Author: dalecooper57

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

K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.

I set the theme for today’s post on K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge, choosing to give you open licence to show us some reasons to be cheerful.

I didn’t have anything particular in mind and, after Saturday being such a success, it was nice to just slob around at home while the ladies pampered themselves for the day.

I could post a picture of my lovely new phone or the excellent new wireless headphones I spent much of the day listening to, but neither of those things make me anywhere near as cheerful as knowing my wife and daughter are now able to renew their visas. Meaning my offerings are not so much based on photographic proficiency or spectacular effects this week, but they stick very closely to the brief.

In honour of the Superbowl, (which I don’t watch and which only interests me because of the food involved) here is a photo of the amazing dinner Rhonda prepared last night; chicken fried steak and gravy with mashed potato and “Texas toast” (just out of shot)…

…followed by a sight that can’t fail to cheer anyone up, Audrey jigging about to a YouTube video in her “floofy” pajamas.

K’lee will cheer you up, HERE, so go and check him out.

Now it’s your turn to put a smile on our faces.

*****

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.

#CosPhoChal

7

Stream of Consciousness Sunday: Illness, debt, parking fines and other good news.

Today’s SoCS post takes the form of an update on a previous rant and should I manage to crowbar in Linda G Hill‘s prompt, that’ll be a bonus;

” “in other words.” Use the phrase at least once in your post. “

Ok, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Things are looking up.

As I mentioned in this post, it has been an anxious couple of weeks, wondering whether we’d be able to finance Rhonda and Audrey’s upcoming visa renewals, so I was rather nervous when I walked into the bank on Wednesday afternoon.

It didn’t hurt that I’d woken up that morning with a hideous cold; my head appeared to be stuffed with wet cotton wool and it felt like someone had filled my sinuses with glue, so I was experiencing events through a kind of virulent sensory fog, which may have actually taken the edge off the stress.

Anyway, long story, short; after twenty minutes of watching compulsory, cheerfully-voiced warning videos, detailing the dire consequences of not paying back the money they were about to lend me at an extortionate rate of interest, then signing multiple copies of finance agreements, I was the lucky beneficiary of another seven years of debt and, far more importantly, the wherewithal to keep my family on the same side of the Atlantic for another thirty months.

In other words; Mission accomplished.

It was amazing, the difference that successful act of financial negotiation made to my mood for the rest of the week, despite my steadily worsening man-flu and the fact that both Rhonda and I were still working every available shift and barely saw each other until Friday evening, when she had an unexpected night off.

I decided, in deference to my cold and our small monetary victory, that I’d give myself a weekend free of overtime, so Audrey and I went into town yesterday; to trade in some of her old DVDs, buy a game for her Nintendo DS, (a Christmas present designed to coax her attention away from YouTube for a while) and get a battery for my watch.

Having selected a Sims game Audrey had already expressed an interest in and got it half price in exchange for a few old Barbie DVDs, I spotted this gem whilst waiting to pay…

…which, needless to say, I couldn’t resist.

In other words; What a bargain.

Next stop, the jewellers, where I remembered I had a “battery for life” deal on the watch I bought there, my first freebie for the day. Then, as we left I spotted a sale in the clothing store next door, where I picked up a half price winter coat. Not bad, huh?

But it didn’t stop there. Next door to the clothing store is the 3 Store, my phone provider and I thought I was due an upgrade soon, so I just stopped in to check.

“Oh, yes, you’re actually due an upgrade now…Yes, we have a very good deal for existing customers at the moment, too..”

Really? That’s a first, usually they couldn’t care less once they’ve got your money, it’s the new customers who get all the perks.

So, half an hour later, after Audrey had played with every mobile device on display and inspected the huge wall of Instagram photos for cute animal pictures, I walked out with a brand new £400 phone and the aforementioned offer for loyal customers; an £89 pair of Bluetooth headphones, all for free, gratis and no charge.

In other words; Time well spent.

We returned to the car, on the way to pick up my de-kerosene’d work clothes from the laundrette and grab Audrey a take-out from McDonald’s, (an exception I make very rarely, I can’t stand the place, but having two Americans in the house means I occasionally compromise my principles; Audrey claims the chicken nuggets are just not the same anywhere else and Rhonda has a weakness for their strawberry milkshakes) only to see a traffic warden standing over my car, electronic terminal in hand, stylus poised over the screen.

“No no no no no no! Oh bugger, am I late?”

“I haven’t issued it yet…”

I don’t think I properly registered this unheard-of response from a parking nazi council traffic warden before, so I continued to apologise.

“I’m sorry, I got held up in the phone shop, how late am I?

“Ticket says 12.19, by my watch it’s 12.39…I haven’t issued it yet…”

He looked at me over his glasses and actually smiled, as I stood there laden with shopping bags and Audrey watching curiously from behind me, (I’m not certain, but I think his eyes might have even had a bit of a twinkle, but that could be wishful thinking) then he clipped his stylus back into its slot and nodded.

“They don’t pay me any more if I give out more tickets, you enjoy the rest of your day.”

“You, sir, are a truly wonderful man, thank you.”

And off he went, looking happy in his work, probably unaware that he had rescued me from ruining a near-perfect Saturday and helping restore my faith in the goodness of people for a change.

In other words; Things are looking up.

************

#SoCS

Pingback to Linda G Hill.

3

Cosmic Photo prompt.

It’s the weekend, so it’s time for another prompt on K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge, which I’m picking today.

I’ve had a particularity good couple of days, so this week’s theme is simply; Reasons to be cheerful.

You can show us what makes you happy on Monday, by following a few easy steps, so why not get involved if you’ve never taken part before.

*****

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.

#CosPhoChal

1

K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.

Good grief, is it Monday already?

It doesn’t seem like we had a weekend, but I suppose we must have done. Perhaps weekends are merely a legend or a myth, which would fit in rather nicely with the theme for today’s edition of K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge, because K’lee set this week’s prompt; Mythological.

That was quite a challenge (but then that’s the point, obviously) and I had to resort to plundering the archives for some inspiration.

I decided on these four images, which I think have a suitably mythical flavour, see what you think.

You can see what the legendary K’lee has dreamed up HERE.

But for now, it’s time for you to fascinate us with your fantastical photographic offerings…

*****

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.

#CosPhoChal

8

Cosmic Photo prompt.

This week’s theme for K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge was set by K’lee and it’s one his more esoteric ideas; Mythological.

Obviously there is plenty of room for interpretation with this one, so I look forward to seeing what y’all come up with for Monday’s post.

*****

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.

#CosPhoChal

0

K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.

With the beginning of a new week comes a new prompt from K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge, this week chosen by me; At the end of the day.

I took a fairly straightforward approach this week, illustrating what happens when you live surrounded by rivers at the end of a day (or two) of constant rain.

These were taken at around 4.30 yesterday afternoon, just before it got slightly darker than it had been for most of the day.

K’lee has posted his photos already and you can see them HERE.

Now it’s time to show us the end of your day.

*****

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.

#CosPhoChal

14

Stream of Consciousness Sunday: Occupancy extortion occurrence.

For this week’s SoCS post, I thought I’d take another break from fiction and have a quick rant, using Linda G Hill‘s prompt to inspire me;

” “oc.” Find a word that starts with “oc” and use it in your post. Bonus points if you start and end with your post with an “oc” word. “

Yes, I can do that…

Occasional occurrence of occupancy extortion.

Occasionally, you have to accept that the Powers That Be have you over a barrel and you just have to pay the piper when he calls the tune.

Well, we’re almost at that point again; (where does the time go?) when Rhonda and I have to bow to the UK Border Agency’s immigration regulations, go through the hideously complicated process of renewing her and Audrey’s resident visas and try to find the extortionate amount of money they demand in exchange for our continued happiness.

As many of you know, Rhonda and Audrey are American and have only been in the UK since 2014, after we began our unconventional relationship on Facebook, from opposite sides of the Atlantic.

The process of getting them here was bad enough, but it doesn’t end there, oh no. Following the pair of “fiancé visas”, for Rhonda to come here with Audrey in the first place, we had to get resident visas immediately after we got married, which have to be renewed after two and a half years. And it doesn’t come cheap.

Yesterday I went to the library and paid £15.80 to have all 158 pages of the forms printed, that Rhonda will need to fill in for the two of them…

…after I spent the last few days trying to secure an extension on my personal loan, (which was obtained for the aforementioned official extortion last time round) to pay the frankly obscene price of £993 EACH! And that’s just for permission for them to remain here, contribute to society and continue paying the government income tax. While, I might point out, (for anyone who may have accidentally read a Daily Mail article) being totally ineligible for any state benefits whatsoever. Because we also have to jointly meet the income threshold requirements, to make sure we can support ourselves with “no access to public funds”, as it says so bluntly on their visas.

We have to submit this mountain of paperwork without the slightest error or omission, along with the money, for acceptance by some faceless bureaucrat, who has the ultimate say in whether or not our family stays together on the same continent.

No appeal, no refund.

How they justify that ridiculous expense is beyond me, but we’re now aware that their primary concern is to make money, whilst simultaneously making it as difficult as possible for anyone to come here to start with.

Hopefully the next time we have to go through this, two and a half years from now, it will be to grant my family “indefinite leave to remain”, finally giving us peace of mind until we decide/can afford to pay the even more jaw-dropping price to make them full British citizens.

I am constantly amazed at how fortunate I am, to have found these two amazing people by chance, (a nudge from The Universe may have been involved) but it must seem very harsh to them, especially since they have come to love this country, when the system seems intent on breaking the spirit of people whose only wish is to become a permanent occupant.

*************

#SoCS

Pingback to Linda G Hill.

11

Cosmic Photo prompt.

Hello and a happy Friday to you all, it’s time for a rare, on time prompt for Monday’s edition of K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge, this week with a theme set by me.

It just occurred to me that now (4.30 in the afternoon) it is still just about light outside and the days are noticeably lengthening, giving us something approaching an “evening” again. And longer days = extended photo opportunities

With this in mind, this week’s prompt is; At the end of the day.

You can, of course, interpret that any way you like; it would be nice to see some colourful sunsets or dusky landscapes in the mix, but I’ll leave the creative decisions up to you.

*****

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.

#CosPhoChal

8

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