Sunday update - Vlogs

I like blogging. It's a way for me to keep a record of the things I do and the things I think about. I also like v-logging but I really don't find it very easy to do. I'm a big fan of v-logs and watch several channels on YouTube run by everyday folk. They are interesting and it's possible to learn so much from them. The problem I have is that I'm not really any good at expressing myself on a video as I am here in text. I like making videos, particularly about my meagre efforts at self-sufficiency and of course my model railway hobby. I just don't like to see or hear myself in them. I suppose I'm a bit of a perfectionist. If I'm reading from a cue then that's fine, I'm quite comfortable with that, but freestyle and I'm all over the place. I suppose practice could possibly make perfect but I'm too impatient for that. I have tried reading from a cue - it works provided you like your videos very documentary-style. The thing about the videos I have seen posted on YouTube is the ease in which they've been made and the rapport between the 'presenter' and the camera. Maybe I should just practice some more...
Another important factor in all this is that the v-logs I watch are made by people who live alone. They also have very few distractions around them. Maybe that's where I'm 'going wrong'. I have family around me - my wife and son. We have a dog too but she doesn't get in the way at all and is probably used by now to hearing me talking to myself...
A channel on YouTube I'm enjoying a lot is 'rickvanman'. There are hundreds of videos on a range of interesting topics and they are made by a guy who some years ago decided to ditch his humdrum factory job for the life he now enjoys. It's well worth a look. It did take me a while to understand what this guy was all about but I think I now understand him and appreciate his videos all the more for it.
I'd really like to start looking seriously at expanding my self-sufficiency project and seeing if it's possible to grow some other vegetables. Cucumbers certainly interest me as do onions so I may look into starting these relatively soon.

My tomato plants have really shot up in the last week. There are new shoots, leaves and firmer looking stalks. A couple of the plants have also begun to flower which I'm really pleased about. There's an area of the garden I've been told by my wife I may be able to dig over for planting. Ideally I would really like to construct a large frame which I could then cover with plastic. We'll see. The ground will be challenge enough and a lot will depend on the quality of the soil.

V-log progress, good food & getting old

I'm making progress finally with my v-log. I've been having no end of problems with MS Movie Maker which seems to have a mind of its own. The constant crashing and freezing drove me mad so I just had to find something more stable and reliable. I eventually found it - Serif MoviePlus X5 - it really is superb with every special effect imaginable. It took a while to master but I've got the hang of the basics and I've nearly completed my first v-log. In fact it should be ready for uploading to YouTube tomorrow evening. There are two items in the v-log, my tomato plants and a small piece about my generator - both on the subject of self-sufficiency. I'm hoping it will be of interest to someone.

Probably the food retailer's best kept secret has to be Farmfoods. I began shopping there a few months ago more out of curiosity than anything else. The stores are basic but the quality and range of food is excellent. Prices are good too and £10 can really go a long way. So that's my recommendation to anyone looking to save money but not compromise on quality. Advertisement over.

There may be some good news regarding my lost money. I'd read recently that most purchases made using a credit card are protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. Until recently this did not extend to debit cards but now it does. As my parents funded my training, they made an appointment with their bank and I understand it all went very well. We have some forms to fill in and I need to send copies of the various letters we have sent including stuff from the solicitor and the court. If they do refund the initial fee (£1,140) that'll be great. I will send details of the solicitor fees we had to pay (a further £1,000) in the hope taht they may look kindly on this also. Well, it's worth a try...

It's supposed to be getting hot apparently. Well not here yet. I'm by the Wash and it's been cloudy all day. OK it's been humid but nowhere near the sizzling temperatures predicted. Tomorrow is supposed to be properly hot... Call me boring but I hate it, especially that stifling heat you simply can't escape. The only thing I enjoy about hot weather is the inevitable storm that follows. I believe there are storms forecast for Tuesday.

I'm more sure than ever that I'm 'getting old'. I used to be able to do many things at the same time and listen to several things going on around me. Now though I just can't seem to cope with more than one thing. Quite often, my son will be having a grizzle about something in one ear and the TV news or something similar is going in the other. I find more and more that my head just cannot cope with it. I actually feel it overloading. OMG, I am becoming so much like my father. I make strange noises when I get up and down, I moan about the cost of everyday things, I don't like too much noise and my son's running about the lounge after dinner gives me indigestion. I'm 38 for goodness sake!

I want to go to Lowestoft tomorrow. There's a vintage bus rally down there organised by the East Anglia Transport Museum. But we can't go... I've been told by my wife that we can't afford it. The truth is the event is actually free but the petrol we certainly can't afford. It seems that days out and trips in the car are things of luxury. It's so sad that we now can't afford to travel, to see friends and family or to take a trip to somewhere different. It seems we're not alone, I heard on the radio that more and more people are cutting back on trips in the car. So sad...

I shot some footage today of the model railway I'm building. I've taken many photos but never taken any video. I'm quite pleased with the raw footage and after a bit of editing, I'm sure I can make it into short video for YouTube. I have a channel on YouTube, 'MattLincs' where I upload everything to. Wow, I am becoming creative...

Self-sufficiency mini-project

Today I finally got round to starting my mini self-sufficiency project. I have decided to start growing things and I'm starting with tomatoes. I'm keeping things simple to begin with by using a grow-bag. I've been told I just need to bed-in my tomato plants (kindly provided by my elite gardening father) and add water. To aid my plants, I have added a few bamboo poles for them to climb up. I'm really hoping my little venture will be productive. We probably spend about £5 a month on tomatoes so it would be nice if I could produce my own. I also have my eye on cucumbers and I'm about to research the best way to grow them. Cucumbers have always been a firm favorite and it's common for us to spend at least £5 on these also.
Gooseberries... now there's a fruit you don't see very much of these days. I used to eat them a lot when I was young. My father grew them on his allotment down in Kent. I recall with fondness how I would munch on them whenever I visited him tending his plot. I'll look into growing these too though I don't think it's the right time of year to begin. I'll update regularly on progress.

It was nice to be able to visit Peterborough with my friend again today. I've mentioned previously that he is disabled having suffered a stroke a few years ago and needs a wheelchair to get around. It's always a pleasure for me to take him out for a few hours. Being stuck indoors often makes him depressed so it was great to see him so happy as we drove across the fens. We visited again our favorite store 'Trains4u' situated at Fengate. We're guaranteed a warm welcome from the staff there and they always take a keen interest in our 32 ft model railway project. In the past, we would normally spend well over £100 on each visit but now we spend half that amount. It was sad to see that this country's current obsession of over-pricing has spread also to model railway accessories. Even the smallest items appear to have doubled in price making a once popular and modestly affordable hobby a luxury for the rich or those with huge amounts of money to spare.

I have yet to film my v-log for my YouTube channel. I've decided, incidentally, to call the channel 'From the Wash to the World'. I'm keen to promote the things I'm doing here in a remote corner of Lincolnshire and make them available to anyone interested wherever they are in the world. I've never actually thought that anything I do is remotely interesting to anyone but experience recently has shown that a guy in remotest Australia can have an audience on the other side of the world, interested in his projects to conserve water, grow vegetables and live to a budget. I'll give it a go tomorrow as I'll be on my own - apart from the dog - so should be able to produce a short film uninterrupted.

V-log, film review, Ambridge & 'lectric'

I've actually been rather stumped for a focus to my next blog entry. I know I keep harping on about the problems I'm having with finance and career. I don't want this turn into something boring suffice to say that there is a lot happening at the moment, especially on the consumer forums. A whole lot of people are affected by 1st Class Trucking Ltd and have all lost a lot of money. It will remain to be seen whether anyone gets their money back - the creditors need to be paid back first and then whatever's left over will be shared out to the poor customers. I'll update again once there's significant progress.

I'm toying with the idea of starting a v-log. I'm a huge fan of glen1040 on YouTube and enjoy very much his occasional uploads from his home in remotest Australia. The cost of living is among his latest topics of interest and how everyday items are becoming too expensive to buy. The same is of course true here and I'm quite keen to highlight what we pay for our groceries and how to make savings. Self-sufficiency is another thing that's becoming more relevant as the cost of living increases. Glen spends a lot of time nurturing his vegetable garden and the results are quite amazing given the arid conditions. I've taken a small step in the same direction and procured two tomato plants from my father, who - unlike me - is a very keen and accomplished gardener. So any v-log I produce will contain an update on my tomato growing progress. If I do manage it, I intend to publish it on YouTube under my ID 'mattlincs'.

There's lots going on at the moment about the pension age. Personally, I can understand fully the frustration of those who will now have to work longer before they can receive their pensions. They feel let down, mis-led and probably heartily sick of having their hopes dashed for retiring from a life of 9-5 office and factory work. I am lucky - I have a good private pension, well several actually from my previous employers. I don't have to worry when I reach 55 and if I'm not about, neither will my wife and son. But for those dependent on the state pension, they have every right to be angry and I hope this is reflected in the next round of voting in the general election. Personally, I am half-expecting to emigrate before the government can get their hands on my nest egg... Australia maybe...

I will update at the weekend on progress made with our model railway. I've been quite busy adding some nice little extras.

I've watched two films recently, 'Paul' and 'Unknown'. 'Paul' was actually quite good given the fact it's a comedy about an alien. I didn't really think it could work but Simon Pegg and Nick Frost managed to pull it off. 'Unknown' was another good film. It stars Liam Neeson in the lead role. Although it is very well made (anything with Liam Neeson in it normally is), I did find the storyline very frustrating. I get very easily confused and this film leads you down one road before doing a sharp u-turn and sending you in the other direction. Some would describe it as a 'twist in the tale'. I would call it bloody irritating. It was very good though nevertheless and I can thoroughly recommend it.

OK, that's my film review for this week! I could have gone further but I'd hate to spoil either of them for anyone.

Does anyone reading this listen to the Archers I wonder...? I do and I have to confess that I'm well and truly hooked. I've been listening on and off for years but since Christmas I haven't missed an episode. I miss Nigel, I find Elizabeth irritating to the extreme and cringe whenever Jolene and Kenton are together. There! Am I an Archers addict?

Finally... electricity. Our electricity bill has risen from £150 per month to a staggering £174 per month! I'm actually still in shock at reading the letter from Eon. We must be paying too much, surely... What do other people pay? Is it normal to pay so much each month?

OK, I'm going to have a think about my first v-log and I'll update again at the weekend. I have an appointment with my careers adviser tomorrow. I'm hoping she will be able to help me with financing my training course... We'll see.

Australia calling...

I like YouTube. It brings us things from around the world that we wouldn't normally see. Sounds and pictures are brought to us in seconds from all reaches of the globe - some in stunning high definition - if you have the bandwidth.
I was browsing YouTube the other day, not looking for anything in particular, when I stumbled across some uploads from a guy living in remote Western Australia. He has uploaded a set of v-logs - a kind of video blog - which provide a fascinating insight into his rural life and interests. Living in a remote part of the country, he doesn't have access to mainstream broadband (as he describes in one of the v-logs), therefore his uploads are quite sporadic with long periods in between. Nevertheless, I do find them uniquely interesting and I have already learnt so much simply from watching them. Something I didn't know previously was how to find out how much gas is left in a gas bottle. Apparently, if you pour boiling water over it, the part that remains wet and doesn't condense is where there is remaining gas, therefore giving an indication of the gas level.
I'm sure he won't be everyone's cup of tea but he's certainly worth a look. He can be found by searching 'glen1040' in YouTube.