Today I was up bright and early (not that I am not usually up early) to go to the dentist for the first time since I cancelled my Denplan contract back in January. Today I saw the hygienist and as usual the same treatment was dished out and I was told how poor my dental heath was – I was just waiting for her to suggest that I attend the practice more frequently than every four months. What she did suggest was that when I see the dentist for the check up in four months time that instead of the dentist doing the scale and polish she would do it instead. I don't have a problem with this as she does appear to clean down to the gums to a greater extent than the dentist. I did check at reception when I went to pay that they would not try charging me extra for this. A normal check up costs £27 and the scale and polish costs £48 regardless of who I see.
Now four months should take me to the start of January 2011 but I've asked for an appointment at the end of January as I still have a feeling that the dentist will find some excuse to do x-rays (and charge me extra for them)

I've finally downloaded all the photos off my camera and on to my computer, I did not have a choice as I only had space to take 3 more photos on the camera – I will have to sort out those 850 photos now. I will also need to get some new rechargeable batteries for my camera as four don't seem to hold their charge any longer, might put it off for a little while longer as I am pondering changing my camera.

Most of the afternoon was spent working on my next project which involved transcribing an old project and I have to admit that looking over those pages I had written all those years ago and looking at it again a lot more work needs to be done to bring it up to the standard I would expect today.

Yesterday armed with my camera I attempted to travel back in time, this trip did not involve a DeLorean getting up to 88Mph but did involve a trip down memory lane.

Years ago when I was a lot younger my summers would be spent outside playing and exploring – something that the children today don't seem to be particularly interested in when they can be stuck inside playing on games machines. Anyway one such adventure saw a group of us walking across fields, climbing over fences and through hedges until we got somewhere I had never been before. Thinking back I am sure one of us must have been there otherwise we would not have been aware of what we were heading off too.

In one particular field was a large hole (I have now found out that this is an old quarry) surrounded by trees and hedges, as children we were soon able to find a way in and made our way down the steep banks, the whole place was overgrown and at the base was what we would have considered at that age to be a little stream – a trickle of water really but the ground was very soft underfoot around it. We crossed this and then began the ascent up the other bank, this side of the quarry was rock and if my memory is not playing tricks on me there would have been a little shack on side of the quarry, which I would guess is the reason we went down there in the first place.

My recollection of that place is of an overgrown wilderness, we climbed over a barbed wire fence to get get into the quarry and made our way down through bramble bushes and bracken. As a child it was both an exciting and scary place and there was always the danger that we would get chased off by some angry farmer.

I remember that often whenever we were somewhere that we were not supposed to be someone would always shout out that they had seen a farmer and get the group into a panic, it was when we were down this quarry that one of my friends would have done just this – now faced with the prospect of getting caught if I retraced my steps I was left having to climb up a steep cliff wall to safety.

Thinking back on that today we got up to some dangerous things as children and were often out for hours without any adult supervision and of course this was long before mobile phones were so readily available! So yesterday I went back to this old quarry, I could not retrace those steps I took over twenty years ago as a new housing estate has been built but I did manage to get to the old quarry to discover it is not the same place I remember all those years ago.

Instead it has been reclaimed from nature by man, gone was that wilderness now I see a well mown lawn where that little stream once run and all those brambles long gone. I was surprised to see that a house stands at the entrance to the quarry – not something I can remember seeing all those years ago but then again the place was overgrown.

Today I was out again with the camera taking photos for an old project that I have been meaning to work on for months and bring up to date – the original project was done twenty years ago and needs to be brought up to date.

Weather was not that fantastic today but I did manage to get a few good photos that can be put to good use. I may well see what the weather is like over the next few weeks and maybe return to take a few more shots.

I really don't know where the time is going been over a month since my last entry and I am trying to think what has taken up so much time over the last few weeks. My family tree research has been plodding along slowly – I have managed to go up another level with a branch of my tree but still early days with that.

Have been considering going to Bath so that I can search the local newspapers archives but am not sure if I would actually gain any meaningful information from them.

Got up early a few weeks ago to help a friend do a car boot sale, I took a few videos with me but I think the days of people wanting to buy video cassettes have well and truly ended – I saw someone selling videos for £0.05 each and there did not seem to be any interest!! (Leaves me wondering what to do with my video collection)
My friend did however make some money so it was not a wasted day, but people certainly expect to have something for nothing.

I was asked to be the godfather to one of my friends daughters and the christening was held last Sunday – in a small church on the Gower and thankfully the weather was good as the church is located just off a farmyard.

Will be working on my latest project shortly, can't really say a great deal about it yet as I have to wait for certain aspects to be confirmed but it will be a community based project that should see my standing in the local community change from troublemaker to something a little more positive.

It has been over a month since my last entry, not that I have been overly busy or anything just not had a great deal to write about.

At the start of the month I took another week off work so that I could take my car in for its annual service and MOT. It passed with no problems so the rest of the week was pretty uneventful and most of my time was spent in front of the computer – continuing the research into my family tree.

While the car was being serviced I visited the local library to gain free access to the Ancestry records. I actually ended up spending just over three and a half hours helping someone research their own tree.

As for my tree I have started to compile individual records for each family member in an attempt to follow them from cradle to grave. Not an easy thing to do but with census records I should be able to build up a picture of their lives. The next stage will be to publish this online and I have already started of a website for this.

On an unrelated matter over the weekend one of the dust caps were taken from my tyre valve, I don't suspect it was children I expect it was someone who was missing one and had the opportunity to steal one off me – I do wonder why as it was just the bog standard plastic one!

Now do I do the same thing and steal one off another car or do I have to go and buy a replacement – I have priced up four for £1.79?

Nearly a month since I last posted anything and for once I can't blame it on me being busy as I've been on annual leave for the last couple of weeks.

Of course I have not spent all of that time sitting in front of the computer doing nothing, I did go to Somerset for the weekend and have been going some more research on my family tree. The weather we have had over the last few weeks has been fantastic and even though my hay fever may have been triggered it has been nice to get out and about. I've taken a few photos and have had two enlarged as I am pondering the idea of selling some photos – have not really thought where I would sell them or if anyone would want to buy them but its an idea.

This photo was taken just up the coast from Watchet in Somerset, I took quite a few photos of the setting sun.

3rd June and I celebrated my birthday, a rather quiet day with me searching graveyards looking for potential relatives. I enjoy walking around graveyards but have to admit to feeling a little sad when reading some of the inscriptions or seeing a grave that seems to have been neglected. One section of the graveyard I visited the headstones had not weathered particularly well and it is a shame and did get me wondering if I should take photos and record the inscriptions so that the resource can be used by others tracing their family trees.

Rather annoyed to get to my car today to find that the local authority have kindly given me a Penalty Charge Notice. I can't really blame anyone except myself as I was the one who parked in a council run car park without displaying a valid ticket. For most of the week the car has left the car park around 8am which is when it operates from but there are the odd few days when the car is left in the car park a little longer and even then it is normally moved before 9.30am and before the car park starts getting busy!

So this week as I am off work I arrive at the car about 9.30am to find that I have been issued with a PCN, open it up to see that if I pay it within 14 days it will be half price and only set me back £25. This is only the 2nd time I have been issued with one of these fines both in the same car park and both for the same reason. However I noticed that this one had been issued at 8.40am, so well within the opening times of the car park but I wonder if this is a new hard line stance by Carmarthenshire County Council to try to boast their coffers now that there is a new privately run car park which I would assume is taking away some of the income generated from the council run car parks in the town.

I will still continue to use the car park and I will still continue to park my car there without buying a ticket, it would cost me £1.10 a day to leave my car in the car park for 2 hours or I could buy a season ticket meaning I could leave my car all day every day for three months for £63.

Looking at it from a money saving aspect a fine of £25 for not having a parking ticket costing £1.10 means that as long as I get away with parking without a ticket for more than 23 days I will not have lost anything. I can't find anything in the archives regarding the last ticket I got but that would have been when I was working in my last job pre 2006 so a fine of £25 is nothing for me to complain about.

I checked one of my email accounts today and saw to my horror that I had 240 unread messages, I guess this gives you an insight into how my online priorities have changed and a reason why this site is not updated as often. A quick look through these messages showed that most were Facebook updates and all the other related spam you get from them. (In fact there would have been no more than 10 messages that involved me actually reading them)

Well I am on annual leave at the moment and am pretty much off until the 7th June so not sure exactly what I will be getting up to for the next few weeks. I did some filing yesterday and it was interesting looking at my various bank statements to see when and what caused my spending habits to change.

Not been able to actually pin it all down to any particular point in time or a reason but November 2008 would have been a pivotal point – I would guess with Christmas approaching more money was being spent on credit cards and since that time I have been happy to pay the minimum amount each month while I have been building up my savings.

Of course I now realise that instead of putting money into savings accounts I should have been clearing these debts (various reasons why I have not done this) so I think once July is over I will be looking to use savings to clear these debts as the monthly interest charged is considerably more than the interest earned all all the savings.