where art collides

Off to the pool again this morning (see first vid below). It was chucking it down and the traffic was terrible. You wonder why the traffic is worse when it is raining. I don’t see many people walking to work when it isn’t raining so where do they come from? I guess they might be parents saving little Johnny from getting wet at the bus stop.

The pool temperature was back to normal this morning. Yesterday it was far too warm. Something had gone wrong somewhere. You could almost make a cup of tea using it.

Back at the ranch we are getting ready to head off to Venezia tomorrow. Check-in completed, gadget chargers & adapters packed etc etc. Exciting. It is particularly exciting this time because Anne is coming and she is noticeable excited 🙂 We are doing everything comfort – 1st class train to London, business class tickets on BA, nice hotel (L’Orologio) with deluxe rooms facing the Grand Canal. Why not eh?

I dropped Tom off at Newark Northgate this morning and Joe has just arrived back from Charlotte’s in Cumbria. The house is approaching normality. When we get back from our holiday Joe will have gone and Hannah will only have another day at home before she shoots off back to Durham.

Last night we killed the fatted calf for Tom’s farewell meal. Tonight we wring the neck of a four breasted chicken for effectively Joe’s last supper. We like to party:)

All is now calm and the rain has stopped…

Today’s been one for doing some admin. I hadn’t planned it that way but that’s how it largely turned out. Some of the admin involved booking travel. The odd flight, a couple of water taxis for our forthcoming Venice trip. I also booked Tom and I onto the Coast to Coast trip.

The coast to coast is going to need some serious training but we have 4 months in which to get into shape. I still haven’t found a pair of boots. We spent two hours today in GoOutdoors. Tom found the right pair for him but my feet, being seriously mismatched. I’m going to have to drive up to Richmond in Yorkshire to get some custom fitted ones. It’s worth getting it right.

We will be arriving in St Bees for the first night’s stay on Saturday 30th April and ending up at Robin Hood’s Bay on Thursday 12th. Presumably a couple of stone lighter.

None of this admin was boring stuff. No bank stuff or anything like that so it’s not been too bad. I also bought a large plastic box in which to store our various wetsuits. Anne told me to get the biggest I could find, so I did. When she say it the size came as a bit of a surprise but hey…

At the Coop I picked up some Euros so now we are all pretty much ready to go. Oh and a “sachet” of peppercorn sauce at Hannah’s request to accompany our steaks tonight. We are killing the fatted calf as Tom is heading back to the bright lights of the City and Radio One tomorrow.

Didn’t get any of the Anne’s Vans stuff done today but what can you do eh?

You’ve read the spiel now watch the video:

The fire is lit and a particularly fine guacamole has been prepared by my good self so I now have a few minutes to sit down before the chili con carne is dished up. The chili too is particularly fine. I cooked it yesterday and the flavours will have had a chance to develop nicely in the fridge.

We are back to three of us for dinner tonight. Tom is taking Hannah out for her Christmas present night out. They have a table booked at Lewis, Nige and Terry’s Lincoln Taphouse and Kitchen. Joe is being fed at Charlotte’s in the Lake district, presumably.

Today has been a getting things done day. After my usual swim I settled in front of the laptop and began the Anne’s Vans marketing campaign. Initially this has meant getting campervan Betty registered with Camperbug and then getting the Anne’s Vans Facebook page up. The website isn’t ready yet but we have a logo.

The logo has had a few hiccups. Firstly we left the apostrophe out of Anne’s Vans. It was Annes Vans. No good. Then it arrived with an apostrophe but upon reflection the apostrophe looked like a comma. Digging into this it looks like it’s an error in the font but Nick the developer is onto it.

I’ve taken a break from it for now but am planning to spend all day tomorrow and probably Thursday on the case. Friday we go to Venice.

In other news my new FatFace top came today. Got it for thirty quid in the sale. It’s an Irish themed job with the flag on the back. I’m wearing it now:)

Set the compass South this morning for Grantham. Boundary Mills to be precise, just off the A1. Boundary Mills is the home of discounted branded products hereabouts.  It tends to pitch at a certain age group which I happen to sit in.

I was accompanied by kids 2 and 4 and had no preconceived idea of what I might buy if anything. There was nothing there that grabbed my attention (gripped me by the lapels, looked me in the eye and said “buy me you stupid &^%$£ so and so, I’m a great bargain”).

Having systematically worked the menswear section more than once I slowly drifted towards the cafe when I came across a box of socks. £5 for 3 pairs of Pringles. I’ll ‘ave a bit of that I thought and before I knew it had four bundles in my hand. Including a pair of bamboo socks! I’ve had my sights on bamboo socks this Christmas but none were forthcoming in the stocking, so to speak.

The next minute along came Hannah with, believe it or not, some bamboo socks. She led me to a sock section that had a wider choice of bamboo product than I’d ever seen before in my life – not difficult seeing as I’d never actually seen any before. I fetched a basket with wheels and a long handle and the kids and I proceeded to fill it with socks. They were all discounted and there was a further 10% to be taken off at the till. Woohoo.

I did suspect that I’d gone over the top somewhat but I’d been talking about a sock refresh and here was the perfect opportunity, bamboo and all!

Back home we emptied the carrier bag onto a bed and counted 45 pairs in all. They weren’t all for me obvs but a suitably large chunk of them were.

The featured image in this post is of said socks and the video is one I did at the Friendly Farmer where we stopped en route home. I had a chicken and bacon salad which was ok.

Ciao bebes.

This morning we set off for Anderby Creek. Not been there before and it took the sat nav to get us there but we eventually arrived at the little car park where the others were waiting for us to go for a walk along the beach. The weather was not particularly favourable but the rain promised to hold off just for our walk.

Anderby Creek is primarily a caravan park with a caff/pub and a row of windswept houses facing the sea. There is nothing else there other than miles and miles of beach heading beyond Skegness in the South and Mablethorpe in the North. This feels almost like a travel guide!

We walked for half an hour in a Northerly direction, turned around and walked back, into the teeth of a gale it must be said. Probably perfectly normal weather for Anderby Creek. Coops, Pieman and his son Fin stripped off and went for a very short dip. I didn’t.

Back at the car park we picked up our picnics and huddled in a shelter on the path from the beach. We were comfy enough. If you have the right gear everything is ok.

Arriving back in Lincoln we stopped by the Carlton Centre to buy some essentials: a phone holder for the car, some plastic storage units for the Hornby trains rolling stock, a Boots cold remedy for my sore froat (so that Anne can get a decent night sleep without being woken up by my coughing) and some groceries from Lidl.

I also called in to Go Outdoors to check out the boot action and ask if a particular size Scarpa SL Activ boot could be transferred from their Thurrock branch – it seems to be the only store with my size in stock. The conclusion was that I would call back in the week or when I get back from the Isle of Man for a session with “Chris”, their ex army expert on walking boots. Impressed that I can get such consultancy from them.

At home I cut some cardboard up as dividers for the rolling stock and tidied the whole lot away in the loft. I also cooked a spag bol and prepared the meat for a chili con carne we are going to have later in the week. Now we are sat in front of the fire, except for Anne who is listening to the Archers in the kitchen (with the doors shut – it pains me even to hear the noise of the radio where the Archers is concerned).

In other news it’s been a great day’s cricket from the second test in South Africa with Stokes setting a new world record for the fastest scoring 250. Great eh?

The weather is typical of a British January. Miserable. I have a sore throat and a chesty cough (fyi). I’m not particularly looking for sympathy although none will knowingly be refused.

Today we have breakfast at the Vicarage. I’ll be ok. Just have to try and keep my coughs to myself. Before the Vicarage we had intended to go swimming but didn’t wake up until 8.10 which was too late to get up, make a cup of tea, get dressed and get to the pool before lane swimming ends at 8.55. So we just did the cup of tea bit. It probably didn’t make sense for me to go swimming anyway, manflu and all.

The plan was also to go for a walk this pm, following on from yesterday’s jaunt to the Bomber Command Memorial on the ridge above South Common. We will have to see how it goes weatherwise. If you have the right gear the weather doesn’t matter. The only issues are for the wearers of glasses ie me. See how it goes later.

Breakfast at the Vicarage is a bit of an issue if one is trying to lose weight. I know there will be healthy options but I am also assuming that there will be bacon on offer.  My brain is programmed to automatically accept an offer of bacon. Even if there is no brown sauce and I’m not saying this will be the case. Surely?!

In other news England are in South Africa playing the second test. They walloped the home side in the first test and have now won the toss on a great batting wicket. On these occasions it is a pleasure to tune in. There have been occasions where things haven’t gone well where it has been difficult to listen. This, thus far, is not such an occasion.

more anon if I get round to it…

We woke up this morning to a new year. I’m excited for the new year. I think it’s going to be a goodun. They by and large always are although the last couple of years have been tinged with sadness as first Anne’s dad Keith and then both our mums Eileen and Rene passed away.

That’s life though Jim and you just have to get on with it. This year will see the start of our new campervan hire business Anne’s Vans. The site is still in development but I will be spending time over the holidays populating rental sites and social media with details. Not today though. Today is being devoted to sloth and relaxation together with  bit of a walk at some stage.

The walk is all about the new attitude to lifestyle. I’ve ditched a lot of work baggage and stress and am now creating the time to get fitter and lose weight. It’s not going to be a totally austere existence. We are off to Venice for the weekend next Friday followed by a few days in the Isle of Man. I also have LONAP commitments which are most rewarding and enjoyable and the nature of the internet industry being what it is will involve the consumption of much beer. It’s going to be about getting the balance of life right.

The walking is part of that and to provide some focus we have booked a week in Llanberis at Easter to go hill walking. I don’t know whether the summit of Snowdon will be accessible due to the weather but the intention is to build up fitness in the three months between now and then so that I can do it if the opportunity allows.

Llanberis is also a staging post on the road to doing the Wainwright Coast to Coast walk with Tom in May. This is a 190 mile 2 week hike stopping at B&Bs each night. I will definitely need to be fit for that and expect to be even fitter by the end of it.

All this comes with new kit purchasing opportunities. I need new walking boots. My old ones, Zamberlan, are very good but my left foot seems to have grown in recent years and I now need a new pair. Tom and I were in Blacks yesterday trying on a variety of boots and to my surprise I found that whilst my right foot was a size 8 my left was now 9 – 9 ½ !!??

They didn’t have the right size in the boot that I eventually chose so we left the shop empty handed (empty footed?) and I now need to figure out how to get hold of a pair of Scarpa SLs in size 45 without running the risks of buying online. These ain’t cheap boots. It may yet come down to the internet for purchasing.

So 2016 is going to be an interesting and fun year and I’m hoping to maintain daily updates here on philosopherontap, cos that’s a fun thing to do. The featured image is of one of my old Zamberlan boots. Ciao amigos