Thursday 12 June 2014

Catch up





After almost three weeks with only sheep, goats, deer, and rabbits for company, I am sitting in front of my desk-top marvelling at how good internet access is in a small backwater in South West Turkey.  My mobile phone is by my side and apart from a glitch that has deleted my whole contacts list, it has a full signal. A couple of days after I arrived in Scotland, my blog disappeared and all attempts to access it were met with a message telling me that BacktoBodrum had been deleted and the name was available  for reassignment.  I'd been a bit suspicious the day before I left Turkey;  I usually average 200 to 300 views a day, so a couple of days of 1000 plus views from the Ukraine were very out of character.  My only internet access in The Highlands is via a satellite dish which is as speedy as the dial up modems we were so excited about late last century.  The only way I knew to recover my blog was to ask for a text to be sent to the number I'd specified when I set it up.  A mobile number! The nearest mobile signal was an hour's drive away. The mobile was Turkish and I'd never used it in the UK, so even if I set off in the Land Rover to find a signal, there was no guarantee it would work.  I went to bed that night pretty sure that my blogging days were over and cursing myself for not copying the last year's worth of posts. 


When I next got a chance to check my emails, I found that my gmail account had also been suspended so I had to resort to putting a plea for help on Facebook. I tried to post a couple of times but despite the post appearing on my timeline, it disappeared a few minutes later.  I had been well and truly hacked.  Luckily FaceTime was still working on my iPad and I got my husband to post my plea for help on his page.  To cut a long story short, with lots of help from friends, I managed to prove who I was by luckily remembering the answer to those seemingly pointless questions I answered two and a half years ago (first best friend and first pet's name and most common 4 email addresses).  After a fretful 24 hours, my blog and email account reappeared and I changed all my passwords, something we should all do on a regular basis. 



On a lighter note,  at the end of my trip, I spent  an hour trying to develop a taste for whisky in the Tomatin distillery.  I tried my best but could manage only the tiniest sip of the three single malts on offer. The smell of scotch has always made me feel sick.  I felt extremely guilty leaving this expensive brew in the glass. The tour was fascinating but my tastebuds failed to appreciate the finished product. I think I'll stick to the grape and give barley a miss. 







22 comments:

  1. I was once force fed whiskey after I had fainted when I landed awkwardly tripping over bits of my flat mates bicycle, that she had taken apart in the lounge. Admittedly I wasn't looking where I was going, but still I blame her for my dislike of whiskey! So I know exactly what you mean. For me even the smell is too much!

    Love the photos of the goats and deer!

    And just a question, how do you back up your blog posts? I have no idea and have just reached 50 posts...

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    1. Hi Idske. I copied my first year's worth on to a dvd, but of course I have no idea where that is, so I suppose I will have to do it again.

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  2. Crikey, Annie, what a nightmare for you. I'm glad you were finally able to get it all sorted out. You would have been missed!

    We pass Tomatin every time we head north, but have never stopped at the distillery. Like you, I really don't like whisky and much prefer calvados. :-)

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  3. I hope we coincide one year. We could meet for coffee and cake in the Tomatin General Store.

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  4. I wouldn't know where to start to recover my blog if it happened to me. Glad you got it sorted. I've never even tried whisky...the smell makes me heave. Welcome home!

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    1. I hadn't a clue either, but one suggested web site led to another.

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  5. . . glad to know that my little stash of single malts are safe and it's J who will have to do the hospitality bit (she's just restocked by the way) should you ever pass by. Also pleased your e-pen will keep on flowing - welcome home!

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    1. Your scotch is safe from me, however if I travel with my other half....

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  6. Liam's dad always offers me a wee dram when I visit. I'm getting quite used to the taste. It would be rude to refuse! Sounds like you've had the worst of times - IT-wise. Liam doesn't get a signal on his mobile at work and that's only a few miles out of Norwich. I intend to remain a city boy until I drop off my perch!

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    1. I got used to the lack of communication in the end, but it's nice to be back online.

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  7. B to B, There's a drinker's saying - "Never mix your grapes and your grains" - so there! (Although we have a weakness for the distilled grain ourselves.) Thank heavens you were able to straighten out that mess re. your blog and email. What a royal pain! Glad to hear we'll continue to hear from you. Good to have you home.

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  8. So glad you recovered, what a nightmare it must have been - and yes, we need to update passwords, note to self :) so good to have you back, Ozlem x

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    1. I hope you didn't receive an infected email from me.

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  9. What a nightmare!
    A good job you are so resourceful!

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    1. If I had to do it again today I wouldn't remember how I did it.

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  10. This sounds awful.... I had my pap- pal hacked into a couple of years ago ...but pay pal were brilliant and dealt with it all quickly, assuring me I would lose no money right from the start. I can imagine how heartbroken you would be to lose your blogs...so glad it all worked out. Photos are are fabulous.

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  11. I agree with the others - a dreadful situation to have occurred but glad to hear it's all sorted now. Love the photos and whilst I can stomach whisky if I HAVE to, I agree that sticking to the grape sounds like a good idea...Axxx

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    1. I thought I might like a whiskey when I grew up. Maybe I haven't got there yet.

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  12. Hi Annie! What a nightmare! I can absolutely identify with your frustration as I went through something similar with my flickr account! Took years off my life!! Anyway so glad all is back to normal now - welcome back!

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    1. I was going to attempt Flickr this winter, maybe I won't now.

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