Happy Mondays

It's a rainy Monday in Suffolk, but I'm feeling a happy bunny this morning in a zippadee-doodah kind of way.

Not only have I got a man in the kitchen cleaning my oven but the lovely Tara Cain over at Coventry Telegraph has invited me to do a guest feature on her excellent blog From Dawn till Rusk.

If you're not already bored of reading about the book deal, pop over to Tara's blog for the inside story and when you're finished, have a gander at some of her other posts.

And if you're wondering about the man cleaning my oven, don't worry, this doesn't happen every day. Just a once-in-a-while special treat.

Am I losing the blogging plot?

Once upon a time there used to be email, Friends Reunited and texting.

Then came Facebook

Then I got a blog.

Not happy with one I created another, wanting to protect readers from my other ramblings. Many many ramblings.

And along came Twitter, Flickr and You Tube.

The comments, the pokes and video responses.

And of course the book, my book, with words, chapters and sections.

And the pile of washing up, the quick meals and the mess.

Just like my days in the office.

So busy, hardly ever home, so little time.

Then I had a cleaner.

Not just a hoover, but a woman who does.

I think I need another woman who does, plus a cook, a gardener and a nanny.

I may be always home, but I'm hardly ever "here".

I'm elsewhere, looking at words and writing even more.

Thousands of words between breakfast and supper.

Ah, I've now realised what's missing.

Damn, forget about the husband, the cleaner and the growing list of servants!

What I really need is a wife!

Hmm...I'm now wondering if my husband's thinking the same!

Chuggington...chugger chugger chugger chugger Chuggington

Well something had to drag me out of hiding! I've been spending far too long in the bins over at The Rubbish Diet, so it was about time I let my hair down and have a bit of fun.

And what fun indeed.

While Little J went off to a party yesterday, Little T and I excitedly boarded the train from Bury St Edmunds. Destination London, where we met up with the gorgeous Jo Beaufoix and her family for the very first time. Now that was exciting enough, but no sooner had we said our first "hellos", we all jumped on the Underground and headed off to a gathering of other bloggers at the Movieum of London in County Hall.

We'd been invited to a very special event, an all-expenses-paid private screening of Chuggington, where we were introduced to Wilson, Brewster and Koko, a really cute set of trainee engines called “Chuggers”.



Chuggington episodes are already being screened on BBC2 during the early morning Cbeebies schedule but in January they will hit the CBeebies digital channel, where the series is tipped to become the next big thing in children's entertainment.

And I can see why. Having watched two episodes yesterday, Little T became immersed in the adventures straight away and didn't even dare look away from the screen to eat his sandwiches. Even as an adult it was easy to fall in love with the adventurous spirit of Koko and the eagerness of Wilson balanced by the dependable nature of Brewster.

Ludorum, the show's creators have worked hard to create content that will appeal to both parents and children alike. As well as entertainment, it's the learning, sharing and enjoyment that are at the heart of Chuggington, and embedded within each story are important developmental messages centred on social-emotional development, reinforcing the life skills that are needed in today’s world.


Little T, already has his favourite character, the green and purple bullet train called Koko, who stopped to help others in a race during the first episode and who was proud to have the job of looking after a pregnant giraffe during the next story.

I must admit I like her too.

The other exciting part of the day was the chance to meet up with other bloggers during lunch. So while Little T munched on his sarnies, I managed a brief moment to say hello to the people behind A Modern Mother, Frog in the Field, The Potty Diaries and the Thames Valley Mums before going on a tour of the Movieum with Jo Beaufoix et famille.

So after a really fun day out, I'd like to thank Ludorum and Wolfstar for making the event possible. More of these please, especially if it involves a red carpet for bloggers in Leicester Square (nudge nudge, wink wink).

The only thing I would say is I now can't stop singing that song, you know, the Chuggington theme tune....

Chuggington, chugger, chugger, chugger, chugger, Chuggington

Chuggington, chugger, chugger, chugger, chugger, Chuggington

So, while I'm caught up in theme tune madness, why not discover the series for yourself. If you'd like to catch up with the adventures of the Chuggers, the great news is the new series start on Monday 3rd November and can be seen every week day on BBC2 at 8.45am. If you miss it, you can always check out BBC i-player or YouTube.

More information can also be found at www.chuggington.com.

Blogging Live from.....Coffee 'n' Kids

This is a first, blogging live from a cafe in Bury St Edmunds where there are play facilities.

I took the decision that I needed just one hour to get some work done today. It would have taken me three hours at home, whilst juggling playtime with my youngest. So I decided to take advantage of free wi-fi with play facilities. All this after spending an hour walking around the beautiful Abbey Gardens in the sunshine.

The hour of work is about to begin....so lets see how far I can get.

The location is no mystery. It's Coffee 'n' Kids, a superb cafe for kids in the heart of Bury St Edmunds. The coffee is great too!

Blogging live with a difference

Yes, I am blogging live with a difference today, from The Lounge in Bury St Edmunds.

That's pretty normal, you might think, but not today. There is something special going on.

Today's a great day, but not because January is over and now past its sell by date, nor because of the relief of getting my tax return off in time (even though that does make me cheery)

No today is a great day because of something special that has happened in Bury St Edmunds.

Have a look at the photo and you'll get a clue or two. Can you see it yet, just to the left of the computer.... the red magazine with the big word ABOUT on it?

Yes it's the magazine that everyone is talking about. It's the buzz of Bury St Edmunds and by the end of the weekend, if you live in Bury, you will see copies of About Bury everywhere and I mean everywhere.



About Bury is special because it is no ordinary magazine. It is a project that has been created by my great friend Ruby, the person behind the Living in Bury St Edmunds blog and is the magazine that she has always dreamt of since moving here. It is a natural progression from her blog, where she has a respectful following from residents and shopkeepers alike. Ruby has been the talk of the town for a long time before today and deservedly so.

Anyway, I'm going to let you into a secret, but keep it to yourselves won't you as I don't like boasting about my own accomplishments. I go shy and blush a little.

However, just for this one moment I am going to shout very loudly and tell the world that Ruby has brought me on board as FEATURES EDITOR for this beautiful beautiful magazine. I think she must have noticed my passion for all things Bury St Edmunds along the way (either that or she's completely mad).

My first main feature is about Wi-Fi Hotspots in the town centre, with a listing of all the venues that offer free access. You'll see it under the Eating and Drinking section.

So for all those people who think I've just been having fun, at last there is evidence that I have actually been working while I've been "gadding" about town. After all how can you possibly write about the vibrancy of Bury St Edmunds if you don't actually live it and experience it?


The funny thing is, my cover has now been blown. Whilst delivering the magazines around Bury yesterday, we dropped into The Lounge to find staff in a huddle chatting. Someone had told them about some blogposts about the cafe, which were on some website called 21st Century Mummy and they'd been looking at the blog that morning, trying to work out who it was.

I blushed, gave a big smile and put my hands up....

"It's me"

So it looks like it's not just Ruby who's out of the closet. I am too. I just hope I've not got much apologising to do....Better go and have a look at my archive.

P.S. Do pop over to Ruby's Living in Bury St Edmunds site for lots of news about the magazine. It's fab. And don't forget to have a look at the website www.aboutbury.co.uk, which is in its infancy at the mo but will be a great site with lots of welly behind it.

Understanding the techy world

Here is a real treat for anyone who wants to have in insight into the blogging process and the geeky world that lies beyond (and understand it).

I just discovered this video, thanks to the pointer on Peter Cochrane's blog on the silicon.com site. The video is an example of how the company Commoncraft is able to translate complex ideas into basic principles through effective presentations. If you get the hang of the blogging video, be sure to take a look at their other stuff at www.commoncraft.com.

21st cm Tests mobile blogging

If you can read this then i have successfully cracked mobile blogging from my nokia 95.

Hooray it works. X

------

Addendum

Setting up mobile blogging to Blogger was fairly straight forward and Blogger members can follow the full set of instructions at: www.blogger.com/mobile-start.g

The first thing that I did was to set up the mobile interface for my Yahoo account, an option that is available on the Yahoo email interface. Once this was created I sent an email from my phone via yahoo to go@blogger.com.

This triggered Blogger to create a mobile blog account. Their system then sent a "claim token" to the email address that I used via my phone.

To complete the next step, I found it easier to log onto Blogger's mobile start page from my laptop to register the claim token. Blogger then gave several options. I could choose to keep my mobile account independent of my blog, or choose to merge mobile posts with my blog. I chose to merge with the 21st CM blog.

Once I updated my account, I accessed Yahoo via my phone, created the above post and crossed my fingers (or rather pressed the send button).

My next challenge is to test out sending photos. However, until my old number is transferred to my phone I will be unable to add MMS, which I will need for emailing images. However that's only a week to go.

It's been a while since I've done this...

...but I'm taking a sneaky opportunity to blog live, this time from The Lounge in Hatter St, Bury St Edmunds.

The Chilli Cheese Panini has been ordered and while awaiting its arrival, I'm enjoying the calm environment, which is now decorated with festive purple baubles dangling from the ceiling.

I can't escape the chatter of girls to my right talking about boyfriends and the future of their relationships...Oh I'd love to gossip, but I shouldn't.

The panini has now arrived, so I am now off to indulge.

Blogging Live from Tickety Boo in Bury St Edmunds

Top of the morning t'you. I hope you're feeling tickety boo. I am...especially as I am taking the opportunity to blog live from the Tickety Boo Cupcake Room, in St John's Street. Oh lucky me!

Contrary to popular belief, I am not just indulging in a delicious White Chocolate, Hazlenut and Cranberry Torte, accompanied by a generous cup of latte ....

(I've made the photo of the torte smaller so that the portion doesn't look as large as it really is)

...I am actually working. I've already trekked around our local Waitrose to finish off our family grocery shop (life is hard isn't it) and have just dropped down to one of my favourite haunts to enjoy the refreshments and listen to the fabulous swing music while I get on with working on my website.


However, looking at these cakes, I may not be able to fit back through that door on my way out.

If you are in town this morning, do pop by and say hello and if you happen to have your laptop, connecting to the Internet is again, very easy from this beautiful Hotspot. It's free and you just need the password from the lovely proprietor Alison Snow.

Flash your desktop

Picklesmum has tagged me to show-off my desktop, after showing off her lovely pictures of Russell Brand...It was a difficult decision, whether I should use my laptop or my desktop PC. What dilemmas for a 21st C mummy.

Anyway, given the fact that I was using my laptop at the time. I've settled on that and here it is.

So now I am tagging Cookiebee, Little Mummy, Ingenious Rose, Manic Mama and the Life of Bryan.


*****
Here are the instructions

A. Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun. You can do a screen capture by:
[1] Going to your desktop and pressing the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key).
[2] Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and do a Paste (CTRL + V).
[3] If you wish, you can “edit” the image, before saving it.

B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of icons. Things like that.

C. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

Blogging live from The Fox in Bury St Edmunds

I'm sat with here with Ruby, Grumpyoldwoman and MarkG, blogging live from The Fox Inn, one of my favourite Wi-Fi Hotspots.

Lunch has just arrived, so we will be here for an hour. If you are free, come over and join us. I'll be back with an update very soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(2 hours later) Apologies for such a long break, lunch with Grumpyoldwoman's tales was just hilarious and I laughed so much I couldn't even begin to blog...it is only just now that I have been able to calm down enough to get back online, but it's with regret that I am unable to share those tales with you.

Today's Wi-Fi lunch at The Fox has been great. The location offers easy access, which is free and does not require a password to log on.

For lunch I chose the Tortilla flat bread wrap with the brie and caramelised onion filling, which was delicious.


Followed by a latte and a Sticky Toffee Pudding, it has been a great Wi-Fi session, in a very relaxing environment. What I love about The Fox is their attitude to food. Everything is cooked to order, using local freshly bought produce, which I feel is very important for this kind of service.

On the subject of food, keep a look out for my post about allotments and getting back onto the mission of getting allotments in Moreton Hall. More about that to follow soon. In the meantime, take a look at Ruby's post, which features some mini-reveals of Grumpyoldwoman and MarkG

Some more Wi-Fi fun!

I've got a meeting at an undisclosed Wi-Fi location tomorrow. So be on the look-out for a blog post, with a live review from somewhere in Bury St Edmunds.

Shhh.....

MarkG commented the other day that Starbucks was launching Wi-Fi Friday....which meant for just ONE day, you could log onto their Wi-Fi facilities for FREE!

Well....big news Starbucks, in Bury St Edmunds you can use Wi-Fi in three other town centre venues for free EVERYDAY!!!!!!!

Shucks, I missed Starbucks' FREE offer...because it was yesterday and today is Saturday...Damn, a bit late...or so they think!

Guess where I am blogging FOR FREE from today at 9.02am in Bury St Edmunds....

Starbucks of course...

I guess being an international company....it is still Friday somewhere in the world.

So get in here before lunchtime and see if you too can blag a free Wi-Fi session....

Or...

Continue to support LOCAL businesses in Bury....

....and that way....you don't even have to put up with Blogger suddenly turning into German all over....

Over and out....21st CM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ADDENDUM...I spotted a certain celebrity going into the loo at Starbucks, immediately after I blogged this post....

More about that another time. In the meantime, I am open to guesses....here's one clue...he was short with grey hair.

Wireless in Bury St Edmunds

Blogging Live from....SoBar

So, here I am as promised... blogging live from one of Bury St Edmund's newest Wi-Fi Hotspots, the SoBar Cafe on the corner of Hatter Street and Langton Place.

For the uninitiated, Wi-Fi is the technology which enables mobile devices such as laptops to remotely log onto the Internet. In the UK, there has been a steady increase of venues offering Wi-Fi access to customers.

These venues have become popularly known as Hotspots and are becoming widespread in towns and cities. In fact, the city of Norwich, only an hour's drive from Bury, has become a pioneer of the technology by providing free Wi-Fi access to wireless users through 200 antennae that have been installed across the city. It has become known as a giant Hotspot, which sadly has led to a Wi-Fi health scare, while experts research the risks associated with the use of the technology on such grand scale.

However, here in Bury St Edmunds, Wi-Fi Hotspots are emerging on a much smaller scale, but all the same, these relatively new facilities are indicative of the wider picture.

Accessing the Internet in SoBar this morning was free and painless, even for a non-techy. The router was already available and once my laptop had been booted-up, I was shown a list of networks I could select. After selecting the SoBar network, it connected within seconds with no password required.

So, here I am, sat enjoying a latte in the comfort of a cafe-bar rather than sat at my desk at home. The recent extension to include cafe facilities is a welcome addition to Bury St Edmunds, helping to create the cafe culture which so many residents would like to see in Bury.

There is the opportunity to sit outside, but with the rain pouring down I am not tempted today. Instead, on a day like today, the comfortable sofa with the gentle music playing in the background is a far more attractive option.

I like this space. It is an interesting venue, with unique furniture that I love.


I also like the fact that they serve lunch, offering a healthy menu of jacket potatoes and sandwiches. It is reassuringly inexpensive rather than a member of "rip-off Britain", with a jacket potato starting at £2.00 plus 75p for a filling.


So...guess where I will be staying for the next hour or so!

And what about next week...We are lucky to have a fine choice of venues in Bury, so I will be able to take my pick from one of these (which also offer free access)....

So remember where you saw this first and if you have a Wi-Fi laptop and a free spirit, why not come and join in...!

Can I HACK IT?

I have recently received reports from readers stating that the right-hand column isn't showing correctly in Internet Explorer!

Apologies for this. I am currently researching ways of hacking the code so that it displays okay in Internet Explorer version 6 or lower. I hope to find a solution soon.

However, tests have shown that the columns appear okay when using the excellent Mozilla Firefox browser, which can be downloaded from here. I have also tried it in Internet Explorer version 7, which can be downloaded from here.

In the meantime, while I am looking for a fix...I am continuing my adventures in geek world.

Keep an eye out for tomorrow's post where I will be researching the Wi-Fi hotspots of Bury St Edmunds and attempt a live blogging session from one of the locations. I hope you will accept my invitation of a lunch-time visit to see my review.

Geek is Chic...

(Image by Timmy Toucan,retrieved from Flickr)

Since the arrival of my laptop, I've been mostly busy partying. However during the hours that I haven't been indulging in a glass of wine or running things on the home-front, I have been satisfying my hidden geeky side.


So for all of my fellow geeks out there, this is what I have been getting very excited about over the last few days...(for non-geeky readers, you have permission to catch up on your sleep.....now!)


Are you ready....if so...sit back and relax for my weekend geeky count-down...


In at number 10...geek-time got off to a slow start, while I tried to crack the code to our wireless router. ..then attempted to remember the name and password so we could change the code. End Result. 21st C Dad had to reset the router, so that we could start afresh...oh um...at least the codes were kept in a safe place then!


No 9 - WAH HEY...things are starting to happen now! Full indulgence levels met by taking laptop off to a Wi-Fi hotspot for a bit of blogging while 21st C Dad took charge of baby-sitting!

No 8 - WOO HOO...excitement building upon the realisation that I can upload my Canon photos onto laptop without having to search for proprietary drivers....now that's clever!

No 7 - the pleasure of multi-tasking...no I don't mean doing the washing up while I surf but being able to keep on top of the 9pm-10pm slot, while I catch up with PC stuff whilst sat on the sofa. YEE-AHH. (Now this is a real give-away...of course I know that real geeks don't watch TV).

No 6 - GREENING UP...catching up with the ONLINE Sunday Newspapers whilst indulging in a lie-in...no more papers strewn across the house for the whole week!

No 5 - YOU WHAT?...discovering the www.futureme.org website, where you can arrange to deliver a message to your future self (and then sending an email to my future-self).

No 4 - OH THE JOY...at remembering how to reconfigure the regional settings... to stop that annoying @ sign appearing when you want the " sign and vice versa.

No 3 - COOL.....Installing Mozilla Firefox in favour of Internet Explore and the pleasure of reconfiguring it to use the scribblies theme. Girly geeks will just love the little juggler that appears when the PC is "thinking"....

No 2 - PHEW....The relief of installing Yahoo Messenger for the benefits of automatic email announcement!I love it when the little envelope appears with its teen-weeny asterisk!

.....BUT HARD TO BEAT IN ITS NO. 1 SPOT is...

... the OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD EXPERIENCE of using the new fingerprint technology to log on to my Win XP account....

....now that's GENIUS!


Getting a new PC is like moving house...After a little personalisation and a tweak here and there, only then does it begin to feel like home...21st Century Mummy 2007

The Perfect House-Wi-Fi-Wife

Excuse me while I indulge. I am now in IT heaven having recently been blessed with a new Wi-Fi enabled laptop (oops sorry - notebook) and am sat on the sofa with my new piece of kit! It takes me back to the days when I used to work for a living, you know the 24/7 salaried kind of work.

One of my last jobs was as a research manager for a London based consultancy back in 2000, where my role included keeping abreast of technological developments and trends. I remember researching forecasts in mobile PC usage and the development of Wi-Fi hotspots.

Little did I know then that seven years later I would be indulging in the novelty of sending emails from an indoor play centre in Sudbury, which offers Wi-Fi access. Just in case you're wondering, 21st C Dad was also there too, supervising the children while I played with my new toy like an excited kid at Christmas. It did strike me as bizarre that this particular establishment was advertising "With our Wi-Fi access, you can work while the kids happily play" alongside other signs that suggest "Children must always be supervised". Thank goodness 21st C Dad was there or I might have been a bit confused"

Anyway, I am now looking forward to discovering the Wi-Fi hotspots in Bury St Edmunds. I can now see a new career ahead of me. Move over Nigella Lawson and make room for the Wi-Fi Goddess. Anthea Turner, you may be the Perfect Housewife, but make way for the Perfect House-Wi-Fi-Wife.

So, where will I go...? You might just see me blogging in Tickety Boo, or even The Lounge. There's the opportunity to relax at the Fox Inn or drop in for a daytime coffee in SoBar, not to mention the range of other places that can be found around the town.

So it's a case of have notebook...will travel...Just watch out for the live blogging posts that may just appear over the next week as I indulge in the novelty of my new technology. Please bear with me...normal service will be resumed soon.

The Reveal

Having hidden behind my anonymity over the last 5 months, I will soon be revealing all in a couple of weeks time, alongside Ruby of Living in Bury St Edmunds fame, as we launch a "Blogging for Beginners" course at the West Suffolk College.

We are primed to share information and divulge our secrets to enthuse new bloggers and to develop the blogosphere in Bury. The course starts on Tuesday 25th September. Further details are available on Ruby's site or from West Suffolk College.

A blogging present

Meet Richard...

He's 30 tomorrow and to mark the big occasion I created a blog as a surprise present. I delivered it just in time for his party yesterday. With photos provided by his mum and a place for old friends and relatives to leave birthday wishes, it was great and made a really novel gift!

Happy birthday Richard, the party was great. I hope you didn't mind me being a cheapskate. At least you can enjoy your made-up biography with a lovely glass of Chateauneuf-du-pape.

In praise of nice...

Isn't this little piece of automata nice? If you wind the handle a couple of times the little tortoises kiss each other. I bought it at the very nice Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery, in a nice sale that they had earlier this year. I thought it would be a nice present for my very nice husband. It was all very nice.

I like to think that I am a nice person: the teachers at school always used to say I was (yet my mother always thought they were talking about a different child). I like to do nice things for other nice people, but there is a side of me that smiles nicely when not so nice things occur in the path of the not so nice people (call it nice karma). But on the whole, I enjoy being nice as somehow it attracts lots of nice things without trying too hard (that's really nice karma).

All these ramblings bring me nicely onto an award that I received this week from the very nice Ingenious Rose. It's the nice matters award in recognition of the importance of being nice. So thanks Ingenious Rose for thinking about me in such a nice way and giving me a nice excuse to use a word that I normally replace with nicer alternatives.


I humbly accept the award and would now like to pass the award onto some other nice people, namely:

Ruby of Living in Bury St Edmunds, for being nice
Bury Blue of Running in Suffolk for his very nice photos
The very nice Annie Hafermann of Creating the Good Life where she displays her very nice work
Paula of Happy Tracks in the Snow, for being nice to the environment
and last but not least, Picklesmum, for monitoring the not so nice comments and nicely sending people to the naughty step, where necessary. Nicely done Picklesmum.

Some other nice things to know:

• The Nice Matters award started here
• If you need to know how to handle things nicely look here
• If you need extra advice on the benefits of being nice, take a look at Alasdair's excellent post at Man About The House here.

Oh, I nearly forgot.....Have a nice day now....(hee hee).

(Don't worry...Normal service will resume tomorrow)