I've introduced a new link page for bloggers.

It's called BLINKS (see top of page).

I remarked, a few days ago, that I would have a look at a new internet craze called Twitter and, for those who haven't tried it for themselves, it seems to be a platform for interesting people (such a as Stephen Fry) to describe their day-to-day routine to the interested and for boring people (too many to mention) to do the same for bored.

A few 'blogs' ago (in the Retirement category), there is a picture of Ellie, our Umbrella cockatoo with our younger son's girlfriend. I should, perhaps, have mentioned that, a little before Christmas, she laid an egg (the parrot, not the girlfriend) - followed, shortly, by a second one..

Last month, she laid another two and, yesterday, a fifth one!

There is no doubt these eggs are unfertilised. However, the fact that she has chosen to 'burrow' under the duvet on my bed in order to lay them between my legs has caused much amusement to several of those I had thought would be rather less frivolous and show more respect to someone of my vintage..

This is an interesting test for American school-children.

This is a video of an interview Lloyd did during his recent tour which I thought I would share with you.

Click below to view.........

http://www.magicrpm.com/artistes/lloyd-cole/videos/interview-top-4

I've just read an article in The Daily Telegraph about something called Twitter.

All very interesting and, no doubt, clever stuff - but a bit too technical for me to understand what it's really all about. Anyway, there's is a facility to provide a link to ones own web-site. So, I've registered and am waiting to see what happens.

Those who follow my elder son's career, may know that he's having problems meeting the demand for his new CDs. So, in an effort to help, I offered to distribute some of those left over from my recent retailing responsibilities to buyers in the UK (and, perhaps, Europe).

Somewhat naively, however, I had overlooked the fact that the attraction of buying directly from Lloyd is that he signs the CDs. Accordingly, it was decided that I should send him some of the ones I had and, towards the end of last week, I made up a couple of parcels and took them to the local Post Office - where a very nice lady explained that the postage for the two parcels (with a combined weight of around 6.8 kilos) to the USA would be in the region of £100.00.

I was flabber-smacked !

Reeling slightly from the shock, I moved to a quiet corner and telephoned Lloyd. Who could imagine, not that many years ago, the concept of using a little gadget the size of a box of Swan Vestas to speak to someone in the USA ? Anyway, we decided I should return home to search the internet for other options.

Interestingly, it seems that most international couriers would charge around the same as the Post Office. However, closer examination of the Royal Mail web-site revealed that a single parcel, weighing less than 2 kilos, would only cost around £20.00.

So, armed with this information, I called Lloyd again and he decided that, notwithstanding the fact that his margin of profit for these particular CDs will be practically zero, he would prefer for them to be where he can sign them and that I should go ahead and re-pack the parcels.

Over the weekend, having invested in some new (and what I thought were very reasonably-priced) scales, I set about re-parcelling the CDs in readiness for another trip to the Post Office on Monday. Well, that was the plan; however, the weather gods  conspired to prevent me from getting to the Post Office until today (Wednesday) and, as I write, three carefully-packed parcels should be on their way across the pond.

When I decided to retire from the delivery work, one of the factors which had influenced me, to some extent, was the prospect of a severe winter by the usual standards for the south east of England. It snowed in November for the first time for over seventy years, for example, and more had been forecast.

Anyway, the first lot arrived overnight.

This was the view from our back door, this morning........

.......and the one from the kitchen window.

I don't think we'll be going out, today.

Evidently, practically the whole of The United Kingdom has ground to a halt - which is rather pathetic when one realises that what we've experienced would be considered little more than a light dusting of snow in parts of Europe - the Scandinavian countries, in particular.

One more view - from the lounge window, this time.

Snow and a palm tree!!