where art collides

Selective hibernation, whereby an individual can decide to stay in bed all day because the snow outside is deep on the ground. This is very similar to a duvet day but quite different as a duvet day can happen at any time of year. Don’t think I’ve ever had a duvet day, at least not in living memory. Neither have I selectively hibernated.

Today is a cold winter’s day. The snow is deepish on the lawn. Honest folk will not stray far from their hearths. This begs the question in respect of the credentials of those (THG) converging upon churches across the land. Trudging icy pavements. We must show understanding and only treat them with suspicion during hours of darkness. 

There are footprints in the snow in the back garden. A cat or a fox. Tried spotting it on cctv playback but must have gone below the radar. Were I an experienced tracker I could surely identify the species but a) I’m not and b) it would involve an expedition beyond the back door and I am still in my pyjamas.

One of the use cases for my car is driving across glaciers. Today is a perfect opportunity to simulate this. I have no real need to venture forth but it would seem daft to not take advantage of the poor conditions. This is incompatible with selective hibernation and a decision has already been taken not to spend the day in bed. Wouldn’t go down particularly well anyway 🙂

I am going to light the fire. Fortunately I purchased some kindling from a local wood shop on my way home from Newark yesterday. This means I don’t have to head to the bottom of the garden to chop up some more old fence. What foresight! The kindling is still in the boot of the car but I’ll need to head that way anyway for the purpose of log gathering. Plus I’d like to take a pic of the snow covered car.

I love it when it snows.

…

Today will start with a cooked breakfast. No mushrooms as I used the last up yesterday in the chicken stir fry and no egg. Didn’t fancy an egg this morning. Beans instead. I tend not to mix egg and beans. Dunno. Incompatible taste maybs? Definitely fried bread.

…

By ten forty five the snow has started to melt. It is our lot, here in the tropic of Lincoln. We yearn for picture postcard winters with plenty of opportunities to get the sledge out of the garage and head for the hill.

In reality most of us don’t have a sledge. Whenever it snows the shops sell out of them in nanoseconds and we have to improvise with plastic bags or tin tea trays. Moreover the ten seconds or less thrill of hurtling down the slope at South Common is more than countered by the ten minute trudge back up the hill, probably whilst carrying a kid.  I think we do have a sledge somewhere. Probably bought one summer in a huge and unusual flush of  foresight 🙂

One pleasing feature of the snow this morning is that it is still on the roof, especially the kitchen roof. We had it retiled and insulated last summer and the investment is now starting to pay off.

I am in the shed which, being well insulated, will quickly come up to operational temperature. My job this morning is to sort out the trefbash playlist (five tickets left if you are still dithering). We will as usual have @jeffrey Brown and his band getting us up on the dance floor but the stint before food is going to be the playlist. It’s my party and I’ll play what I want to 🙂

I am taking a relaxed stance to the day. It’s a bit yukky out and there is no rush for anything so the rosti potato mix is prepped and ready to go on the pan but there is no hurry. The only deadline I have is Chris the cooker repair man coming at ten thirty to replace the burner in the right hand oven. Breakfast needs to be over well before then obvs. The time right now is eight thirty four.

Home made rosti potatoes are so much better than the frozen hash browns crap they dish out in hotels. Not particularly healthy but a nice treat from time to time. You have to remember to squeeze the excess water out of the grated spuds otherwise they don’t fry properly.

The house is warm. This is good. Amazing the effect burning wodges of ten pound notes has. Actually I’m not really sure how much it costs to heat the place. We’ve been paying the energy company too much and are about to get a large refund. Not even sure who we use! THG tells me they want to install a smart meter. I assume I am ok with this.

Upstairs the bath is running. THG junior is visiting with boyf George. Unusual time of day to have a bath but there is no law against it. I quite like a soak in the bath from time to time. She obviously gets it from me.

THGJ and I are off on a dad and daughter trip at the end of January. The last of the series of dad and kid adventures in which one offspring gets to travel with daddy for two weeks or more. I’m not going to go around again. With four kids it gets expensive plus I don’t like leaving THG on her own. It was fine when some of them lived at home but now our house is kid free, for much of the year.

Anyway let’s get Christmas out of the way before starting to talk about trips.

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Chris the cooker man is here and approves of my new leather jacket 🙂

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It is a Saturday morning. I don’t particularly have a routine on a Saturday morning. In fact I don’t have a routine on any morning. Was pondering whether this is a good thing. Needs mulling over. On the one hand it is good to not be on a treadmill. On the other hand I need to make sure life doesn’t just drift. I do some gainful work but this is not full time and could fit other stuff in.

There are banging sounds coming from the kitchen. Our Chris getting on with the job.

Dear Santa

Not sure when I last wrote to you, soz. May have been during an earlier shorts wearing phase. Primary school probs. Funny how what goes around comes around innit.

I’ve always been a believer even if I didn’t write. The world is full of too many bad things and life is too short to not believe. Believing in you somehow seems to make things better. It means anything is possible. Simple choice really. 

I think I’ve been good all year. I generally try to be good. Again it is simple. Why be a knobhead, pardon the French, when you can be nice to people. This is something I’ve learnt over the years, particularly as the grey hairs have moved in. Others will be the judges. You in particular, Santa.

Not sure what the grey hairs are about. I’ve always been a kid. Then in my mid forties I needed varifocal lenses in my glasses. That was the first indication that things were starting to change. Gradually since then bits have metaphorically dropped off and lately I’ve developed the knack of turning on the sound effects when I get up out of a low chair. So I’m not running around with the same energy as that kid who wrote you letters all those years ago.

The issue with being good all year is that I don’t really need anything for Christmas that I would need to be good to earn. Problem is if I want something I just buy it and if I really need something it is there the next day or sooner. So any letter I write you is not going to have a list of presents I would like in my stocking on the big day.

I remember one year The Head Gardener and I had said that we wouldn’t buy each other a present. When it came to the kids opening their presents there turned out to also be one there for me, from THG herself. Boy did I feel bad. 

Not as bad as the year when she asked for the Who Wants to be a Millionaire board game. I left it until Christmas Eve to go shopping and despite trying eight different shops all I could find was Who Wants to be a Millionaire Junior. So I bought that and loads of other things to go with it. It was the most heart wrenching time in our married lives to see the disappointment on her face. I had let down the one I love the most. I have never since left Christmas shopping until the last minute. And I only have to buy for Anne (THG) and my sisters.

We have, as you know, four offspring. They are now all adults but I daresay still write to you. I can vouch that they too have been good for the whole of 2023 afaik and worthy of your favourable attention. It will be a lot easier on the Davies family purse if you could furnish as many of the requested presents as possible. No pressure obvs. Whatever you think appropriate considering your already not inconsiderable workload. If it makes it easier I can make sure they all get their letters in early enough for future years.

It’s about proportionality innit. There have, I know, been occasions in the past where the list of requests has extended to several pages. Just do what you think is right, if for no other reason than to save us from having too many bags of packaging to shove in our recycle bins. In years past it has not been possible to get all the cardboard into the two brown bins. 

This is partly because we have so many empty bottles and cans to dispose of at this time of year. It is a matter of personal pride on my part to hear the sound of bottles being tipped from a smaller bin into the larger one outside. V satisfying. You will have been v impressed to see the number of bags filled with bottles from my Christmas party, trefbash, especially considering that most of them are Pol Roger champagne. My fave. I would invite you if I thought you had time to come. Wrong time of year for you innit.

There is one question that you might usefully answer and that concerns your favourite tipple. As you know I leave a glass of brandy and a mince pie out for you on Christmas Eve. However in the interest of keeping everyone happy if there is an alternative you would rather have then do let me know. 

Let’s keep it sensible. No glasses of fifty year old port for example but if you would prefer a Baileys, say or a reasonably priced whisky then just ask. As long as I have it in it is yours. Lemme know if you want ice although this may not necessarily be practical as it might melt before you get to ours. You know the score. The mince pie is non negotiable.

So now to the crux of the matter. I can’t really think of anything I want for Christmas so hows about this. I’d like some of the usual things such as world peace, long life and happiness for everyone. Politicians who are not self serving and don’t lie to us and perhaps a General Election in the spring.  Lower mortgage interest rates and energy bills. No homelessness.   Snooker on the telly all year round (that one is particularly for THG). I’d also like continuous rolling repeats of Dad’s Army and any other good TV shows from the past. There’s never anything I want to watch on the box. On free to air obvs. No global warming. Now I think about it I could also do with some logs bringing in from the bag in the front garden and also last night I slipped on the icy footpath near the shed and hurt my shoulder. This is being a bit of a nuisance right now so that could do with fixing. Make the pain go away Santa bebe. This leads on to me asking that man flu be officially recognised as an ailment. 

There we go. A simple enough list. Quite short really. One paragraph. A man of your capabilities should have no trouble with sorting. Those elves need driving. Don’t give them a chance to slack off. Think of it as Amazon on steroids.

Anyway thanks in advance.

Your ever optimistic fan.

Tref

PS don’t forget to let me know. Brandy or whisky? You choose.

This morning the car is, I note, covered in frost and will require some attention before I drive it later. The back garden too is frosty and most picturesque. Interesting how our attitudes towards frost differ. Pretty back garden, pain in the arse car.

I do have the facility to remote start and defrost the car which I will do this morning. Never done it before. I have to head out to pick up my trefbash outfit and also nip down to Coops’ garage to put air in my tyres. Probs pick up some breakfast stuff in Fosters en route.

The walk to the shed will be lethal. I slipped on the path last night and bashed my shoulder which is now giving me gyp. Ah well. The safer route is on the grass. The deck in front of the shed is also v slippery.

No complaints here though, well apart from the shoulder. I like the cold weather. Today I will light the fire as we have Adie and Zara swinging by this evening to consume mallard. Nowt quite like a crackling log fire, flames dancing in the grate. Mesmerising.

Got off the train in Lincoln. Bloody freezing. Fortunately THG was there in a snap to whisk me home. The occasional snowflake tried in vain to disrupt our journey up the hill. Pathetic 🙂

The heating is on and a hot cup of tea adds additional warmth. 

I am wrestling with choice of dinner tonight. On the one hand there is Charlie Bigham whose madras/jalfrezi is v good but in the red corner there is a beef curry fried rice. I would either have to go and collect the latter or order a delivery. Collection doesn’t feel attractive and a delivery will come with uncertain timing.

A trip to Waitrose is required to mull this one over. Peruse the ready meal shelves. Not cooking owt from scratch. Not after a full-on few days in the metropolis. The great centre of Empire that was London, Prime Meridian, jellied eels. That kind of stuff.

There is something of a permanent feel to the Prime Meridian. Yes someone could come along in the future and decide they don’t like it and either move it or demote its significance. Don’t think it will happen though. I like having it in Greenwich. I’d guess that very few people give it any thought. Neither do I really.

…

Just had some stale water. Yuk. The glass had been sat on my desk since I left for London on Monday. I sense that since the sun went over the yardarm a good hour ago it would be perfectly acceptable to cleanse my palate with some tonic water with the merest splash of gin.

The left hand curtain in the bedroom has been opened. This has not had much effect on the in-room light levels. Outside is wet and ‘orrible and my clothing options for this afternoon’s trip to London have been reassessed. The focus is on comfort and warmth. “What the sensibly dressed Tref is wearing this season”. Hawaiian shirts are but a distant memory.

Tis a Monday, as you may know. A nondescript day in the calendar. When has ‘the last Monday in November’ ever had any significance’. Just looked it up. Nothing of any import has happened on this day in history as far as I can see. Ok, a few births, a few deaths but no peace treaty, no discovery of America etc.

This is probably because at this time of year everyone is focussed on finishing off business and deciding on what to wear for the Christmas party/parties. There is also a gradual build up in intensity of Christmas present sorting. I refrained from using the word ‘buying’ there because I’m a great believer in people making presents rather than handing over hard cash for some item that will sit in a drawer for years and then disposed of on the quiet when you think nobody will notice.

Not sure this philosophy has been universally adopted by the rest of the family. None of the kids seem to have included any items in their letters to Santa that are easily made at home. ‘Please can I have a scarf?’. In fairness they are all now adults and able to knit their own scarves so perhaps that is what is happening.

Also I tend not to see what they’ve put on their lists to Santa so I can’t be totally sure everything on it needs purchasing/made in Santa’s workshop. 

I was once out and about doing some Christmas shopping, or trying to do and found myself in the Edinburgh Woollen Mill store in the Bailgate. They had a great deal on cashmere jumpers that I thought would be perfect for my mam. I rang dad to discuss this only to discover that mam already had every colour cashmere jumper that the shop had to offer! Every chest of drawers and wardrobe in their five bedroomed house was full of mam’s clothes!

I guess I will have to wait until the day to find out what Santa got the kids. My job is largely to leave the carrot, mince pie and brandy out next to the fireplace. Before hitting the hay I will consume the latter two and put the carrot in the pan with the rest of them ready for the next day.

Gotta go. Outfits to choose…

Hunstanton was underwhelming. Empty pay and display car parks and caravan sites keeping you at arms length from tide full out muddy beach. I came and went.

Snettisham Beach was a big improvement. Drove down the single track, past the caravan park and slotted into the one remaining parking spot of four, right on the beach. The tide, as you know, was out and the dirty wet sand was being patrolled by oyster catchers and other long billed birds out for a feed. Bitterly cold wind made it feel sub zero.

Picked up some walkers and took a car load to the Feathers in search of a TV showing the Man City v Liverpool game. THG watched it on my phone whilst Chris Weston and I each had a pint of Guinness.

We were on one of our camping weekends away with the gang. Although we did a weekend glamping in the summer nobody camps under canvas any more especially in November on the East Coast. The party had three motorhomes and three “luxury” pods between the twelve of us. The pods were quite basic but were warm which I guess is the main requirement on a weekend the thermometer plunged to 1 degree Centigrade.

There are a couple of themes that permeate these outdoor weekends away. One is longish walks in the countryside and the other is the consumption of a significant quantity of food and drink towards the end of each afternoon. On this occasion several of the party for various age related reasons excused themselves from the walks.

This turned out serendipitous for when, after one hour forty minutes of bracing East Anglian sea air, the walkers hit the beach,  a number of them concluded that the path of wisdom lay in travelling back to base in the cars that had arrived for a rendezvous at the Snettisham Beach Cafe.

Their collective decision was helped by the fact that not only was the cafe closed but every similar joint for miles around had also unsurprisingly decided to shut for the winter. This left only the Snettisham Beach Pet Shop open providing essential supplies to the canine lovers of the area. The woman in the petshop, where I had called in to see if there were any caffs at all open, described herself as Billy Nomates. It’s a lonely game selling dog food at a remote beach in Norfolk in the winter.

That is the point at which we made it to the Feathers. We also went there that evening having booked a table for twelve at seven pm. This proved to be a mistake. The food was pretty average and a number of us suffered from stomach ailments during the night. We shall not return.

So after an excellent stopover for Sunday lunch with Alistair Ward  and Erica Ward we are now home, tired but happy. The heating is gradually moving the needle on the house thermostat from nine and a half degrees when we got in to the regulation twenty one degrees and the hot water is on for me to have a bath a bit later on.

A busy week in London lies ahead potentially involving an element of radio silence. It isn’t all work though. On Monday early doors I have a meeting at the Phoenix Arts Club to nail the menu for trefbash. Catch ya later…

PS message me if you want to come along to the Phoenix. 6pm meet.

The title of this post is ‘fewer people having expensive hairdos’. This was part of a news item as THG brought the tea upstairs this morning. We both heard it and laughed out loud. She is off to the hairdressers this morning. The cost of a hairdo can be measured by how long it takes and I’ve been told not to expect her back too quickly! She deserves every minute 🙂

Keto diet is now on pause for a few days. Quite a few really as the party season comes thundering down the track. This weekend’s camping fare will be hearty. Dress code for Saturday night is ‘Christmas jumper’ which I don’t possess. I’m not really into Christmas jumpers not the least because they are usually cheapo garments thrown together at minimal cost. You are permitted to call me a miserable git.

Right now I’m sat in the snug sinking a cup of tea. Sipping really. Once this ritual is over, cracking needs to be got. Trips to three different shops are on the list for weekend provisions and I need to get packing. Winter gear. The temperature is set to drop today which is great timing.

I don’t mind cold weather especially since we got the houser double glazed. It’s made a big difference to the comfort levels. Although most of you reading this probably expect double or even triple glazing, our house was built in nineteen thirty nine when they had never heard of it. 

The house had a coal cellar, downstairs loo and a pantry all next to each other. We never used the coal cellar as such and it wasn’t even a cellar. It was a pantry sized room into which coal could be tipped from the outside. All three rooms have gone, sacrificed to kitchen expansion and general improvements to the property. The snug has a bricked up fireplace leaving the front room with the one remaining working hearth. Something which is only used when we have visitors 🙂

Because we are only off for one night you would think our baggage would be minimal. This is not the case. We have room in the car for a kitchen sink so we take that with us. The focus for the weekend is warmth. A double thickness duvet with a fleece lined woollen blanket that @Sue bought me from the Tintern Abbey shop and which is v warm provides our night time insulation. My backdoor shoes make it easy to nip to the loo (hedge) in the middle of the night.

More in due course, maybe.

Up and at it earlier today as I have a nine o’clock call. It’s the way to do it. Don’t really like starts any earlier than that although they do happen from time to time. Mine is not a corporate world where people arrange dawn til dusk meetings. Mind you dusk is quite early at this time of year.

While I remember happy Thanksgiving to all my Americun frens. I visited Plimoth and the Mayflower last year as well as Provincetown. Bought an interesting book called Mourt’s Relations or simlar. All about the early settlers. Worth a read if you ain’t already done so. Something to keep you occupied whilst mom or dad cooks the turkey. Remind you of how it all began.

We stayed in a very nice B&B on top of a hill in Provincetown. Great views. Weather was appalling but that didn’t stop us enjoying ourselves. The track up to the guest house had a thick branch sticking out that I didn’t see and which I hit. Put a bit of a dent in the car. The guy at the rental company didn’t seem to care too much about it when I returned the car. Maybe he didn’t notice…

The B&B looked down on the beach that the Mayflower pilgrims first landed on. All built up with hotels and restaurants now. Outrageous really. I’m sure I mentioned this to you at the time. Never mind. 

Packing today for tomorrow we go camping in Norfolk. Heated “pod” but we are taking a second heater along just in case. I’m sure it will be v cosy innit! I have to dig out my Christmas jumper apaz. Still November and a bit early I know but that is the dress code for Saturday night. I don’t have a “Christmas” jumper per se but I do have a thick woollen job that looks Christmasish. It’ll do.

…

An executive decision has been made. The map wall is coming down to be replaced by posters. I have more posters than wall and the maps have served their time.

…

Dropped by Waitrose to buy a pint of milk. Bought a two pinter as a pint was £1.25 and two  were £1.65. Something like that. Goodness me milk has shot up in price. The point here is not that I went to Waitrose or bought some milk but that when I came to pay I did not have my phone on my person. Hmm must have left it in the car I thought.

Back at the car the phone was not there either so I retraced my steps and there it was in the middle of the road about twenty yards away. No harm done but I got lucky methinks. Must have had a few cars pass it by in the ten minutes I was away.

It had been my intention to partake of a cup of coffee whilst in the store but the queue at the caff was enormous. It always seems to be thus nowadays.

I shall return to the supermarket later as THG has instructed me via WhatsApp to buy in provisions for the weekend.

…

Good sesh in the pool although there were a couple of v slow geezers in my lane. They didn’t stay the pace, so to speak and after a while I had the lane to myself.

Then towards the end a woman got in and started swimming anti-clockwise. Inevitably we nearly crashed. Having educated her on clockwise all was well and she was most apologetic!

Unusually a late start this morning without THG being around to prompt me to get up. Mind you she is quite often in the land of nod when I get up if it’s one of my early risers. A keto friendly breakfast cooked and a cup of tea slurped. No sound effects.

Watched the imps last night but switched off before the end as it was a stale nil nil. They scored the winner just before the end. Typical eh? Good oh though 🙂

It is nine thirty am and I am still in my pyjamas wtf!!! When you work from home this doesn’t particularly matter I suppose. I remember years ago when I worked for Mitel I had a conference call which I decided to take from the leisure club I was a member of at the time. There I was sat by the pool in my swimming trunks. For some reason those in Canada decided to postpone the call because there was something wrong with the audio at my end 🙂.

Registrations for trefbash continue to rise. Everything is now in place including the finishing touches being made to my outfit. You will have to wait to see it.

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The leaves are back on the lawn. It was foretold. Will have to see if I can be bothered to get the blower out this afternoon.

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It was ten o’clock by the time I got to the shed this morning. Don’t have anything particularly pressing today so there was no particular urgency. However it does show how easy it would be to be on a slippery slope if there was nothing ahead in your day to get you motivated.

From a work perspective it is mostly about getting next year’s plans sorted and I am waiting on inputs for this.

…

I have switched on daytime tv. Politics Live on BBC2. This is not good. It is not good that I’ve switched on the telly, albeit on iplayer, but also not good that I’m watching a programme on politics. Marginally better than some inane quiz or cookery programme. etc.

Sat in the kitchen cooking breakfast and waiting patiently to buy tickets for the Glastonbury music festival. Happens in June every year apaz with an occasional year off. I have seen it on the telly before now.

Am in two minds about going really but THG has indicated her willingness to support the venture and so an attempt will be made to buy tix when sales open. Apparently they are hard to get.

…

Now waiting in the queue to get on the booking site. Doesn’t bode well but at least I will have tried. I much prefer a scenario where you can dangle a credit card and buy a premium ticket that doesn’t involve queuing but I guess that is not Glastonbury.

I’ve always said I don’t mind going to a small festival that is easy to get to and not far from the accommodation. The Hay on Wye Literary Festival for example. We are booked into Kilverts pub for the weekend and the bus is only a short stroll away.

THoWLF itself is full of people a bit up their own backsides. The sort whose hands shoot up at the end to ask a pretentious question that maybe isn’t even a question but it designed to let others know they are very familiar with the differences between first and second translations of Beowulf or some similar knobbish subject.

None of that matters really. There is a goodish restaurant on site where me and Wildthing spent three hours having lunch this year and loads of pubs in town. Plus our v good friends @Rhys & @Eirian go together with @Ellen and @Carys and we have a good time. I’m going to join the “friends” this year to make sure I get early access to tickets for the Beowulf reading. There might be music on in the evenings. Certainly is in the pubs.

Eighteen mins now. Don’t worry I have two windows open on my macbook. As the countdown approaches zero I look to the side, in eager anticipation, natch.

Funnily enough the Glasto tickets for trefbash have not yet sold out. Woodstock have. There is a scenario whereby there will still be glasto tix left when the event capacity is reached which ain’t far off now with two and a half weeks to go.

The irony of all this is although Woodstock is a v famous festival it isn’t something I’d want to go to now, unless there was glamping or a luxury hotel onsite which clearly there wasn’t for the original. Doesn’t take place anymore anyway.

We are off to a festival next year already. Forest Live 2024 to see Nile Rodgers and Sting which we are v happy with. It is nearby and the walk from the campervan won’t be too far, one expects.

Busy morning ahead whatever happens with Glasto. @Max Wrenn delivered some wild mallard last night from yesterday’s shoot in Burton. I need to sort them out. Once you get going it isn’t too bad although feathers do tend to get everywhere. Gonna watch a vid first just to make sure I get it right.

Thirty eight minutes in. I do have other things I could be getting on with, like having a shower and getting dressed, but hey…

We are off “camping” in Norfolk with the gang next weekend. All go innit! We have a heated “pod” but I’m taking an extra heater along for good measure. Not going in a campervan. Too cold at this time of year. Ours are mostly now tucked away for the winter although we do have one out on hire this weekend for a photoshoot. Thassit then until April. We do have a programme of maintenance over the winter.

Noises coming from the kitchen. THG is busy. Always busy, fair play.

In other news Bitcoin is almost at £30k. I watch the price with mild self interest having not paid very much for mine years and years ago. The price is up 10k this year though 20k or so down on the peak. It’s almost like watching the South Sea Bubble in action, or Railway Mania, or the tulip explosion or whatever that one was called. People never learn. No point in selling mine. Might as well wait until it hits a million.

Blimmin ‘eck I’m nearly an hour into the queue. Can’t be that much longer before it sells out and the unsuccessful majority get put out of our collective miseries. Reminds me of the time I queued online for about three hours to buy Hannah and her mates tickets to see Adele at Wembley Stadium. Got them in the end. In the mosh pit, if you can call the standing area that covers practically the entire pitch that.

We all went to see Ed Sheeran at Wembley last year. Wouldn’t bother again. We were sat on the back row and he was miles away. Did manage to get in and out of the carpark quickly though which was a result.

Thassit SOLD OUT. Just over an hour. You can still get tix for trefbash if you want to come but not for much longer as that will also sell out.

Dull. Dull, dull, dull, dull, dull. Five more dulls roll off the tongue. Talking weather here. It is dull, as I said. Even without my specs I can see it is thus.

On the wireless they are discussing public finances. Dull, dull, dull, dull, dull. Inheritance tax! Dead dull.

To brighten things up I’ve started researching flights to Australia. Never been. 2025. This will be a complex trip. Whilst we are on that side of the world we need to consider routes home. Via Hawaii for example. 

Downstairs at breakfast the kitchen is brightly lit. The window to the back garden is covered in raindrops suggesting earlier precipitation. Outside, the wind agitates branches of trees. It is one of those days where if you can find things to do indoors then that would be an appropriate use of time.

The house runner has set off for the park leaving me waiting in for Chris the cooker man who informs us that he has sourced the one remaining part required to effect his repair. I don’t have an eta for Chris other than ‘Saturday morning’. Could message him I suppose. The tea brews.

I don’t dislike this weather. We are off out to the cathedral ce soir so will need to dress up warmly. A conference featuring Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and The Lark Ascending, not by Vivaldi obvs. I am hopeful that the acoustics will be more suited to this than the Queen by Candlelight gig which we left at the interval because it was so bad. In some respect this is the cathedral’s last chance when it comes to gigs.

When I sit in the TV room I am normally facing inwards but this morning have elected to face looking out of the window, that I may see the coming of Chris. I will upon his arrival leap up to open the front door. In facing this way it is observed that our evergreen laurel and holly front hedge contrasts noticeably with the trees across the road exhibiting autumnal colours. 

The road is fairly quiet. It is still only nine o’clock.

I suppose I could get up and do something. My garage work bench constantly needs tidying. Like painting the Forth Bridge. I am not the tidiest of individuals as THG will frustratedly attest. I shall read a book: History of Greece by JB Bury. Picked it up for four quid in a second hand shop somewhere and it has been sitting on a shelf for a few months.

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Chris is here. I’m sat in the kitchen whilst he fiddles about  inside the cooker. Where else can you get live coverage of a cooker repair man in action. Got to get the job done right. “Corroded screw, cracked ceramic” stuff like that. Needs a new burner as all the screws are corroded apaz. Typical innit. Ah well it is a good cooker and does need sorting.

Afterwards strolled down to Tesco. I very rarely go to Tesco. It is far too big and crowded. On this occasion I needed some readies and a bottle of Baileys. Not for me, the Baileys although I will drink it as part of a baby Guinness. Once in a blue moon. I do sometimes fill up at the Tesco petrol station fwiw. Often there is a queue though.

This afternoon we are taking one of our vans for winter storage. They get tucked up in the dry during the worst excesses of the weather. Coops is driving the van and I am in the auxiliary support vehicle, ie the Defender. Afterwards we are heading to the Club Sporting de Lincoln, ie the rugby club.  This is no longer in Lincoln but on the outskirts of Nettleham. A three mile walk from our house should I choose shanks’ pony.

The word postponed is derived from the Latin, ‘post’ or after and ‘ponere’ which means to place. I had to look it up as I knew ‘post’ but not ‘poned’, so to speak. I did two terms of Latin at school and then dumped it. It isn’t without its uses but has dropped down the rankings in terms of subjects worth studying at school. Amo, amas amat.

Now you may ask yourself why I am discussing the word postponed and this would be a very good question. Well, perhaps not an unreasonable question. It doesn’t stand out as a particularly good example of the inquisitive genre. Reality is I have no idea. THG mentioned that something had been postponed and I just wondered where the word came from and wrote it down for later investigation. 

I defy anyone to say they had not been in the same situation themselves at some stage in their adult life. We won’t count childhood because it is normal for kids to question things. All part of the learning process. Never two late to learn 🙂

I often write things down. Usually using the pen on my phone. Quick scribble. Just things I’ve observed perhaps. 

This morning as I rose from the deepest of slumbers and moseyed onto the landing I became aware of a wonderful golden light filling the back garden. A reflection perhaps of the gold and bronze colours painted now on the beech hedge out the back. It was sufficiently striking for me to get the phone out and make a note. As the day moved on the golden glow was lost and we now just have the usual November wanlight, albeit under a blue sky.

It is Friday, you may have noticed. The morning has flown by and I am now easing into Saturday and Sunday. In the shed, obvs, for the moment.

Dunno about you but I have become extremely adept at filtering out the news on the wireless. We have it on at bedtime and when we wake up. I rarely hear any of it. I am particularly good at not hearing the likes of Jacob Rees Moggy who annoys the pants off me. Dunno why his ilk gets coverage. Only because they whinge about bias if they don’t. I don’t watch the news on the telly.

If there was any good news that would be ok. In fact I probably do hear the good news. Sbeen a while though.

This morning we have Chris, the cooker repair man coming to sort out the right hand oven. Our cooker is knocking on a bit. Must be in its twenties. Apparently that is old for a cooker nowadays. White goods are getting to be like mobile phones. Designed only to last a few years and then replaced. Before we know it we will be getting offered subscriptions with built in cooker upgrades and gas/electricity included. Ignore ‘em folks. Much cheaper to buy your cooker outright. Our cooker is black btw, not white.

Glamping and bus tickets now sold out for trefbash. You will now need to make your own transport and accommodation arrangements. Number nineteen bus brings you to the door of the venue. Also trust me you wouldn’t have wanted to kip in a bell tent in Central London in December anyway even if phone charging points were included. 

Mind you now that Cruella Braverman has been sacked it would be perfectly safe. The cops aren’t going to move you on.  Free food and champagne provided with your ticket so you aren’t going to waste away. Too late now anyway. As I said, all glamping and bus tickets sold out. One Woodstock ticket left and a few Glasto. Only 3 weeks today until the bash.

In the meantime I am still waiting for Chris to let me know what time he is coming. I’m booked into a stretch and flex class at ten thirty and ideally don’t want to clash with that. Cooker needs fixing. How on earth do folk manage without two ovens!!!

We would have to implement plan B at Christmas and get a takeaway curry on the big day. This has been done before. We did have to fetch the curry the night before and reheat on the day. This will obvs involve an oven but one would be fine. 

The curry was fine as an experiment but we reverted to a roast in subsequent years. Beef not turkey. Turkey is too bland and vastly overrated. Anyway it’s far too early to discuss the merits of different menu choices at Christmas. Save that for the week before.

In the meantime the annual call for who wants what for Christmas has gone out and suggestions have been trickling in. I always ask for the same thing every year. Nothing purchased. Something created by the donor. If push comes to a shove a nice pair of socks. If I want something I’ve probably already bought it. Within reason. Being sensible like.

I would quite like a boat but there is an old saying if it floats or flies you’re better off renting it. If we had a decent coastline that would change things. We decided not to keep our house in the Isle of Man as we wouldn’t use it enough but if we had that would be a good time to buy a boat. Just a little day boat for popping out on a nice day. Bit of basking shark spotting. Stuff like that. Not an ocean going job.

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Green light means go. 

Just in case you didn’t know.

Made that up as we were sat at the lights on the way back from the gym just now. Good innit. Far friendlier than red light spells danger.

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Cookerman Chris is here. There is no feedback as yet concerning progress but I feel he is better left to it. I know bugger all about fixing cookers. THG is in the house ready to provide support with cups of tea etc.

Actually I could probs learn to be a cooker repair man. However why bother when we can just give Chris a bell.