06/07: NOT FRIDAY 13TH!!!!

Today hasn't been a good day ... and we're still a week away from Friday 13th!!

Our TV stopped working last night so strictly speaking that was Thursday 12th although we couldn't do anything about it till today.    I really don't miss the TV but David does .... I'm happy to draw, cook, generally potter but he likes to relax in front of the Box every night.     The Sony set is not old and we thought it was in guarantee still but it misses by 1 month!     Sony Helpdesk (Mumbai) were useless ... they just suggested turning the set on and off and doing the very basic things suggested in the handbook.     David phoned around various TV repair shops but it seems the engineers are all extremely busy dealing with the aftermath of the switch to digital TV in the UK and nobody can look at a broken TV for at least 2 weeks.

So ... we have at least got a quote for repairing the set ... £150 with a 14 day waiting time.    We don't have a 'reserve' TV in the house so the question is now whether we invest in another TV to tide David over for this 14 day period.     I think he's worried I'll find lots of jobs for him to do if we have free time in the evenings.  Its probably cheaper to book a flight back to Fuerteventura for the fortnight ... but I have 4 commissions to work on and he couldn't possibly go alone :-{

So that wasn't a good start to the day - David was late for his voluntary stint at the Hospice eBay office and then I had to pull out of my bowls afternoon as the weather was horrible.    

We're having friends round for a get together tomorrow (weather permitting it will be outside .. but who knows)!!  so I spent my unexpected free time this afternoon preparing the dishes that could be done in advance and cleaning the house.   Managed to smash one of my favourite (irreplaceable) plates when I knocked a jar of peppercorns out of an overhead cupboard!

Then when I turned on the computer to double check a recipe on the internet I got the dreaded message that my computer was locked as I'd been looking at  'illegal porn sites' and I was locked out unless I paid a £100 fine to West Yorkshire Police ... Yeah Right!

This happened to us in Spain and its such a pain.    Its known as ransomware - a sort of virus that is described as malware that holds a computer, its data or a particular function "hostage" until a ransom is paid. Usually, a credit card number or wire transfer is sent to the criminal that has taken control of your computer. In exchange for the fee, they will give you a password to unlock your computer or send you a program to remove the ransomware.

Both times it has happened to us it has been via Firefox and the answer is to open your computer in SafeMode and via Internet Explorer take your computer back to a date prior to the attack ... or download a programme to disable the malware.      But ... be warned.   There are a lot of programmes out there that advertise themselves as Free repair Programmes but at the 'critical time' they ask for payment ..... sooooo frustrating that they are cashing in on what is already a stressful situation.   I have an up-to-date antivirus programme but obviously these sick malware people are able to break through every now and then....

Having got that problem resolved (only took all afternoon) I was concerned to see a pigeon fly into our garden fence and sit stunned on the grass.   When I took a closer look it was obvious the bird had suffered some sort of attack from a cat or another bird  and was bleeding underneath and unable to fly.        Although I count myself as a 'country lass' I was never brought up to despatch animals so couldn't put this one out of his misery.    Unfortunately, he/she is staying close to the house and obviously just waiting to die ..... All we can do is give it some water and ensure it isn't attacked by any bigger birds.   Must admit I hate pigeons but I don't like to see anything suffering.

David keeps harping on about 'plump breasted pigeons' - if you've seen that particular episode of Black Adder you'll know just what he's on about ... but I promise my mates that tomorrow's BBQ will not include pigeon!!

Perhaps it wasn't in 'the best possible taste' to photograph it, but I did anyway ...

 
The pigeon is currently hiding in my herb bed under the mint .... perhaps he does fancy being on the menu tomorrow after all :-)

So .... not the best Friday I've ever had .... but still a damn sight better than the one the pigeon is going through!    Who was it said .. .always look on the bright side??    

Looking forward to a great afternoon tomorrow and back on track with commission work on Sunday.

Hope your weekend will be good