25-07-20 - Sunday I - 100 Words pt I

So this is a challenge, to write 100 words per day about stuff. So far today I’ve been to see Mum in her care home and I’ve put some petrol in the car. Then I walked into town and dropped off some broken glasses at Specsavers. They want to charge me £17 for a new arm, which I am not sure is worth it, but then it’s always good to have a pair of specs as back-up - not really sure what to do. I do have until 10am tomorrow to decide whether to go ahead or not, so I guess we’ll see by then. 

It’s been a lovely sunny day in Worthing, I really enjoyed having a solitary beer at Level 1 earlier. I was able to make use of my Stubble & Co shoulder bag too, although I think that was a bad purchase - I was expecting a bigger bag. Well, I wasn’t “expecting” a bigger bag, I guess I just didn’t look at the dimensions before I bought it. I would have liked a shoulder bag I could have fitted my iPad, I guess. Still, that’s my fault for not really researching the bag before I bought it.

24-10-05 - Saturday I - What a Week

Well, that was a week and a half; Monday we were in Chi to see a play, Tuesday in Brighton to see Ezra Collective, and then tonight to see Arxx celebrate the release of their second album in Resident Music and dinner out afterwards at Wagamamas… 

The play was enjoyable, funny even, but once we got out of the theatre it was a bit difficult to describe what we had just watched. Was it a comedy? Was it a thriller? What did that bit mean? Overall I think, they tried to cram too many ideas into it, and so it ended up leaving not much impression at all.

 

Ezra Collective were very good, great music to dance to. The venue, Chalk in Brighton, was a sellout and so it was really busy. Actually it was difficult to find a space where there was room to dance, especially when some idiots insisted on wearing rucksacks in a crowded venue like that… Towards the end of the night I couldn’t shake the thought that if the drummer used brushes instead of sticks, and the keyboardist kept to major chords and didn’t “wig out” quite so often, we could have been listening to them on a Sunday afternoon in a rural pub somewhere - so it was a triumph for jazz, really. 

I’ve not been to an in-store before, so I didn’t know what to expect from Arxx. Obviously the album was released on the same day as the appearance, so I knew we would hear some tracks off the new album, but I didn’t know how long they would play, whether it would be an acoustic set, or anything really. But the opportunity to see some live music from a band I liked was too good to miss. So TW & I headed into Brighton to Resident Music to see what was up. The band played six or seven songs, and had a chat with the audience, and it was a nice intimate gig. Maybe a bit shorter than I would’ve liked, but then I guess that’s personal preference.

After the gig TW was hungry and so we went round the corner to Wagamama’s which was nice. I have avoided Wagamama’s because I did think I ordered badly - we’ve been a couple of times and I didn’t like what I had - but last night I had chicken yakitori and beef donburi. I did actually order chicken donburi, but the beef was delicious. So I am pleased we went. And we were out and walking up to the station before 9pm, which was refreshing. 

All in all, a busy week, but all good. 

TTFN. 

24-07-17 - Wednesday I - St Swithin’s Day

In order to be a writer you have to write, and so here I am. 

First up, I guess I should mention the Euros; England managed to lose in the final last night. There were some poor performances during the campaign and it was a bit of a surprise, to be honest, that we made it to the final at all, but once we had made it there was always the hope that we could win. However, it wasn’t to be. I think I’ve watched more football in the past four weeks than I have in the past four years - or it certainly feels like that. England had a good go at it, and probably played better in the final than they did all tournament, but it wasn’t good enough and Spain won. They were the better team, and had been the best team all tournament, tbh. 

The other item worthy of a mention is the assassination attempt on Trump on Sunday. I guess we have to call it an assassination attempt, since he was nearly killed. The weird thing is, his would-be assassin was a registered Republican voter. Of course he was immediately shot, so we might never know his motives. Oh well. 

Monday was St Swithin’s Day, which is supposed to signify 40 days of the same weather: if it rains on St Swithin’s Day, we are supposed to be in for 40 days of rain. And similarly, if it is dry, we can expect 40 days of good weather. So the legend goes. Anyway, it rained, and today has actually been a summery day. So that myth / old wives’ tale is clearly rubbish. 

24-03-23 - Saturday I - Plaza Suite @ The Savoy Theatre, Friday 22nd March

So, we popped up to London yesterday afternoon to go see Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick appear in Plaza Suite, a play at the Savoy. TW & I went with our friends MO & DO and TC. We caught the train from Worthing and then walked from Victoria to the theatre. We passed Parliament and Big Ben and got some Korean street food on the way. 

Our seats were in "the gods", right at the back. When we got there it was already warm. The play was in three acts and showed three couples all staying in the same suite in the Plaza. It was really good, I enjoyed it. The first act was really quite heavy and emotional, the second two were lighter and more farcical.

The audience was very female heavy, I guess Sex and The City had a bigger influence on girls and women and SJP has that legacy to play with. Broderick played his characters a lot more staid and restrained, I thought, it really was the SJP show. Although his shoes in the second act were sublime.

There were quite a few bottles of wine being drunk in the gods, it was a bit raucous, but then it was a Friday night.

All in I enjoyed it, it was nice to have "an event" with friends and the play was good and the off-stage action was interesting. It took some time to get home, we walked back to Victoria and caught a train just after eleven, and we were home in bed by 1am. 

TTFN.

23-05-08 - Monday I - The Kings Coronation

Well, it happened and I didn't watch it. People now seem more worried about the arrests of the protesters than a 74-year old man in a robe. According to news sources even he was bored, and he was actually being crowned king! At least we get a bank holiday out of it, even if it does look like it's going to rain all day. Oh well.

TTFN.

20-05-02 - Covid-19 Day #47 - Where Did The Week Go?

It seems only yesterday that I was sitting in the living room enjoying Teen Wolf, the 1985 comedy
starring Michael J. Fox. Actually, though, that was last Sunday. Last weekend was a time for going back to my youth, as on Saturday afternoon I watched Brewster’s Millions starring Richard Pryor, also from 1985.

I did enjoy hiding away in the gloom of the living room with the curtains drawn while the sun blazed down outside. TW spent the weekend luxuriating in the garden, which was fine, as she is always so busy during the week. If she gets an idea into her head, she’s normally busy at the weekend as well.

On Thursday night I think it was, I nearly caused an electrical fire. I knocked the glass of water which normally sits on my bedside table over, and of course there are a few chargers also sitting on that table. I dried them off and plugged them back in, but after a few minutes I noticed my phone wasn’t charging. When I felt the charging pad it was really hot, as was the USB lead plugged into it. I quickly unplugged it, and I had the feeling that if I hadn’t done so, we could have ended up with a fire, which wouldn’t have been fun. I was a bit fretful after the event and ended up not getting to sleep until 12:30, but all’s well that ends well, as they say. And it means I can indulge my habit of buying consumer electronics, as I need to replace the charger now. The USB connector looked rusty, and the female connection on the charger looks a bit melty, so I’m not planning to use it again.

TTFN.

20-04-13 - Monday I - Covid-19 Day #28 - A Walk Along The Beach

Today we were up early(-ish) and took the dog down to the beach for a longer stretch of exercise. She’s been to the park, which is closer, a few times, but it’s a bit dull there, to be fair, and the tide was out, so it was ideal.

The weather had completely changed from yesterday; where it was sunny and warm yesterday – to the extent that we were out in the garden playing Yahtzee – today it was cold and grey and windy. I was wrapped up in a hoodie, a gilet and a woolly hat, and that still wasn’t really enough.

Anyway, the dog enjoyed it, and it was good to get some fresh air - literally. She was all wet and sandy by the time we were done, and she had performed her role as Chief Ball Retriever with aplomb. We stopped at the Co-Op on the way home for some essential supplies (sugar, milk, no hot cross buns!) and then had a cup of tea when we got home.

Since then, I’ve not done much. I’ve read a few pages of The Secret Barrister’s book: Stories of the Law and How It’s Broken, which I’ve been meaning to continue with for a few days / weeks now. I really am enjoying it, but it’s so easy to get distracted with other crap. I’ve got three issues of Private Eye to plough through, as well as a bookcase full of comics which I’ve accumulated over a period of years, and over 100 hours of podcasts to listen to. And that’s before I get to my Netflix playlist and whatever I’ve got recorded on the Sky box (Madam Secretary, mostly, if I’m honest).

I’m trying out a new bluetooth keyboard I bought off of eBay, and to be fair, I’m not that impressed. It certainly looks nice but I think maybe I prefer my previous no-brand keyboard. This is my current set-up:



I do like to miniaturise things where it makes sense, and a keyboard / tablet combo is a good example of that. The keyboard is USB rechargeable, so it doesn’t use AA batteries for example. The keys on this Sandstrom keyboard are a bit soft and sticky, but it might just be the case that I need to get used to it. Let’s see.

Anyway, here are some pics of Worthing beach from earlier this morning – enjoy.

TTFN.

20-04-07 Tuesday - Covid-19 Day #22 - Johnson in Hospital

Well, this is weird. Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital and in Intensive Care, “just in case”. We heard the news on Sunday evening, halfway through the film we were watching (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2). I didn’t sleep well at all on Sunday night, I think the news affected me more than I expected. I’m no fan of Boris Johnson, but no-one should be in hospital suffering from this awful disease.

The prior event which drove home what a big event this is was the news that U.S. comics weren’t going to be imported into the UK for a while. That impressed on me the scale of the issue at the time. Now this is another instance which has thrown me off-balance.

It can sometimes be difficult to separate the man from the politics, but if you asked me if I wanted anyone to be in hospital suffering from Covid-19 and finding it hard to breathe, I would say no immediately. No-one deserves that. Hopefully he’ll recover, but it may take some time – possibly weeks.

Time to pivot to another leader, Donald Trump. I did see he averred that he wouldn’t wear a mask, despite the fact that this was now recommended. Trump is well-known to be a germophobe and I reckon he would be the first to wear a mask, given the chance. It’s not like he’s going to be meeting other heads of state either; surely they’re all in lockdown as well?

Anyway, that’s enough for now.

TTFN.

18-10-28 Sunday - Our Girl @ The Haunt, Friday 18-10-26

Friday rolled around again, and before we knew it the weekend was upon us. This Friday had a different flavour though, as we had tickets to see Our Girl at The Haunt. “We” in this case was me and three friends of a similar age, all keen on live music. G and J had seen Our Girl before, I had listened to a couple of tracks on YouTube and was looking forward to seeing them live. G wanted to get there early to see the support band, Breathe Panel, as he was a fan of theirs as well, which was refreshing; sometimes people aren’t interested in the support, but I think it is all part of the night. The times I've had an absolutely clear view of the support and then been swamped by tall skinny indie kids five minutes before the main band take to the stage doesn’t bear thinking about. 

Breathe Panel had just started when we got there, and were your standard indie band – four lads, pretty proficient from the sound of it, and I’d be interested to hear their album. The second support act shambled on to the stage and honestly at first glance they didn’t look old enough to date my thirteen-year old daughter. On closer inspection they were probably in their late teens or early twenties, and all skinny rakes in jeans. They started playing and the lead singer was obviously channeling the spirit of the young Mick Jagger, all pouts and poses. But they played a pretty good brand of glam rock, and I for one enjoyed it. They managed to sound fresh and familiar at the same time, which is a good trick if you can pull it off. And their new single should hopefully find them a few new fans (me included!). 

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard came and went, and then it was time for the main event – Our Girl. They formed in Brighton, being at Uni together, and it was the last night of their tour so it was a bit of a homecoming gig for them, I suppose. Anyway, they certainly impressed, knowing how to put a bit of space in their music. One of the stand-out tracks was, I think, called “Sub Rosa”, which was sublime, but they were all good. On one track I found myself thinking of Nirvana’s “Heart-shaped Box”, which I suppose is a good sign. I’d be happy to see them again, and I hope that they continue to make more music in a similar vein.  

On the way home we discussed the gig, of course, and also other recent and future gigs that were bubbling under. Miles Hunt is currently on his “Custodian” tour, and he is playing Brighton in a week or so – I might go to that. Obviously it won’t be a Wonder Stuff gig, but it might be enjoyable in a different way. And then there is a new band who are getting some attention, called TVAM – but they are playing the night before Courtney Barnett, and I'm not sure I can handle two late nights in a row. We’ll see though, it might be possible... 

TTFN. 

18-10-06 Sunday - A Month of Sundays

I love a Sunday. They are normally quite relaxed, and things tend to happen around me, if I manage it right. Today has been no exception. TW brought me a cup of tea in bed which was very pleasant – normally it’s the other way around. But then I wake up early and don’t like spending time in bed when I’m awake. So a cup of tea in bed for me is a rare occurrence.  

After enjoying my tea, I got up to have some breakfast, and made myself some toast with home-made marmalade. We have an Amazon Echo, and I asked Alexa to play some Cocteau Twins. None of the girls were up, so it was just me, my toast and the Cocteaus enjoying some early morning sun in the kitchen. What a pleasant way to spend time.  

Then it was time to pop to the Co-Op, since we’d run out of milk. Last week I managed to pick up a Mexican half a chicken on the bone, reduced from £4 to £2.40. I managed to get one again this week, as well as some southern fried chicken steaks and some chicken breasts, all reduced. And the milk, of course, which was what I went for in the first place.  

On a Sunday morning the girls normally play rugby and today was no exception, so we headed off to the rugby club. It was a lovely sunny morning, so it was a pleasure to stand around in the sunshine. Then once the practice session was underway, it was time to indulge in another guilty pleasure of mine – a sausage bap. The sausages they use at the club are delicious, and more so when smothered in a blend of brown sauce and English mustard. I was overcharged for my diet coke, but I let it slide – this time, at least.  

Back at home and Dad popped round for a cup of tea. He and Mum have just been on holiday in Cyprus, so it was good to see him and it was good to hear that they had a good time. Once he left, TW mowed the lawn in the back garden, and I pulled a few weeds. And now we’re on the countdown to Dr Who. It would be nice to have a relaxing beer, but I think if I had one, that might turn into several, and I don’t want to start the week with a hangover. It might be time to cook that Mexican chicken now... 

TTFN. 

18-08-27 Monday - The Dentist and a Filling

Friday 17th brought a trip to the dentist. One of my fillings had fallen out while eating some jam, of all things. One of the fruit seeds had inveigled its way between my wisdom tooth and the filling in my second molar, which had only been in place for 18 months or so.  

It had been difficult enough to get in place the first time around; I'd been for a check-up and the dentist identified that I needed a filling, but when he tried to do it, the anaesthetic didn’t seem to be working that well. The dentist had to give me a temporary filling over Christmas and then I went back in January to have it finished off.  

I have a pathological fear of dentists. Well, it may not be a fear of dentists. I have absolute trust in my dentist. But I have a fear of people messing around in my mouth with whirry things like dentists’ drills and scrapy things. I don’t think that I've ever been hurt, but it is the anticipation of pain that drives me mad. My heart rate increases, I start sweating, I grab onto the arms of the dentist chair tightly and have to be talked down before I can let go (almost).  

On this occasion, the dentist agreed with me; the filling had fallen out. In addition, he said, the tooth was cracked and broken. It was in a pretty bad way. He attempted to refill the filling, which was a bit traumatic. Mr D used two different drills; one felt almost pneumatic, like a road-drill or something. The other was a finer, more high-pitched drill which really penetrated my skull. He had to remove the existing filling, bore out more of my tooth and then put in a bigger filling.  

He also warned me that if this filling didn’t take, he’d probably have to extract the tooth. The tooth was in such a bad way, he said, that even a root canal probably wasn’t worth it. That was depressing news, and bothered me for several days, to be honest. But actually, the filling hasn’t ached so it’s been okay. I’m not even sure that the filling is there any longer, but it’s not painful so I’m going to leave it. I’ll be back for a check-up anyway before I know it, and if necessary he can extract it then. At least if it is extracted, there won’t be any future requirements for fillings – in that tooth. One down, thirty-one to go.  

TTFN.  

Thursday 18-02-22 I Beer

I tried that Nanny State on Tuesday night, the low alcohol beer made by Brewdog. It was okay. The crazy thing is that it is only 0.5% abv, which means that, as I had two bottles, I only consumed 0.33 units of alcohol. At least, that was before I had a glass of wine... That was more like one and a half units.

Sunday 18-01-21 I Dry January

I’ve not had a drink since the 6^th January. And that was only one glass of red wine. It was the remains of a bottle I opened the night before, on the 5^th. I didn’t drink from the 1^st to the 4^th before that.

I certainly could have done with a drink last night, but I didn’t succumb. It would have been so easy; TW was off in Brighton meeting some friends and although she’s “not doing Dry January”, she hasn’t been drinking either (except for the 5^th, the same as me). But she told friends that she was probably drinking last night, and so it turned out.

We’ve got beers and wine chilling (and freezing, on some nights!) in the back garden, and I could have easily opened the back door and cracked one of those bottles open, but I didn’t. I guess that I’ve got this far (20^th Jan) and I didn’t want to give in at this stage. TW & I are going out on the 1^st February to see a comedian – Ahir Shah, performing “Control”, and I am planning to have a drink then, but obviously I shall want to remember the show, so I’m not planning on getting hideously pissed. And, in addition, we are going to a rugby evening on the 2^nd, and I shall be driving, as TW is planning to be away that weekend.

What I’m trying to say, I guess, is that I’ve got a few things to look forward to, and so not drinking now is not (or at least it shouldn’t feel like) a hardship. Since it is the 21^st already, there are only ten days to go. I’m not trying to raise money for charity or push teetotalism, but it is good, from my personal perspective, to take some time away from alcohol. I balk at the phrase “evaluate my relationship with alcohol”, but taking a month off does go to show that if we (that’s the royal we, i.e. I) don’t think about it consciously, alcohol can easily start becoming a regular fixture in the evenings. On a couple of occasions (and probably more) TW has looked at me disapprovingly as I placed another four-pack of lagers in the fridge. It’s easy with the Co-Op and The Wine Centre standing between West Worthing train station and home… Anyway, the world probably won’t end if I have a few nights without a beer or two.

TTFN.

Friday 18-01-05 A Summary

Tuesday was the day when the decorations came down. TW had suggested that we take them down last week, before New Year's, but I disagreed. It was a sign of the end of festivities though; the house looked bare, TW was back to work on the Wednesday, and the kids were back to school on Thursday. There were no more planned parties or social gatherings, and reality was beginning to reassert itself.

It's funny how we can become used to the festive trappings so quickly; the presence of a tree in one room and a Nativity in another, and the walls and doors festooned with cards seems perfectly normal. Then, when these things are all put away, it seems like a deprivation. But really, we are storing away our Christmas spirit so that we can revive it at the start of December less than 11 months away now.

Wednesday brought swimming for the girls and coat shopping for me; I popped into Debenhams to see if I could try on a couple of coats, but the Worthing branch is relatively small, so I ordered two coats online instead.

On our way to Splashpoint TMO did say "at least I don't have shoes in my holes", which both I and TE picked her up on. Like the scene in Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka - scratch that: rewind and reverse it.

Thursday, which was supposed to be my day of return to work, saw me struck down with a cold. I think I've gone through about three loo rolls blowing my nose over the last two days. Hopefully tomorrow will see an improvement.

My coats arrived and I picked them up. When I got them home and tried them on it was clear that the Craghoppers one was preferable, which was satisfying because it was the cheaper one. I'll need to return the other tomorrow.

So far I've managed to read comics and pages of my book, which is my de facto New Year's resolution. We'll need to see though whether that holds when I get back to work properly.

I also managed to sell my Microsoft Surface, after a bit of soul-searching... To be honest, I wasn't using it often enough to warrant keeping it, and in the spirit of the New Year and streamlining my life, I listed it on eBay.

I have been lusting after a new chromebook instead, but it wasn't really suitable. I need to be happy with what I've got, I think. My Tab and a bluetooth keyboard should be enough, usually.

Tuesday 18-01-02 I New Year's Recovery

The first day of the year consisted mostly of me slowly gathering my thoughts, a.k.a. trying to ward off the worst effects of the hangover. It truly was the day after the night before. At least now that the kids are older they don’t need entertaining nearly as much, and because they were also up until 3am with the grown-ups, they were nearly as docile as me.

We had croissants for breakfast and then I stumbled across an Adam Sandler film, Bedtime Stories, which was a bit of easy watching for the Hard of Thinking. It passed the time, but I didn’t really like the ending – in my opinion it was a bit overbaked.

In the afternoon we went for a walk along the beach with some friends and their dog. Dogs are a great excuse for getting some exercise but we’re not getting one, no matter how often the family plead with me to do so.

In the evening we watched Grandpa’s Great Escape, which was the by now traditional David Walliams Christmas treat. We had watched Ratburger on Sky, and I thought that Sky had done their usual trick of nabbing a terrestrial “jewel”, but it seems that the BBC got the best deal. While Ratburger was great, I think Grandpa’s Great Escape was amazing. It may have been implausible, but it really tugged at the heartstrings in a way that Ratburger just didn’t. Set in the 80s, it had a fantastical quality to start with, and it built on that. The whole cast were brilliant, I thought, and it had all of us in tears by the final act.

I managed to read a few pages of a book which the MiL’s partner has lent me, called Collusion, and also got through a couple of comics – I’ve started reading Surgeon X, which is set in a dystopian future where antibiotics don’t have the same effects as they do today. It’s quite dark, but no less enjoyable for that. My intention (New Year’s Resolution?) is to read more this year, and also document it, so this might figure more prominently in these entries this year…

TTFN.

Sunday 17-09-17 Weekend Taxi Driver

Before the weekend, a friend suggested I would be acting as a taxi driver for my family for the weekend. At the time, I laughed and shrugged it off, but now looking back, that feels like all I've done, for the weekend...

• At 9am yesterday morning, I took TY to gymnastics. I did run while she was vaulting and balancing on the beam, but it was a bit early.


• At 10am we drove home.


• At 1pm I drove TW into work, she needed to be there for a couple of hours.


• At 1:40pm I drove TMO to her friend's house, she was having a sleepover.


• At 3:10 pm I drove to pick TW up from work.


• At 6:20pm I drove TW to a party she was attending.

Today we were invited to rugby practice at Hove so:

• At 09:20 I drove to pick up TMO from her sleepover,


• At 09:30 I drove the family to Hove,


• At 12:20 I drove to B&Q in Shoreham,


• At 12:50 I drove to Maccy D's in Shoreham (my favourite drive of the weekend),


• At 13:40 I drove home.

I went and bought a bottle of wine and have been enjoying that for the last 90 minutes, so I won't be doing any more driving this weekend. Phew!

Sunday 17-08-06 Camping in Derbyshire

On the Thursday before last (27th July) we headed up to the Peak District with the kids, our trusty tent & our friends H & I. We had decided to see a different part of the country; normally we had down to Dorset, but we've kind of exhausted free & cheap days out there, so we decided to try somewhere new.

We hoped for good scenery and warm weather; one out of two wasn't bad. We stayed on a campsite outside Ashbourne (Callow Top) which was brilliant. The fields were well-kept, the facilities were clean, and the bars were reasonably-priced. There was an outdoor pool which kept the kids occupied when we weren't out and about, and if it had been down to them I'm sure we would have stayed on the campsite for the entire stay, and they would have stayed in the pool for the whole five days.

We got off to a bad start, in that I forgot to set the alarm for Thursday morning. TW had agreed with H&I that we would set off at 05:00, so I should have set the alarm for 04:30. Unfortunately I went to sleep before setting the alarm, and so we didn't wake up until ten to six. Still, we were on the road by 06:10, so that wasn't too bad. We were at the campsite by midday, and set up at a leisurely pace. We had a Tesco delivery booked for 3pm, and that raised a few eyebrows when it arrived, although quite a few of those were raised in appreciation.

On Friday morning we took a walk into Ashbourne and had a look around; it's quite a nice little town, although it seems to be swamped with heavy lorries. I was speaking to my Dad and he suggested that the drivers may be attempting to avoid the M5, but for whatever reason the number of large lorries certainly seemed disproportionate. We got back to the campsite, and then the rain set in. It rained for the rest of the day, while we tried to stay dry in H&I's trailer tent. The weather was a bit wearing; if someone had suggested we leave the tents where they were and we check into a Travelodge, I would have bitten their hand off. But we persevered, and the weather for the rest of the stay wasn't as bad. Unfortunately, though, because of the way we'd pitched the tent, there was a lot of water caught between the tent footprint and the groundsheet, to the extent that the tent seemed to be floating atop a lake, and water was coming up through the groundsheet and soaking the carpet. There was nothing we could do at that time, so we slept on it.

Saturday morning the weather was better, and the lake under the tent had dissipated, so things looked better. We moved the tent forward and removed the footprint to let it dry and give the remaining water a chance to soak away. We decided to actually visit a couple of peaks on that day (otherwise what would be the point of visiting the Peak District?) and so we drove to Mam Tor. We took a bit of a wrong turning and ended up driving through a beautiful, dramatic gorge - it was worth taking a wrong turning to see that, and TW at the time said that this was the sort of scenery she wanted to see in the Peak District. Mam Tor is a two-hour walk from Kinder Scout, which we were thinking about walking to, but it was already 1pm by the time we got to the top of Mam Tor, and I didn't fancy getting back at 5pm. In addition, we weren't properly prepared, I wasn't wearing proper walking boots (The Eldest had appropriated them) and we didn't have enough water and snacks to see us there and back. The views from Mam Tor were breathtaking enough though, so I don't feel that we missed out. Maybe next time...

Saturday evening everything was fine, except that H managed to slip down the step from her trailer tent into the tent, and she caused some ligament damage. H&I had to spend Saturday night in Derby A&E while we looked after their kids and had a barbecue. Saturday night the rain came down again, but we were fine overnight, and there wasn't any water ingress this time.

Sunday we visited the stepping stones at Ilam, which was quite the walk after the previous day's exercise. The stepping stones were the culmination of a lovely walk along the river, although I found it a bit unnerving having to cross them - but that was the only way around. After that walk, we headed back to the campsite for some lunch and then drove into Derby. The girls were silent for the 45 / 50 minute drive, and I think they were just worn out from the hike up to Mam Tor the previous day and the trek to the stepping stones - and back! We went to Go Outdoors first for a good look around - there's nothing like going to a camping store while you're camping, it's like camping². Then we hit Pizza Express, and that was when the girls perked up a bit. They probably just needed refuelling...

On Monday we stuck around the campsite, and in the evening we had fish and chips from Ashbourne. They were delicious. And then on Tuesday it was time to head home...

It was a good holiday, despite a few unfortunate events. H's ligament damage being the most inconvenient of those. The flooding of the tent was up there, and we managed to burn the clutch in our car on the way to Callow Top as well. I lost track of which day was which - always a good sign that I'm relaxed, and the campsite was brilliant. The scenery was memorable, and I'd recommend the area, it's lovely.

TTFN.

 

Saturday 17-07-15 Shopping In Brighton

TW woke up yesterday morning and didn't fancy going to Worthing Sevens, so she suggested a day out in Brighton. I responded that I'd rather stick pins in my eyes, but she checked with the girls and they were all up for it, so I could see my escape tunnel of opportunity slowly being walled up in front of me. Then she offered me a glimmer of hope; she said that of course I could stay at home, but she would expect me to tidy the house (no problems there) and put on a couple of loads of washing (simples) and cook dinner - whut!?! And then she extended the carrot - if I came to Brighton, I could sit in the pub and have a beer while they shopped. 

I was a Sure Thing. 

So, we hit the train station, TW got to flex her Friends And Family rail discount card, and we were on our way to Brighton. First stop: Primark! 

Yeah, well that ruined me basically. I did get a £2 t-shirt, which I have yet to try on, but I'm sure it will be lovely. Then we headed to Churchill Square and I diverted into the Prince of Wales and had my first pint. I only had enough for one pint there, so I migrated over to the Western Front at the other side of Churchill Square, via the ATM, for another. 

From there, it was a gentle walk back through the Laines to the station, via Dave's Comics, and a quick visit to M&S Simply Food yielded a couple of marked down sandwiches and a beer for the train journey home. 

It wasn't as stressful as I was expecting, but that's probably because I spent most of it in the pub. I did get to see the new Oneplus 5 as well, which made me think...

Sunday 17-07-09 Gardening

Yesterday, as a sort of penance for getting so drunk on Friday night, I gardened.

I don't like gardening very much, or at least I say I don't, but I was quietly pleased with my efforts.

Down the "side return" we have a bunch of weeds that I have allowed to flourish through inaction, and the most egregious of these were these reed-type weeds growing next to the house:

[caption id="attachment_699" align="alignnone" width="225"] Before[/caption]

 After mowing the lawn and strimming the edges of the garden I tackled this monstrosity, with the result that it now looks like this:

[caption id="attachment_701" align="alignnone" width="225"] After[/caption]

 I don't know what I'll do with this area but I'll try and keep it relatively clear, I think. It makes it easier to get down the side of the house, which we'll need to do because there are more weeds down there which need pulling...

 TTFN.

Saturday 17-04-08 Cud at The 100 Club (Friday 31st March

Last Friday I was up in London, settling into student accommodation at the LSE. I had bought a ticket to see Cud at The 100 Club, and TW & I had talked before about me staying overnight in London. This time I had researched the perfect accommodation, at the LSE near Euston station, for £36 per night (including breakfast) and I was going to make the most of it.

I had booked a half day at work, and I caught the train up to Victoria at just after 1pm. I had my Kindle for company in a mostly empty carriage, which suited me fine. I was a little worried that I had the wrong ticket, because I was on the Gatwick Express, but it was okay. I arrived in London just before 3pm, and decided to get the tube to Oxford Circus - then I could find the venue, and walk from there to the LSE. It was a lovely sunny day, and I was in a great mood. I found the club easily enough, it was actually on Oxford Road, east though, just before Tottenham Road. It’s a bit seedy and rundown there, I suppose, but Crossrail might rejuvenate the area in a few years. I walked to the halls, and checked in. I laid down for a bit but was too hyped up to really rest.

It got to 5pm and so I headed out, determined to make the most of my London visit. I hit a number of pubs and sampled the real ales. I had a pint in a pub, The Ship on Wardour Street and was reminded of the Underworld song Stagger, with the lyric “I saw you shopping in Europa on Wardour Street, not phoning back”. The beer was good too... After a couple of pints I thought it would be wise to eat something so I popped into Gourmet Burger Kitchen on Berners Street - it’s good to stick with what you know, sometimes…

Then it was time for the gig, so I wandered around the corner to the venue, showed my ticket and went downstairs into the hallowed 100 Club. It’s a nice venue, the pints were cheap, and the layout is more wide than it is deep, if that makes sense; there were seats at the side of the stage and there was no backstage area, so the musicians have to walk through the crowd to get on stage. Which is nice because it feels as if you’re close to the band(s) wherever you are in the venue.

The support band were a Surrey/Sussex combo called La Flamme, they had an energy about them, and some good songs, and they acted as a good warm-up for Cud. I’ve been quite impressed with their warm-up bands, especially Sheen who supported them at the Garage a couple of years ago. Anyway, La Flamme (pronounced “flame”) did their stuff, thanked Cud for inviting them, and then departed.

It was time for Cud. Cud are a great band live, and tonight they were performing all their singles. With a career stretching back to 1988/89, there were a few they had to get through! Cud gigs are a great thing, as far as I am concerned; a way to get together in a group and share a common appreciation of some good music. The rhythms are stirring, the tunes are memorable, and the lyrics are other-worldly on occasion. But it’s not really about reproducing the songs note for note; Carl delivers the vocals differently live, and really hams up the role of lead singer. Mike and Will take their turns in the spotlight as well, and it’s more a celebration than anything else. You recognise the opening notes of a song and suddenly you’re dancing, which can be a bit difficult in a sold-out venue when you’re all jammed together. But I managed it; probably the beers helped. I was standing at the back (which as I mentioned, wasn’t really far back) and I was behind some tall guys. I realised that people in front of them were shorter, so I pushed past them closer to the stage. I had a great view, I was dancing, and it was great.

After they finished, I was in no rush to leave, so I got another beer, and actually had a chat (more likely a drunken burble) with Will the bassist. I presume he is used to mumbled non sequiturs, but he seemed happy to chat, so that was good. I bought a tshirt, which I don’t normally do, but since the pints were under £4 each, I had a few spare pounds. Then I headed out into the night to see what London was about.

Actually, the area I was in, at the east end of Oxford Street, was closing down. One pub had stopped serving, and the pub I managed to get a drink in was about to close. So it was a quick pint of London Pride and then on. I was told that there was a late-night drinking establishment called Nordic, so I headed there. I bought a pint, but it wasn’t my thing so left pretty sharpish, and headed back to my room. And that was last Friday night, done and dusted. The only last bit of business was the breakfast the next morning, which was delicious. It was a full English, but served buffet-style, so if I'd thought it through, I could have had double helpigns. I didn't though, one plate full was enough to set me up for the day and the journey home.

TTFN.