A humble sausage sandwich

May 3rd, 2024

A humble sausage sandwich for breakfast. The evidence has been destroyed in the usual way. I say humble but not sure the sausages expressed any humility as they went down. Go on, eat me. Might as well. 

Perhaps I meant a simple sausage sandwich. Certainly not majestic. The sausage, as the product of common endeavour, couldn’t claim to be majestic. The majestic pig? George Orwell revisited.

This morning’s chorus was brought to you by a chaffinch, robin, blue tit, sparrow, wood-pigeon, dunnock and blackcap. Milkman came at 03:50.

We are now southbound at the speed of the Silver Bullet. THG driveth. I’m treating today as a weekend day as is oft the case. Bank Holiday. As you know we are off to Sarfend to see Pink Martini, manăna. Sarfend Pavilion.

As you may know I no longer have a car and although I am happy to share the driving where appropriate/relevant/required I also like sitting in the passenger seat doing stuff.

As we drive down the Great North Road the countryside is coming into leaf. Blossom adorns the roadside hedgerows. It is the best time of year. A mild drizzle is evident as we race past Stamford. This is why our land is green and pleasant. I quite like the rain.

finally some book news

May 2nd, 2024

The garden is alive with birdsong this morning. The usual blackbird, dunnock and chiffchaff but now with a blackcap thrown in for good measure. Am wondering whether the blackcap song is similar to the blackbird and therefore Merlin mixed up. I’d prefer to think not. Not sure I’d even heard of a blackcap before.

Busy enough morning but broken the back of it/delegated and now sat with a cuppa having actually done some tidying and filing. The stuff for filing, which dates back a couple of years, has either been moved onto my spare desk for filing, or onto a different pile for shredding. The stuff I want to keep is mostly scanned in anyway.

I was prompted to do a bit of tidying because I knocked a glass of water over on my desk and soaked some stuff that didn’t want soaking. Normally I do try and keep a tidyish desk but the last couple of weeks has seen stuff piling up and now it is not. Still got a few plastic boxes full of stuff to sort/dispose of. One day I’ll probably just chuck the lot.

Local elections today. Just heard a car drive past with a megaphone blaring out vote Labour or similar. We already did a postal vote. I see no point in having to physically go to the polling station. It isn’t as if I’m still agonising over who to vote for and leaving it until the last minute. TBH I have no idea about the police commissioner.

My new carving set and gloves have been tidied into the “projects” chest of drawers. It’s gone into the same drawer as the brand new and as yet untouched watercolour paint set purchaysed during some lockdown or another. The easel is lying on its side next to the beer fridge! Will not lie unused for too long obvs 🙂

Starting to get excited about the Pink Martini gig on Saturday. Just booked the restaurant at the venue for a pre show dinner. This being the Southend Pavillion it won’t quite be the same as the Royal Albert Hall VIP package we had when we last saw them but I’m sure it will be good. Had to prepay for the meal. Clearly they are a dodgy crowd in the Sarfend area.

The snooker is now on. One of the very few daytime TV programmes I’d admit to watching. Semi finals. The quality of the snooker has been steadily improving as we get through the rounds. There’s nothing more annoying than seeing sloppy snooker from people from who one demands perfection or as near as. I’m not very good at it meself.

And finally some book news. My order of Droppings Dung and Scats of Southern Africa has been delayed as the publication date is now November of this year. Wossgoinon?! I guess they might as well wait to make sure all the relevant poo is covered, so to speak. However the good news is that my “Easy Company Soldier” with Sgt Don Malarkey is out for delivery today. Looking forward to that 🙂

dawn chorus began circa ten to five

May 1st, 2024

The dawn chorus began circa ten to five this morning. The milkman came much earlier at oh three twenty two. I wonder if milkie is tucked up in bed by the time the birds get going. They will certainly wait until he has gone before pecking the milk bottle tops although you don’t get that with semi skimmed and ours is left in the porch anyway.

It being a lovely day I have discarded my jeans and am in a very fetching pair of blue shorts. Polished off the usual healthy breakfast and now at it in da shed. A few adminny bits to do before starting the day.

For some reason I’ve closed the shed doors but the morning is so nice this is not necessary. THG will stop by soon on her morning inspection so she can leave the doors open when she is finished 🙂 I’m told the cukes aren’t doing very well. Only one out of six plants flourishing. We have two batches of peas. The first, quite small, lot can go out when the runner beans go in, if you get my drift. The second batch is just starting to emerge.

Today’s birdsong was brought to you by the Eurasian Wren, the Common Chiffchaff, Common Chaffinch and the Eurasian Blackbird.

In other news, my order of  “Droppings, Dung & Scats of Southern African Wildlife (Paperback)” which I placed on the 15th February still hasn’t rocked up. I’ve just nudged Waterstones. There is a glaring hole on the shed bookshelf where the book is destined to sit.

In even more news my Roku stick has given up the ghost. It started playing up when trying to cope with live sport. Then it had issues with Spotify and finally stopped playing audio when streaming movies. I was running the most recent software and a factory reset has just well and truly jiggered it.

The issue is should I bother with a replacement? The telly has most of the apps and I can stream Spotify onto the Chromecast. Ditto NowTV.

Out in the garden a butterfly flutters by. Fluttersbye. The apple trees are still resplendent with blossom. This week is their chance to get pollinated.

Decided I’d take a stroll to Tesco to buy some ham, bean salad and a cauliflower. Now my fave ham, apart from the ones I cook myself, is the Waitrose orange and marmalade ham but Tescos is nearer and on this occasion opted to go there. However they don’t have a deli counter at Tesco so everything is prepackaged and therefore not as good as Waitrose.

Now it turns out that my third fave ham is tinned ham. This I think is a childhood hangover. I could easily eat a whole tin of ham in one sitting. This would not impress the THG so I tend not to. Anyway I checked out the options online before going and apart from a variety of SPAM derivatives Tesco offer a choice of two brands of tinned ham.

Their own Tesco Danish Ham was £2.75 for 340g and weighs in with 83% pork. The alternative Princes Pear Ham comes in more expensive at £3.00 for 325g and only contains 62% pork! Truly a no brainer. 62% pork!!! They both come with a load of preservative crap but I’m a grown up and I go into these things with my eyes open.

So I got to Tesco and purchased said tin of Tesco Danish Ham. The only very mild eyebrow raiser was that the label on the shelf said the price was £3.20. I flagged down a “colleague” who having had the discrepancy pointed out to him, was able by using his handy app to confirm that  the more attractive £2.75 applied.

I wonder how much of the cost of the Danish ham is down to post Brexshit red tape.

PS At lunch whilst consuming ham with salad I dropped a bit of tomato on my white shirt front, complete with dressing. Worramilike!

Lawn mowed. Takes ten minutes to start the mower these days. Needs a service but it ain’t getting one. Next up is scarifying, now that the weather is nice. Then planting my wild flower lawn.

snooker

April 30th, 2024

Another bright start to the day. Thought I heard some movement in the porch early on but it isn’t a day the milkman comes and nothing appeared on the cameras. Could have been a poltergeist I guess. Did see a cat in the wee small hours. Set off the light in the front. We often get a cat roaming the garden and sometimes a fox. 

It is early but THG has already been out for an inspection. Checking the progress of the stock. Plants don’t grow on their own yanow 🙂 Now chillaxing after breakfast pending the commencement of today’s proceedings. 

Am watching Great Coastal Journeys with former Tory MP Michael Portillo on the telly. It is on mute because I find his programmes so superficial they aren’t worth watching. So I’m not really watching it but it is the programme before the snooker is on and watching the snooker is something that THG and I do together 🙂 Having it on mute is my way of noticing when the sport starts.

It feels a bit strange having the snooker on TV when it is very much light out. As a game played in darkened halls, snooker should really be a winter activity. I’m rubbish at snooker meself. My youth wasn’t misspent enough.

I typically have the snooker on as wallpaper as opposed to something I focus on although if it starts to get exciting I’ll put my book down. Yes it can be exciting.

homeward bound

April 28th, 2024

THG is at the controls of the Silver Bullet and we are homeward bound. Driving through the rain in the hope of clearer skies ahead.

Yesterday before setting off on our Sutton Hoo adventure I partook of a “full Suffolk”. Someone must franchise the cooked breakfast concept. Full English, full Welsh, full Lincolnshire etc. Probs makes good licensing dollar 🙂. This morning the family celebrations of last night weighed heavily and I stuck with a simple bacon sandwich. Really the king of breakfasts.

On the way down to Woodbridge we took the scenic route. Today it is A roads all the way. Around thirty miles longer but thirty minutes quicker. In our busy twenty first century lives it is all about time. At least dual carriageways make for better typing conditions. Fewer roundabouts around which to fling the car, fewer gear changes to knock the typing elbow.

I can recommend Seckford Hall. It was Hannah’s actual birthday last night and the staff really looked after us. Particularly the restaurant manager Mike contributed greatly to the success of the evening. Each time Hannah blew out the cake candles Mike relit them and we went through the process again singing Happy Birthday three times in all including a jazzy version for the last go.

Hugs hugged and goodbyes kissed we are now negotiating the spray on the northbound A14. Flooded fields. Riverbanks broken.

The Great North Road. Totally unrecognisable from the time when it was being called that. There is no romance in the name A1, great arterial highway that it is. Sterile. No room for the imagination to run wild.

Another new vicar starting at THG’s church this morning. Dearly beloved bretheren… I say ‘another’ new vicar but don’t get the wrong idea. They don’t have that high a turnover, I think. That would be a worry indeed. I did ask THG whether vicar’s wives were vetted for tea and cake making skills before being offered the job but she didn’t give me a straight answer. Dismissive even! 

I am in any case too far removed from the operational practices of the church to be up to date with its recruitment policies. There must be more to it than finding out which candidate can say how’s your father. Not for me to comment and I move on…

Passing RAF Wittering and its iconic Harrier jump jet we saw a dead red deer. A stag. Fifty metres further on a woman had stopped her car and was examining the front for damage.The action had just happened. Bit of a shock for both parties. More so for the deer. Another snapshot in life on planet earth. Life goes on.

We leave the deer and the woman behind and the Silver Bullet continues its journey north, still searching for those clearer skies.

Stopped at Pennells Garden Centre on the way home to buy a rose. THG nipped in and I sat in the car watching the rain on the windscreen. V relaxing. Could almost feel meself nodding off. Then popped to the Carlton Centre to get my postal vote off. They have three collections a day from the Post Office there.

one and a half bacon sandwiches

April 26th, 2024

Bliss. Had one and a half bacon sandwiches for breakfast. No photos. Why one and a half I hear you say? Well there were three bits of bacon left. In this sitch I’d typically have one sarnie with three bits of bacon but on this occasion the loaf was a smallish one and it made sense to stick with two. Three slices of bread. There ya go 🙂

Not warm this morning so a good breakfast does the job. I sense that “we” haven’t turned the heating on. Sokay. A thick pullover will suffice. It’s supposed to be warmer than this. Fortunately I have a hot cup of tea beside me which warms my hand, albeit momentarily, when I drink it.

Off to Suffolk for the weekend. Family bash. Will be great fair play. Excited. It isn’t that often we get together with the wider Davies clan although my beautiful nieces can’t make it. Work, exams, that kind of stuff. Gets in the way. Ah yes I remember it well. Vaguely.

Gonna take my swimming trunks. Still got a terrible cough but I’m sure the others in the leisure spa won’t mind. It’s doing the rounds. They are bound to catch it sometime. Nice to have a weekend away. I know we do a lot of nights away but this one is going to be mostly about relaxing. May pop to Sutton Hoo tomorrow morning as we are staying fairly near to it. Got to be back for twelve thirty for the imps game.

Suffolk, specifically Ipswich used to be a regular trip as we bought an ISP there. I remember one visit I stopped with @Terry Mackown en route and we went on a pub crawl around Cambridge. Cambridge has some great pubs. 

On that occasion we were just walking past the Corn Exchange and saw a big poster promoting a 10CC gig and it so happened they were playing Cambridge that evening. Bear in mind it must have been at least nine thirty pee em by then.

In we went and asked if it was the real 10CC as opposed to a tribute band. Yes. They let us in for free. If you don’t ask you don’t get. Must have been only half an hour left of the gig because as soon as we sat down they started playing all their hits. Wow. Result. I am a fan. I had to call THG to let her know. I hadn’t actually mentioned that I was stopping with Terry for the night. Unlikely we will be stopping off in Cambridge this weekend as we will probs take the scenic route through Lincolnshire and over Sutton Bridge.

Ciao amigos

Oh and he came at three sixteen this morning. Over an hour earlier than last week.

Dawn arrived before five in Lincoln

April 25th, 2024

Dawn arrived before five in Lincoln. Or at least the process of enlightenment began. By five thirty it is pretty light. The unattractive whooping of a pesky woodpigeon is drowning out most other avian vocals. A crow now chips in.

When I got up this morning I sat in the front room as opposed to the snug. In here the doors to the conservatory are open letting in noise from the back garden as well as from the front. My usual winter early morning perch in the snug only has a bay window onto the front drive. As the mornings warm up a little I move into the conservatory itself. Usually for an hour or so before making the tea.

Just heard a noise coming from the chimney. Am hoping it isn’t a trapped bird but it might be which will be a nuisance. We’ve had a pigeon up/down there in the past. Managed to get it out but this time I can’t actually see anything and we are going away for the weekend so it might well be a dead pigeon by the time we get back.

I’m the only person who uses the front room, unless we have a full house like over Christmas. It has a large walnut bookcase which we had made to fit a space, a smaller bookcase that holds my collection of poetry books and plays and three very comfortable sofas.

The walls are adorned with portraits of my grandparents and great grandparents. One of them is an original and dates back to the early twentieth century. Took some restoring as it was on board which had curved quite a bit. Didn’t do it myself.

Over the fireplace there is a painting of Maesdulais, the wool factory, complete with water wheel, where my dad was born. My mother was born in a two room cottage near Mohil in County Leitrim in Ireland. She was one of seven children. Older kids would be shipped off to live with relatives as new ones arrived. They had an acre of land at the back where they kept a cow. They met in London in the nineteen fifties. He was a teacher and she a nurse.

Many kids still migrate to London for their first employment. All ours did/have. It is a trap although nowadays in the post covid world it is a lot easier to live elsewhere and work from home.

It is looking like another cold day ahead. Yesterday was bloody freezing. Fortunately my daytime living space, the shed, is nice and warm. The view from where I am sat in the front room is of the shed at the bottom of the garden plus a bit of the greenhouse. The French doors to the conservatory represent quite a narrow aperture onto the garden from my seated perspective.

Definitely a bird in the chimney. Hmm. I’ve moved into the kitchen to avoid the distraction. The kitchen is surprisingly warm. We had the roof insulated when it was retiled last year and that has made a huge difference. Used to be quite cold in here.

Sort of busyish day ahead potentially culminating in a game of golf with the boys. We will see nearer the time. Cold and wet! When I was a kid I’d play golf with my dad in all weathers. The only thing that would stop us would be if the course was closed. Nowadays we are all far more fair weather golfers.

Anyway, time to make the tea. It is almost six thirty. Ciao amigos.

Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday

April 23rd, 2024

Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday. There ya go a month’s worth of Tuesdays in one go. What’s not to like? A bit like London double decker busses all coming along at the same time but different. Makes sense to me that we could choose to arrange our month like this. If there was one day you didn’t particularly like you could get them all out of the way early in the month. Now some will say it would be better to stick with the current system and take more bad days in smaller doses. However it’s all about choice.

If it was your birthday you might elect to have four Saturdays on the trot although in my mind it would be silly to use up all the Saturdays in one go. Your birthday might not even be on a Saturday. Probs not.

Not that I’m saying I don’t like Tuesdays. In fact I really don’t mind them, at all. I wouldn’t want every day to be a Tuesday but I’ve nothing against it per se.

Sbeen quite a busy morning in the shed. Hitherto. Thus far. Up until now. As we approach high noon I’m still hard at it, goodness me. Mind you I have been multitasking (I know, I know). Had a call from sister @sue who was in the Axminster Tools shop in Caerdydd buying me a wood carving starter set so that I can get going on that. Important interrupt.

That’s the way, I like it, ahah ahah. It’s what’s playing on my music centre at the mo. How long is it since these things got called music centres?!?! Stereo? Doesn’t cover it either. I have six speakers. Decided to go uptempo and turn up the volume. Liven up the shed a bit. Papa was a rolling stone.

Watched Arse, enal v Chelski on the phone in the bath and now downstairs wearing ma Bose. It is someone called Alan Carr on the box. Can’t stand im. Unfortunately it is now a choice between inane ads and inane crap on the TV. If I turn the sound off the phone I can hear the telly. Cue Spotify. I’ll switch the important footy game back on in a bit. Funny how one finds oneself supporting Chelsea as the lesser of two evils. It isn’t that big a deal really. It’s only football. THG gets excited about it although she is currently responsible for having the Al Carr programme on. Anyway it is one nil to the reds at the halfway mark.

Had a good bath. Took a book but only managed a couple of pages as I was mostly dicing with device death. Gawd knows what I was reading. The football was on a small separate screen during that time whilst Pink Floyd on the Sonos simultaneously competed with the commentary.

Love Is The Drug.

Monday in April

April 22nd, 2024

A light rain steadies itself on the garden. Random drops drum the shed roof. I hear traffic noise on the wet road in front of the house. April.

I am once more early to the shed. Made a cameo appearance at the Monday morning conference call and then left. Now easing into the day. THG’s very excellent granola with yo’ gurt and berries consumed at my desk with a slowly sipped cup of tea.

It pleases me to say we are in Lincoln all week. No gallivanting off to London for lunch or dinner. A busy week ahead actually. Sort of. My weeks are never really busy in the way they used to be. No back to back meetings or burning the midnight oil etc. Still stuff to be getting on with.

For some reason today doesn’t feel like a Monday. What should Mondays feel like? I don’t mind them.

The milkman btw came seconds before three thirty this morning.

This evening the rain has moved on but we are now well and truly “in”. Operations have moved to the snug for the snooker.  The “Worlds”. A highlight of the sporting year.

It is not warm outside. Good job we had double glazing put in the other year. People tend to take such things for granted but our house was built in 1939. It had a coal hole, a pantry and a downstairs privy but not double glazing.

Writing The Air War conference

April 21st, 2024

Early to the shed. Beeootiful morning out there but with a spring edge to it so the heating is on. For the moment. Still in my dressing gown. Tis early enough. Sunday morning is normally set aside for the performance of jobs but, and I’ve just checked this, most of ’em are done. We were going to be away in Leeds but synchronised bouts of coughing led to the cancellation of that trip.

I have the Spotify Calming Classical playlist on the go. The hookup between Mac and amp seems to be playing up so the music is coming from my monitor speakers which in all fairness are top notch. Cavalleria rusticana: Intermezzo. Now fixed.

A line full of washing is blowing nicely in the breeze. Won’t be long before that lot is dry. Domestic bliss eh? Who wants glamorous international travel, posh hotels, bars and restaurants when you can sit in the shed listening to classical music and watching the washing shoot the breeze.

London marathon is on today. I’ve given it a miss this year as we are off out to the Thorold Arms for Sunday lunch. Saved me the effort of all that training. Plus I’ve still got that cough so that would have been no good. Would have infected tens of thousands of fellow runners and spectators.

We very rarely go out for Sunday lunch so I’m quite excited. Rosbif. Trimmings. Perhaps a glass of claret. Then home to watch Liverpool v Fulham. Then the snooker combined with falling asleep on the settee. Living the dream…

Out in the garden the tulips are starting to lose their petals. Won’t be long before THG dead heads them. They will be back next year. In the greenhouse the beans and tomato seedlings are doing very well thank you very much and the peas are just pushing their way through. I am told to expect no more than a bowl full of the latter which I knew really. They need planting in industrial quantities to get much of a crop. I still haven’t got around to scarifying the lawn but that will happen in the next few days. 

Pondering wearing a tie to lunch. I only wear bow ties, not the dangly down jobs that people used to put on for work. I still have dozens of the latter but they mostly have something wrong with them. Gravy stains, snagged silk. Stuff like that. Can’t remember when I last wore a tie. Would have been a wedding or simlar. I do have some shirts that would take a tie but again it is a long time since any of them were worn. Dunno why I even keep them in the wardrobe.

In other news I’ve bought a ticket to go to the Writing The Air War conference at the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln on May 11th and 12th. I like a bit of history. Anyone else I know going apart from @Dan Ellin? Not everyone’s cup of tea perhaps. As Dan put it it is better than binge watching World War 2 documentaries.

Right thassitfornowgottago.

Woken by the dawn chorus

April 20th, 2024

Woken by the dawn chorus at quarter past five this morning. Well I must have already been awake and just heard it. Strange to think it was quarter past four GMT. v early.

Some time later I was forced out of bed by “thought for the day” on Radio 4. Who listens to this rubbish? I can almost picture the horror of people who are invited to present that slot. “Omg am I that boring that they’ve invited me on?” Up now and at it. Sort of. Sitting in the kitch’ awaiting my third cup of tea.

Looks nice out. Still cawd I imagine. I contacted the Meteorological office and they told me it was currently six degrees centigrade in Lincoln at the mo. I didn’t actually ring them per se. They publish this info online. It is very handy. Think of the number of people they would need to employ to answer the phone if they relied on telephony to distribute the information. “Where are you? OK let me have a look”.

When I was a kid there was such a thing as “the speaking clock”. In fact I just checked and it is still there. Can’t believe many people dial it. Your mobile phone has an accurate time. 

Our bedside alarm clock doesn’t. It gains a couple of minutes every six months and I periodically have to adjust the time in my mind when looking at it. Usually I reset it when the clocks change back or forwards but didn’t this spring. I’ll get it done sometime, probs, otherwise before we know it I’ll be having to subtract five or ten mins from the time displayed.

I’d have got rid of it years ago were it not a relic from THG’s past. My own alarm clock went very early on in our relationship as hierarchies were established. It was an old fashioned clockwork job with two bells on top. It was probably just as poor at timekeeping as the one we still have but it was very easy to manually adjust when required. You just moved the big hand. The problem with it was that it ticked. I found the ticking quite soothing. It helped you (me) nod off at night. The ticking very definitely didn’t tick THG’s box and it disappeared from our lives.

She wasn’t known as THG in those days. We didn’t have a garden and it took many years for her to attain that status. Once there though you become a Titan in the gardening world. People (me) ask you when is the best time to plant peas n stuff like that. Peas fresh from the garden are probably the finest vegetable side dish known to man.

Out with THG in her voiture this morning running a few errands. Included returning a keyboard we borrowed for last weekend and picking up my new “office” specs. She also needed to purchayse some yo’ gurt and I needed something for tea tonight so we stopped off at Waitrose. No way I would walk around the shop with her as our shopping habits are totally incompatible but we did meet for a cawfee in the caff which was nice. Some Tref & THG time 🙂

Finally figured out how to get the cast button back on Chrome. Was easy enough once I’d googled it but until it’s fixed it’s not fixed yanow.

Got the imps on the wireless in the shed. Winning two one away at Cheltenham. A must win game. Currently we are in a playoff position care of a better goal difference than Oxford. The last game of the season next week will be crucial and difficult as we are at home to top of the table Portsmouth. Cheltenham also need a win to stand a chance of staying up. All good stuff.

Also have the snooker on screen three. Start of the “Worlds”. THG will be incommunicado for the next fortnight 🙂Judd Trump currently beating Hossein Vafaei in the first round but a long way to go in this match. As you know the momentum in snooker can easily swing the other way. A very mental game.

Afterwards THG wants to watch the FA Cup semi final so a sport filled afternoon ahead.

Oyster card didn’t work

April 19th, 2024

Sat quietly in my hotel room. I’m catching the ten oh six north but don’t need to go yet. The choice is sit in the busy lounge at Kings Cross or here in an armchair. Feels as if it will be cold out though I may be wrong. Not stuck my head outside yet.

There is an easy bus ride from the Doubletree Angel to the railway station. It’s also an easy walk but I’ll take the bus. Three stops. Lots of bus options as they all stop at the railway stayshun.

All is quiet. I can hear a gentle humm from the air conditioning but that seems to be it.

My Oyster card didn’t work on the bus. Neither did my phone. Strange. These busses do have think plastic covering the terminal so perhaps it is no surprise.

Boarded the train early. My carriage was full of LNER staff but they were just going and the platform hadn’t yet been announced so they weren’t expecting punters. Train looks pretty full. At least in first class. I’ve bagsied the first two seats right at the end. They never book these seats as there is no window but I’m ok with that. Plus I figured with a cough like mine it was the least antisocial place for me to plonk myself. Bloke just got on train and was about to sit in the seat opposite me across the aisle. He then did an about turn and got off. Strange.

Busy weekend ahead if all goes to plan.

Home sweet home now and back in the shed. Shed sweet shed. THG walked through the door moments after me having just been to the hairdressers. She looks lovely obvs 🙂I don’t really need lunch after breakfast at the hotel followed by a toasted teacake and a banana en train.

When I was waiting for my taxi outside the stayshun and old boy walked past pushing his shopping cart. One of those rectangular jobs with wheels. He didn’t appear to have his teeth in and his face was very much grizzled. Still, he pushed his trolley to the bus station. Fair play I thought. I wondered what his story was. Did he live on his own? I could picture him getting home and unpacking his shopping onto the kitchen table and then into cupboards and fridge. Not sure about the “living on my own” bit though. I get very lonely if THG has been away for any length of time. It’s what you are used to. I guess you don’t tend to have a choice in this old world.

I’d put the old man at late seventies. I guess I’d be happy if I was still catching the bus into town to go shopping at that age. Mind you Waitrose is only a mile away and Tesco less than that. Don’t like going to Tesco. It’s too big man and they don’t sell my kind of stuff.  As it is, I very rarely “go into town”. All it is is shops and caffs. Usually I just to go to the stayshun.

It is cold out. The birds seem to be ok with it. I guess I don’t need it to be warm all the time but a little warmer than this would be quite acceptable. Just switched on the heater. 

This afternoon I have one call, although it does have a habit of being cancelled at the last minute. Otherwise I’ll be easing into the weekend. Eeeeeaassinngggg. Dunno yet what this entails but after an exhausting lunch and two dinners in London I should wind down appropriately. 

Might watch a bit of Masters of the Air. This is not as good as Band of Brothers but Joe persuaded me to give it a try. I realise this is “daytime” but I’ve never been one to follow a specific daily pattern. Not someone who regularly turns left at a certain corner at the same time every day. This is to avoid being ambushed. If you don’t have a regular routine they can’t plan around it. Makesalorrasensetome.

You shouldn’t get the wrong idea here. I don’t spend my life avoiding a regular routine in order not to be ambushed or kidnapped. As far as I am aware nobody has tried to do this, yet. You can picture the scene. A gang of baddies, masks on their faces, hangs out just around the corner waiting to pounce but I don’t show up. Drat, they say to each other and slouch on, hands shoved into pockets, hoodies up.

The Bayswater Road

April 18th, 2024

The Bayswater Road trundles steadily by. A red open top doubledecker stops to pick up punters. Purposeful walker gets in her morning steps. It is a sunny morning in London Town.

Unhurried start to the day. A few phone calls to make. I say phone calls but only one of these involves the cellular voice network. All the others are data calls in one form or another. Mostly international.

Interesting how people covet expensive cars. Staying in central London there are a lot of them on show. Status symbols. I suppose if money is not an not an issue why not?

I guess if people had the choice between a spacious penthouse flat with rooftop terrace or a dingy basement then that’s an easy call.

One week at a time

April 17th, 2024

One week at a time, as they say. This week it’s a couple of nights in London. Arrived early at Lincoln Central stayshun and the train was conveniently already at the platform waiting for me. It was probably waiting for other passengers as well but that’s not my lookout. In fact I’m not looking out, as I’ve just said.

Lincoln used to have two railway stayshuns, the other being St Marks. St Marks, which is where I first arrived in Lincoln, is now a shopping centre so not much use to anyone. I guess people must shop there otherwise the shops wouldn’t be there although Debenhams went ages ago and has not, to my knowledge, been replaced. I’d need to go there to find out but that would be an unnecessary journey, as the poster used to say.

My journey to London Town is necessary. At least I choose to label it thus. I have four meetings to attend. Well a lunch, a few beers, a dinner and a meeting to be precise. Not in that order. Reverse the last two. Tomorrow morning will be spent at leisure. 

If the weather is fine, I’ll be spending my time, just walking in the park. Hyde Park. Tomorrow doesn’t start until four pee em. Couldn’t shift the lunch to tomorrow which would have made sense but hey…

Sounds as if the train is gradually filling. Most of the train is behind me so I am relying on a not very acute sense of hearing. Boarded at the front as it will be nearer where I need to be for the connection at Newark Northgate. Not that it is a biggie as I think I have at least half an hour to wait in Newark. Maybe more.

Lots of my posts involve being on a train. I guess that is one way of filling the time on an otherwise dull journey.  I could stare out of the window. No matter how often you’ve done the journey there is always something new to see. Sometimes, when seeing something new, I wonder weather the train has been repathed, as I believe they say, but reality is that I don’t often stare out of the window so it is quite easy to come across something new when you do. Mostly it is just fields anyway.

On the Azuma train the last two seats in first class do not have a window. I quite often sit there as it is quite cosy. Private. You are the first to get served with teas and coffees when the trolley comes out.

At precisely nine eleven the train pulled out of the station. Another on time departure by East Midlands Railways.

I sometimes get John Betjeman moments where I describe what I see as the train whizzes by. Obvs I don’t have the same poetic pedigree as him. The turn of phrase and the tone. We all have to aspire to something 🙂.

Thies train is very much not high speed although the bloke carrying the flag at the front does seem to be working very hard, perspiration rolling down his cheeks. Fair play.

The fields between Lincoln and Newark are a harrowed brown, green and one or two in between where new growth is just emerging. Still water on the ground. It is officially springtime. The best time of year.

A pickup truck races along behind a hedge on a path that will intercept the train. He is on to a losing battle and will have to stop at the railway crossing. Slow down boy, don’t go too fast.

Have big dreams, you will grow into them. Begin on the train. <Poster in the carriage. This is interesting. I’ve never dreamt big but I’ve always assumed big. Assumed success rather than set it as a goal. 

I guess the question is what is success? I know people who are multimillionaires but who had to spend most of the time their kids were growing up working all the hours under the sun.

of trains and breakfasts

April 16th, 2024

A luxurious Tuesday ahead. Nothing in the calendar other than a trip to the tip with THG this afternoon. Did a sort out of CDs and DVDs for disposal yesterday and came across a few keepers including a Harry Potter boxed set and Dad’s Army series 4. I feel a Captain Mainwaring session in the offing though I would like to get hold of the complete oeuvre. Might invest in that. Would be a worthwhile use of cash.

Just booked my train to town tomorrow. Having to change at Newark which isn’t the end of the world. The connection at Newark is rammed but comes with the “Dine” menu which contains a full English and must mean the origin was likely Edinburgh. Normally the Lincoln train only gives you a poxy bacon roll, no butter. Mind you the full English comes on a very small plate so don’t get too excited. Also I’m going down for lunch at one pee em so unlikely I’ll want it anyway.

I remember once years ago catching a similar connection and asked for a full English. It was in the days when this dish was served by the attendant from a large oval platter and you could get reasonably generous portions. The answer on that occasion was they had sold out of full English and could only offer toast. Grudgingly, because breakfast is part of the deal on LNER 1st  Class I accepted the offer only to find that they had even run out of toast.

My other dining experience when catching a train to London from Newark was when I was on my way to Israel for a meeting. I had a taxi booked from the Castle Hill Club around six thirty and had a few pints with the boys before setting off. The plan was to eat on the train, get to London and hit the hay.

I arrived at the station with thirty minutes to spare to find that the train was already stood at the platform. Turned out it wasn’t my train. All trains were stopped whilst the Emergency Services dealt with a “jumper” further down the line. In fact the train was rammed and the only reason I was able to get on was because I was in First Class.

I went straight to the dining car only to be told that they had practically sold out of everything. It was the night before the Calcutta Cup in Twickenham and the southbound rugby crowd had almost drunk the train dry. All they had left was a bottle of muscadet and a bacon sandwich. I promptly ordered that before the bloody rugby p!55heads could snaffle it. When I got to Kings Cross they didn’t charge me for the “meal”.

I remember on that trip the outbound flight from LGW was showing The Full Monty movie. It was a lunchtime flight and the whole plane laughed, everyone having had wine with lunch. The early morning return flight to LHR a couple of days later also showed the same film. Not a single person laughed. At six thirty ey em most people tried to finish off their kip.

thassitfornow.