MARCH 2010

The publicity leaflet for the Annual Open Studios Exhibition put on by the BVA is finally at the printers.

Please look at the final version.

My little toy car, the Merc SLQ 600, is now 6 years old and had to pass the dreaded MOT - flying colours of course.

I spent 4 weeks with some new hearing aids on trial. These ones shift frequency down and were slightly better than my current aids. But at £6000 each not good enough to invest all that dosh.

Just doing the final planning for my April in India - visiting the Baiga and shooting tigers. It will be hot - about 40deg C plus

Having just had weeks of snow on and off it will be quite a change.

My local hospital asked for 3 more photos to hang.

I am still looking to buy an Ariel Atom

FEBRUARY 2010

Spent a lot of time this month on preparing the publicity leaflet for the Annual Open Studios Exhibition put on by the BVA.

It is our 10th year and we will distribute 10,000 leaflets so they have to be right !

I will foregoing my usual practice of showing some photos framed up for sale and presenting an installation. I plan to fit a 1200mm lens to one of my digital cameras and train it on a special 'wildlife attracting' set-up in the School Grounds, more nearer the time.

I had a load of problems with web hoster Name.com. They failed to remind me a domain was overdue and then shut the website down.

It cost me $139 USD to have it restored, which is daylight robbery. Their position is that if they neglect to remind you about a $13 renewal, then they can charge a $120 re-connect fee - thieving bastards.

I also had some problems with non techie user trying to upload vast pictures on to a website - to the point that it was off air periodically. So I have re-jigged my uploader so that it can't be teased so easily by learning a bit more about trapping user errors.

I donated 3 exhibition images to be hung in my local hospital.

I am still looking to buy an Ariel Atom

JANUARY 2010

So that is Xmas over with.

Or Winterval if you are living in Birmingham.

How is it that if I am an immigrant my religious beliefs are supported by the law as well as custom and politically bloody correct custom.

Died in the wool Brit and I have to call MY religious festival by a different name to avoid upsetting a visitor.

When I lived in the USA or France or Italy I had to live by their rules.

No wonder they queue up at Calais to come to our sinking island.

On a lighter note one grandchild has a toothbrush that plays music.

The Xmas pressies included a plastic Meccano a bit like lasagne, a robot piggy bank that counted the money saved, StarWarsLego, a handheld terminal with plug in programmes (that one is for a 4 yr old), an MP player and even a complete plastic super market checkout with scanner and credit card reader.

Fortunately for me there was also a trike, a hula hoop, a skipping rope and a few other 'proper' toys. At least I knew what they were for.

And on a personal note my audiologist has retired and the new bloke listens to me.

He has lent me some aids costing mega bucks which frequency shift the incoming sound. Last week I heard the indicator on my 5 year old Merc for the 1st time. I can listen to the car radio but sadly I still need sub titles for the TV. Back next week for an MOT but I don't think they will rescue my hearing well enough to drop £6000 on them.

Finally, I built another art related website for a local group.

DECEMBER 2009

an old friend who is disabled via polio once told me that life is 2 concentric circles

the inner is what you have

the outer is what you want

the area between the circles is a constant, so as you get richer or whatever you get closer but never arrive at the outer circle

he combated his disability by making his inner circle touch the outer one at one point, not necessarily always the same for all of life

this means you actually get what you want by ignoring other options

AND

If it seems too good to be true - IT IS !!!

one of my customers got scammed by a company pretending to be Google and offering to get her to the top of Google's search results

she spent £500 on some keyword stuffing, an XML sitemap and geo-tags

in addition the scammer wanted her FTP details so she could have their website linked from her home page !

NOVEMBER 2009

I won my battle with Chubb. They issued a credit note. Sadly no apology, explanation or anything else.

One of my website customers was scammed by First Search Consultancy.

These nasty folk pretend to be part of Google and sell 'search engine optimisation'.

Actually all they do is add their website address to yours and a few vaguely relevant keywords.

They request FTP data which means they can do what they like to the website.

All the irrelevant buzzwords are used during the sell and they just collect your information and charge you £300 for it.

If you want to be at the top of Google - talk to Google and decide to pay if you wish. DO NOT pay some scammer who has a smooth talking salesperson to pretend they can help you.

If you like pretty lampshades check out my website customer Lotus who just added a stock room.

On a sad note I have been scammed again by 2CO acting in cahoots with Hairy Glove.

These people took several annual subscriptions off my credit card after I had cancelled my accounts. They make it VERY difficult to be free of their evil clutches. They are very civil while they steal your money - beware.

On a lighter note I have pictures displayed this month at the Borderland Visual Arts exhibition the Small Works Show

OCTOBER 2009

We had a nice break in New Zealand staying with family. Having been many times, it was a matter of doing what we know best.

A morning wine tasting at Johner's

Shopping in Greytown's antique stores

Cheap stay at Hikers Haven

Returned home to the inevitable pile of boring mail.

One item from a large corporate with whom I have been fighting for over 9 months to get an invoice credited - finally the MD of Chubb has assigned a trouble shooter.

Also this month I know a man who has a 2 seater Mercedes which is his second love. The car sports 'keyless go' - this means the door handles are a bit special, but to lock the car you just touch a small square button on the handle.

After 5 years the nearside one is iffy, so into Mercedes for a handle.

The handle has to be painted to colour.

The paint is Chromaflair at £750+VAT a litre, minimum order 2 litres.

So this little button is going to be over £2000!

SEPTEMBER 2009

My first proper holiday for years - went to New Zealand for my sis in law's 70th birthday. Stayed 2 weeks. We spent 4 days in Hong Kong en route to savour the changes since the UK bailed out.

HK was bloody hot but it is still a fascinating city.

I recommend the budget hotel guide best option as the YMCA Salisbury Road - less per night than 4 double gins at the Peninsula.

Food very good value for money, rooms clean and functional - spend your money on chinese food and avoid all the designer restaurants.

The truth is the chinese are not good at other peoples food, the designer restaurant pizza was like a Prezzo and dins for two was £150.

In contrast a lovely multi dish meal at a local hostelry was £60 for two and we had everything you could want. a cafe full of chinese and super food.

We took a £2, half hour ferry to Lamma Island, which has 2 villages, no roads. One fishing village has a dozen eating places.
Large fresh lobsters chosen from a big tank, lots of chinese beer and cheaper than dinner at 35 Willow St.

Absolutely amazing value and the very best fare.

art
We found that the Hong Kong Museum of Art had a calligraphy exhibition of work going back to 400BC - just stunning and fascinating.

In addition they have a pottery collection of Chinese work going back through Ming and Tang to pre Christian times.

The works include classical porcelain and lots of VERY beautiful stuff from the best workers. The art is well presented with dialogues in English in a modern built for purpose building . If you are a potter it is an absolute must. If you an artist you will not be disappointed with a day spent here.

FEBRUARY 2009

This month I am shutting down the BAKERY.

This involves a pile of stock being sold off.

I am already planning a couple of holidays, India for one. I have not been out of the BAKERY in 7 years - I need a break !!

JANUARY 2009

The Dragon is a whole lot better. She is on pills for ever but quite chipper and in good spirits.

It is about seven years since I moved my studio from home to the BAKERY at Wrexham. The building was a mess and I spent over £100,000 repairing the place with a new roof, new windows throughout and a complete heating system. I fitted a wiring system, CCTV and lots of photographic specialities like the first cove.

Over Christmas I decided that the conflict of interest between going to the hospital or going in to the BAKERY to manage it for a very busy day was untenable.

So I am closing the BAKERY for business on Mar 27th. The last shoot will be Jan 29th. During Jan and Feb I am selling off all the photo gear and furniture etc.

I will take a small amount of kit home for artwork copying and making images for websites.

My spare time will be spent programming websites for people.

DECEMBER 2008

The only thing on my mind this month is that the Dragon has been very sick with a flu/heart combination problem. When the elderly go down - I mean just collapse on the floor - it is very frightening. I couldn't hear the 999 service questions, I don't do first aid and I panicked.

I think she is getting better, she has been out of hospital several days and starting to argue again - so that is a good sign - I guess.

I have to record my dis-satisfaction as a tax paying shareholder in all the big banks. Almost without exception and contrary to political will, they are re-claiming debt from soft targets where the collateral is way in excess of the loans in question.

The silent majority HAVE to get stood up and counted so that this is made to stop, otherwise we will be so deep in recession they will have to introduce rationing.

OCTOBER 2008

I am joined this month by a new work experience person. From the SW of France, Angelique is a professional photographer participating in ECTARC's post grad opportunity which lasts 3 months.

So far we have established an embryo website and Angelique is busy making new images in my studio.

The economic situation seems to be for ever worse in spite of our government printing money.

I have just completed another website for an Artist lady who is offering her lovely Rochat printer for use , together with a B&B opportunity.

Finally check out our local B&B - I just face lifted that site too.

AUGUST 2008

CREDIT CRUNCH

Normally the studio dies at this time of year but we are getting some bookings which is good for the bank.

I have 2 orders for new websites, one a sculptor and the other for an art printing press service.

We have mixed results with our various work experience people. At least one is showing signs of becoming a proper photographer which is rather pleasant. Teaching bright kids is no effort.

I have decided that I am becoming a 'grumpy old man' as so many things I see on the news/TV/posters irritate me. How is it that we all have to be politically correct, but so many people expect me to treat them differently to how they treat me?

What happened to manners and common courtesy ?

JULY 2008

DISASTER

This month has seen the date being set for our now famous Small Picture and other Works show to be the last week in November.

My disaster was to overwrite a customer's database, 10000 plus lines of invoices all with the same serial number, content, date and value !!

Fortunately the customer kept a paper record - so we have managed to punch back in most of what was lost.

Yes we make backups every night to a variety of disks. The particular disk had a blown fuse and no way of telling us so.

Another valuable lesson learned - gong to make customers keep a backup too especially on Content Managed sites - which is most of them.

JUNE 2008

SHOP.COM AND POPCORN.CO.UK - conspirators

This month is all about the joys of internet shopping - a mixed bag.

Two years back we bought a natty corkscrew in NZ. It finally bit the dust but we decided it was the best one yet.

So on May the 18th, I trawled the net to find a local supplier. I was rewarded by a site called shop.com. The order was processed by popcorn.co.uk whose relationship with shop.com is not clear.

I ordered the corkscrew for £45 and waited until 3rd June for delivery which seemed a long time.

Having unwrapped the parcel, the unit delivered was a £8.99 common screw.

I emailed the supplier and asked for the correct unit to be shipped quoting all the relevant detail.

I was sent a mail which gave me a link to an RMA form and a set of rules which contravene local laws.

The supplier requires me to return the incorrect and unwanted, unordered goods. This is not required by UK law.

Further the supplier refuses to ship the correct goods until receiving the wrong ones back.

I am now faced with kissing £45 goodbye or giving in to some sinister outfit who are blackmailing me into doing their trade their way.

PLEASE buy from someone else.

UPDATE

The screw finally arrived on June 20th, over a month after the order

The postage refund cheque a day later

The RMA routine is a triple handshake - something only a company wanting to keep one at bay would do - and the form is one of the worst I have ever been asked to fill out

They keep asking for the same data over and over when they have it on the original order - unbelievable.

MARCH 2008
My lovely assistant Malin goes back to Sweden this month after 3 months of being first class

AND she is throwing a leaving party to which I am invited

To help me demonstrate what I can do with websites I have re-built www.cefn-mawr.com as a tool for selling my skills

I have finished another website - if you are trying to sell your house go towww.WorkHomes4Sale.co.uk

FEBUARY 2008
I did a 2 hr 250 slide lecture at NEWI for the local National Trust

You can see the slides and a short pre-talk demo at LiveAtWork.co.uk

We also shot a new sculpture by Jas Davdson which is now on show in Milan

I built a new demo website for talking customers through web features when planning to build a site for them

JANUARY 2008
The BAKERY studio is getting busier again after the holiday

We are in the planning stages for Open Studios in June

The Swedish work experience photographer is now settled in and working hard most days

I got my 2 latest trumpets delivered from the USA

Grand daughter Rowan was christened this month