Re: Topsy Turvey
 

Voluntary work is all very well shillelagh but all you are doing is replacing paid work with non-paid work. Or in other words you are continuing your working life cycle. Break out of the cycle and retire disgracefully. You’ve worked – one way or another – for more than fifty years so devote the declining years to yourself. You’ve earned it.

OK! Some people like garinda like and need ‘structure’ in their lives but I question – do they? Or are they afraid of doing something NEW?

I have order and structure in my life although it may not seem like it at first glance but it is a different structure to working for a living. But I have the added advantage of saying – nah! I’m not going to do that today, I’ll do something else.

Most men and women will have, at some time, read stories to their children and maybe even grandchildren. If you haven’t got one get a camcorder (they are not all that expensive), sit down in front of it with a book and read it out to future generations. Turn it into a DVD. Most camcorders come with software to enable you to edit your ‘film’ and burn it onto a DVD. Jackanory, the best story telling programme on TV. Can you do better or at least as good? Try, you might just surprise yourself. You might not but heck you tried.

Can’t run to a camcorder then just do a voice read and turn it into a CD. Of course you will need a mike and some sound sampling software like Sound Forge and you will need to learn simple basic HTML to mix pictures with your sound on a CD, but you have the time to learn. It isn’t that difficult.

Just imagine - your great, great, great grandchildren listening to or watching great, great, great grandma reading them a story. Leave something tangible behind.

I’ve always liked the Albert Ramsbottom (and others like Sam Small, the Battle of Hastings) monologues written by Marriott Edgar and performed on stage and on record by Stanley Holloway and the author. I’m going to outdo them both and make CD’s or DVD’s of my contribution to the arts.

With my plans I’m going to need 20 years. But I won’t be bored.

Has no one found my secret message at the end of post #3?

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

Besides learning circus skills there's nothing else 'new' to learn, I've done it all.:D

I do miss the structure, but I had a great job that I loved, one that took me all over the world and allowed me to meet some great people.

That said, I do try to make the most of my enforced retirement. Partly because of the degenerative type of illness I have. In five years time I may not be able to do the things I enjoy doing now. Walking by myself on the hills and moors is already a no no.

That said it does have it's advantages. I had the pleasure of going to see my nephew and neice's Christmas concerts at QEGS and Westholme the past couple of years, something I could never do when I was working. I also moved back to Oswaldtwistle, something I never thought I'd do in a million years, and as I've said before it was one of the best things I've ever done.

Working or retired, time is precious, use it wisely.

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

jambuttyVoluntary work is all very well shillelagh but all you are doing is replacing paid work with non-paid work. Or in other words you are continuing your working life cycle. Break out of the cycle and retire disgracefully. You’ve worked – one way or another – for more than fifty years so devote the declining years to yourself. You’ve earned it.


I'm not even 40 yet not 50!!! and thats age wise and not worked 50 years. I worked from the age of 17 because i stayed on in school for another year in the 6th form. I only worked 10 years!!! Please do not add on extra years they'll be added on soon enough.

The voluntary work i do now is the credit union - and that is one morning every 3 weeks. Thats not work thats doing something. That actually got me a part time job because i was dealing with customers and used to handling money.

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

No, and it's driving me crazy !!.. tried anagrams, looking at words at the beginning of sentences, hopping over letters in 2's, 3's .. you name it. Trying to see if there is anything clever technically that can be hidden .. made a right mess of me format then, looked in your website :cool: This worse than K.S.H's hidden objects.:eek:
At least has kept me occupied !!

Hey, love the children's story idea Jambutty, I love reading children's stories, putting on funny little voices, etc., and must admit am quite good at it .. think when I read to my kids everynight, did it for meself as well as them... :D

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

Hi Jambutty,

Found it.

Happy New Year Everyone.

Quality.

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

Right, that's it !! Going back to have another go !!:mad:

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

While you lot are podering digesting and chewin the cud on work and retirement please give a thought to those that are at work. :(

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

Ok ... thought about you Spuggie (well, somebody got to keep the country going, ain't they ... :D )... now back to finding that bloody message of Jambutty's.

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

Hi Katex,

A good tip would be to look for the highlights.

Quality.:eek:

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

Well, the sneeky so-and-so .. thanks Quality, owe you one. Jambutty would have extended the agony a little longer wouldn't he ? :p Good one though. :thumbsup:

Not sure how he did that ?

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

Well there you are then katex. Make some CD’s for the future. I can let you have Sound Forge 4.5 for free and show you how to use it. All you will need is a microphone. One of those headset mic things will do – less than 20 quid from PC World or whoever.

Congratulations Quality.

OK! SPUGGIE J I’ve given those at work a thought. Now back to retirement.

Lateral thinking katex, lateral thinking. I would have revealed all tomorrow – honest.

How I done it? Simple. Take a screen grab of the Accy web site. Load the picture into Paint Shop Pro or similar and use the magic wand to grab the message background colour and read the RGB values which are 246 – 244 – 255.

Type the message in Word and change the text colour to those values and copy and paste it.

You used white Quality and you can see it.

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

Gonna take me a while to sort that out Jambutty... err, what's a screengrab ? .. half understand, but not fully. I just pulled up your quote ready for a reply and there it was ..:D

In the meantime, will have a go, however, can see not enough colours this way :-

Thanks for the fun on this x

Nah, didn't work .. will have to go into as above to mix the palette

Re: Topsy Turvey
 

A screen grab is where you grab whatever is on your screen and save it as a picture file. Many computers will have a key marked Print Screen usually between the main keys and the numbers keypad. If you press that key once then open a paint package and paste in it you will get what was on your screen.

The easiest way to reveal any ‘invisible’ text is to highlight the text. You know place your screen cursor at the end of the text, click and hold down Left Mouse Button and drag to the other end of the text. All the text will become highlighted and anything invisible will also be highlighted.

I don’t think that you can change the text colours into anything else except what is in the palette so you have to do the colour change in Word and copy and paste.