March 2009 Win

Most disappointing month for wins for a very long time

7^th March: Dale received a aerosol of Dove deodorant in the morning mail

There were no April wins

February 2009 Wins

6^th February: Received an e-mail to say I’d won a whisky tasting and a meal at the five star Lowry Hotel in Manchester.  Unfortunately due to family circumstances at the time and the fact that the meal was just for one person, I had to decline the prize.

21^st February: Received an e-mail to say I’d won an Alaskan Seafoods cookery book from New Homes magazine.

25^th February: I received a phone call at home from the Lancashire Telegraph to say I’d won tickets to the Gershwin opera ‘Let 'em Eat Cake’ at the Lowry Theatre.  Both the opera and the performance were a bit disappointing.

January 2009 Wins

5^th January: First win of the year a £5 Amazon voucher from GfK.

12^th January: Won a pair of preview tickets to see the film Nixon at Bolton. Unfortunately because of the snow we had to turn back so missed the film.

16^th January: Received a phone call from the Lowry Theatre to say I’d won a pair of tickets to the musical Buddy.  Unfortunately I missed where he said the prize was from, but we had a very enjoyable evening nonetheless.

 31^st January: Received a strange object in the mail, it took quite a while to figure out what it was.  It was a cava cooler, it can best be described as a jacket into which ice cubes can be inserted.  Checking on the web – it apparently came from ‘Marques de Monistrol’.

December 2008 Wins

10th December:  Had to pick up another  parcel this time it was an 8GB I-pod Nano 4^thGeneration from Kia

17^th December:  Dale received a telephone call from Lake District Life to say she’d won a Home Spa Hamper.  We arranged to go and pick it up at Hawkshead.  It contained lots of nice soaps etc in a basket.

19^th December:  Dale rang to say she’d received a call to say we’d won a long weekend in Chicago.  We stay at the Conrad Chicago for three nights and also  included is tickets to see the play ‘The Seafarer’ at the Steppenwolf Theatre starting  John Mahoney of Fraiser fame.

20^th December: Won a recipe book on Puddings

30^th December: Won some tickets to a screening

 of Australia from Jacobs Creek but unfortunately because of the venue was not able to attend.

November 2008 Wins

3^rd November:  Won tickets to Cripple of Inishmaan at the Lowry from Whatsonstage Manchester.

6^th November:  Had to pick up a parcel this turned out to be a Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot from

 Galaxy FM.

October 2008 Wins

3^rd October:  A recipe book arrived from Nestle

5^th October:  Won a glass from Grolsch

17^th October:  A pair of tickets arrived to the Freeze Festival from Channel 4.  As these

 arrived at very short notice and the event was at the other end of the country they were not

 unfortunately used.

20^th October:  Won a pair of tickets to Seven Brides

 for Seven Brothers at Manchester Opera House from Smooth FM

22^nd October:  Tickets to ‘Heroes of Sport Exhibition at Manchester Central arrived from City Life. 

September 2008 Wins

9th September:  Received a phone call to say that I’d won tickets to see Tosca at the Opera House, Manchester and a years membership to the Ellen Kent club. 

11th September:  Tickets to see the Blues

 Brothers at the Opera House, Manchester arrived from mygoldmusic. 

14th September: Another pair of tickets to a film preview from See Films First.

17th September:  Won a pair of tickets to see ‘Glee Club’ at the Library Theatre, Manchester from whatsonstage Manchester

August 2008 wins

13^th August: A bottle of Ambre Solier sun tan lotion arrived – ideal for our up coming holiday to Rome.  Also a stainless steel flask and a heat pad arrived from Deep Heat

28^th August: Tickets to a film preview from See Films First

July 2008 Wins

3^rd July :  Won a bright orange ‘Philosophy Football’ t-shirt from Red Pepper

4th July:  A copy of ‘The Painter, the Cook and L’Arte di Sacla’ book from ‘First Post’ this is a rather nice Italian food book

7^th July:  A pair of cinema tickets arrived from Smooth FM

8^th July:  Won a pair of tickets to see ‘Crown Matrimonial’ at  the Lowry Theatre from Whatsonstage Manchester.  

8^th July:  Another £5 Amazon voucher from GfK surveys.

16th July: An mp3 download from Impulse 

17th July: A bottle of wine, pen and key ring from Experience more 

28th July:  A bottle of Dooleys arrived today – I’ve no idea from where.

June 2008 Wins

                       St Peters Basilica from across the Tiber - see 30th June

3rd June: Won a frosted drinking glass from Fosters. Unfortunately it turned out to be broken on arrival.

4th June: Received an e-mail from Microsoft to say we had won a 'Experience@ voucher for 100 points.  After much deliberation of the options available to us we decided on a night at the greyhound racing.  We attended a night at the Belle View racecourse.  The prize included entry, a three course meal and a race card.  We had a window seat in the main stand.  We enjoyed a good night’s entertainment, both of us having a small bet on each race.  At the end of the night after totting up our winnings we found that we’d lost 60 pence.  Could be worse. 

10th June:  Picked up a parcel which turned out to be a Wayne Hemmingway sweatshirt from B&Q.  It seems quite wearable.

12th June:  Another £5 Amazon voucher from GfK surveys.

19th June:  An eyeshadow from Virgin@home arrived today.  I also won a copy of the Joe Jackson CD ‘Rain’ from the Bridgewater Hall. 20th June: A Ronaldo t-shirt arrived – it will be OK for painting in.

30th June: Dale ran me at work to say we’d won a £1,000 European holiday of our choice.  We were put in contact with a very helpful travel agent who helped us arrange a long weekend in Rome.  

May 2008 wins

1st May: I received an e-mail to say I’d won a really nice wildlife print of a barn owl. Looks really nice.

7th May: I received an e-mail to say I’d won a Maglite AAA Solo tourch.

9th May: My first ballet CD

12th May: Golden compass DVD

19th May: Another teach youreslf Spanish course

21st May: National Trust family day ticket

30th May: Year subscription Setanta by Broadband

April 2008 wins

1st April – I received an e-mail from Artslist Manchester telling me I had won tickets to ‘Zorro the Musical’ at The Opera House, this was a new musical extravaganza premiering in Manchester prior to being transferred to the West End. We were quite unimpressed. The music was forgettable, the standard of singing was average and the plot was forgettable.

3rd April – I received an e-mail from Whatsonstage Manchester to say I’d won tickets to ‘The Man who Had Too Much Luck’ at the Lowry Theatre. This was a play by Arthur Miller about a man for whom everything seemed to go right, whilst those around him were suffering more than their fair share of bad luck. The play was thought provoking and very professionally done, unlike the previous weeks production.

8th April – Today I won a Spanish Language course from Age-net. That should keep those brain cells working.

15th April – londonnet sent an e-mail telling me I’d won a special edition of the Simply Red album ‘Stars’. It contains two CDs and a concert DVD.

17th April – I received an envelope containing a diary and a memory stick from Classic Malts.

24th April – I received an e-mail saying I’d won a pair of Brasher Calusa Multi- activity shoes. Really nice these, I have also agreed to do a review as my part of the bargain.

March 2008 Wins

4th March: Three wins today

A Lindt gold porcelain bunny from Lindt

A £5 Amazon Voucher from Gfk surveys

And best of all 280 iTune downloads - Whilst shopping in Woolworth’s on my lunch hour I missed a call on my mobile. I stepped outside and rang the number. The lady responded with “Hello, Kate – Planet Rock”, I immediately thought “This sounds promising”. She told me I’d won a prize in their Neil Young competition. She told me I’d won some iTunes. I thank her, but had it in my mind I’d probably won £5 worth of iTunes.

I got back into work and checked the competition on the Planet Rock website. I was shocked to see that I’d won the equivalent to Neil Young’s back catalogue, a total of 24 albums. This worked out at 280 iTunes downloads.

14th March: - T-shirt from Lucazade

15th March: Book - 'Kill Your Friends"

17th March: won tickets to see Kris Kristofferson at Manchester Apollo from Mojo Magazine. He was supported by a Glaswegian named Rob Hart who was quite good. Kris even appeared during his set and provided backing vocals on a couple of songs. When it came to his own performance he appeared on stage with no band, just him is guitar and harmonica. He then performed for two hours with just a short 15min break, not bad for a 71 year old. His songs all told stories, one minute they made you laugh, the next they ripped your heart out. His voice was honest and gravally was just perfect for wringing out the emotion from every song.

19th March – I received an e-mail saying I had won a Tampopo goodie bag. This seemed to comprise of a glass for making coffee and some coffee. As this had to be collected in Manchester I doubt I will bother getting it.

28th March – I received an e-mail saying that I had won another £5 Amazon voucher from GfK surveys.

February 2008 Wins

22nd Feb: 5 Crunch bars from Cadbury's competition

25th Feb: Tickets to NME Awards big gig - couldn't go do to short notice which also meant nobody else could go in my place.

Disappointing month

January 2008 Wins

3rd Jan: Cinema tickets Walk Hard from Film First - enjoyed this film a skit on the musical biopics such as 'Walk the Line'

17th Jan: Meatloaf Tribute Concert tickets - won a pair of 'Bat out of Hell Trilogy' tickets from Whatsonstage Manchester. An average show not something I'd book to see again. The songs were performed by a guy called Steve Steinman .

18th Jan: Iguana soft toy from BBC wildlife/Caymen Islands and also a £5 Amazon voucher from GfK Surveys

25th Jan: Edingburgh Pub Guide from Caladonian Brewery

29th Jan: Maidstone weekend - from 1v100 quiz show, unfortunately not chosen to be on the show.
31st Jan: Richard Hawley Tickets + Shockwave hair products.

An excellent concert with Richard supported by Vince Vincent and the Villans.

December 2007 Wins

As a couple of the December wins went as Christmas presents I'll keep them quiet on here.

11th Dec: Moliere DVD and a book the Britain's Best Museums and Galleries: From the Greatest Collections to the Smallest Curiosities Book.

12th Dec: a 4 pack Coars beer from Coars

13th Dec: a National Geographic Desktop calendar

16th Dec: a pair of Cinema tickets to see the film Kite Runner

Haunting Weekend

The weekend started with a pleasant train journey to Edinburgh. After a 10 minute walk from Waverley Station we found our hotel, ‘The Royal Terrace Hotel’. The hotel was part of a Georgian Terrace overlooking the Firth of Forth.

We unpacked our things and set off to explore Edinburgh’s old town. Our planned walk began on the Royal Mile at the castle’s esplanade. We followed a meandering route which took in many points of interest on the way. We eventually came to the end of the walk in Greyfriars Cemetery. We then retired to a pub built on the site of the old gallows called ‘The Last Drop’.

Our evening began back at the hotel in the Adam Suite. We were met by the two weekend organisers who briefed us on what was to happen. After our meal a taxi had been booked to take us on our Haunted Edinburgh walk.

We were met a Mercat Cross by a guide who was to lead our tour. He was dressed in Victorian costume including a large cape. He told us grisly tales of old Edinburgh. Our trip included a trip underground in the Edinburgh Vault and ended in a dark cemetery at the gates of which the taxi was waiting to take us back to the hotel. Not wishing to spend the rest of the evening in the hotel bar we went to the bar of the Players Theatre where we spent the rest of the evening.

The following day after breakfast we went on our planned walk to explore the New Town. Our walk firstly took us around many elegant Edwardian and Georgian terraces. We then detoured up the Waters of the Leith to Dean Village and then on to Stockbridge. We had spotted on our walk a Georgian house that was having a special event. The house was open to the public and in each room actors played a role which explained how the house functioned in its era.

We then went for a walk along Princess Street. We then found an Edwardian Pub from our guidebook and had a quite drink there. We then visited Jenners, Britain’s oldest department store. We had a quick look at Edinburgh’s Christmas fair and then went to look at a famous Italian deli which Dale was anxious to have a look at.

In the evening the ‘haunting’ group met again in the hotel. Unfortunately the power to the hotel’s kitchens had gone down (could the spooks have been responsible?), so they couldn’t cook us the planned meal. The hotel had managed to rustle up a cold buffet with as much wine as we could drink. The evening began with a talk on orbs, followed by crystal protection and divination. We then went on to use divining rods. Finally there followed a séance.

At 12.45pm we decided we it was time for bed, many of the others were about to start another séance. But considering the lack of convincing success of the previous session we decided bed was a far better option.

On our final morning after breakfast we walked up Catton Hill, then to Hollyrood House, the new Scottish Parliament and walked the full length of the Royal Mile.

Before I went on this weekend I thought that the whole area of ghosts and spirits was a load of rubbish, after the weekend I’m even more convinced I was correct.

November 2007 wins

5th November: Received details today that my Haunting Weekend to Bidford Grange had been cancelled. They offered me a number of alternatives, the one which I’ve chosen is ‘Edinburgh Royal Terrace Hotel and the Edinburgh Vaults. I’m very pleased with this as the break seems a much nicer one than the one previously booked.

The hotel is 4star and right in the centre of Edinburgh.

The first day is at leisure to explore the city and enjoy the hotel’s facilities including the pool, gardens and gym. At present we’ve a walk around the Old Town planned. The evening involves dinner then a tour of haunted Edinburgh including a visit to a cemetery and the underground vaults.

The second day is again at leisure and this time we’ve a walk around the New Town planned along with some city centre shopping and sightseeing. The second evening involves various explorations in the hotel with a psychic and other things like dowsing, crystal protection. We then leave the following morning after breakfast.

10th November: Returned home to a parcel which contained ‘Panda Internet Security 2008’ software. This was one of 20 runner-up prizes, the first prize was a nine day holiday to Hong Kong and China with a trip to a Giant Panda reserve. So close – but in view of last months Hong Kong win I guess I shouldn’t grumble.

October 2007 wins

25th October: After a very slow month I finally won something a Tesco Internet Phone Adapter. Not really much use to me though.

29th October: On getting home from a day out in the Lakes I find I've won a box of chocolate truffles. The evening gets even better when I find I've won a half case of mixed wines and a 10 nations rugby shirt.

30th Oct: I received a phone message whilst I was in a meeting. On ringing back I found I'd won tickets to Alice Cooper, Motorhead and 'Joan Jet and the Blackhearts'. Unfortunately I can't go but daughter and friend should have a good night.

The day got even better as I then one a prize in the Virgin Radio/ 118 24 7 competition. My best win of the year so far - a trip to Hong Kong.

September 2007 Wins

3rd September: Received an e-mail to say I’d won 4 tickets to the Masters Football tournament at the MEN arena.

6th September: Firstly I won a pair of preview tickets to the film ‘In the Hand of God’ at Vue Cinema in Bolton.

Secondly we received a letter in Dale’s name from the Lancashire Evening Telegraph to say we’d won a Greek Yoghurt deluxe picnic and barbeque set. On looking this up it appears this contains a combined barbeque and cool bag, a wind shelter, and a rug.

Thirdly I received an e-mail in the evening to say I’d won a pair of tickets to see ‘Henry V’ at the Royal Exchange, Manchester.

7th September: In the middle of decorating the bath room I received a telephone call from Nuts Magazine to say I’d won a haunting weekend. The weekend is a two night break at Bidford Grange near Stratford-on-Avon, here there will paranormal investigations and a psychic etc. (Report to follow)

8th September: Was awoken by the postman this morning who delivered a parcel for Dale. The parcel contained some ‘Simple’ cosmetics.

Also won some further tickets on the internet, these are again preview tickets to the film ‘Superbad’

9th September: Attended the Masters Football tournament today. This was better attended than last time I went. After a very enjoyable evening Leicester City emerged the winner.

10th September: Received a £2 ‘Farmfoods’ voucher

12th September: Had a very enjoyable evening at the Royal Exchange watching their production of ‘Henry V’. The staging was very innovative with a scaffolding type structure that was moveable and revealed a watery trench. There were quite a few faces I new rather than famous names, the production though was up to the Royal Exchanges usual high standard.

17th September: Received an e-mail saying I’d won another £5 Amazon voucher from Gfk surveys.

19th September: Received an e-mail telling me I’d won four tickets to the Carling Cup match between Rovers and Birmingham City.

25th September: Received a telephone call at work today from Carling. Apparently I’ve won another two tickets to the Rovers v Birmingham game. As the other tickets have not arrived as yet I didn’t turn them down. If I carry on at this rate we’ll fill half the stand.

27th: I've won a pair of preview tickets to the new film the kingdom.