Tagged

Ali has tagged me (again!) To get her off my back I have to give 8 random facts about myself. So here goes in no particular order:

1. My earliest memory consists of having my head stuck in my toy lorry. I wanted to see what was inside; that seems quite reasonable.

2. I used to work in Harland & Wolff, where the Titanic was built; no, I did not work there when the ill-fated ship was actually being built! Also, the Titanic was alright when it left Belfast so it's not our fault it sank.

3. My favourite desert is apple crumble and custard, with banoffee pie coming a close second.

4. I worked in Nigeria with a missionary society and taught in a church school. While there, we were buying some souvenirs from a Hausa trader and I jokingly asked him how much he would give me for my wife (as you do!) He offered some serious money and I was giving it serious consideration until Mrs Pluto pulled me away.

5. I was arrested in Russia during the summer.

6. My first job as a newly qualified teacher was in the school I attended as a pupil. It was strange, at first, going into the staffroom and calling my former teachers by their first name. I had the grace to forgive those who had caned me as a pupil.

7. At the end of a family holiday in Sardinia I discovered that I had lost my passport just as we were setting off to the airport. However, EasyJet let me on to the plane with my driving licence as proof of identity. To be honest, I was hoping for a few extra days on the island on my own while the British Consulate issued me a new passport.

8. During a trip to Ukraine I accidentally told a lady I loved her! I think my wife saw the funny side of it.

(Now stop nagging me, Ali!)

Dick who?

Further to my comments about Dick Turpin, the famous highwayman, my wife and I were in York earlier this year. I was looking in a brochure for a list of things to see in the city and found that Turpin was buried in the city. I thought this might be interesting so off I went, Mrs Pluto in tow.

The map wasn't very clear and we had a bit of trouble finding the grave. Even a local couldn't direct us to the spot where the most famous of England's highwaymen was buried.

We eventually found the grave in what appeared to be a garden next to a church. The outlaw's final resting place was marked by a simple headstone.

Honour thy father

The other night I put the bin out for collection and it was raining; what’s new? However, it was a very fine drizzle and made a lovely orange haze around the streetlights. It also had the effect of dampening (no pun intended) sounds giving the evening a peaceful feeling.

I went back into the house and told my wife and daughter how peaceful it was outside. I said that I was even tempted to stand outside in the rain with an umbrella just to experience the calmness.

My daughter’s comment was, “Mum, he’s my dad and I had no choice, but you MARRIED him!”

Stand and deliver!

Mrs Pluto and I have planned a weekend trip to London (no, I did not use the word "romantic"). As I blogged before, my daughter got a fantastic deal from Ryanair so we looked up the website to see what was on offer. The flights were reasonably cheap so I started to complete the online booking form. This was when the cost started to go up.

I found that it cost £24 to check in one piece of luggage, including the privilege of having a member of staff stick on one of those annoying destination labels at the check-in desk. Mrs Pluto was informed that she would just have to pack her hairdryer in a rucksack along with all her balms and lotions (in plastic containers no larger than 100ml). I also discovered that those sneaky Ryanair people had ticked the box to buy their travel insurance; this was unticked.

What really annoyed me, however, was the charge for using a credit card. Now I know that it costs to process payments by credit card but surely not £4 per person per flight? This put the cost up by another £16. Only one payment had to be processed therefore, in my simplistic view, only £4 should be charged.

Dick Turpin is alive and well and works for Ryanair

Merry ...........

I have just been reminded by my "friend" Ali that there are 113 days til Christmas! Thanks, Ali!!