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opelaccent's bio
Since retiring full time and having trotted round the world in our younger and healthier times done Europe before the madness of the euro. We now travel around this beautiful country called GREAT Britain.
In 2010 we came down from Northumberland to Devon having spent all summer touring Scotland we spent the winter there looking after the Camping and Caravanning club site at Bellingham.
We enjoy our life style especially since I was diagnosed as having Asbestosis in both lungs in 2002 and was given 5 years before I would have to succumb to using oxygen just to breath. We avoid Towns and Cities as much as possible as the fumes make me very ill for days. The two big clubs have camp sites out in the country so that’s where you will find us.
I have been into computers ever since I bought Clive Sinclair’s ZX 81 in 1981. I spend a lot of time writing blogs and enjoy writing to friends around the world. But not having a land line used to have its draw backs but in this age of technology mobile internet is now available to the travelling man. With my mobile phones contract coming to an end I looked at all the options that phone companies had to offer.
My new contract mobile phone is a Samsung Galaxy 2 an all singing dancing Android, the telephone side of this Android is only one tenth of its capabilities. Its main function for me is its internet hosting. I can run two laptops simultaneously down load itunes to my ipod and keep up with twitter, face book, and emails with the greatest of ease. I would recommend an Android to all caravanners and motor homers. -
opelaccent's latest comments
ViewDate:
19th Jan 2013
opelaccent commented on:
The publication of topless photos of the Duchess of CambridgeI had to smile when Kate was caught with her womanly assets on view to who ever had a telescopic lens. I blame her security for this lack of personal care. The greed driven paparazzi are like jackals and have no scruples’ and prey on the vulnerable. As a “newby Royal” Kate should have been advised of the possibilities of photographers with telescopic lens. When I was in service I always kept my VIPs within the straight and narrow, yes they did complain but were never compromised. Behind my back my nick name was “Sheepdog” I only found out about this when I retired. :-oViewDate:
19th Jan 2013 opelaccent commented on:
Mobile Phones.I upgraded my mobile phone to a Nokia navigator in 2008 a wonderful phone for its day It had sat nav for walking and motoring, the internet, a camera, radio, and many other aps. But could not host a wifi hot spot. I had to buy a dongle for my computer so that I could send large amounts of data via the internet. The cost was becoming ridicules. Then I spoke to an internet geek who advised me to get a Samung galaxy 11. This Android mobile phone is indeed a smart phone and cost less than my old mobile phone and dongle put together in fact £20 less each month. Yes it is a contract phone I also get 3000 minutes talk time, free talk time to others on the same network. 3000 text messages free, and unlimited internet down load time. Plus the Android will host a WIFI signal for my laptop and net book. The camera is 12 million pixals. The nice thing I really like about it has the ability to send out a tracking signal so if I did get lost in the highlands of Scotland emergency services could find me. The down side to that is it also let all your friends on face book know too. The other nice thing is it has Skype which is very handy when I am out shopping and I can skype my wife if I see a bargain. Yes people look at you side ways wondering why are you talking to yourself and pointing your camera phone at an item in the shop. But that is a small price to pay. As skype is free. I have just down loaded an app that reads the bar code and tells me if I can get the item cheaper somewhere else. Yes I love my smart phone 8-)ViewDate:
19th Jan 2013 opelaccent commented on:
Junk MailThank you Sally, I agree with you, I travel the length and breadth of this beautiful country and have a mail box company that sends post onto me where ever I am. It is a great service but has it draw backs ie junk mail. I pay for my mail to be sent from my mail box to me which incurs a postal charge which varies with the weight of my post. Hence it is important for me to cut down on junk mail. I get very little junk mail. But occasionally I will get a cotton traders or a seed catalogue in my post these I return to the sender as not requested and also asking to be removed from their mailing list. This more often than not works. Hope you have a junk mail free year Sally. :-)ViewDate:
19th Jan 2013 opelaccent commented on:
moveHarrogate a Yorkshire town to equal York with vibrant shops and a friendly community and a slower pace of life compared to York. It boosts a second only to London’s coffee culture. If you have a liking for coffee you will meet and make friends. The Great Yorkshire show comes to Harrogate each year and Mother Shipton lives just down the road at Knaresborough and well worth a visit, you are a very lucky to live in Harrogate as it is steeped in history. Take a car journey over Blubberhouses to Skipton and enjoy the skipton open air market.:-)ViewDate:
1st Jan 2013 opelaccent commented on:
Junk MailSally Ann said I would be interested to see how people feel about this and if they hate it how do they cope with it? I have a notice on my letterbox, bought for pence on Amazon, that says 'No Junk Mail' unsightly but, in the main, it works. To my shame I found some who put Indian etc take-away menus through did not understand English on confronting. (Yes, I know leads to all sorts of thoughts like explotation of new or illegal immigrants, but that aside for the moment). Any the PO insist on delivering I put back in the nearest post box! I raise this as they are threatening more it seems.
Dear Sally, In answer to your question. “Junk Mail” I went paperless 4 years ago in a bid to curb junk mail. The odd letter that is junk mail I put a label on it “Return to sender return post NOT paid” and pop it in the nearest mail box it may surprise you that this does work. 8-)ViewDate:
29th Nov 2012 opelaccent commented on:
Feelings withinI hope you find your nemesis soon if you don't write to me some times a MAN needs a MANS reply. I too have been their. Smile today and tomorrow smiles with you..ViewDate:
29th Nov 2012 opelaccent commented on:
Feelings withinThank you a lovely story. I hope there are more stories to comeViewDate:
28th Nov 2012 opelaccent commented on:
Shotgun PeteHi Brenda. the town in the photo is Colne or I should say Bonny Colne on the hill. My wife was born there.ViewDate:
28th Nov 2012 opelaccent commented on:
Henry didn’t chicken outHi Gillian, the Downs are still flooded. Somerset folk are resilient and are helping each other. Normality will return so will the fear of more flooding. Henry like many others have temporary homes for the foreseeable future.ViewDate:
28th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
Car Parking at HospitalsI agree with you that Hospital car parks should be free to patients especially if you are a weekly visitor. Unfortunately pigs will fly before the NHS will allow free parking. They are getting a large revenue from the unfair car parking charge. They have no sense of fair play they even charge disabled blue badge holders.ViewDate:
28th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
Organic MilkI firmly believe if you are going down the road of organic foods you have to have two things one a large pocket and two plenty of time to read the packaging I used to work at the sharp end of the poultry trade. Chicks would arrive at the farm just hatched we would keep then in darkened hen houses several thousand to a hut after 12 weeks we would send half to Sutherlands factory to go as spring chickens also into pastes and. The reminder would then be fattened over six weeks to become capons The taste was of a spring chicken or the capon was the same. The capon was just heavier. The farm down from us sold his farm yard chickens to the local butcher at an inflated price as they were organic free range. But they tasted no different you could tell the difference once they were plucked as my chickens were white skinned. The free range bird has a pink blush to their skin. Corn fed chickens taste no different to free range or battery hens. If you think they do someone has seasoned them... Chicken is a plain drab meat that requires taste to be added this is where the skill lays. As for milk I would never buy organic as here once more there is no benefits but there could be purity problems. Farm shops are in the vogue these days and that’s where I shop for my fresh ingredients but I am choosy the price has to be right or I don’t buy...ViewDate:
28th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
Online book clubHi Mags, I have a kindle and ebooks from Amazon are so cheap. My wife and I must read at least 6 books a week. and yes we both read 50 shades..... good luck with your project opelaccent:-)ViewDate:
13th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
Grandparents to use pensions to help young buy houses, says Nick CleggDon't you find that both David and Nick don't live in the same world as the rest of us. I will rephrase that they don't live in the same world as working class. As the only thing I could do was to stand guarantor for my children when they bought their homes...ViewDate:
13th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
StatementsWe opted for paperless statements in fact we manage all our money matters on line. If I need to produce a statement I simply go on line and print it off. Our internet security is provided by Kaspersky this is my third year with the company and intend to buy two more years when this contract ends. I have peace of mind also it does not slow my computer down. I tax my vehicles on line and arrange the insurance the same way. I try to be as paperless as possible. We don’t buy newspapers we go on line to read them. As for books we have not bought a paper back or a hard back book in three years. We down load Ebooks to a kindle. As for junk mail I post them back to the company marked “return to sender” I also email the company and ask them to take me off their mailing list. I would recommend everyone to go paperlessViewDate:
12th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
One magical evening in LondonI just happen to be in the right place at the right time I was hoping to meet Christeen Keeler as she often went in. lols Sinatra, Martin and Davis were regarded as the group's lead members of the ratpack. It is surprising who you rub shoulder with when you are out . I met Alex Polizzi in Tavistock earler this year.ViewDate:
12th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
£7bn of fuel 'wasted' each year ...Thanks for the tips. Is there any truth on if you fill your car up in the morning you get more miles to the gallon?ViewDate:
12th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
Lumley's Silver ServiceHi Miss Lumley. It must be nice to be where you are now in life. You put in the hours to get "here" I admire you for if nothing else defending the Gurkhas. But you have to admit if you were "Miss every day" and now on a pension you would not be so "Glam" or so fit. Sour grape you might say . No. Just was not in the right place at the right time. I have had a good life and although I am dyslexic, having spent my school years in GOSH. I at the age of 30 became an officer in the Mayors office, and unwittingly received a small local govenment pension when I retired with ill health at 58. At 65 I received the state pension. I am not entitled to anything else. As i don't pay council tax I am not entitled to a bus pass. Perhaps you can guide me to the right side of meagre livingViewDate:
12th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
Meet Foxy ... our Silverhairs fitness guruHi Foxy, I will most certanly be reading your postings. But if you tell me I need a la carte food I will not take you seriously. I love cheese but can live without it.. I love red wine I can not live without it. I love to sit and read, And so the list goes on. Why do I do this, simple I am retired. I have COPD & Polands syndrome. I do however ride my bike every day for 20 minutes. I look forward to your articalViewDate:
11th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
Increased mileage for silver drivers.....When I was seventeen I passed my driving test first time having driven all sorts of farm vehicles from the age of 10. My first car was a second hand Ford Consul two tone low line with a column shift stick which was my pride and joy. Since then I have had many cars. Two years ago I bought a new mark 6 Volkswagen Golf, a 1600tdi. I have been very impressed with this as it is a car for today’s roads having a 0-60mph speed of 11 seconds. It is my second automatic and I personally would not give a manual car a second look these days as I like my very comfortable automatic which is very easy to drive. Having said that I also drive a Swift Kontiki motor home which weighs in at 4.5 tonnes, and which we tour in each summer. I have been driving and held a clean licence for 51 years. In 1962 I earned my class 3 HGV and was totting up 75 thousand miles a year until 1972 when I became a local government officer.ViewDate:
11th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
What book are you currently reading?Having bought a kindle I find myself reading a lot more than I have done in years. Yes I have read the 50 shades of grey/darker/and freed. and would recomend every man to read these books. It might just show you what you have or have not missed. The only thing I hated was the Americanisms.:-)ViewDate:
10th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
One magical evening in LondonThank you Pam. Well Helen there are a few more "Tramper" stories to come. Well Well Lily we were perhaps lorries in the night, yours was a "posh" job but never the less it would be a little more arduous than mine as if I got a scratch on the paint work nobody noticed.ViewDate:
8th Oct 2012 opelaccent commented on:
Have you retired yet or are you planning to any time soon?I retired in 2003 with ill health. it came under the COPD banner. and was told make the next 5 years count as after that you will more bad days than good.. I found that caravanning was a great way of getting plenty of fresh air so much so I became an Holiday site assistant with the Camping and caravanning club. I live in a motor home and my health as stayed still. I have not become an invalid. But I must admit I don't do stairs or hills and only walk very short distances. I am enjoying my retirement I have found the computer a wonderful tool so I write blogs and short stories. They say if you remember the sixties you were not there well I am living proof I can remember the sixies and write many short stories of what happened to me some with tongue in cheek. As for Mrs opelaccent she enjoys the open air life that we both love. You no doubt will here from me in the next few days. 8-) -
opelaccent's latest showcase activity
Approved3 Comments27/11/2012 12:44:14short stories: Henry didn’t chicken outA hypothetical story with a grain of truth. Dawn had just broken. I drew back the curtains...
Approved0 Comments28/10/2012 11:13:25short stories: Snape Maltings Aldeburgh SuffolkNewson Garrett a Victorian entrepreneur built the Maltings in the 1800s; his name appears on...
Approved2 Comments28/10/2012 00:42:24short stories: Shotgun PeteThis is a true story, written by Opelaccent. It happened in the late 1970's...
Approved8 Comments10/10/2012 10:03:55short stories: One magical evening in LondonIn the glorious 60s I worked as a heavy goods ‘tramper’. This was in the days before... -
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