More playing catch up and failing miserably with the added disappointment that thinking I would get a few things sorted after returning from work this afternoon whilst Alison was at work and Bethany was at nursery. I wanted to sort out a birthday present for my mam but despite being told that I could order over the phone they told me I could not, the branch in town had restrictions and the internet were charging an extortionate amount for postage. Tomorrow now means a trip to Northallerton to try to sort things out. While I was down town I thought i would pop into Binns to see if there was anything I could spend my House of Fraser vouchers that I got for my birthday on but that proved to be a damp squib and totally uninspiring so I walked out and went to the bank as I was after a little advice but obviously nobody was available, although I did end up with an appointment which seems a little excessive for what I was after and will no doubt feel embarrassed for wasting everybody's time come Wednesday. So after an hour of traipsing round I finally came home with nothing more than a couple of crappy birthday cards. There were a couple of better ones available but they seemed familiar in  the sense that they were the same "only decent ones" from the past few years and I probably bought them then.
   There is a slight extra rush as they are going to be away for the weekend as they go down to Somerset with Helen for Margaret's surprise 80th birthday which we were unable to attend so I need to get my mam's present to her for Thursday. Bugger.

Bethany's curiosity is causing some trouble in a harmless sort of way so that I get the feeling that I have been cast as the hapless father in a mid afternoon sit com. All the oft observed scenes in such programmes are ticking themselves off from quickly running upstairs to grab something only to find the child half way up them as you come back down. She started to do this round my parents' house where they don't have a gate but upto that point was not too interested and would rather run around in circles or open the drawers in the hall units and pull everything out. Bethany has also managed to smash a bowl and an ornament at my parents' by flinging them on the floor. Lest I forget the torn wallpaper in our dining room I look forward with some trepidation to the time when she starts to colour it in with crayons.
   Next on the list is the video (yes we still have one as we have a lot of cassettes - I spent most of the eighties taping films off the TV) with a cassette jammed in it, which along with two missing remote controls (including for the DVD player) means it's more of a chore to sit down and watch a film than to not bother. Climbing in general and not just stairs is a preferred activity and likes to climb onto the sofas, usually kicking off any cushions that may be in her way. Once up on the sofas in the dining room she can then get her hands on the horizontal blinds, the rattling and bending of which appears to be highly entertaining.
   Whilst we were away she found a new game in the hotel in which she would run to the automatic doors in reception and get them to open. As this meant that she felt the need to run outside it meant that one of us had to keep bringing her back before she got close whilst the other finished their meal. This, of course, became a new game whereby we chased her to the doors before carrying her back to the table and begin the process over again.
   Thankfully this morning she has got bored of kicking her football around the house and has moved on to pushing her truck around but not gently working her way from one room to another rather she is shoving it into the furniture and kitchen units. Hopefully she will soon tire of that activity for something more sedate.

A pleasant weekend spent in the Lake District where the weather did us a small favour and was not to wet or cold which was somewhat fortuitous for February. We were stopping in a Travelodge in Cockermouth which was located on the road in, accessible straight off the A66 making it easy enough to find. As checking in was not until 3pm we went into Cockermouth for a look around and some lunch before going back to the hotel where we had to wait in the bar as it was still only 2:50pm. After getting sorted we went for a drive to Bassenthwaite after noticing it on the way with the A66 running along it's southern edge. I passed back the way we had come and with the lake behind us waited for a left turn to get around the other side presuming that there would be somewhere to pull in as a major 'A' road did not run on the northern side. However it was a few miles further on before I was able to come off the road and head back where I eventually found somewhere to pull in and walk down to the lake.
   The last time we went to the Lakes we went to Windemere and the lake (at Bowness) was more catered to tourists with restaurants, shops and boat cruises on Windermere so I was a little taken aback to see Bassenthwaite supplied with nothing. It was a pleasant surprise that you could simply pull up and walk down to the lake unencumbered by anybody else or other distractions but that only adds to its charms although it was getting dusky by this point and with it a bit chillier so a couple of snaps later we went back.

A similar situation faced us the following day when we drove out to Buttermere, passing Crummock Water on the way. Again the road skirted the lake only this time the road was windier and narrower with the lake not even separated from the road by any trees and the danger of going over the edge very real. After missing the turn for Buttermere village we ended up on the far side of the lake before turning back and finding the proper car park which was the obvious nod to tourism that Bassenthwaite couldn't be bothered with. We walked the bridle path to Buttermere where the wind whipped up at the water's edge to make us feel cold enough to head back rather than continue circumnavigating as others were doing, but the path was deteriorating further on and we had Bethany in the pushchair. Wanting to see Crummock Water as well I briefly walked down the other path, past the campers, until I could see it in the distance and headed back as my footwear was not particularly suitable.

   Alison had prepared a check list of various local attractions which we spent the afternoon ticking off with differing levels of success. The kid's play area and cafe was not so much an attraction as somewhere to entertain Bethany and get some lunch which we duly did before setting out to find the Wordsworth Gardens and Wordsworth House. We wandered not too lonely and there were no signs of daffodils; unfortunately there was not much sign of Wordsworth House either. The signs went so far before stopping and after a while we found some unprepossessing gardens labelled as War Memorial Gardens which we took to be close enough with Alison admitting that she may have wrote it down wrong. Shuffling back to Main Street we examined again the street sign pointing to Wordsworth House and followed it to the old building that had been there all the time but was shut as it was out of season.

   The sheep and wool centre was also shut so with some trepidation we headed for the Cafe / Nature Trail / Farm that warned wellies would be required to access certain areas. The nature trail was too muddy but we had a coffee and the local ice cream before taking Bethany to see the animals which she enjoyed, happily waving to the cows and llamas.

   Returning home today we stopped off at Keswick for lunch and a walk around our fourth lake of our trip, Derwent Water which ticked a few more of the tourist boxes having a cafe and boat cruises, but again it was a lot cooler by the water's edge so we did not stop too long.

As Lithuania celebrates its National Day I celebrate my birthday, with among others John McEnroe, Ian Lavender, Ice-T, Kim Jong-Il, Iain Banks, Cathy Freeman, June Brown, Christopher Ecclestone and Michael Holding. Curiously 16th February seems a popular date for cricketers to die on all of which information highlights that celebrate was probably an exaggeration as to how I was spending the day. As Alison was on a course for Mencap during the day I took Bethany round my parents this morning and found the above facts when she had a little nap before her lunch this afternoon.
   Not exactly party hard but quite a pleasant day nonetheless as I took Bethany for a walk in the park this afternoon without the assistance of a pushchair. She happily held my hand walking along the street and I carried her over the road. Once in the park she was a little tentative at first as a couple of dogs just ahead of us were being a bit lively and Bethany started running back to the gates. Once the dogs and owners had gone round the corner Bethany was happy to carry on following the path around the park but as may be expected headed for the river as we neared it. By this stage she was getting tired so we went back and got ready to pick Alison up. When she got out Bethany held both our hands as we had a quick look in B&Q for some roof slates before going to Anna's and then back home for my birthday tea.

Quite a pleasant day all told as my car got through it's MOT alright even though I was without it all day. After dropping it off at the garage I started to walk back unaccustomed to doing the route on foot so making a fool of myself as I crossed the road only to come back straight away as I realized the pavement ran out on that side as we went under a bridge. A young woman was taking the same route and I saw her go down a cut which I presumed to be a shortcut as the most logical place for to be walking to at 8:30 in the morning would be to the college which I had to pass. As I had already passed the opening and was on the other side of the street I opted to go the way I would in the car in case my hunch was wrong and I gave the woman a fright if she noticed that I had doubled back to follow her down by the railway line. On my way to pick my car back up I noticed a path coming out onto the main road opposite the college and decided to take it thus cutting off a large corner and saving me 10 to 15 minutes.
   I was getting a little nervous when I had not heard anything, although if anything major needs doing they generally call to let me know, so I phoned them at 3:30pm to find that everything was OK and they were just waiting for the locksmith to sort out my broken key. After seeing on the internet somebody quote £100 to come and remove the broken key upto £300 for a new barrel I was rather relieved that his fee came to £40. However, I was quoted for a replacement key and was stunned to hear that it cost £108. Apparently the price was so high because there is a chip in it which (de)activates the immobiliser so I thought I would do without for the time being as it was a little excessive for a spare.
   With Bethany at nursery we managed to get the house in order for a little Valentine's meal with Alison preparing the table and putting sparklers in everything and I made a tiramisu after eventually finding a shop that sold single cream. Alison had got a couple of meals for two and after picking Bethany back up we had the Chinese tonight, saving the Indian for my birthday.
   A while back Alison got Bethany some foam letters to play with in the bath as they stick to tiles when wet.
I picked out the letters for her name and have got in the habit of rearranging them when I take a shower with varying degrees of success. I mention this only because this morning the anagram I produced was one of the few that I quite like because it has a semblance of sense about it and it was "The small hay barn" which sounds a bit like the name of a cafe attached to an out of town garden centre. My previous favourites include the first I produced which was "Halt, shy lamb near" and the slightly more cumbersome "Many bathers hall" which sounds a bit like a swimming pool after it has been translated into Cantonese and then back into English.

The first day of my week long holiday; time to kick back and relax - what could possibly go wrong? Well first thing this morning as everybody was pretty much ready I thought I would pull the car out of the drive to make it easier to put Bethany in before taking Alison to work. With the car on the front I thought I would pop round the newsagents for a paper when the key snapped in the ignition of my car as I was getting out. I quickly grabbed the spare set of keys from upstairs hoping that the end had fallen somewhere under the car seat but that was not to be and told Alison that she had better set off walking which luckily would only add another ten minutes to her journey. Finding some tips on the internet I enlisted the help of my father to help retrieve the broken portion of key using thin pliers, bits of coathanger and blu-tack but all to no avail. Luckily the remaining bit of key still starts the car and it is already booked into the garage for Monday morning for an MOT and service so I waited for them to open and phoned them to tell them of my problem. They were remarkably unfazed and said it wouldn't be a problem making me feel a little foolish for flapping around earlier on.
   Having given up trying to keep pace with Bethany as she runs from one room to another we found it best to hazard proof as best we can so that sockets are blanked off,catches are on cupboard doors and breakable items are out of her reach. The only hazards are the oven in the kitchen and gas fire in the front room which we don't leave unattended and the latter does not go on until she is in bed although she likes to remove the fake pebbles from the fire when you're not looking so causing problems when trying to remember which order they go back in. Earlier this morning then I was puzzled to hear the sound of the window blinds in the dining room rattling and walked in to find Bethany stood on the settee under the window having successfully climbed up and playing with the blinds. Rearranging the cushions in case she should fall I then raised the blinds but she remained content to sit on the settee whilst watching CBeebies. Later on she approached me in the front room as I was sat on the sofa but this one is a bit higher and after an initial attempt she realized that she could not climb up. Bethany then pulled a cushion off and used this as a step and she clambered up to sit next to me rather pleased with herself.
   I wasn't quite so pleased with her later on when I heard paper tearing and wondering whose letter or document she had got hold of this time and went in to find her pulling the wallpaper off the wall. A quick botch job with the blu-tack that was no good for broken car keys has at least stopped it hanging off before I try to paste it back up later.

A small triumph after a few months of having the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs hanging loose and not closing properly: it now works properly! Originally it was a little too small for the opening and after eventually finding the voucher that came with the gate for an extension I ordered a filling piece. As Bethany had torn the voucher I thought I would phone the number rather than post the slip that offered one extension free with only postage and paking of £3.50 to pay. Apparently, when I called, the offer was out of date and it would cost £8 for the extension but as P&P were free I thought I might as well splash out. On arrival I attached the extension but without much success as I struggled to tighten the gate up and close the gap. As Bethany has worked out how to open the latch at the bottom this was not really sufficient for its purpose.
   However the other day when I collected Bethany from nursery I noticed the same gate across one of their doors and they had some fittings the other way round. Feeling rather foolish I finally set it up properly earlier today and now feel smugly satisfied to have a fully functioning safety gate - just in time as she is hitting the climbing phase and has used the cushion chair to climb onto the coffee table and makes a start for the stairs round my parents house.

One of the traits I like to pride myself on is my attention to detail and the fastidiousness work ethic I try to achieve and can get a little adrenaline rush after completing a number of tasks in good time. While that might sound like the sort of bullshit you would find on a CV I mention it highlight how much I beat myself up when a silly oversight at work saw half of a tanker delivery go down the drain. The mitigating factors that everybody, including my manager, mentioned are no more than excuses and can not escape the fact that I personally feel like I've let myself down just because I forgot to close the drain valve. Ironically another manager had been complaining about us extending the process times when we are on our own (which since redundancies we are) and many of my colleagues have said that there was an accident waiting to happen: I just didn't think that I would be the one to cause the mishap.
   It is the sort of incident that could and has happened elsewhere but the consequences are not as severe as it was not so much the loss of product that was at issue but the resultant effluent costs that seemed to vex everyone more. It is not the first time that this happened and since the last occasion no action was taken to prevent it occurring again and apparently no disciplinary action was taken towards those involved at the time either. I was not aware of that when I was told that I would get a written warning and most of my colleagues seem more aggrieved on my behalf and said they would do one thing at a time for fear that a similar fate awaits them. Nonetheless my crown of perfection has slipped somewhat.

It's been a tiring weekend without doing anything but Bethany has not been going to sleep and the prospect of a week on earlies is adding more weight to my eyelids. Thankfully I have a week off after that as I have booked my birthday week in as a holiday - something I usually do as aside from the obvious advantages of making a day of it and going somewhere it is a nice length of time since Christmas when I feel like a break.
   Since my last post I received yet another spam e-mail, this time purporting to be from the HSBC and claiming that there was a security breach with my online banking account. As I don't have an online banking account it did not take too long to figure that this might not be genuine. The frustrating thing was, trying to be a good citizen and all I thought it best to forward it too HSBC but the address to send it to took some finding, scrawling through various pages before seeing it tucked away halfway down a page in the middle of a paragraph after a number of abortive attempts at trying to contact them.
   Yesterday morning was a feet up time as Alison relaxed before getting ready to go to work. Bethany fed, shirt ironed and all changed I looked at the calender and noticed that she had marked Sunday afternoon as her shift. Double checking her diary and phoning the home up confirmed that she was indeed due in today so promptly got back into her civvies feeling slightly foolish. As she was staying in we ended up going out for tea round the corner to The Copper Beech. Before doing so Alison phoned ahead to check on the serving times which is something we have fallen foul of a number of times round there. Last summer one of the barmen seemed to have it in for us as we would sit in the beer garden and he would come to tut that we should be off the premises by 7pm as we had the baby. The first time we had been told 8pm but this only applied if we had food and going earlier the next time we were told 6. We were getting quite paranoid that we weren't welcome and had not returned until the other week when we went for a bar meal only to find that they had stopped serving as it was a Sunday and finished earlier. Hence Alison's phone call to ensure it was not to be a wasted walk.
   In the end it was rather pleasant with a satisfactory menu and helpful staff who did not mind Bethany dropping half her dinner on the floor. We noticed the barman who had told us off previously as he popped his head through the door from the bar but we just turned away sheepishly and tried to finish the wordsearch that came on the back of Bethany's menu.

The last couple of days I have experienced two attempted scams which although obvious, may well have caught someone out, if not myself if I was not feeling alert for the internet con. This took the form of an e-mail purporting to be from HM Revenue and Customs claiming that I was due a tax rebate of an arbitrary figure that was not too high and included pence to give it a ring of authenticity (approximately £240). A number of clues exposed the fraud, namely my name was not mentioned, there was no reference number, it mentioned that this was important as they had tried to contact me previously which was not the case and the format of the letter was wrong with mis-spellings and random capitalization of words in mid sentence. I went on the HMRC website where they said that such notifications would not be done by e-mail and that they still only use this method of communication for individuals within the organization and the public can only contact them via phone or letter (very 20th Century). They did have an e-mail address for receiving details of such scams so I forwarded mine to this address.
   Yesterday was more of a case of some lads trying it on rather than an actual con as a silver transit van pulled up outside my house as I was bringing the recycling bin in. The passenger wound his window down and explained that they had been fitting out some new houses up the top (I don't where) and they had a memory foam mattress left over in the back of the van. They had been in touch with their boss who said that they should try to get rid of it, preferably to someone in the area, and they could keep what they made as beer money. After telling them that I wasn't interested and did not know anybody else who might be they drove off in what was supposed to be their business van despite being unmarked.
   Things are hectic enough without having to be vigilant for con men and I get ripped off enough every time I go shopping (moan over).

After a non stop weekend of chasing after Bethany it was almost a relief to get back to work which is unfair as we managed a sort of routine whilst Alison was at work which involved me sitting her in front of CBeebies and after half an hour realizing that she had wandered off to play with her toys in another room and I was becoming transfixed by the programmes. That's not to say that she doesn't watch it as she can get upset if you don't put it on for her and even picked up the TV remote in our bedroom and pointed it at the television herself.
   My mam commented how different Bethany's reaction to my mam's step sisters was last weekend. Steph was first up and was busy making amendments to my grandfather's epitaph so did not pay much attention to Bethany as she toddled by curiously fishing for compliments. After staring at Steph for a little and receiving a little smile she toddled out of the room. When Alex came downstairs she acknowledged Bethany more and said hello to her when she tried the same stunt. I explained to my mam that this was the reason that she interacted with Alex more by giving her presents (basically anything of my parents that she found lying around) and it was a trick she often pulls with strangers. When we go e.g. to the pub for a meal Bethany will often stare at the people on an adjacent table until somebody smiles back or even talks and she will respond by laughing and smiling back loving the fact that she is getting some attention. If they don't return her smiles then she'll try another table until someone does before using Alison and myself as a last resort.

   A brief interlude as Bethany just woke herself coughing and failing to get her back to sleep after a few minutes palmed her off to Alison who was asleep as the only method we've found to settle her back down is to cuddle into one of us in bed.

   Well looking at the date we are now into February and that means another birthday is just around the corner. It's been a few years since any vestige of pretending to still be young was left but I can't help but feel that next year's approach of the dreaded 40 is casting rather a shadow, especially when I realized that a number of my contemporaries at school will be reaching this landmark figure later this year. I know it's only a number but to me it sounds old - well middle aged at least - and I'm yet to feel comfortable with that. When I turned 30 there was mocking of being old but I did not feel it, and while I don't feel particularly old it is harder to laugh of 40 and believe that you still have youth on your side. Part of me wishes that the next 25 years would just hurry up and get the decay over with so that I can slip comfortably into senescence and be done with quotidian drudgery in between. Then when I'm done with the self pity I can look forward to seeing our daughter grow.