There's a place, Samoa, a time and place, Samoa

Today, the islands of Samoa and Tokelau missed out an entire day when they moved  the international dateline from the West of the island group to the East. At midnight local time on 29th December 2011, Samoa and Tokelau fast forwarded to 31st December, missing out Friday entirely, bringing them into the same time zone as their major trading partners Australia and New Zealand.

Barnaby grieves for all the Samoans who lost a day of their lives, especially those whose birthdays fell on 30th December and woke to find themselves a year older but with no presents or parties this year. Bummer!

It must have been equally galling to those Samoans who normally get paid on a Friday.

Barnaby has got square balls

It's some years since I last tried juggling and I have got somewhat rusty,  but I was given a new set of juggling balls at Xmas so it's time to flex those old biceps (or is it triceps?) again and get practising.  Fortunately the new balls are more cuboid than spherical, so they don't roll far when I drop them. So far no one has been impressed by my erratic throwing.  Not even me.

Wishing you a Happy Xmas from Barnaby ...

... and Tom Fletcher, Buff Gently, Cat 22, Cat named Dog, Boudicca, the Blind Philosopher, the God of Small Things and all the other folk who inhabit Barnaby Wilde's world.  (not forgetting the armadillos, ... or the yaks, ... or the camels, ... Oh! you get the idea.) 

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers.

Barnaby does it by trial and error

I think I've got the website www.barnaby-wilde.co.uk (don't forget the hyphen) running again after floundering around the hosting and redirect services.  Hopefully you will now be able to see the two new titles 'Animalia' and 'Life...' and access them if you wish.  Please let me know if there are any problems.

Barnaby has a problem

Tried to upload a new 'improved' version of the Barnaby-Wilde website today and have succeded in crashing the existing version and failing to get the new version working properly.  Normal service will be resumed when I can figure how to do it.  Apologies to anyone trying to access the site in the meantime.

If you want to view any of the published books for free samples or to download a copy, you can go directly to the Smashwords site via this link. http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/barnabywilde

Barnaby gets Life...

Second volume of  'verse' published today under the title 'Life...'.  A loosely related set of poems on the theme of life from birth to death, pausing only to consider 'Where do socks go when they die?', 'Where exactly is that safe place which seems to hold so many of my prized possessions?', and 'How will I know that I am middle aged?'  Not to mention 'Why are there 87 bottles in my bathroom?'

For answers to these questions, and more, take a peek at the website www.barnaby-wilde.co.uk (remember the hyphen) and beyond.

Barnaby gets in the mood

Apparently it's Xmas next week.  So, in order to get into the mood, Barnaby has put a Xmas tree up in the hall and, for once, the lights worked straight out of the box.  Neither the dog nor the cat seemed overly impressed, but Mrs W. was pleased.  It all looks very pretty.

Barnaby gets a flat

Sleet and driving rain today.  Just the day to change a wheel at the side of a busy main road.  Thirty minutes later, cold, dirty, and definitely not amused.
A visit to the tyre depot and apparently it can't be repaired.  Two new tyres, re-aligned tracking, and one light wallet.
Hmmm!  Not one of Barnaby's better motoring days.

Barnaby loses his rag

No, I don't mean 'Barnaby has a tantrum'.  The rag in question was the Daily Telegraph.  Bought a copy earlier in the day and was looking forward to a good read and then couldn't find the damned thing anywhere.  Eventually we decided that it might have been picked up with the laundry by mistake and gone into the washing machine .  Hmmm! I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Xmas Comes Early

Barnaby likes a freebie just as much as anyone else, so here is one from him to you. A collection of quirky verse with a vaguely animal related theme to download for free onto your e-reader. Go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/114076 to download a copy in the format of your choice. (This will also be available from Amazon sometime in the next few days if you prefer).
If you like armadillos, camels, dodos, stick insects, camels or elephants, this is the book for you.

Barnaby flies solo

My beloved has gone to visit her mother this weekend so I'm going it alone. It's mid morning. The cat is fed, the dog is walked, the breakfast is done and dusted, the bed is made. I have a cup of coffee and a chocolate biscuit. Easy, peasy.  Just have to figure out how this washing machine works.

Barnaby was meeted and greeted ...

... or should that be 'met and gret?' Anyway, a great week away in the sun in the Malaga area.  Sitting on the beach with a beer or a coffee, reading my Kindle and soaking up the sun.  What could be better? And then it's back to reality with a bumpy landing, high winds and squally rain on the drive back to Exeter at 2am.  But the 'meet and greet' at the airport worked a treat.