The Sunday Ramble: Back to square one

You are probably wondering why I’ve started with a picture of my runner beans. I have just been out to pick them. I have enough for my meals all week! When I first started this blog, I wrote my Sunday rambles as lunch was cooking.

With experience I found I could get them done earlier every week. I’m back to square one today, cooking and writing at the same time.

I think summer has taken a turn for the worst. I had to put my heating on for an hour last night before I could take a shower. I think I’ll need a sweater if I go out this afternoon to take photos. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know I reserve Sunday afternoons for taking photos. I photographed the charity bike ride last week and on Thursday I took a few photos at West Bromwich Manor House. I took an International student from China there one afternoon. The weather wasn’t good that day, it started to rain as I set out and I needed the lights on the car. We got the full guided tour and history of the Manor House and they got an entry in their visitor’s book in Chinese. Then disaster, my car battery was dead because I had forgotten to switch the lights off when we arrived there. The AA came to the rescue! I actually got a phone call on my mobile from China while we were waiting for the AA to arrive! That added to the confusion.

I have managed to sort a few things out this week. I was waiting for a call from my energy company so I could do a deal for the next 12 months. They didn’t call, but I managed to get through to someone after being put on hold for 30 minutes yesterday. They offered to reduce my direct debit by £5. That makes a change, they usually want more money! I think I might use a little less energy now I have double glazing. My other call I was waiting for was about new tyres for my car. That worked out OK too. It was difficult, but I decided to read reviews on the tyres and made a better choice in the end. I don’t want poor tyres that have no grip in the wet, but I’m not a boy racer any more so don’t need sporty ones either. My car’s getting on a bit, but despite the flat battery this week it’ll keep going a few more years, so I’m treating it to 3 new tyres.

The International student meanwhile has been trying to get a job in the UK. With the economy a disaster compared to the Chinese economy which is run by those nasty communists rather than the super duper market economy capitalists that we have; she hasn’t had any luck. If you know of a job for a graduate in business (marketing)  who is about to gain a Master’s in International business management, shoot me an email. She also has experience of on-line sales and speaks fluent Mandarin which could be useful if you’re into doing business with China. Anyway, she was due to fly to Paris this afternoon, she would have been checking in about now, but as usual in this country, it was a cock up. They didn’t take payment and it was cancelled. I suspect hidden charges were added after the quote was given. There should be a university course for International students called scams, rip-offs and bull shit; because that’s what they actually learn about when they come to the UK.

I also answered my phone this week; I usually leave the answering machine to do it. It was someone trying to persuade me that gold is a good investment, now the gold price has dropped. Not content with that, he said I should give him £5000 and he’ll invest it with leverage and give me £15,000 back next year… Yeah right… I switched my answering machine back on. The phone has been ringing ever since. It can’t be him, he does million pound deals usually and was offering to ‘invest’ my 5000 as a ‘favour’ to me. So if you’re trying to call me, state your name after the tone and I might pick up…

Anyway, the Manor House is open this afternoon and they are doing something; I forget what. I could go there or maybe do some nature photography… It looks a bit cloudy and it’s very windy. After my turbulent week, I need some relaxation. It wasn’t all problems this week, I did manage to successfully edit a thesis for a professor coming to the UK from China to attend a conference. I had a better week trading on the stock market too, despite not investing in ‘gold’.

At least my life is varied and interesting; it could be much worse… What do you think? Did you do anything interesting this week? I’ll have a calmer week, next week. Shopping around Aldi tomorrow… You can share your experiences in the comments box or you can follow me on Twitter and tweet…