I woke up this morning, feeling the after effects of the brandy from last night (there’s a song there somewhere). I ordered the best one they had on the menu which turned out to be a huge measure particularly as the bottle was nearly empty so they poured the lot in. They I got into a discussion with the waiter as to which one really was the best and was given three more to try, gratis. All fairly big doses.
In consequence we didn’t get up until 9am, which of course is 8am UK time so not as bad as it sounds. Breakfast was ok but not spectacular. The bacon is never any good in European hotels although in mitigation they did have HP sauce.
Walked 40 minutes to the Prado having changed out of shorts to jeans. Not as warm as I thought it might be. Also discovered that I forgot to pack most of the tshirts I’d left out to bring with me so I’m mostly wearing my Hawaiian shirts.
Prado was good but after three hours we had seen enough paintings and we headed to Plaza Mayor and Mercado St Miguel. The mercado was a real find. It’s full of tapas bars of all sorts. You buy tapas and a drink and eat it at a central spot. We did without the drink. Too early man.
In the plaza there were some English blokes over on a stag weekend. They stood around in a circle playing strip keepie uppie. If you didn’t keep the ball up you had to take an item of clothing off. Not sure how far they got as they were surrounded by tourists enjoying the spectacle. I saw someone down to his underpants. The stag was wearing a traditional Spanish flamenco type dress.
Back at the hotel now. Taxi. We had walked enough. Bit of a power nap.
Having a really nice time with Anne. The magic is still there:) The only issue today was that neither of us wanted to make any decisions. At home Anne makes most of the decisions which I am happy with. Unfortunately on holiday she decided that part of being on holiday is not having to make decisions. Hey… We got by 🙂
Thinking maybe of hitting some local bars tonight before we go to Natalia and Jaime’s where we are invited for dinner. Looking forward to a nice evening.
Sat in the Galleries Lounge South at LHR T5. Got a fair old wait as it is now 12.05 and the flight isn’t until 14.10. Figured we would chill out a bit. Arrived at T5 at around 10.50 so not too bad check in and security time.
Great evening last night with the older two of 4 kids. Sank a couple of cocktails at Cahoots – very atmospheric forties cellar bar. Then had a curry at the Delhi Brasserie. Food was only ok. A fairly restricted menu and it felt a little bit pile it high churn it out. I had one of their GOLD cards so was eligible for a 20% discount if paid in cash. The bill came to £100.10 and upon presentation of the card the waiter went away to get his calculator to knock 20% off. We had already counted out £80.08 but the new bill came as £80.10. I had to scrabble around for two pence:)
Anne and I hit the Phoenix Artist Club for a night cap. It was only around 8.45. Sorted a few details for the LONAP Christmas Party. Then Uber home to bed.
This morning we didn’t bother with the hotel breakfast. If you aren’t a regular traveller these all you can eat buffets can be seen as a real treat. They are very hit and miss in my view. Mostly miss, unless you are in a really top class (expensive) joint.
We strolled around the flea market looking for breakfast. It was too early but we had a cup of tea on the balcony at Yamchaa. Very relaxing. Ended up in the Ice Wharf (Witherspoons) for a not particularly appetising breakfast. Get what you pay for I suppose.
Ubered it to Heathrow. Driver made a wrong turning and we ended up in the underground car park of the Westfield Shopping centre. Not the kind of place I would normally frequent.
So now we are chilin. Not bored yet. I have you to talk to.
BA460 non stop to Madreeed
Seat 8F with Anne in 8D next to me. I’m in the window which is not my normal preference but obviously one gives priority to the preference of one’s beloved doesn’t one. Anne has clocked the fact that it is easier to nip to the loo from an aisle seat, which is also my rationale. Still I will get to see some scenery. So far, clouds.
Woman sat in 8A across the aisle wants to go to the toilet but the fasten seat belts sign is still switched on so she was made to sit down (via tannoy message). Soon as she got back in her seat the sign was switched off. She is a big woman. Not particularly maneuverable.
life in bold
I for the moment live, life a cocktail of experience, a tightrope walked leant into wind, eyes wide open to a careless rain. Champagne route. A life lived in bold font.
The trolly approaches. Champagne service. With dry roasted and salted mixed nuts, out of Africa according to the packet. I pour the champagne and open the nuts. Anne tries to take my opened packet of nuts to throw in the plastic bin bag proffered by the cabin attendant. I remonstrate and rescue.
The food service is now approaching. I am going to reserve my position in respect of the food. It is five past three in the afternoon. A scone would be acceptable. Nothing too substantial.
When we get to the hotel in Madrid we will have time to rest in the room and recover from the champagne. Time shifts in Spain. Tomorrow night we are invited to friends Natalia and Jaime’s home for dinner. They expect us at 9pm. We eat around 6 normally. The body will have to adjust. The mind too.
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Idea for you. Pretend you are an explorer and when you go somewhere map the place out and write up a narrative of the area as if it is being done for the first time. Ignore the presence of any houses.
Arrived at the Intercontinental in Madreed. Approx 7pm. Weather wet. Traffic terrible. Nothing compared to Friday night says the guy checking us in. We have an inward facing room. Their outward facing rooms were all twins. Wossthatallabout?
Barajas airport is huge and there is a fairly long train journey from the gate to the baggage claim area. Bags took a while – same as last time. Also it took me a while to work out how to put the coin in the trolley. It is a token and has grooves which you need to orientate correctly. Fixed 30Euro fare into town and now we are ensconced in our room. Anne is having a cup of tea and I am tapping away. There was only one English Breakfast Tea bag and one bath towel. We now have 5 bath towels and ten tea bags. Sorted. Service is quick here.
Probably going to chill in the hotel tonight, especially as it is raining. We have plenty of time to do bars and restaurants on other days.
All packed and ready to rock and roll. Except before going to bed I forgot to push the button to back up the last 4 coast to coast videos to Google Drive. Started it first thing and there is one vid left with 40 mins to go. At which point it will be time to go. Big files.
Called the Holiday Inn at Camden Lock and asked for one of the canal facing penthouses. We normally get one right on the corner with a great view over the market.
Taking a check in bag this trip so will only have my light “man bag” as carry on. All you need is laptop, Bose headphones and maybe a spare battery for the phone. I also have my new book on the history of Carmarthenshire (prehistory to the act of union) which is proving to be a good read. Just got to the megalithic era so still a ways to go) 🙂
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Now at the train station in newark half an hour early. We stopped off in the Bail for Anne to post some eBay parcels and I parked in the loading bay outside Colonia.. Got an irate stare from a delivery van driver. Fortunately she came back quite quickly and we were off before he had walked back from his parking spot outside the White Hart.
Had to ditch the man bag btw. Couldn’t fit it all in. Resorted to my usual Osprey day bag which is really useful. Lots of good zipped compartments. Finishing the Drive upload with the 4G dongle.
Just seen a joke – Question What do you call a sheep with no legs? Answer A cloud.
Looking forward to a fun afternoon and evening. We have a penthouse room in the Camden Lock Holiday Inn. Will have time to wander around the market and browse the second hand bookshop. Then we have a table booked at Cahoots between 6pm and 8pm followed by the Delhi Brasserie which is just around the corner on Frith St (two doors down from Ronnie Scotts.
There is a scenario where we do the late show at Ronnie Scotts afterwards but we will have to see about that one.
train is delayed btw.
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Wearing my Bose headphones and listening to some acoustic blues. Feeling the need to pick up my guitar and sing out loud. Not sure the other inhabitants of the train compartment would particularly appreciate it and don’t have ma geetar with me anyway. I’d call myself Blind Trefor Davies, or Blind Tref. Would just need to wear sunglasses to look the part, Nobody need know.
John’s flight path to St Petersburg – BA878 from LHR:
I have the heater on in the office. It is a miserable day out. Some branches stir in the light breeze otherwise the garden is still.
Just finished a productive conference call and much of the rest of the day will be dedicated to preparation for Madrid. Partly this will involve the hunting down of some of my decent pairs of socks, all of which seem to have found their way to John’s sock drawer, wherever that is. That’s a mother favouring her youngest child:) My two best linen jackets will be getting an airing. I’m assuming that Madrid will still be warm enough.
My latest book order A History of Carmarthenshire – From Prehistoric Times to the Act of Union – Vol. I by Lloyd, John E. is out for delivery. Should be here just in time for me to take it to Madrid which is good. The vol I really want is the second which should cover the Dissenters and the industrial revolution which are all relevant to my Family Tree background research. Trouble is it is out of print and copies go for a min £125 the pair. I may buy it one day otherwise will just wait for the second volume to be reprinted as they just did for the first.
Now finished Day 8 of my coast to coast videos. Publishing them one by one here this week. A good memento of the trip.
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In fact finished all the c2c vids now. Been a veritable Universal Studios this afternoon. Will now have to wait until later tonight before uploading as the Virgin Fair Use Policy would slow the whole process. There must be 12 GB or more of footage. iMovie does tend to create big files mind you. I should try and see if there is a more efficient format I can use than .mov . At least for YouTube and Facebook.
The book arrived yay. Sumthin to reed on the trip. My new AMEX card also arrived. I have a little project to build up my BA points using the BA Amex card. Looking at a big holiday for me and Anne when the kids have all finally flown the coop. John that is. The others are largely gone.
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Marie rang me from the Donegal Registry Office btw. She’s found all the certs and is going to look to see how far she can go back with the family history before sending me them. Useful. My great grandfather signed his signature with an X and was down as a “herd” as his occupation. Farm hand?
John is off at 1am tonight/tomorrow morning. Debating whether to wait up and just go to bed afterwards. It is never a very comfortable kip when you know you have to get up in two or three hours. He should get to bed early himself as he won’t have much opportunity for sleep tomorrow until he gets to the hotel in Russia and then they will all be too excited to sleep.
It’s 5.25 (pm) and this is the first time I’ve sat down to do my diary today. Been that busy I have:) Got the Irish foreign birth registration / citizenship back on track with the help of cousin Fidelma and a lady called Marie, the Registrar from Donegal. They make you jump through hoops for it but once through at least it will be easy for everyone else. I’ve now printed off the form and am just waiting for my grandfather Thomas Rourke’s birth marriage and death certificates to arrive.
There is some debate as to whether it is Rourke or O’Rourke. I think they are probably interchangeable and apparently he used both.
Did half an hour ish in the gym last night just before it shut and then came back and enjoyed Anne’s most delicious chicken and ham pie. Larvley it was fair play. Also began to make some progress with the videos of the coast to coast walk and I’ve now published up to day 5. In the interest of speed there has been a slacking off of production values but I figured it was better to get them done.
This morning I went for a swim. A little busier than normal but that was because they had two lanes out of use for some reason. Usually it’s either staff shortage or training and there wa certainly nobody in the empty lanes being trained. Got back and spent the rest of the morning and some of the afternoon on a conference call with Netaxis.
Getting close now to departure for our trip to Madrid. Only two sleeps as they say. Really looking forward to it. No idea what to wear though 🙂 Other than I will definitely be taking my linen jackets.
Tonight we are having baked potatoes. Yum. With beans. No bacon though. Vegetarian Monday!
This morning it is wet and miserable. Easing into winter. John is playing hockey again at the Lindum at 11.15. They are playing in an U18s cup match against Cambridge who apparently have 6 internationals in the side. Ah well. I will have to get my coast to coast walking gear out I reckon.
They lost against Hull University yesterday. John Bayes was playing for Hull. The students were a lot fitter and able to stay the pace until the end. Lindum 5ths were a mix of youngsters and old hands. John played well.
I like wet weather. Reminds me of my childhood, both in Wales and the Isle of Man. Both wet places.
Last night we went out to see Julian Clary at the LPAC and before that had dinner at Chimichangas. Have to say I was unimpressed with the restaurant. I had a simple chicken and chips and both components were overcooked. The place was rammed and service was slow. We got to the LPAC as they were filing into the auditorium. JC was only mildly amusing. Some in the audience were in stitches at his lewd humour. I laughed occasionally but wouldn’t bother going again. Walked home with Katie and Nick Smith from Lee Road.
Today feels as if it will be another relaxing pottering around day. Anne is cooking a chicken and ham pie which is always a favourite. For breakfast I did John bacon, beans and toast whilst I had a toasted bacon and mushroom sarnie.
Today is also a start to pack day. Getting quite excited about our pre RIPE conference sojourn in Madrid.
Classic FM on the wireless. The inside of the kitchen is quite a relaxing contrast with the wildness of the outside. The trees are blowing around in the wind and rain hitting the window.
Began the process of registering myself as an Irish Citizen yesterday afternoon and immediately hit a roadblock. I need my grandparents details including the date of birth of my grandfather Thomas Rourke and birth surname of my grandmother Margaret’s own mother. This is a bit over the top in my mind. Initial enquiries with some of the rourke clan have drawn a blank though we might get somewhere on Monday when Fidelma gets into the office. I’m going to ring the Irish Embassy on Monday to see if I really need to have this info. Premium rate number, £1.50 a minute I think I saw! They will have been making big inroads into their national debt because of this number since the Referendum I’m sure.
It’s not a cheap process either. WIll cost over two hundred quid for the registration plus more on top of that to get the passport. I think I’m looking at three hundred or so all together, not counting what I’ve spent to get the certs. What price national loyalty eh?
In the conservatory now. Vid below is the scene this morning in the back garden. First real use of my new tripod. There should be no message from YouTube saying “your video appears to be shaky, would you like us to fix it?”. V relaxing sat here with the noise of the rain on the roof. Would be quite interesting to do a year in the back garden time lapse video. I’d need to use a separate camera from the phone. Could use the GoPro but that would tie it up for a whole year. Not that I use the GoPro much but I should.
note the absence of capitalisation in the word sunday in the subheading for this post. didnt lose any of its message. i realise I’m inconsistent with this but that’s my editorial privilege.
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Lindum U18s lost to city of Cambridge U18s 3 – 5. They played very well. The opposition looked like a pro outfit, more organised and fitter but I think Lindum can walk away with their heads held high. It was 3 – 4 right until the last minute so could have finished completely differently. Weather cleared up and it was a beautiful sunny morning for the second half of the game. Lindum had one quite gobby player who kept getting sin binned..
Lovely evening last night. It was Erv’s birthday although the evening wasn’t meant to be a birthday party. I only found out because of Facebook. Recorded happy birthday for him and stuck it on You Tube. See below.
Today Anne has gone to Nottingham with Erica to a Women in the church conference or simlar. Leaves us lads to do our own stuff. Hence a fry up for breakfast. John has a hockey home game this afternoon so will be popping along to that. Then this evening we are going out to see Julian Clary at the LPAC. We last saw him in Jongleurs Comedy Club in Clapham as The Joan Collins Fan Club with Fanny the Wonderdog. Must have been thirty years ago or more!!!
Before JC we are having dinner with the gang at Chimichangas on the Brayford and before that Anne is meeting me somewhere in town for a drink. It’s all go innit.
This morning I have already completed the very simple jobslist which was buy chicken, puff pastry and something for John’s tea tonight (steak) from Tesco. I also tidied my in tray which just involved rotating some papers by 90° . Feels as if that was just on the jobslist because anne felt she should put something there:)
In other news my new book The Foundations of Modern Wales by Geraint E. Jenkins has just arrived. He has a very easy to read style. It’s second hand but was a lot cheaper than the new ones on offer and is in good enough nick. Was posted on 10th October so took 5 days to get here. I was on the verge of complaining. Didn’t have Amazon Prime available for the delivery.
Also mam’s death certificate has arrived. I now have everything I need to get my Irish citizenship documented and to get a passport. Quite excited at the prospect.
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Listen to the saxophone. Music flowing through the house.
5:15 am and I’m downstairs sitting in the darkness. I am not alone. I have my laptop open so it isn’t true darkness. There are also three lights: the TV, the extension socket below and the printer in between the two. There is also the glow from my keyboard by which I am able to write.
There was a time when I would have had to light a candle to do this. Sharpen my quill. Now, as long as I have electrical power I am fine. My battery is at 65%. I’m ok until my world wakes up around me. I’ll plug in later.
I hear the occasional car go by outside on the road. People on their way to work or in taxis on their way home from a night club maybe. That’s a different world. One in which I play no part. I am in my pyjamas and dressing gown and I have a throw over my legs. Cosy.
Upstairs Anne has stirred, momentarily. I probably woke her up coming downstairs. I’m sorry about that. She deserves a good sleep. In an hour or so I’ll take her a pot of tea. I like doing that. She does a lot for the rest of us, often without thanks. A pot of tea is the least I can do.
For now you just have me and my thoughts. We are never in total darkness nowadays. It would be good to experience that. I’d have to switch off the bedside radio. Our curtains are fairly heavy and dark so not too much light would get in.
Leave the phone switched off or downstairs. There is very rarely a night where I don’t wake up and look at my phone. Not good. Perhaps I should get into the habit of switching it off for periods of the day and certainly overnight. Why not? It’s on Do Not Disturb between 10pm and 8am as it is.
I’ve just discovered another LED. It’s the DECT phone over my left shoulder. These lights do serve a purpose but I could manage without them. There are lots of things I could manage without. It wouldn’t do me harm to try it for a while. Live life simply.
Simply doesn’t necessarily mean frugally. I’m a strong believer in having the good things in life. Good food. This could mean walking everywhere. Simply probably means no TV. I wouldn’t deny myself the internet or my laptop. Maybe the phone would be in a drawer for periods of the day.
I think a week of that beckons. When I get back from my next lot of travels. I have Madrid and Krakow upcoming in the periscope. After that nothing.
05:47 and the milkman has just been. 4 pints Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We used to have a lot more when all the kids were home. 4 or 5 pints a day. We still occasionally top up with additional milk from Tesco. Now I’m really the only milk drinker. Anne has it in teas and coffees and a minimal amount with her cereal. When I was a student I’d drink three pints of milk a day – breakfast lunch and dinner.
We have five more years of having a student in the family. Joe is at Newcastle and John is in the lower 6th. Not sure they still call it that but it matters not. I know what I’m saying. There is a scenario where nobody else ever reads this so it really doesn’t matter. Dunno what made me come out with that student sentence. I guess it was the reference to the kids being home.
I wouldn’t want them all home now. They need to stretch their wings which they are doing in all fairness to them. It’s very exciting as a parent to see it happen. Very satisfying. They are all great kids:) John came down and sat a while with me on the settee last night.
Next week Anne and I are having a night out with Tom and Hannah in London. They’ve booked us a table at some speakeasy type place where you have to know the password to get in. The password isn’t a secret. That wouldn’t make for much of a business. Suspect we will go for a curry afterwards. I still have a 10% discount card for the Delhi Brasserie next to Ronnie Scotts. Will be my last real meal for 9 days. No offence to Spanish food of course.
We will have at least 3 of them at home for the Christmas Market and then a full set for Christmas itself. Good times.
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swim followed by Fruit & Fibre with added banana, peach and blueberries – see 2nd vid below.
Chucking it down again this morning. At least first thing. Forgot a flu jab appointment at 8.35 so called them and rearranged it to 9.48 and was then late for that. Bad traffic and no parking spaces!! They seemed to be running late anyway so I got away with it.
Whilst I was in the waiting room Anne rang to say she’d scraped the car on the gatepost. Ah well. These things happen and visibility ain’t so good when it’s raining. Coops will sort it out.
In the news this morning is the fact that Tesco is no longer stocking Marmite because Unilever has jacked up the wholesale price. We had better get ready for some big rises in the cost of living. Price rises are happening right across the patch. We are off to Madrid next week that’s going to be a more expensive trip than it might have been. The following week it’s Krakow. Ditto.
I’m sure that most of the people voting leave in the referendum will not have understood the consequences. I’m also sure that a great many of them will be people least able to withstand price rises.
In other news I’ve just filled out the form to get Anne and I a two together railcard. Very coupley:) Only problem is we need passport photos. I’ve printed some out on glossy paper. It’s only a railcard. I’m sure it will do. Probably.
Night time and the two of us are sat in the tv room tapping away on our laptops. The tv is switched off. The radio is switched off. Only Slovenia v England playing football. It’s enough to switch anyone off.
Anne is doing her eBay stuff. I am not. Just booked flights to Brindisi. Ryan Air. Urgh. Only direct flight. Jezzer and Clare have booked a villa in Puglia. 6.20 am flight so staying the night before at the Radisson right at Stansted airport. At least the return flight is at a more sensible 10.45am. Obviously the outbound plane turning around to go back. At least it will get us there before lunch.
All very domesticated. I’ve read my new book. The Baptists in Wales. At least I’ve read as much of it as I want to. Not interested much beyond the 1830s. It does mention two relatives: JP Davies and William Davies. The well known orator and the missionary. William Davies died in Grahamstown in South Africa. I hadn’t realised that he hadn’t gone out there on an official Baptist Missionary Society ticket. That does explain the fact that when I spoke about him with someone at some Baptist research gaff in Cambridge a few years ago he hadn’t heard of him.
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Wednesday: Awake early and up to make the tea. Rich is coming up for our monthly LONAP 121 today. Usually a useful and productive time. Today, if you’re interested, we are talking budget spreadsheets.
Off for a swim and now feeling refreshed whilst the bacon sandwich cooks. Amazes me how many people stop to chatter when swimming.
Still raining out – compare today’s featured image with that of yesterday. The new guttering is working much better than the old although the downpipe didn’t cope yesterday. I’ll ask Phil whether cleaning it out would help. Once the rain had stopped you could see the water disappearing so it is draining. Just not quickly enough under pressure.
Only a week before we head off on our short break to Madreeed before the RIP conference. Looking forward to it. John also starting to get excited about his Russia trip although you will never see any external evidence of this.
Got email and text from the Royal Mail saying they were delivering a Just Kampers package. Hmm I thought. Not ordered anything. Looked it up on their website and no there were no orders. The last order had been delivered to Coops’ garage. Turns out this one did too. It was a brochure. Ah well 🙂
Anne is home, Yay. She got back at around 10.30 last night after a long journey. I went to bed but she stayed down to catch up on The Archers!
It gave me great pleasure to go downstairs this morning to make the tea. The featured image is the view of the morning light through the landing window looking up the stairs. I saw the silhouette and had to put the tea tray down for the photo opportunity.
Been busy with work related stuff this morning after returning from the school run. I had planned on swinging by the Post Office depot on Firth Road to pick up a book that didn’t get delivered yesterday but the roads into town were rammed. A combination of the roadworks around the new bus station and rain. Turned the car around and went home for a Weetabix.
It’s now 11.15. The hoover is working in the hallway and there is already a job on the new jobslist. Return the old printer cartridge for recycling. Done. Hey. Gotta keep that list down:)
The rain is very relaxing today. It is intermittent. Springlike really.
Took John and Matt to school and did meself a bacon sandwich when I got back. Also washed the dishes and emptied both kitchen bin and recycling bin into their appropriate bins out the front. It’s the no jury service effect. Having two weeks where I thought I’d be doing jury service but am not has made life mind blowingly boring at times. I think if I was totally retired I’d have to have a routine that filled the day in order to get through the day. As it is I can’t see myself stopping work fully for years. I’m too young.
This week I do have some work to be getting on with although much of it is still awaiting input from 3rd parties.
I still have the doorbell to sort out and the trapdoor for the attic. Maybe that is what I’ll do today.
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Made some progress with the trapdoor cover, albeit slowed down by the fact that the battery on the cordless drill has run flat. Funnily enough I had just been wondering to myself how long do these batteries last and hey presto, it ran out of juice. So now it’s charging. I only have the one battery. I got the drill at a reduced price because someone had stolen the second battery from the kit.
I’ll nip down to B&Q later (or Boris and Quack as the kids used to call it). I have to return some items (batteries and doorbell push/button/whatever they call it) and will look at a wireless doorbell when I’m there. They seemed to have a large selection of wireless doorbells. Actually they are called chimes now. Why can’t we just buy a simple old fashioned doorbell!
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Doorbell installed. Wow. The build standard isn’t very high on these things though. Had to employ bluetac to keep the bell push housing in place but it will be ok. Also a cover placed over the trapdoor. It doesn’t cover the whole opening as the ladder gets in the way but it will stop people from falling though which is it’s main purpose.
In other news my birth certificate has arrived which allows me to confirm that I was born. It should also be the last piece of the jigsaw that I need to get my Irish passport sorted. Yay.
Good morning all. It’s 8.43. I’m up showered and downstairs. Looks like a lovely Autumn day out. Not in a rush for anything today. Breakfast will come when it is ready. No tea made yet either. John is upstairs still in his room. Presumably asleep but quite possible on his laptop.
Today is Sunday. The sabbath for some religions. First day of the working week for others. Why it is different I know not. Competitive sabbaths? Anyway the point is that one can choose to adopt the religious rulings of not working on a sabbath. If one so chooses. I do whatever I feel. Sunday for me has traditionally been the day to get jobs done whilst Anne is at church.
I still have to do some stuff in the garden and also create a cover for the attic trapdoor for when the ladder is down. It’s a bit of joinery that I’ve had one go at with the results being rejected by the customers, Anne and John. It is therefore a longer term project than they might have hoped for. I suspect that the week ahead will see it done.
Just hear the sound of someone climbing the ladder into the attic. John is awake.
V pleasant afternoon yesterday watching John play hockey in Hull. He scored a goal. Yay. They lost 5 – 3 but only because they tired towards the end and they had a few youngsters playing in the side. The pace is pretty fast in a game of hockey. Hull fair was on next to the pitch. Huge. Never seen anything like it. Check out the video. When Lincoln turned up it turned out their kit was very similar to that of Hull so they had to kluge together a red strip to play in. Bibs and odd bits of kit that they had brought along.
Back in Lincoln I dropped John off, popped to get some salady bits from Waitrose and had a swift un with Ian Stobie and his make Mick in the strugglers. Pleasant dinner and early ish to bed.
new router is a huge improvement btw. bliss.
Stay tuned.
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10.27 loud music has moved into the kitchen.
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Waitrose shop and a stop off at Yarborough Leisure centre to join John up for gym membership and it is now raining. Oh no. No gardening this afternoon now. We are having lamb and chorizo burgers with apricot salsa. Could only get dried apricots. What’s Waitrose coming to?
Ordered a couple more books: “The Foundations Of Modern Wales 1642-1780” by Geraint H.Jenkins and “Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere” by Jan Morris. Look forward to reading those. The history book was £25 new but only four quid second hand. Nobrainer.
The full monty is in prospect including some fried potatoes seeing as I deliberately and with great foresight boiled too many last night. But first a reviving cup of tea.
I momentarily debated with myself, not out loud, whether that last sentence deserved to be a paragraph on its own. It seemed to stand out. Emphatically. The argument against is that the process of making the tea is not instant. The kettle has boiled and the water poured into the teapot with one tea bag (small teapot) but the tea now needs to stand a few minutes to brew.
It might be worth discussing what constitutes the ideal cooked breakfast. This is however a lengthy discussion for which I do not currently have the patience or attention span so I will leave it for a stand alone post. Also the news is full of the death and destruction left in Haiti in the trail of hurricane Matthew so it perhaps isn’t appropriate to discuss food this morning (although I know yes life does go on).
I don’t normally discuss politics either but this was the subject of debate at the Morning Star last night. The labour Party is in meltdown, UKIP is falling apart with suitably derisory and unseemly fighting amongst it’s MEPs in Strasbourg leaving the Tories drifting further to the right with no opposition and with the not impossible prospect of the whole country being totally buggered. Bring back the Liberal Democrats.
In other news England are playing Malta at Wembley today. I may even watch it for a laugh. It would be really funny if Malta won. Eh?
This afternoon I am going to Hull to watch John play hockey. Looking forward to that even though it’s a bit of a trek.
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Breakfast over. The day to get one with once the (second pot of) tea has been consumed. Ito ay oras para sa isang shower. Tandaan google ay walang isang Pilipino salita para shower.
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Sounds like there is a digger working away in the back garden of someone two or three doors up the road. Problem is I can’t see what’s going on. V frustrating. Might nip upstairs to look out of a back window. Ah it’s a chainsaw.
3:34 a.m. and Anne is up and ready to set off for Ferrara with the girls. The alarm was set for 3:30 and so we’ve been waking up off and on all night. Claire is picking her up at 4.
4.08 and they have set off. Let’s see if I can get back to sleep.
4.53 still not asleep. Urgh.Dictating this.
Why am I awake? What’s it all about? Certainly gives you the opportunity to think about things. There is an empty space in the bed beside me. It doesn’t feel right. There was a time when Anne going away meant throwing off the shackles of family life and going out with the boys. I will still do this but I’ve arrived at a point where it feels right to be calming down. The problem is that 54 3/4 years of training means it is difficult to slow down the pace of things. Especially when you consider the semi international nature of my life.
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Finally dropped off and awoke at 7.40ish. Now 8.05 and downstairs making a bit of toast. It’s cold and wet out. Will have the Dyson fan heater on in the office today, probs.
The overnight news if of a change in name of a Facebook Group. “Your probably from Lincoln if….” has changed its name to “You’re probably from Lincoln if….”. Bit of a shame really I always thought the grammatical error was quite quaint. It has 24,558 members. That’s a huge proportion of the people living in Lincoln plus a ton of ex-pats now living away. It matters not.
New router arrives today, if it is the will of Allah. Anne will be getting ready to board the plane now (8.27).
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School run dun. Waitrose shopped. Kettle on for first tea of the day at 09.34.
New tripod for the phone ordered yesterday from Amazon and being delivered today.
Also a Virgin router being delivered today. However (from the Virgin website): “Where’s my self install pack? Your self install pack has not yet been allocated a tracking reference number. When it is, you can check your self install pack’s progress right until the time it’s delivered to your door. Your pack will be delivered by our trusty partners, Yodel. Come back here closer to your delivery date and you’ll be able to link straight through to the Yodel website and track your order.” Doesn’t seem right that it’s being delivered today and has not yet even got a tracking order.
12:20
New router has arrived. The guy from Yodel said they usually have a tracking number giving a one hour delivery slot. Turned out I heard him at the door which was lucky. The doorbell is still not extant. Let’s hope it fixes the crappy wifi issue. Fingers crossed eh?
16.02
Back from school run. Router up and running, NAS box IP address changed, printer back online, weekend starts soon.
