dalecooper57 may or may not necessarily be my real name, although I couldn't swear to it.
An aging hippy living in Devon, I do all this stuff (and I do mean everything - blog, animation, music, photography, the lot) on my lovely smartphone because I started like that, and now I'm too stubborn to get a computer.
I don't have a theme, because I don't see why I'd want to talk about the same thing all the time, so why only write about one thing?
So if you like eclecticism, humour, nonsense, opinionated ranting, and occasionally educational stuff, you've come to the right place.
Any and all feedback is welcome, both positive and negative, on the content, style and overall look of the blog.
You keep following me, I'll keep telling you stuff, ok?
Cheers,
dalecooper57
Just squeaking in under the wire for One liner Wednesday this week, due to preparing this massive stack of documents…
…which Rhonda and I (well, mostly Rhonda) have been collating over the past week, ready to send to the solicitor, who will then submit our visa application appeal for Home Office judicial review.
So cross your fingers, please and thank you.
Anyway, on with today’s new entry in the alternative dictionary, a bit of a groaner, I’m afraid;
Monday morning means K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge, with the prompt this week chosen by K’lee; Free like a bird.
Well, I sat in the garden most of the day yesterday, but the local bird population was less than cooperative. However, there was one garden resident who I did manage to capture, so here is my selection; Free as a…squirrel.
I spotted the little grey critter on the fence…
…then he spotted me…
…which seemed to startle him into action…
…and he was gone.
As for the birds, here are a few from the archives.
See just how high K’lee soars with his post, HERE, it’s spectacular.
Now you can show us your flights of photographic fancy.
*****
To get involved with the challenge, post a photo to your blog on Monday, add a pingback to this post (or to K’lee’s) and don’t forget to tag your post #CosPhoChal.
Alternatively, add a link to your blog in the comments of either mine or K’lee’s post and we’ll come and check out your entry.
Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.
K’lee was a trifle late with his prompt this week, but here it is, just in time to provide inspiration for Monday’s edition of K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.
He chose to let you be; Free like a bird, however you decide to interpret that.
*****
To get involved with the challenge, post a photo to your blog on Monday, add a pingback to this post (or to K’lee’s) and don’t forget to tag your post #CosPhoChal.
Alternatively, add a link to your blog in the comments of either mine or K’lee’s post and we’ll come and check out your entry.
Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.
To help take my mind off the stress and turmoil of the past few weeks, I’ve been mucking around with audio-visual gadgets again, to bring you two additions to my ever-expanding collection of psychedelic remix videos.
The first frenetic explosion of sound and colour is an unlikely collision between African rhythms and Balearic beats, mixing The Sahara All-Stars with Beat Connection, resulting in Take Your Balearic Trunk Soul Rhythm
************
Secondly, a more subtle reworking of a song by electronic music innovator and producer, Imogen Heap, the lovely Glittering Cloud, unimaginatively renamed by me as Stuttering Cloud.
I apologise for the lateness of this edition of K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge but, as you may have guessed from my last post, today has been rather hectic.
Still, now I’m here, let’s get on with the show.
I chose the theme on Friday and it was a prompt that took very little imagination, because it’s something very much in my thoughts at the moment; Together forever.
Now let’s see your communal creative conglomerations.
*****
To get involved with the challenge, post a photo to your blog on Monday, add a pingback to this post (or to K’lee’s) and don’t forget to tag your post #CosPhoChal.
Alternatively, add a link to your blog in the comments of either mine or K’lee’s post and we’ll come and check out your entry.
Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.
Here, by way of an update, is the terrible story of the last week, along with some background…..
A couple of months ago, due to a minor administrative mistake, Rhonda and Audrey’s resident visa applications were rejected as invalid, despite our repeated attempts to clarify what the problem was.
A great many wonderful people generously donated money to help us meet the extortionate costs of making the application, for which we are eternally grateful and most of that fee was refunded when the application was turned down.
We have since been communicating with the UKBA and the Home Office via our MP, who offered to help and who had requested that they review our case for an appeal. He told us last weekend that a letter had been written to us on Friday and would arrive this week.
The letter arrived on Wednesday: “right of appeal denied”.
It informed us in no uncertain terms, that they would not consider our case for appeal, as we had failed to register our biometrics on time, (due to them neglecting to point out that we could have done so at any time, on the MULTIPLE OCCASIONS I spoke to them about our identity documents) but we could reapply whenever we liked.
They also pointed out that any new application would likely be turned down, as my wife and daughter have overstayed their visa deadline (whilst waiting for the Home Office to get back to us) and were now considered illegal immigrants.
AND, this Monday, Rhonda’s boss, who knew her visa expired in April and had still happily been employing her since, (while she continued to make all her tax and NI contributions, I might add) announced that he could no longer have her working there and told her to leave until our appeal reference number arrived.
All of this, just two days before our right to appeal was denied.
This effectively cuts our family income in half overnight.
So yesterday we spoke to a lawyer, who didn’t bother to sugar coat the bad news.
To drive the point home that we really are in rather deep shit, he led with this terrifying announcement;
*The UKBA could turn up any time and take my family away to a transit centre, prior to deportation*
Now he had my attention, in fact I think my heart briefly stopped.
Our only options are as follows:
1) They return to the States immediately to a life of destitution and poverty, with the tenuous possibility that I could join them at some distant point in the future somehow.
2) We pay the solicitors £1500 to put our case to the highest appeal court in the land as a judicial review, admit our stupid admin error and plead family life, human rights, etc, which would also mean paying the newly inflated fees, about another £3500, when the application is submitted by the solicitors, hopefully sometime next week.
Even then, the visa would only be granted on a discretionary basis and there is as good a chance as any that they will reject it.
If you have to leave the country as the result of a “rejected” (as opposed to “invalid”) visa application, there is no refund and no return to the UK for ten years.
Fortunately, it’s payday, so we paid the lawyers my last month’s wages this morning and have a phone consultation booked for Monday at 11.00.
Assuming we don’t get a knock on the door before that.
Any crossed fingers, tribal offerings, lucky rabbit’s feet, or general good vibes would be greatly appreciated.
This week’s theme for K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge is set by me and the prompt comes straight from the heart, (the post which follows this one will explain where the inspiration comes from) so I’ll be looking for something that illustrates; Together forever.
I’ll see you back here on Monday, for some images of togetherness.
Have a great weekend.
*****
To get involved with the challenge, post a photo to your blog on Monday, add a pingback to this post (or to K’lee’s) and don’t forget to tag your post #CosPhoChal.
Alternatively, add a link to your blog in the comments of either mine or K’lee’s post and we’ll come and check out your entry.
Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.
K’lee picked the theme for today’s edition of K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge, going for the contrasting dynamics of; Bodies at rest, bodies in motion.
I have chosen to illustrate the prompt with some photos of a recent walk on the beach with Audrey.
Bodies at rest: Audrey standing on the beach; a jellyfish, which has ceased to move altogether; a heavenly body, the sun, resting on the sand…
Bodies in motion; a couple of action shots of two dogs Audrey was petting and a nice one of her kicking along the sand…
K’lee’s post is HERE, but now let’s see what you came up with.
*****
To get involved with the challenge, post a photo to your blog on Monday, add a pingback to this post (or to K’lee’s) and don’t forget to tag your post #CosPhoChal.
Alternatively, add a link to your blog in the comments of either mine or K’lee’s post and we’ll come and check out your entry.
Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge.
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