Friday 30 December 2011

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.

Tuesday 27 December 2011

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.

Friday 23 December 2011

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.

Thursday 22 December 2011

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.

Wednesday 21 December 2011

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

Tuesday 20 December 2011

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.

Monday 19 December 2011

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.

Friday 16 December 2011

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.

Thursday 15 December 2011

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.

Tuesday 13 December 2011

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.

Saturday 10 December 2011

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.

Wednesday 7 December 2011

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.

Monday 28 November 2011

Barnaby jumps through hoops

I've declined the hold baggage, declined the insurance, declined the luggage for sale, declined priority boarding, declined the hire car, declined the hotel offers, ticked the box to say that I've read the terms and conditions, avoided the online booking charge by using my prepaid mastercard, confirmed that I understand the size restrictions for carry on baggage, entered my personal details and printed my own boarding passes.  Yes, I'm flying Ryanair.
Barnaby is off to Spain!

Saturday 26 November 2011

Barnaby's widget collapses

Hmmm!  The currency conversion widget on the website seems to have stopped working.  Looks like I'll have to find another one. Widget failure is no laughing matter.

Thursday 24 November 2011

Barnaby gets an upgrade

A surprise phone call today to tell me that there is a problem with my airport parking at Bristol Airport next week. (cue sinking heart feeling). Apparently the carpark is being resurfaced. 'We'd like to offer you an alternative car parking arrangement.' (pregnant pause)  'Would you be willing to transfer to our meet and greet service for no extra charge?'  (Hmmm!  Tricky one this.  Must consider - but not for long!) 'Yes, I guess that would be acceptable.' (Wow. Don't mind changes like that). Result!

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Barnaby goes global

Barnaby's author website www.barnaby-wilde.co.uk (don't forget the hyphen) has gone live today. Barnaby Wilde is now truly a global phenomenon.  Well, perhaps that's an exaggeration, but details about Barnaby and his books can now be accessed and purchased anywhere in the world. 

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Barnaby gets hyphenated

I've got a new domain name. (barnaby-wilde.co.uk).  Note the hyphen.  It seems that barnaby wilde without a hyphen is already registered as a motor cycle dealership.  At the moment the barnaby-wilde (hyphenated) domain doesn't take you anywhere because I'm still busy building the website, but it should go live within the next few days.
Quite exciting.  I've never been hyphenated before.

Saturday 19 November 2011

Barnaby goes bowling

Went to our village pub night last night.  More difficult than it sounds because the village has no pub, however, once a month a virtual pub is set up in the village hall.  There is a pay bar and a pub quiz (our team came third) followed by a game of skittles.  This is good old West Country skittles - none of your new fangled ten pin bowling here.  Nine wooden skittles and three not quite round balls each.
Everyone takes part and names are chalked up on the blackboard.
Someone altered my name from Tim to Barnaby.  Is this what celebrity status is all about?
Bring it on.

Thursday 17 November 2011

A Question of Alignment / I Keep Thinking it's Tuesday

Both Tom Fletcher novels have been published as e-books this week in multiple formats that can be read on pretty much any electronic reader (PC, Mac, Smartphone, Kindle, i-pad etc).  They can be sampled for free and downloaded at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/barnabywilde or if you prefer to shop at the Kindle Store, then you can download directly onto your Kindle.
I'd welcome feedback on both books and am currently collating ideas for the next volume.