Apparently, Rudolph and the reindeer have asked Santa for a Pony Sleigh Station 3. (sorry!)  

:roll:

--Neil

Danny - your post reminded me of the Christmas card I got from my lawyer last week --

Dear Neil & family

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my wish for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, politically correct, non-addictive, low stress, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious
persuasion of your choice, as well as the secular practices of your choice, but with full respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

And further, please accept my wish for a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendar of choice of other cultures and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual orientation of the wisher,  wishee or their third party beneficiaries.

These wishes are limited to the customary and usual good tidings for a period of approximately one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first.

Use of the term "holiday" herein is not intended to, nor shall it be considered to be, limited to Judeo-Christian celebrations or observances, nor to such activities of any organized or ad hoc religious community group, individual or belief (or lack thereof). In particular, the word "holiday" is used herein without reference to its etymology.

Note: By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal, and is revocable ab initio at the sole discretion of the wisher at any time, for any reason or for no reason.

This greeting is freely transferable provided that there is no alteration to the original greeting text. Any transfer is to be at the risk of the transferor who, by making such transfer, thereby agrees to hold the wishee harmless from any and all adverse consequences resulting from such transfer.

This greeting implies no promise by the wisher to actually take any action or fail to take any action to implement any of the wishes for the wishee her/himself or others, or responsibility for the consequences which may arise from the implementation or non-implementation of same.

Sue, Grabbit & Run
"Here to help...for a price"

 

Hi Dennis

I'm in Edinburgh - so it's even the right side of the country!  That's great that you'd do that, and in the same way that you'd be on for coming up here, similarly I'd be more than happy to join you in Newcastle if that makes more sense.  Thanks for the encouragement, Dennis - I'll keep you posted!  

Thanks again

--Neil

Fantastic! Right, I'm going to try and drum up support up here then.  (Failing that, I'll def be on for one of the others you've mentioned).

Thanks for your help, Graham

--Neil

Brilliant idea, Thelma - how about just putting a subject/idea out there (without photos) and see what weird and wonderful interpretations are created.  Or even a teaser like the jam competitions, but without the timescales ie, - 6 balloons, must use all 6, any combination of 160, 260, 350 etc - make a .....) Stimulates creativity and individuality and is all a bit of fun.....  

Hi Graham

Do you have any plans for a Care & Share Day up (or nearly up) this way (Scotland, North England) in the coming year?  I understand you have to be where the customer is, but I would love to come to one and just wondered if it's on the agenda (yeah - I know it's selfish, but hey, if you don't ask...... )

Ah - the Professor has this licked!  Excellent stuff!  

Regrettably, I wasn't able to try this again today, but now I've got Thelma's clues, I'm definitely trying again -- be prepared for 'Son of Jaundiced Basset' sometime this week -it's going to look like a lion this time - it is, it is, it is....!  

--Neil

Thanks for your feedback Thelma - the biggest problem was working out the anchor points and I suspect I probably used more balloons than necessary (I think it was 4 yellow, 1 chocolate brown, 1 black and 1 pink).  Now you've pointed it out, I see the mane anchors, and I'm going to give it another bash tomorrow in conjunction with your post.

Many thanks for taking the time and effort to feedback - much appreciated.  

Best wishes

--Neil

Hi Thelma

err - well, I did promise, so here it is, a somewhat pathetic attempt so feel free to laugh!  My wife thinks it looks like a demented basset hound with jaundice, but hey - I gave it a try!

I'll keep trying with it, but it's obviously no where near as good as yours, so I don't think you've got much to worry about!  :oops:

Best regards

--Neil

Hey Thelma!

I'm going to give this a try tomorrow - yes, it doesn't look too easy (for me, anyway!), but unless I push myself and try then I'm not going to get better, so....  I'll put my photos up tomorrow evening however it turns out, and hopefully if it's not too good I'll be lucky enough to get tips and feedback.

I, for one, would be definitely be up for your challenges - please don't stop, I'll participate!

Cheers

--Neil

A side effect of stretching them gently after inflating is that it can make the balloons softer also, which may or may not be an advantage.

In addition to Bonnie's suggestion of before and after inflation, if you are inflating by mouth or a floor pump, stretching the balloon as you inflate also helps getting more length and a slightly thinner balloon than with a hand pump, I find.

Cheers

--Neil