Joined Twitter But Haven't Tweeted Yet

I like to think of myself as an early adopter of new technology.I joined Facebook ages ago (have since left),had Skyplus and HD tv from the start and was at the Apple store for the launch of the iPad (although they didn't persuade me to buy one). But Twitter is something that I have been aware of but haven't felt the urge to join. However, I noticed that our son Paul was using it a lot when we were with him last week so I decided to look into it. Haven't really sussed it or its potential out yet but I plan to find out more soon. In the meantime if you are a blog reader and you are on Twitter, please get in touch and I will add you to those I am following.If you are interested my tag is lfcchampions (don't ask).



Whilst on the subject of new technology, I keep seeing the adverts at the cinema for the new 3DTVs. I would love to have one of these but is it worth it yet? When we got HD there were only about three channels to watch and it was several years before we got the service that we get today and I suspect that there will be very little to watch in 3D at the moment and the near future. Will probably wait on this one.



Whilst I am twiddling my thumbs waiting for a visit from one of our Zip colleagues I have been having a sneaky look at Max's warranty figures. And very good they are too this month with jobs given out to our agents at less than fifty percent of the target figure. As we set the target pretty low anyway, that is a remarkable result and I hope that I am not tempting fate by drawing attention to it and go on to find out next week that the number of calls has doubled. Well done to everyone for making the boilers so reliable.




Magic Numbers on ITV1 on Saturday night at 8 o'clock promises to be a lot of fun again with X Factor's Diana Vickers performing and BGT judge Amanda Holden joining Stephen Mulhern for the show. Stephen seems to be a very popular choice of host and is very well liked. Nick's daughter Laura is working on the show and she told Nick that she met Stephen yesterday and he was very friendly. I think that the way that they react to humble runners in the production team is a true measure of the star quality of "celebrities" and, from what Paul has also told me, I think that Stephen has a very bright future. I really hope that a viewer wins a huge cash prize this week to shut up the Internet knockers who think that it is impossible - it isn't.

To get an idea of the flavour of the show - remember it's LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT, here is a clip from last week.

Happy Birthday Peter

It's a sign that the blog has been running for a long time when Instanta Staff birthdays start to come around for the second time and here is Peter Barlow who celebrates his 48th birthday on Sunday.



And here's how he appeared on the blog this time last year in happier times before credit crunches and recession and just after his beloved Manchester United had won the Champions League. For some reason he didn't seem keen on waving his scarf around this year. But I won't give him any stick as his workmates at ASDA (where he does a few extra hours)have already given him punishment enough. Storeman Peter lives and breathes football and it was a sad day when we reported on the blog that he had finally hung up his boots due to persistent injury. But you can't keep a football fanatic down and within a short while he was back only to be out again a few weeks later.Peter's football version of the hokey cokey continued throughout the year and he is now back again having made more farewell appearances than Frank Sinatra. Football aside, Peter is also a devoted father. His son James is a talented footballer as too is youngest son Alex who, along with his sister Heidi is an outstanding dancer. Have a great day Peter.



Heidi and Alex once auditioned for "Britain's Got Talent" but were not successful but tonight it's our CEDABOND waiter Greg Pritchard's turn to appear in the semi finals. I see that his odds on Betfair are very long so people aren't rating his chances but he is a charismatic young man and if he performs well he could easily cause an upset. I've had a very small flutter on the competition and have simply bet against Susan Boyle winning. Her behaviour after winning her semi final was weird to say the least and the subsequent press reports of four letter tirades against fellow contestants and the police are hardly the way to make friends and influence people. I was quite amused last night when Amanda Holden said that if Callum Francis didn't get into the final after his medley of Jungle Book songs the other judges would have her to answer to. So when young Callum was up against Two Grand for the judges' vote who did she vote for? Two Grand of course.



It's the last working day of the month. That's the day when our overdraft is at its very lowest level before we pay all our bills on Monday. That's right all our bills on Monday (customers please note we would appreciate it if you could do the same). Sadly we have a big corporation tax bill to pay on Monday so the overdraft will be right back up again. I was thinking of going cap in hand asking the Inland Revnue to give us a bit more time as I hear that they are very sympathetic at the moment (for a change)but to be honest I haven't really got any sob stories to spin, no big customers gone bust so we'll just have to pay up.



Speaking of efficient cash flow control, two days after the final game of the season at Anfield, the Kop season ticket renewal forms land on my desk. But amazingly all prices are reduced for next season from £650 to £634 a saving of £16 or 2.46%. But hang on a minute hasn't VAT gone down? So what's the saving before VAT? £2 per season or 10p per match. Thanks Liverpool. All prices reduced! The generosity astounds me. They should establish the club as a registered charity.



The weather forecast for the weekend is good. Marion and I have invited her mum and a number of her elderly friends and our neighbour round for Sunday lunch so we should be able to have the roast in the garden. The older generation tends to be overlooked and we know a number of widows and widowers who are on their own with families a long way away and they don't get many chances to get out. The conversation at the lunches is always interesting and I hope that when we reach that age somebody feels the same about us.

I'll leave you with young Callum and decisive judge Amanda Holden.