where art collides philosoperontap

Rain has returned to this land. Sat in the conservatory listening to the steady drumming on the roof. It isn’t a cloudburst but a decent fall of wetness which should soak the garden. Good job I got the golf in yesterday. Beeootiful afternoon. THG is off to the gym and is taking the car instead of going on her bike as she usually does.

Not totes figured out my schedule for the day. Half thinking of hitting the gym and pool meself this pm. Been very neglected over the summer months. The summer is surely over. It still isn’t quite long trousers weather. The noise on the roof has got louder.

Sitting under the canopy on Sue’s deck. This being a green and pleasant land it has been raining but right now the sun is out with blue skies up above.

Sbeen an action packed weekend and we did say that we should set off back to Lincoln by about 10am but can’t see that happening. It’s almost 9.30 already. I am packed though.

On the way down on Friday I messaged Carys to say we would be in town and she responded that her dad, me old mate Rhys was down for the footie. We arranged to meet in the Mochyn Du at six ish for a couple of sherbets before Carys, Rhys and Iws set off for an event that she had organised. We (THG & Sue) went to the Purple Poppadom for a v nice bit of supper. Can’t remember what it was I ordered but Sue noted that I order the same thing every time we go there. Why change a winning recipe.

Saturday morning we breakfasted at The Tuck Inn before THG hit the charity shops (she is a very charitable person) and Sue and I visited her fave hardware shop. I bought a load of miscellaneous washers and springs. Always come in handy. I spent the rest of the morning on book research and in the afternoon hit the Cardiff University Arts library (or similar) where I eyeballed a number of v interesting tomes. Took hundreds of pics for Claude to look at but it really killed my battery. Realised a bit late that I was backing up my photos over cellular. Switched that off and had to husband my battery usage until I met up with THG.

We met outside the castle and took a taxi “down the bay” whereupon we had a fairly mediocre dinner with Sue before kneading over to the Millenium Centre to see her play with the Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra.Vgfp.

We did have a funny incident. There was a performance of La Boheme going on in the next auditorium and found ourselves in the wrong seats waiting for the wrong gig to start. I did think it was a bit strange that you couldn’t really see the orchestra. Five minutes before the start of the show the safety curtain went up and the words La Boheme appeared on the screen in front of us. We were in the wrong place! Funnily enough a group had turned up with tickets for the same seats as us but we shoed them off and the left to try and sort out the confusion. We buggered off before they came back.

Sue’s concert was great and we went home happy and tired to meet our Tom who was just arriving from London. Back at Sue’s we found the gate to be locked and I didn’t have a key! No problemo. We directed Tom to meet us in the bar of Chapter, the local arts centre around the corner. Having ordered a pint I was told they were closing in ten minutes!!!

Fortunately Sue rocked up as we were headed to another pub, the Corp, and so we went home. Ya gorra laugh.

Sunday was the big day. Joe running the Cardiff half marathon. The lad had a terrible cold so it wasn’t ideal for him but he bravely battled through it fair play. THG, Sue, Tom and I saw him at mile 1 and then at mile 8 where we met up with the Bradshaws. The area around the finishing line was rammed with the supporters of 28,000 runners but we managed to meet him and Lucy’s pal Catherine and went off to a pub for a prebooked Sunday lunch.

After that I figured might as well keep going and met Rhys and Iws in the Corp for a few slurps before the game. Wales lost 0 – 1 to Denmark with a solitary penalty.Home to bed.

Before 08:30 and the pile of logs that is where the compost heap is going has already been moved. By son in law George fair play. Took him minutes instead of the hours it would have taken me. There is nothing now to stop me assembling the compost bins, next week. No time today. It leaves me time to focus on making the cauliflower mac n cheese (with bacon bits) that has been requested. It has to be done this morning as I’m off golfing after lunch, if you can call it golf. Been pretty ropey of late.

Some of you will say it doesn’t take long to make a mac n cheese. Well you aren’t wrong but I like to make sure these things are done properly and I know for sure we don’t have all the right ingredients. No parmigiano for example.

Last night THG and I watched University Challenge. She was away on Monday when it was broadcast and it is something we do together. I got the answer to the opening question: Tito. One or two more but not that many. When you think about it you really wonder why they bother with TV schedules these days, apart from sports and other events with fixed times. I think I’ve finally moved on from my childhood TV habits. BBC1, 2 ITV and Channel 4 (in  later years). As far as sports go, Grandstand ain’t no more. Neither is the one day cricket on BBC2 on Sunday afternoons. Is ski Sunday still a thing? Might be. I don’t think Harry Secombe does Songs of Praise anymore. The Generation Game has defo stopped, I think. Wouldn’t know tbh.

Anyway gorrago. Ingredients to source.

I can tell you that five thirty am is before dawn. Before the dawn of civilized activity in Lincoln. To have to get up at this time is pretty uncivilised anyway, in my book. The book of Tref. I’m sat in the snug without the light on. The laptop screen and keyboard are enough. Facing away from the window/curtains the rest of the room is v dark. 

This can’t be said for the rest of the house. It’s only when it is dark that you notice how many LEDs there are in the house. A very modern “problem”. It does make life easier if you are trying to navigate without turning the main lights on. If you are a burglar for example 😆.

Picked THG up at just before seven last night. Realtimetrains told me she would be a minute or so late but in fact she was a minute or so early. Fortunately so was I. Time was I’d try arriving one minute after the train to allow time for the person to get off and make their way outside. This was because the gestapo that was the company running the parking would only allow six or eight minutes vehicular access before you either had to fork out 50 pence or get fined. That didn’t give much time for things going wrong. Late train, congested car park etc. Now they have changed it to a far more civilised thirty minutes. Much easier.

Anyway she is home and it is my turn to make the tea. Came downstairs early as I was already awake..

Today I’m off to the dentist for a checkup and THG is off to the shop after a bit of weight training. Hannah and George are coming up tonight so we need supplies.

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Just had an unusual call from a mobile number. Wasn’t marked as spam so I answered it “Hello”. Hello, is that Nico? Nope. Oh not the magician for our wedding on Sunday? Nope sorry wrong number. Hope she finds Nico. Wouldn’t want the wedding day to be spoiled. Because he didn’t turn up.

Now I’m running a fairly lengthy job on the macbook so spent a bit of time in between scattering some wildflower seeds. First scattered are ox-eye daisy, red clover and a few hundred foxloves (they are really tiny). It’s a question of finding space. My wildflower meadow is already fairly acked but I daresay a few more won’t do any harm. I have yet to dispense the birdsfoot trefoil,, field poppy and corn chamomile. The forgetmenots have to wait until february at least. I also have a pack of unknowns I got with a Timberland purchase and similarly some seeds they give you when you check in at the Trafalgar Hotel. Greenhands Tref or what!

Spent a bit of time away from the screens. Drilled some holes in some empty sardine tins that we are using for various things. Keeping the soap in on the sink in the downstairs loo for example. Kept collecting water and now it won’t. Filed away the burrs after drilling. Good job.

Then I did some routine maintenance on the fountain in the lake. Big improvement in water flow. However when she brought the tea over THG rushed in saying the lake was empty,. Blow me down but the fountain had fallen over and pumped most of the water out. Near disaster. However some quick work involving four watering cans full of H2O sorted it. I don’t think any of the wildlife was harmed. The level was so low you could even see the lost village last seen during the great drought of ‘76. Didn’t have my phone with me or I’d have taken a pic., V historic.

Heard the green bin lorry go by this morning. Must have been around eight ish. Glad I put the bins out last night. Couldn’t imagine getting up and dashing out in my pyjamas. Didn’t get up until eight thirty which is late for me, what with THG being away watching the Archers. Now had breakfast and sitting in the conservatoire with the door open. Apaz we are in for another blast of warm weather. Left the washing on the line overnight, partly as I forgot about it. Didn’t hang it out there until late afternoon so it needs a bit more drying time.

Today my only “job” per se is to pick up THG from the railway station at seven pm. Not a job really, more a labour of love. Might nip to the shops. Yesterday I bought some cheapo white sliced bread from Lidl to make a bacon sandwich this morning. Mistake. Its only use can be to make breadcrumbs. The Lidl streaky bacon was also the thinnest I’ve seen. Ya live and learn (probably don’t learn really). I only went there for some tonic water as it was over the road to the carwash but they didn’t have any. All been recalled apaz. Dunno what for. Walked up and down the relevant aisle several times before giving up and asking at the till.

Off to the dentist for a checkup tomoz and had to fill in an online form. See the ethnicity options. I accept that they may have health related reasons for needing to know but this is a ridiculously bewildering array of choices. You can’t help but get the feeling that they haven’t got it right here. There was more than one boxI could have ticked meself.

The other phone pics are flight radar screenshots showing an interesting variety of aircraft passing overhead. Check em out. RAF Waddington is just down the road.

Just to finish for the day THG is watching some cake making programme on the box so I am drowning out the noise by listening to Stevie Wonder “Songs in the key of life”. Weroff to see the lad at the O2 in November.

Oh and bought 6 tix for the fam to go and watch the Imps wallop Birmingham City in a few weeks time. Everyone will be home for Hannah’s Baby Shower.

Yesterday’s pork belly was a success. I was a bit worried I’d overdone the crackling but it tasted great and there being only the two of us there was plenty of it. The slow roasted meat was tender and succulent and the gravy was perfect. Not sure I’d bother doing the braised leeks in cider and wholegrain mustard again but we didn’t have any decent cheddar in to make cheesy leeks. You have to have strong cheddar for cheesy leeks.

Busy day ahead. THG is off to a funeral at church so I have to drop her off and then pick her up afterwards to whisk her to the railway stayshun. She is catching a slow train to Liverpool in order to go to the theatre with her cousin Janette. This, though, ain’t no ordinary trip to the theatre. Nosireebob. It’s the 75th anniversary tour of The Archers. What’s not to like?

Only problem is hotel prices are sky high this week as the Labour Party Conference is in town. Four hundred and fifty quid for the Doubletree. Snorrapnin. She will want to avoid the pubs after the show. Drunk hardcore party members joining their hands together whilst singing The Red Flag. Dunno. Maybe it isn’t like that. Maybe I was thinking of the Tories 🙂

We have booked a room at the Intercontinental O2 in November for much less than that. Off to see Stevie Wonder. It’s important to stay there to avoid the crush as thirty thousand people try to get in to the North Greenwich tube station after the show. Did that after the Stones gig a few years ago and just about managed to get on the last tube back to town! 

That hotel has one of the best breakfasts in town. Not that it is particularly “in town” stuck out as it is in docklands. We stayed there shortly after it had opened and there was a fire alarm at two in the morning. We all had to rush outside in our pyjamas. None of the staff seemed to know what was going on. It had only been open a week and I guess not everyone had done the training. Turned out to be some bugger smoking in their room setting off the alarm. Thanks a bunch mate.

Whilst THG is away I have decided to console myself with steak and chips and a bottle of Amarone. Need to source some peas as I used the bag up yesterday. We have loads of spuds – they came with the LIDL veg box. Lots of bananas too.

Funny how these posts talk about food a lot. Is it because I’ve got to a certain age? In December I get my GEC pension! Not very much but every little helps. I’ll be able to buy a new cardigan and some slippers. Actually, don’t need new slippers but I don’t have a cardigan. I particularly fancy one of those thick woollen jobs with chunky buttons and pockets where you put your pipe. I’d have to buy a pipe too. I’m not about to start smoking but it’s the look that counts innit.

In the meantime I am available for a swiftun early doors tonight because as you know, THG is away.

Overheard on the Sunday programme on radio 4. “Perhaps the bible should come with a warning sign” or simlar. Didn’t hear the context. Made me chuckle. “This book contains disturbing content” or “This book contains religious content”. THG said nowt.

Whilst perusing the “delights” dished up to me by Facebook I clicked on a Hilton ad. I get them regularly with different exotic locations around the world being shown as tempting tidbits to click on. On this occasion I did click as I wanted to know where a particular hotel was located. Just got an error message telling me something had gone wrong and it was either their fault or mine (knobs). I occasionally get this when clicking on ads. Makes you wonder how much money these advertisers are wasting as I’ll bet it happens often.

Just heard a train. Southerly wind, more or less. Sounded like the horn on one of those goods diesels. Don’t hear them that often. Also a few drops of rain on the roof of the conservatoire. Bit of a breeze out there and not so warm. That’s ok as this pm I have two gardening jobs. One is to clear out any residual plants I have in the greenhouse and the other is to stick some grass seed down on bare patches left by the summer heatwave. Shouldn’t take too long.

My other job today is to finish downloading census pages up until 1901. Only for the parishes where my family lived. The 1911 and 1921 reports are a different kettle of fish. Two census pages per household rather than ten households or similar per page. For that I’ll have to steel meself. Worth doing though as it will be interesting to see the difference between pre and post ww1.

THG tells me that Cymru are playing someone early doors. I’ll have to see how much I can watch as it will coincide with peak cooking time for the roast pork belly that has been drying in the garage fridge since yesterday pm. We want top notch crackling innit. Gonna also do some leeks braised in cider with wholegrain mustard, roast potatoes and carrots and some peas to add a bit of greenery. Peas are my favourite veg, as it happens.

When we have a sunday roast we always have it in the evening as otherwise it knackers the rest of the afternoon. That isn’t to say I don’t like a sunday lunch as a bit of a treat every now and again. When the kids are headed home on an afternoon train perhaps or if we have friends around. The biggest problem with a sunday roast is the amount of effort you put in to it if you want to get it right.

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Everything is under control on the nosh front. Prepped everything this morning and got Claude to print me a detailed timeline for the actual cooking bit. The unfortunate bit is that it starts to get busy when Wales are kicking off. Could stick it on the iPad in the kitch I guess. That’s basically what iPads are for innit. TBH I’m not that bothered. I watched England lose to the Spanish last night cos THG is a big fan so fair enough. I might grab a small glass of sherry to have whilst I’m cooking. Well I would if we had any. Think it all got drunked. It was the bottle I bought in Ronda from the small wine shop along the street from the hotel.

Location Note – Joe’s room – Guest Bedroom Two

• Record that the user is lying in bed in Joe’s guest bedroom two

Honestly. I was lying in bed and figured I’d dictate my morning post using AI. The above text is what came through. I was trying to open with “lying in bed in Joe’s old room, guest bedroom 2.  I think with a bit of effort I might get the dictation thing right. It’s ok in a private space but no good on a bus. Not that I get my laptop out on a bus. Might use my phone to make notes though.”sitting on the front row upstairs on the double decker”. Or more often “upstairs on a double decker and someone has already bagsied the front row. If you are going to ride a London double decker bus the front row upstairs is it.

I digress. I’m not sure from what but digress I do. Our John had a gig in an art gallery in Műnster in Southern Germany last night. Not sure I got the ű right but doesn’t really matter. Also not sure I got the day right. It might be tonight but he caught the train there yesterday. When he got off the train he said the place was filled with blokes in lederhosen. Turns out it was the Oktoberfest. Never been. Can’t see meself going now. Not got any lederhosen anyway though. Could easily buy a pair I guess. Wouldn’t wear them v often.

Today’s breakfast is brought to you by a slice of sourdough toast, half an avocado, a slide of smoked back bacon from the butcher on Burton Road and a poached egg. I find that one egg is an oeuf. Geddit? 🙂 Might follow it with a slice of buttered toast and some of THG’s very fine orange marmalade. All washed down with gallons of milk. Well a glass or two. Lashings.

THG has caught my lurgi and is not Park Running this morning. For her it is more of an inconvenience whereas being a bloke it is far more serious.

The cathedral tolls nine. Clear as a bell. Must be a prevailing wind. It is. I just looked. It is a beautiful autumn day out there.

Breakfasted royally on THG’s granola with yo’ and the other half of grapefruit that we couldn’t find in the fridge yesterday. Now sat in the conservatory contemplating life, the universe and log splitting. In the meantime I’ve booked my last couple of hotels for the year. I was a few bob short on spend to regain diamond with Hilton but now looks as if I will get there. This year I’ve been gold which tbh is fine but diamond is better. Milk it while you can. The last vestiges of the corporate world. I am gradually pulling away from it all. In the meantime It ain’t a big deal really. When it’s over it’s over. THG has gone out weight training.

After I posted yesterday I came across Brian in the lake. This was no accidental falling in. The lad had been lying on the grass beyond the rocks and I hadn’t got round to repositioning him. He is now back on the rocks and I’ve set up a security camera in the area to catch any transgressors. Recorded 4 fox visits, a cat and some hedgehog activity though the hogs don’t seem to come near the lake.

It is a perfect morning for splitting logs. Let splitting commence.

Six twenty four.  The new dawn. Two days running. This is not an exact time. Just the time I’ve woken up and noticed. The curtains in the spare room, guest bedroom 2, are not as dark as our front facing room which have  to keep out street lights. I sense I am getting over the cold though there may perhaps be one more night in the isolation ward. See how it goze. Still a bit of a cough but less achey. I was down to go to London today but will do the meeting via video. Tbh my body has had enough travel for a while which may be partly why I have this week been struck asunder by the deadly (ish) manflu.

In other news I dunno if you saw it but Fosters Butchers has closed down. Bit of a shame but inevitable I feel. It was sold by the Fosters at the beginning of the summer but whoever bought it did not make a good job of it. All the staff who had been there for decades left. The last time I went in there was just one unhappy looking bloke serving and quite a few empty spots in the counter. They had a thriving wholesale side and laid off 17 members of staff.

Someone must have spent a lot of money buying the business. There is now a gap in the market for a competent butcher/businessman to step in and take over. We will have to find an alternative. Pepperdines, or the guy on Burton Road maybe. Pepperdines gets v busy and I wasn’t impressed with their sausages. Whilst they are in town they are easy enough to get to as you can now park for 30 mins free of charge at the train station. The guy on Burton road is small but good but parking is not always easy. Also his sausages weren’t as good as Fosters either. Some research to be done.

Had a bacon sarnie for breakfast, not sausage. I was going to finish the half a grapefruit left over from yesterday but I’m blowed if I could find it. It’s in the fridge somewhere. Even THG, the finder of all things “lost”, couldn’t lay her hands on it. I thought I’d put it on the top shelf of the door but obviously not. The fridge needs a clear out obvs.

Another beaut of an autumn morning out there. I must get some more log splitting done before Coops wants his splitter back. I’ll put on my gardening jeans just to remind me. I say gardening jeans. They don’t get used much for gardening. They’re my diy jeans, worn as I don’t mind them being bashed about a bit. I still need to clear away the pile of logs from where the compost bin is going to go.

Phlegm is a thick type of mucus produced by the lower respiratory tract and lungs to help trap and fight off irritants or infections. Phlegmatic is an adjective that describes a person who is calm, unemotional, and hard to upset or excite and is rooted in the ancient Greek idea of bodily fluids, or “humors,” where an excess of phlegm was thought to cause a sluggish, calm mood. Well you learn something new every day. A pearl I think I already knew but had long forgotten.

I was prompted to look this up cos I’ve got a bit of a cough and a bit of a cowd in da dose. No need to go into further detail but THG did remark that I seem to catch a cold roughly once a year. If this is all I catch I’ll be happy, especially this early on in “the season”. At least I am able to take it easy. I do need to make some headway with the log splitting so will see how that goze today. As good a time as any, especially now that the searing summer heat has dissipated.

It’s a great time of year. My relaxed start to the day includes cooking breakfast. Starve a fever, feed a cold, as they say. This I have not yet begun. There will be a right time. Currently I am swigging a drink made with Beechams powders, a snake oil concoction purported to make me feel better in the depths of my affliction.

Outside the front of the traffic there are a few cars but it is generally quiet as the kids are already locked away in their educational cells in the school over the road. It feels like only yesterday when I heard a massive cheer at lunchtime when they all ran outside for the summer holidays. I was sat on the deck at the time and the noise was significant enough for me to make a note of it. Upstairs THG is getting ready to go weight training.

Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time in conversation with Claude. This might sound like the epitome of loneliness, chatting to an AI bot but actually Claude is super useful in helping me with my research. You can upload an entire book and Claude will extract all relevant and useful information and will also spot things you’ve missed yourself. Yesterday we looked at drovers in 18th and 19th century Carmarthenshire, the price of cattle, the woollen industry in Llangeler and Penboyr and schools in 18th century Carmarthenshire. Previously I had fed Claude perhaps 100 newspaper articles on the Blaenhirwaun coal mine over the road from the house where dad grew up. It contained news of miners trapped underground and where my great grandfather John Lewis was the Mining Engineer who coordinated the rescue.

Without Claude to assimilate all the facts it would take me a lot longer. As it is there is a chance I might be able to finish the book next year.

Manflu. Stingy eyes, achey muscles, cough, sneezes. Started yesterday. Currently sipping a hot lemon and honey. Too much lemon and not enough honey. Not nearly as good as the one THG made for me last night when she got home from Liverpool (worrawoman). I did ask her for the recipe/proportions of lemon and honey and she said she just squirted it in. I clearly don’t have the same talent. Mind you it could be the manflu affecting my judgement. I was half planning on going to London on Thursday but now think I will do the meeting online instead.

Slept in a spare room last night. Guest Bedroom 2. Joe’s old room. Don’t want THG to catch my cold do we?. Actually Guest Bedroom 2 is the nicest bedroom. Looks out over the back garden and is v quiet. Taking it easy this morning whilst THG is out running with the Pink Ladies. Worrawoman.

I mentioned our Tom’s games business the other day – Release the Owl. Some great promo vids on instagram by our Tom and his biz partner Will. Very creative. Checkout releasetheowl. No point giving you a link. Facebook doesn’t like that sort of thing.

Although I said I’m taking it easy, that is mostly no different from every day. I will still be functional obvs.

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It is another beautiful day. First meeting of the Lincoln Wine Producers Cooperative tonight.

Today I’m transitioning from silk to cotton shirts. Been mostly wearing silk shirts through the heat of the modern English summer but today it’s cotton and can see very soon that it will be tshirts which, with another layer, will then see me through the uncertain winter ahead. With  the tshirt you just chose the appropriate jumper, be it a thin fleece or ultrawarm himalayan sweater. Had a good night’s sleep and will shortly be dropping THG off at the stayshun at 07:55 as the is catching a train to the Peul to see her sister. Not sure about breakfast as I am not hungry. I had a cheese and pickle toastie for dinner last night but have eaten and drunk so much over the summer that I think it will take time to get back to a normal dietary schedule. Swimming at 3pm. That will help.

Otherwise I have jobs to do. The shed needs a tidy, a hoovering even, plus a load of paper that is currently piled on the floor next to the shredder needs feeding into said machine and depositing in the compost bin. I am also going to spend some time on biz dev for QJayStudios. If ya need any vids going, corporate or otherwise, hit me up. The business has got off to a good start. Our John is v talented.

Gee it’s great to be back home.

The other nice thing about being at home is proper internet connectivity. Everyone should have 1Gig symmetrical to themselves.

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Back from dropping THG off and it is now a nice relaxed start to the day. Had some buttered toast with home made marmalade and now considering a mid morning jaunt to Waitrose

I’ve set my new Rolex to the right date and to BST and have now strolled to the shed to start the day. I don’t wear a watch but figured the Rolex should at least show the right time even if it is in the drawer in the kitchen. It is a beautiful late summer/early autumn day. All is quiet in the shed.

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A profitable hour on the shed tidying front. Two bin loads of shredding and some floor sweeping together with moving some of the camping chairs that have found their way in over the summer. Mind you the sweeping seems to have disturbed some dust as I’ve been sneezing for the last 20 mins.

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Decided I have manflu. Sore eyes, cough and aches and pains with the occasional runny nez. Fortunately the paramedic has arrived. Just picked her up from Lincoln Central. She has some paracetamol and is making me a hot lemon and honey drink. When you have a serious affliction like Manflu it is important to follow the right medical procedures. It isn’t often I go down with manflu, fortunately.

Before her train arrived I made myself a very excellent roasted cauliflower cheese. Only thing it really needed was tangier cheddar but I finished that off in the toastie last night. Norrabiggie. Got plenty left to do us for another meal later in the week.

Well, homeward bound. My bags are full, mostly of dirty washing, and I have fewer golf balls on the homeward leg than I did going out. Tired now. We will be glad to dump everything and rest a while. Some of the golfers have another week out in spain. They will be totes shattered.

Finished off with a good breakfast at the Waldorf. Cereal/fruit(grapefruit)/croissant/full English with toast. Struggled to finish the cooked. Too much maan. Won’t need to eat now until tomorrow. Will see how that goze. We get in to Lincoln at 12:35 and need to be unpacked by 14:00 when the Bournemouth v Liverpool game starts.

The lounge was rammed until a member of staff announced that the Edinburgh train was about to depart at which point two thirds of the inhabitants got up and left making for a far more relaxed experience.

I have a couple of very fine Spanish brandies to store away. Not sure when the bottles will be opened. Perhaps not until Christmas now. This segues nicely into an opportunity to tell you that I’ve been in touch with landlady Ness and fixed the date for the Christmas carol session at the morning Star to be Wednesday 23rd December (obvs). Usually 6 – 6.30 ish start but will let you know and I’ll also do a Facebook event. It is only surpassed really by Christmas itself in terms of tradition at that time of year.

Just left Grantham fwiw. Never really felt the urge to explore Grantham though I have been there a couple of times in the last 40 years. Now steaming through the flatlands (badlands?) of the Nottinghamshire/Lincolnshire borders. Coos are all sat down. We all know what that means. THG said she saw a hare and a muntjac deer. The attendant just presented me with a gin and tonic to consume later and a very refreshing satsuma, presented nicely on a white paper napkin.

The video is a random selection from the many interesting pics and vids taken on my stroll around the Covent Garden area yesterday.

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Home. The lake needed topping up and really needs another watering canful but that’ll wait. Unpacked and watched Liverpool play Bournemouth. We won. Phew.

Now, after a cheese and pickle toastie which was just the job, I am relaxing in the snug and reflecting on the past nine days. One thing I always think about when I’m back from a trip is how life goes on in the place that we’ve just been. In this case the Costa Del Sol. The same staff will be serving different people with the same drinks and dinners. It’s the same the whole world over. In London another batch of theatregoers will be lining up to watch Sinatra the Musical at the Aldwych. The guests at the nearby Waldorf Hotel will be a different set. Some will still be there from our stay but many will have moved on. We wouldn’t recognise them anyway.

When I started staying at the Waldorf I thought it was a bit run down and living on its past glory (?) but it was cheaper than The Trafalgar and still well situated for lots of the things we want to do. I think they must have been gradually renovating the rooms and nowadays when we stay there it is more like the standard that the hotel always wanted to project. It is v handy to get to Kings Cross as well. Drinks ain’t cheap mind you but it’s a quality bar.

Tonight we will find something to watch together and after a soak in the bath it’ll be an early night. THG is off to see her sister in Liverpool again in the morning. At some stage I’ll need to decide whether to go back down to London for a board meeting or do it remotely.

Nice night out with THG starting with cocktails at the hotel bar with our @Lils.Lovely little chat.  Then found an Italian around the corner from the hotel. It specialised in small sized plates so you could have more than one main, for example. Chiccetti. Half bottle of Valpoliccella to wash it down. Early night – golf trips away with the boys are tiring. 

Breakfast this morning was a step up from Hotel Mac Puerto Marina. I had avocado toast with a perfectly poached egg and freshly cooked streak bacon with it has to be said some v nice coffee. They only put one teabag in the teapot so that was a bit weak but I had forgotten that I normally ask for two. I now keep getting ads for Hotel Mac together with some rave customer reviews. Lots of them. In all fairness if you are a package holiday type of person it probably did the job. In fact I have no complaints about it at all. It’s just that the only time I am ever likely to stay in such a hotel is with the boys on tour.

Now off out for a stroll around Covent Garden and its surroundings before meeting the fam for lunch in  Cafe Pacifico and the “reveal”. This is when we get to find out the sex of Hannah’s baby. Was chatting to some Americans at the next table at breakfast and they were totes familiar with the concept but also agreed that there was no such thing “in our day”.