Zola

All this talk of birthdays in February has got me thinking about those special people born on the 29th. And here's some interesting snip-its:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17203353 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_29

Although I live in England, I don't live in the London area. But I do know a couple of friends that do. So I will ask them for some tips. What I will say is that you need to either rent a flat or book a hotel room quite soon because it's not untypical to find vast areas in and around the Wimbledon area fully booked up; and any spare places remaining will be demanding sky-high prices. But there are many places elsewhere in London that might be of some benefit: in fact there is so much choice it's difficult to know where to start. I suppose another question I would ask is do you want to stay in central London or in the outer boroughs? The former will be more expensive but easier to get around in terms of transport and sight-seeing.

I'm another February gal, so I agree we should have a second birthday month of choice! Seems there's quite a few Februrarians here ?

@TattleTeeny. Despite a disappointing weekend, here's a happy belated birthday from across the Pond. Hope you look good in your new jeans :)

Amy Smith - saw her in a couple of episodes of Shameless and Scrubs, and a fairly routine comedy feature called "Break Point". Not an A-list actress by any means, but she's cute as a button; slightly pixie/waifish in looks and quite spunky too. Adorable eyes as well.

Same here - and I became emotionally pumped when the lead ladies dominated scenes. In fact I noticed a lot of the women in the cinema we were in were clapping and cheering while some of the men there were generally quite quiet.

All the hype was fully justified - an excellent film from start to finish; the performances especially were very engrossing and entertaining. If there was one little criticism it could be the editing- the story dragged a little which added very little to the overall. That said, I feel compelled to watch it again at the cinema - which is something I rarely do these days. 4/5

"Margaret Thatcher: The Authorised Biography, Volume One: Not For Turning" - Charles Moore Continuing my foray into the political world of biographies, I have decided to read up on Britain's first Prime Minister - Margaret Thatcher, who's reign lasted from 1979 to 1990, when she was ousted from power by her own cabinet. It follows her steady rise to power, confronting and confounding a male-dominated political world, confronting unions that were bringing the country to its knees, and hell-bent on ending socialism and replacing it with a new conservatism of deregulation, private enterprise, competition and more choice. From what I have read thus far, it feels quite a balanced and objective analysis by Charles Moore. However, because her premiership happened before my time I can't really argue with his views. But it is very true to say she left a lasting legacy on the country when she was eventually forced to step down - depending on your political views this "legacy" either enhanced the country's standing on the world stage, or diminished it. Either way, it's a fascinating book and a very easy read.

We finally got round to watching David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" last night, and not only was the story quite riveting, along with some fine acting and a beautiful score, but the highly rated and moving lesbian love scene was extremely well-handled - erotic rather than explicit. The only issue I would have with some of these mainstream films is that sometimes you really do have to do your homework with regards content because this particular film has an excellent & compelling story-line, which would have a broader audience appeal. But in some respects the lesbian sex scene (or any sex scene come to that), can sometimes come out of nowhere, either to justifiably reinforce a particular plotline, or as an act of pure exploitation in order to add a little spice for those more interested in looking at such scenes and not caring much for the story. But whatever the reason, if you intend to watch a film with your parent and/or other family members, and you haven't done your homework, then watching a sex scene can be uncomfortable for some. And Mulholland Drive, is no exception - a great story from start to finish, fine acting, and typical David Lynch direction; but the sex scene will either have you transfixed or embarrassed in the company of others. But anyway, Mulholland Drive is a damn good film in its own right. I will now step off my soap box, lol

That's one of my biggest peeves with going to the gym: expensive membership fees and the hassle of trying to cancel, even when you follow their rules and give sufficient notice they will still try to sneak an extra payment out of you so that you won't notice. Other peeves with going to the gym: - People who don't wipe down equipment, benches, or any other gym equipment others might want to use right after. Benches especially, as they can be coated in other people's sweat. But they don't bother to wipe when they've finished. Guys that start lurking round me just because I'm on my own and in Lycras. They will say things like "Are you okay on that machine?" "Do you need some help with that?" and "What you really need be doing on that machine is... hey, let me show you!" Peeps that spend far too much time admiring themselves in the mirror or taking selfies while holding a 2kg dumbbell above their heads. So it's very rare I bother with gyms these days, much preferring my own little gym in my garage

We don't plan to go out tonight, but since it's a Friday we will either order a takeaway (Indian or Chinese), or I might pop round to the local chippy and order some good old fish (cod) and chips! Yummy

Constant phone app updates. A week doesn't got by without my moby telling me this needs updating, or that needs updating etc. I know there's a setting where you can automatically download these updates without you even knowing, but I never allow that because some apps seem to want permission to do almost anything on your phone, not least finding out who your contacts are, your photos, text messages, even the ability to delete or change things such as your wifi settings. So I always have my phone set to that I get alerted before any updates take place and I can decide for myself if an app really does need to see my PI. But its also the frequency of these updates that irritate. Outlook and Google Maps updated twice in the space of about 8 days, and some are even more frequent than that.

Another telling scene is the monologue by one of the main characters at the very end of "No County for Old Men" (I won't mention the character's name here). But it is clear from his speech that he is now clearly out of his depth in this "new violent sadistic world", and the look of vacant helplessness on his tired old face before the screen turns to black, is quite telling - a picture and a thousand words etc.

It's been awhile since I last watched the three Lord of the Rings films, but I recall one very small but significant scene near the end of "Fellowship of the Ring." where Legolas explains to the Council of Elrond who "Strider" really is. The expression on Frodo's face is priceless, as it dawns on him he has been travelling in the company of Gondor's king-in-waiting!

Probably a little hot and flustered, lol

Yes, I'm in England. :) Actually, when I returned home after being told off by my boss, I looked at myself in my half-length mirror, and despite having a fairly loose-fitting white blouse, it was quite diaphanous, and because I have very dark areola I could just about "see" them, but only from some angles! I guess I just picked the wrong blouse from the hoards I have in my wardrobe (I don't spend time deciding what to wear on most occasions, just grab & wear). And there was certainly no intent dressing in such a way to outrage public morals in the workplace. And I also checked the T&Cs in my contract, and there was no mention of a "acceptable dress code" other than not to wear any t-shirts with offensive and/or political/religious messages on them. But anyway, that's all ancient history, and I've moved on since then. But I do make sure my nipples are suitably covered up whenever visiting customer sites, lol

I have quite a few bras - mostly white as I like white tops and blouses. Trouble is I don't really have much in the way of "filling" a good bra; plus I ind them restricting and suffocating at times, especially summer time. I remember when I used to work for an IT company a few months back, it was a hot summer's day and I decided not to wear a bra to work. I could have worn a camisole under my blouse, but I forgot about that. Instead i went to work in just a white blouse. But then 2 or 3 hours later I was called into my supervisor's office and told a complaint had been made by someone regarding the fact my nipples were "visible". I was told to go home, cover up and come back, and make up for any time lost. My fault for not putting on a camisole, but all the same, it was quite embarrassing being called in and told off by my boss

Since it's Valentines, my partner and I will be eating out tonight. She doesn't know it yet though: it's my surprise gift! I was thinking of going Italian but she prefers Thai or Japanese. So we will probably have something like Chicken Satay for starter, Sweet & Sour Chicken and/or green or red Thai Curries. (we are not very adventurous with Thai unfortunately). Eating out is always an expensive business, more so on special occasions. But I guess you can't put a price on love (thank god for credit cards, lol)

Being an IT person I can readily swap out a PSU, CPU heatsink, memory dimms, cache node and PCI cards from a HP Proliant DL360 gen 9 server, and have it booted back up in about 15 minutes. But you ask me to load a bobbin on a sewing machine, or even replace a needle and I'm completely stumped - despite looking at a host of "How To..." YouTube videos. i couldn't even sew a button using one. In fact I was better off just doing it manually

Well. after several months trying to get my head (and hands) round using a sewing machine, I finally gave up a couple of days ago. I can do a few straight seams but anything more elaborate than that and I just haven't got a clue. However, a friend remarked about how good and clear my handwriting is when it comes to writing out birthday and Christmas cards, especially when writing out full addresses on envelopes. She suggested I should try my hand at calligraphy with a view to doing some part-time work writing letters, posters and greeting cards either for cash or voluntarily for charities. So just need to figure out what I need in terms of pens or fountain pens, ink and good quality paper, and then just take it from there via YouTube or perhaps a local college course.

I love small gigs with a good audience, loud booming music, great atmosphere and plenty to drink (not necessarily alcoholic). There are some gigs are that women only, which I like because it means I won't get groped in a standing audience dancing and jumping around. With big stadium gigs I just can't get into the rhythm because everything is so remote. The smaller the gig the better the personal experience - hot, sweaty and loud

I used to enjoy the big concerts with big bands back in my university days. Even though there would be 70 or 80,000 other people crammed into a concert arena, and we could be sitting or standing so far back you would need binoculars to see the players, it was great just "being there" and sampling the atmosphere. But these days, going to those kinds of gigs and festivals is far more expensive, with tickets already pre-sold and then sold on again to the public at inflated prices. I much prefer going to see small tribute bands at local clubs and pubs. Yes, there may only be about 30 or 40 people in the "crowd" and the band could be total sh*t, but all the same its only rock and roll at the end of the day.

Clamshell plastic packaging! Anything short of a petrol chainsaw or a oxy-acetylene blow torch, and you're never going to be able to open these mothers!

Talking of smart phones and concerts. I do find it incredibly difficult trying to enjoy a concert in the raw without the concert-hall awash with illuminated phones held above heads waving and weaving, recording the act rather than the owners actually watching it. Despite warnings asking people not to use their phones during the gig, they do so anyway

Well bless my soul!! I baked this earlier today, and it turned out perfectly. I tried a couple of squares with some whipped cream and a drizzle or two of strawberry sauce, and it was delicious! Thank you again!