento took a trip to the garage today as it is due for it MOT soon and we need to fix;
1. the hole in exhaust
2. the dodgy bumper
3. the very dodgy windscreen wiper which goes off the side of the car, in order for it to pass.

the latter two need to be fixed by a body shop garage which sounds pricey however the nice man at reception say the the bump won't cause the MOT to fail and the as long as the wind screen wipers clear the windscreen it will pass as well.

So hopefully we will fix the exhaust and get the car through the MOT, we may just have to replace a few tires. As long as the wipers behave themselves.

Then we can fix the wipers in the near future. Hopefully

Then as this a car day I can home to find a letter say my photo driving licence needs renewing and that will cost more money as well.

How well at least it means that the Knitting Machine will stay on the road (fingers crossed)

Bad Idea Bears

2009-07-19T17:58:00.004+01:00

I have found the ultimate group of bad idea bears...

They can convince each other and anyone that almost anything is a good idea especially if it involves Beer .

they are known collectively as the SSDS there real identities will not be revealed for there own protection.

mini adventure...

2009-07-18T18:02:00.003+01:00

Bramble the cat went out in the rain.
Bramble the cat hid in the neighbours coal shed.
Bramble the cat was rescued.

it's a mini adventure

Mr and Mrs Gallear

2009-07-12T19:32:00.003+01:00

Yesterday we went you our friends Wayne wedding and had a great day.

Firstly we spent the morning getting the stuff to decorate Wayne's MX5 then de-stressing Wayne and making sure he got to the church on time and with every thing he needed.

The wedding was wonderful and followed by ice cream and pictures in the park. Then back the hotel for the receptions.

Here are a few pictures.

The wedding car and the happy couple!

My Hubby in his swanky usher suit.

Congratulations to Wayne and Claire and thanks for a wonderful day.

A piece of advice!

2009-07-06T08:16:00.002+01:00

When making Cornish cream teas it is advisable to pay attention to what you to what you are doing and to check the labels.

they taste a lot nicer with cream rather than garlic dip!

p.s. it wasn't me, it was very funny though :)

Eileen Maud Coventry

2009-06-29T17:01:00.002+01:00

My Gran, Eileen, passed away peacefully this morning.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord And let perpetual light shine upon them her.

She was a wonderful women who welcomed everybody in to home and then feed them until they could escape out of the front door.

All thoughts, and prayers are with her children and family and and we will celebrate her life over the coming week.

icake

2009-06-23T20:52:00.003+01:00

At the weekend Wayne hosted a Stag do for his mate, Wayne.

They went tank paint balling, had a BBQ and spent the evening playing computer games. As part of these events I was asked to make a cake ... in the shape of a computer!

Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to make it from scratch so after a lot of thinking I found the solution by buying a large tray cake and a Swiss roll and a lot of icing sugar.

Wayne took a screenshot of one of his computer games for the screen and we got candy letters create a qwerty keyboard! The Swiss roll was used to make the mouse (spot the error!) which resulted in the icake.

Wayne was very inpressed with it :)

Generation 2 of the icake is currently in the planning stages.

Lucky Duck!

2009-06-20T14:30:00.002+01:00

I have just been to the garden center with mum.

We were greeted with free strawberries and cream, and then informed that they where having a charity garden party and there were tents with fair games that we could play on so we decided to have a go a hook a duck!

I won some writing paper but mum won the star prize which was a choice of a small BBQ, some solar lights or a mini green house. She picked the green house and was so chuffed that she talked about it for a further hour and a bit as we went round the garden center and all the way home.

The mini green house is 1.5 m tall and approx 0.5 in width and depth so not to small.

Mum is a happy bunny and is currently planting cabbages...

well done mum!

Windmill hill

2009-06-14T17:03:00.006+01:00

Yippee, I am finally feeling alot better!

So to enjoy this fact and the glorious weather, Wayne and I thought we would go for a little walk and ended up at Windmill Hill, which is near Beckon Hill. It was named so because it used to have a windmill on it.

So off we plod towards where the hill should be, following the signs which say Windmill Hill. When we found the road we realised we gone to far so we turned round and found a small path and decided to follow that and found ourselves strolling through some pretty woods and eventually we found what was left of the windmill.

We then made out way back throughthe a young part of the national forest to the car.

Wayne had been cycling in the morning and I was knackered from by then so after a quick look at the bird feeding area we came home.

I hope we can have more weather like this we can explore more of the local countryside and I will be feeling better so can play for longer!

the millionth english word?

2009-06-10T16:31:00.007+01:00

According to Global Language Monitor (GLM) the millionth English word is ...

Web 2.0

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8092549.stm

"Web 2.0" refers to what is perceived as a second generation of web development and web design. It is characterized as facilitating communication, information sharing, interoperability, User-centered design [1] and collaboration on the World Wide Web. It has led to the development and evolution of web-based communities, hosted services, and web applications. Examples include social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups and folksonomies. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0)

To put my two penny's worth I would like to point out this is:

a) a phrase
b) contains a number
c) it is made up a two separate 'words' that all ready exist

therefore I don't consider web 2.0.to be a word.

Doh

2009-06-10T13:45:00.004+01:00

When ill it is advisable to email you boss and let him know you won't be in today..

So you search for you bosses email, hit reply, write email and go back to sleep.

You wake up to a missed call and six voice mails saying you not called to say you are off. So I checked my emails to see I had sent it and noticed and email from me! I sent the email to myself instead of to work. DOH!

Lucky my boss is understanding.

Miracle Fruit

2009-06-02T20:32:00.002+01:00

I thought I would use this evening to find some interesting stuff for my taste theme RSC social and I have stumbled across some miracle fruit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_fruit

http://www.lime.com/blog/jessicaharlan/2009/02/24/tricking_your_taste_buds

Basically this fruit makes everything taste sweet. So being brave I have order some, it will be here at the weekend ... will let you know...

Tuesday challenge 20!

2009-05-31T22:12:00.013+01:00

This weeks challenge...

Take a bunch of photos without using any kind of viewfinder or checking the images on the rear screen afterwards. Post your best one of the week! (http://blog.pygmygoat.net/1744/)

This is not as easy as it sounds...you can't line up the shot which can leads to some poor shots and you can't review them so you can't see what you have until they look on computer which is frustrating and it is very hard not to look at the viewfinder.

Here are some of the shots I got over the weekend.

too early

2009-05-30T10:28:00.003+01:00

so it 10.30 on a Saturday and I have already spoke to me mum (7.40 am! )
Walked into town, been shopping, picked up a letter from the post office and visited the music shop.
that is more than than I usually do on a Saturday!

next I am off to bake a cake :)

update: 12.30 cake cooked living room cleaned and house hoovered...hmmm I think I may be ill!

Wisdom

2009-05-27T21:44:00.000+01:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

So true!!

Wackakitty

2009-05-27T21:20:00.002+01:00

Very cute!

Glastonbudget 09

2009-05-25T18:27:00.004+01:00

We have had a lovely weekend camping in the middle of Leicestershire and listens to some good tribute bands.

Fridays highlight was a Mercury tribute

Saturday was Four Fighters (foo fighters)

Sunday highlight was Chesney Hawkes

there was good weather, good beer and good company, oh and Wayne playing air guitar...

I can't wait for next year...

Weather!

2009-05-25T18:15:00.003+01:00

We have had wonderful weather over the weekend which has lead to great photo's for Stu challenge see the great pictures at the link below

http://blog.pygmygoat.net/1805/#comments

Joanne Marie Preece

2009-05-25T18:11:00.002+01:00

Here are some cute pics of Ella and James' baby

http://www.lovingit.co.uk/2009/05/for-those-who-are-interested.html

I think I can see a little of James in her.

Kitty

2009-05-19T18:27:00.004+01:00

How cute is this little fellow, courtesy of the BBC

Meanwhile Guinness woke us up at 1am by making a frog scream... not cute at all

News

2009-05-18T18:03:00.003+01:00

James and Ella have announced the birth of their second daughter.

Everyone is well and very happy.

There are no names as yet but it took a while to find a name for Leona, so for now the bundle of joy will be know as baby. Whatever name they choose for the new baby I am sure it will very pretty and suit her.

Congratulations to the whole family.

Distraction

2009-05-18T17:41:00.002+01:00

So I was having a lazy day yesterday and stumbled accross 2 addictive games

http://apps.facebook.com/chainrxn/?ref=nf2

http://apps.facebook.com/bejeweledblitz/?lpt=ff1c-inline

I was going to post them yesterday but I got distracted ...

catholic sex advice

2009-05-14T18:49:00.003+01:00

I found this on the BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8049853.stm

Personally, I think it is great and it maybe a start to break down some taboos that the church doesn't talk about.

if it gets printed in English I may even read a copy.

inspired image

2009-05-13T19:50:00.005+01:00

This week, your task is to take a photo inspired by external sources. Do some of that stuff and then take an inspired photo. Provide a single sentence/paragraph with your picture to explain your motive. http://blog.pygmygoat.net/1739/

A tricky brief this week. Mainly because I am having a quiet mainly involving going to work catching up on the chore list and reading a few books ...mmm books... I maybe on to something there, an inspired booked Photo

The Shack (Wm Paul Young) is the book I plan finish tonight and the rest is a mix of the kind of books I want or have read.

good news...

2009-05-12T18:42:00.002+01:00

I have had a horridly frustrating day at work and I am still doing the same piece of work I was doing this time last week as people keep changing the goal posts.

Anyway, I came home to not one but two pieces of good news:

Our Glastonbudget ticket have turned up - with the one and only Chesney Hawks playing as a special guest

Wayne got a letter from HEAT, which is a very nice curry place in East Leak, inviting us to a special preview of some of there new dishes and it 2 for 1 is we take the letter with us.

A good end to the working day...

Now to tidy the house

Tuesday challenge

2009-05-10T20:34:00.005+01:00

This weeks challenge is to picture a unique one off moment in time...

"This week, your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to capture a frozen image of a moment in time. An image that will never be seen exactly the same again. That point at the peak of the action."

http://blog.pygmygoat.net/1712/

This is a tricky one as often the peak of the action is over before I get my camera out, however I have found a few unique moments

On a trip to London, I saw a Guy on a trailer playing drums...definitely unique!

And while walking to work on Friday this balloon flew across the road, I managed to catch it in the car park, The picture would have been better if I got the balloon as it flew across the road.

I think I will submit the balloon as it is a bit nearer the remit.
I doubt that I will ever manage to get the perfect shot!