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Trent bridge train options

Out
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Back
17:35 arr 18:33
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Tis eight fifteen of a morning and I have moved operations to the conservatoire with a cuppa tea. The sun is streaming in through the open door highlighting the fact that the macbook screen needs cleaning. Later, later. The gubbins are in the shed.  The cleaning fluid and microfibre cloth that is.

We have breakfasted healthily ish on a large ripe Waitrose avocado on Lidl brown sourdough toast. I had a smear of unpasteurized Isigny Ste Mer salted butter and a rasher of Duchy Organic unsmoked organic bacon, both also from Waitrose. The smashed avocado included a chopped red chilli and some crushed walnuts with a squirt of lemon juice.

Apparently today is a public holiday. We know this because most of the gym classes at Yarborough Leisure Centre have been cancelled, not that I was down to attend any. THG would have been.

This morning a stroll to the Bailgate is in prospect. At eleven the massed marchers of the Asylum Steam Punk event will begin their parade, starting through the Castle Westgate, going round the outside and back in through the Eastgate, the main entrance. We plan to assemble in Castle Hill to watch with curiosity. Although not my bag it is harmless fun and Steam Punk aficionados do put in a lot of effort with their outfits fair play to them. Should get some pics.

In the meantime relaxation is called for. I do plan to try and squeeze in a swim and maybe even a bike ride later today. We aren’t talking many miles here or kilometers even. Perhaps the cycling equivalent of a stroll to the Bail. Cycling is slightly riskier than walking. Take care.

As I write THG has entered the conservatory to discuss dates in her calendar. To cut a long story short I discovered that the Fleetwood Town v Salford City match due to be played on 7th September is postponed. Wossgoinon? Google tells me it is because the home side has three players away on international duty that weekend. We are talking fourth division football here. Perhaps we can expect big things of Fleetwood Town this season. Wonder which countries the players are representing.

THG has no interest in Fleetwood Town but we are in Liverpool that weekend for her 5k at Anfield Stadium on the Sunday and we did wonder whether there was a home game the day before. No.

Being a man of leisure I’ve scanned the morning news for some good cheer. There is none, on the first screen in anycase, unless you count the fact that Australians have been given the right to ignore work emails when they finish their officially contracted hours. 

Of the bad news the most interesting is that fish and chips have seen the biggest inflationary price rises of all British takeaway types with a portion now averaging almost a tenner. Woot! Makes a family day out quite expensive dunnit. 

Even kebabs have gone up 44% apaz. I might have fish and chips once a year when on a day out at the coast. A kebab perhaps twice a year when out on the pop somewhere. Probs not even twice a year. I’ve never noticed the price. All I can say is that you always regret having a kebab after eating it.

…

Saw the Steam Punk parade. Interesting enough but really not my thang. Went for a cawfee afterwards with THG who rushed on ahead to the cathedral coffee shop and bagsied us a table before the hordes of parade watchers flooded in looking for the same. In the caff it was really nice to see Lofty (Paul) Lowbridge who I used to work with back in the old Marconi days. Not seen him for years.

Coffee consumed THG set off to see the embroidery display in the chapter house and I set the coordinates for home. As I was leaving the cathedral gardens I noticed a traffic warden striding purposefully towards the line of on-street 1 hour parking spots on Eastgate. Rich pickings for him as most of the parked cars will have been there for the parade and thus likely to have been more than an hour.

As I passed him writing down number plate information I noticed that his cap had the words “Civil Enforcement Officer” (CEO!) or similar emblazoned on his hat band. Clearly the phrase Parking Warden has run its course. I wonder if they are on commission?

Back ome now.

Lovely sunny autumnal morning out there. I wandered early to the shed but only to procure a teabag. We’ve used all the ones in the kitchen and I happened to notice one on my desk yesterday when alerted to the low levels of supply. 

You might think this is a strange item to have on your desk but it just happens to be left over from a couple of days where I decided to make tea in the shed as opposed to the kitchen. That did not last long although the kettle is still there on the floor in the corner behind the desk. Camping kettle.

The teabag is being saved for when I cook breakfast. THG has coffee so no competition for it although we could probs eke out two cups from the small teapot I use.

Unsurprisingly one of my jobs for today is now to go to a shop that sells teabags and refresh our stock. I have two options. One is to walk to Tesco and the other is to drive or cycle to Waitrose. The problem with Tesco is it is too big and I don’t like shopping there. Also too many people. Decision made then. Bike to Waitrose. The weather is nice for it. Not particularly warm but not cold either.

There is no rush. Waitrose doesn’t open until ten anyway.

Today we are going to sort out the tins of paint in the garage and pick the cooking apples.

…

Been to Waitrose and amazingly only got the three items on the shopping list: green beans, avocados and waitrose essential teabags. Was a bit worried for a while when in the tea aisle. They only seemed to have decaf essential teabags. Took me a while and a bit of staring to realise that I was actually in the decaff section. I cast my net around the corner and lo I beheld many boxes of the bags wot I sought.

Now I am back on the deck in front of the shed with a cup of newly sourced tea. There is plenty of entertainment on the deck this morning in the guise of falling leaves. I wrote a poem years ago entitled “I saw a leaf fall”. It is timeless. Never dates 🙂

I am wearing shorts but also a fleece just for that bit of comfort in the breeze. My shorts have taken a hammering over the summer months and I sense that some new pairs will need to be bought next year. The time to buy shorts is actually now in the end of season sales but there’s no point as I’ll be in a smaller size next year and don’t want to speculate or tempt fate. 

As far as I know the end of season sales could have already been anyway. They are probably getting their Christmas stuff out now. Aaargh.

…

Tins of paint sorted though not as many thrown as I might have hoped for. Lots of associated crap also chucked. Somehow we ended up with ten or more paint rollers. Also a fullish trug of cooking apples picked. After our swim THG is going to stick em in trays for storage whilst we watch the Liverpool game.

It is raining. This is a good thing although the folk in Lincoln for this weekend’s Steam Punk Festival will be hoping for some sunshine. We are planning to trundle along and watch the parade on Monday. My swimming trunks and towel are still on the washing line from yesterday and still very wet. 

Sat in the conservatory waiting for my tea to brew. Absolutely no point in rushing a pot of tea. Most of you will know it isn’t just about the colour it is the depth of colour that brings with it the infused flavour. Effect. The conservatory is a relaxing place to be when it is raining. A good place for a cup of tea.

THG is off to the park run. Hard core. It’s a good job she doesn’t have to wear specs. Rain is always a hazard for us optically challenged individuals. She is preparing for a 5k run in Liverpool that ends in Anfield Stadium. Exciting. Problem is us support team are not allowed in the stadium itself. I’ll just have to shut my eyes and picture the scene. She will no doubt be able to imagine the roar of the crowd.

The day started with some of THG’s excellent homemade granola. Need to nip to a local market for some lunch supplies. The store cupboard is bare. Won’t need much. Some eggs, bit of cheese, ham. Simple things in life. Mind you I have some bacon to use up in the fridge (it wasn’t totally bare). Could chop a rasher up for an omelette.

You have to ignore the news. The other day it told me that having two slices of ham a day is bad for you. If you added all the things that are supposed to be bad for you up you wouldn’t eat anything which is also bad for you.

Yesterday I took delivery of a fruit crusher and cider press. Today is the first try out using some windfalls. The rain is an issue. I am likely to get soaked out there. I also don’t really have all the containers I need but we can work that one out as we go along. My technical adviser, a certain Adie Smith is away for a week so this weekend is very much going to be first toe dipped in the apple juice, so to speak.

Don’t typically drink cider or apple juice for that matter as I am on a keto diet and the stuff you get in the uk shops is nowhere near as good as it is in France, in my experience. However the home pressed juice will hopefully be an improvement. Soon find out.

Using a fitbit has been and interesting development. Lets me track things like sleep habits and resting pulse. I noticed that after a boozy lunch in London the pulse was a fair bit faster the next day. Back down now after a quiet night in. Information is power.

Btw the milkman came at oh four oh seven yesterday and left four pints as it is a Bank Holiday weekend and he won’t be coming on Monday. Fair enough. I wonder what he will do on his day off. Day out in Skeggy maybe? Or Cleethorpes. I keep thinking about doing a day out by train in Cleethorpes. If anyone is interested let me know.

…

Still raining. Fortunately it is fine at the cricket in Manchester. Can’t find my Tilley hat which is my go to rainwear. Don’t bother with a coat at this time of year. I do have quite a few coats but the season for most of them seems to go quite quickly. Those lightweight ones that are only any good for temperatures where shorts are no longer in play but we haven’t reached the woolly pully stage yet. 

I have some nice gear in that bracket. At least I think so. The kids have whipped some of it. The lads. There was the cashmere overcoat that was very warm and which occasionally got some use in winter. That now resides in London as does the denim Timberland jacket with leather collar. The natural order of things.

Not a good day if your hobby is flying kites. It is v windy here in the shire. The back garden is covered with leaves and small sycamore branches and a load more apples have fallen. On a bank holiday weekend that traditionally sees the country take to the roads we are staying put and have determined it is going to be a time of harvest. 

In years gone by this would have been a critical time of year for folks. Getting the crops in safely to keep us going over winter. Nowadays we mostly outsource all of that. The apple masher and press arrive today. Good timing. Lots of blackberries already in the freezer.

I made it across to the shed, which remains a brightly lit haven. The only sound is that of the refrigerator and my fingers flying across the keyboard. Plus the wind. My desk is in need of a good tidy. Bits of paper strewn all over the place. It will be done, on earth.

Feels like another Saturday. Must do something about this. Can’t have every day feeling like a Saturday although if I had to choose one day for them to feel like I guess Saturday might well be it.

…

My apple crusher and apple press has arrived yay.

Quite autumnal out there this morning. Apples are dropping in droves. I have an apple press and masher on order which are with Evri for delivery. This does concern me a little considering Evri is the new name for Hermes who were absolutely crap in my experience. I got an email from them yesterday saying the gear was at their hub but this morning it is still there. I’d have expected it to be in a van and on its way by now.

Our John is home with us for a few days. Joined me on the 19.06 last night. A somewhat boozy day out. I arrange a long lunch in London with some pals every August. Quiet time of the year for business so a good time for a long lunch. We were at St John Bread and Wine. Apparently I’ve been before but I didn’t particularly remember it. A very different menu.

I have started keeping a food diary as part of the plan to shift some weight but I won’t bother writing anything down about yesterday. At least I won’t mention the beer and wine. Oh and the gin on the train. Ate some dishes I’d never had before such as eel and ox heart. Can’t say I’d rush back to order either of them again but at least I’ve had a go. It’s like snails. Tried em once but tbh they just tasted of rubbery garlic and I couldn’t see the point. 

Back on the granola this morning but we have old school pal Paul Shimmin from the Isle of Man coming this evening so will be sticking something on the barbie. THG is making her very excellent brown rice salad and I would appear to be a dab hand at potato salad. Struggling with deciding on meat options though. Don’t worry I’ll get there.

…

What’s life all about?

I’ve ordered a Fitbit Charge 6. I did use a Fitbit years ago but stopped, partly because I don’t wear a watch and the fitbit irritated me by clanking against the keyboard, bedside table and other inanimate objects with hard surfaces. However with an important wedding next year to trim down for I figure I have to give it another shot.

I also use Myfitnesspal. My account last saw the light of LED somewhere around 2018. Six years in the wilderness including long periods where survival was more on our thoughts rather than weight loss. Milk chocolate hobnobs were an essential part of the survival process. Doubt the Charge 6 will arrive in time for me to go swimming this morning but no matter. 

I’m following a combination of the Fast 800 diet and the 5+2. This is because I have a life and there are occasions in life where 800 calories of low carbohydrate sustenance is not going to cut it. Tomorrow’s (long) lunch in London is one example as is half of next week when a visit to Trent Bridge will be followed by a weekend in the West Country. This coming Bank Holiday weekend should be ok though.

…

The next job on my to do list is to cancel my Vinci Autoroutes account and return the device that I’ve never used. I won’t bore you with the details but they are incredibly difficult to deal with. I tried cancelling a few months ago but their response said either I had to return their device or be charged for it. I figured it was a lot easier for them to just charge me than to faff about sending it back to France and informed them as such.

Now the annual “not used my account” charge has just been imposed and of course they haven’t charged me for the device which means the account is still open. This is despite emails from them saying that unless I uploaded proof of my identity they would cancel the account anyway.

This is in my mind going to take most of the afternoon, sigh.

…

Been out blackberrying again. Sbeen another fab year for them. The frustrating thing is there are loads more too high up to be able to reach. The birds’ share. Plenty of purple coloured droppings around the shed. Our avian friends clearly don’t know that blackberries are for crumbles with custard. Cold custard.

Now sat in the snug with ma phones on to avoid having to hear celebrity marseterchef. More specifically cheeky chappie Greg Wallace. As usual have never ‘eard of any of the celebs. I could go on marseterchef. I do a very nice ham, chips and peas 🙂. I saw John Torode in Smiths of Smithfield once. Must have been ten or eleven years ago because I was still at Timico.

Since You’ve Been Gone by Rainbow blasting away in my ears. Then Life in the Fast Lane. Sure to make me lose my mind.

Tis getting dark out and it isn’t yet nine o’clock. These things happen obvs. The natural order. I’m ok with it. Need to decide whether to wear shorts or jeans tomorrow. I’m headed to Laandan for a bit of a day out. I don’t normally consider longs until the clocks change but there is an autumnal feel about the place and I’m not sure I have a clean pair of shorts. Not ironed anyway though that isn’t a reason not to wear them.

I’m not taking my Macbook tomorrow but may well need to take a man bag as the one thing I do need on a day out in London is somewhere to keep my headphones which I typically use on the return journey. Half tempted to take the ipad to use to write stuff but the user interface is pretty crap for that sort of thing. Mind you our John is travelling back with me so I guess we could, err, you know, talk to each other. He will have his phones on being very musically oriented so perhaps I will take mine.

I did have some beats which would fit neatly in a jacket pocket but I donated them to THG who uses them for running so I’ll leave them with her.

On this day in 1988 I woke up with a slight hangover. Actually a fair old sore head. I had made the mistake of staying up late in the Thornton Hall Hotel bar drinking Stella with Uncle Mick. 19th August 1988 was the day of our wedding. I went for a walk in the morning to clear my head. It was raining but as we drew nearer the time of the ceremony the sun came out and fine weather stayed with us for the rest of the day.

We moved to the Ship Hotel in Parkgate for the night of the wedding. I drove. Didn’t touch a drop after the speeches and toasts. Was high enough on the experience of getting married.

The Head Gardener wasn’t known as THG in those days. She was a Webster. In fact I don’t think we even had a garden at our mid terrace house in Greetwell Gate in Lincoln. Just a back yard with, believe it or not, a small pig sty. The deeds of the house stated that we were allowed to keep a pig, just as they kept a pig at my dad’s home in Blaenhirwaun in West Wales.

We never did keep a pig. It was a lot easier to buy bacon etc from the butcher. In fact the pigsty was demolished to make way for a barbecue area which was much used in those party filled pre children days.

So this morning at around six twenty I made it downstairs, with a clear head, and took up a pot of tea to my wife of thirty six years. Thirty six! How can such a thing be possible ? 🙂 The amazing thing about THG is that she grows lovelier with every year that goes by. I am a lucky bloke.

Now being married to THG is not without its downsides. She regularly leaves me a jobslist but I figure this comes with the territory of married life and is a small price to pay. Obviously a jobslist needs to be stared at for a suitable length of time before attempting any of the tasks. The successful completion of a job is down to 95% planning and 5% execution. Everyone knows this. Sometimes even more planning than that.

We have nothing in particular planned for our wedding anniversary. A nice quiet night watching University Challenge at which THG excels. She has a bit of fish for supper and I have some lamb chops. Chuck in a bit of salad and some sweetcorn blackened on the bbq and we have a feast.

The milkman came at 03:47. Mostly always the same guy. Does he ever take a holiday? Maybe he coordinates it so that he is away at the same time as us. That must be it.

Nearly time  to harvest the eating apples. Noticed a lot of windfalls this morning as I took a pot of tea to the deck. Feels as if this should be happening in September not August. In my mind the eaters are not as useful as the cookers which can be gently stewed and then frozen in batches ready to make apple and blackberry pies and crumbles over the winter.

Tis the sabbath and as such I might get a job or two done. Not picking apples. Trim the front hedge a bit. It has a few rogue branches sticking out the top. Also need to nip to Waitrose for bbq supplies. We’ve run out of good quality white wine vinegar. Vinaigrette essentials.

If you’ve never tried it you need to use the best vinegar and olive oil that you can afford for making salad dressing. Makes a huge difference using high quality ingredients.

…

Norrabad day. Gentle start, a light lunch, a swim, bit of chichen on the barbecue with a corn on the cob, asparagus and a salad and a stroll out blackberry picking.

As I write the bells of the cathedral have struck ten. Very handy if you don’t wear a watch. Even if you only get a notification every quarter of the hour. The famous clock in Rouen only shows the hour so even less resolution. Works for me. Why do we need to know it is twenty three minutes past the hour? 

I gave up on watches perhaps thirty years ago. I would break them or lose them. There is always a clock somewhere if you really need to know the time. I recall once going to a meeting at Marconi Defence Systems in Stanmore. The meeting was at half past the hour and the pool car I had had a broken clock in it. Hmm. I couldn’t even rely on the news at the top of the hour to tell me the time. I stopped at a garage and bought the cheapest watch they had. It still cost something like fifteen quid.

Made it to the meeting on time but the watch broke in a matter of days. Never bothered again. I’m certainly not going to lash out on a piece of trophy jewellery watch that many of you seem to go for. It would be like pouring money down the drain 🙂

So this morning I am sat on the deck in front of the shed. An avocado on toast with poached egg and some streaky bacon has set me up for the day and I have made a start with tidying up the grape vine. It almost certainly needs pruning but I am inexpert in that art and have therefore for the moment settled for tying the various loose vines up with cable ties. 

I’m roughly half way around. In the process I came across a bunch of grapes. Well it is a grape vine, I hear you say. However we thought we hadn’t got any this year. Cold spring or similar. A result. I shall at some stage clean out the grape treader and get the barrel ready.

Really I should find someone who knows what they are doing with these things and get it done properly but that can wait until winter. So now I am enjoying the back garden while THG is out at the Park Run.

In front of the deck the strip of flower meadow has been a success in its first year. The first batch of blossoms are very much turning to seed and there is evidence of new growth coming through. The packet said to expect flowers from July to October so hopefully plenty more to come.

Thirty five minutes until breakfast. A Premier Inn breakfast. I recall it being better than a Travelodge breakfast but in the great scheme of things it will probs still just be crappy hotel fare. I will be happy to be proved wrong. Just can’t be arsed to go out and find a good caff.

We have a large, quiet bedroom on the third (top) floor looking out over the rooftops of Tooting Bec. I almost expect to see Dick Van Dyke emerging with a gang of chimney sweeps and performing a dance routine in front of us. I doubt there are any chimney sweeps left in London. If there are they would definitely need more strings to their bow. Uber driver maybe 🙂

Interestingly when I went to Waitrose in Balham yesterday afternoon there was a not insubstantial gathering of delivery riders waiting for jobs to come along. What is the collective noun for delivery people. A fleet? Doesn’t sound right in this case. You can just imagine the conversation. “I’m only doing this to fill in while I wait for my next chimney sweeping gig”.

There is a lot of hustle and bustle about the place. Drivers need eyes in the back of their heads with bikes and pedestrians coming at you out of nowhere.The pedestrians are particularly dangerous as they usually have their heads buried in their phones. 

En route to the Rose and Crown yesterday at about six o’clock there was a noticeable constant stream of people walking up from the tube station. They seemed to be mostly in their twenties and early thirties. Good pub the Rose and Crown but nine pounds thirty for a pint and a packet of nuts. Welcome to London.

…

Farewell to the south east of England. The nose of the silver bullet points north and is instinctively returning us to the shire. A busy week over. It is a Friday and the weekend beckons.

The harvest in the golden fields of Hertfordshire is well under way. A patchwork of brown stubble emerges next to lush green meadows full of grazing sheep. The next crop is already down in one field and a giant water sprayer quenches the thirsty soil.

A nice old church appears through some trees. We have been  diverted off the Great North Road by the great god Waze. Around the corner there is a sign: “historic church”. A long tailback of traffic is to be seen on the A1. Result!

Bbq tonight in Tooting. Ce soir. Vey tawk loik vat in Tootin. Actually I have no idea. Starting to ramble a bit. It’s a sign! Of something.

I have a shopping list. Someone else will do the cooking. I have three sons and a future son in law who will happily take up the mantle. I expect/hope. Should do anyway, leaving me to relax in a camping chair with a beverage.

There is a Waitrose in Balham. Gateway to the South. One might expect there to be a sign to that effect but I suspect that nowadays most residents of Balham and its environs will have no idea what I’m on about. Peter Sellers. A timeless classic. Look it up.

The diy is finished for now. A highly successful three and a half days of it. The girls excelled as a team at the painting and I did all the bits that required drilling n stuff like that. All is calm on the deck, except for the usual police car siren. Could be an ambulance I suppose. We never get to see. Sounds of the city.

We are not far from the Essex cricket ground here. As a member of Notts CCC I get in for free but Essex are playing away this week. Probs wouldn’t have had enough time to go anyway. Two weeks today I’m off to see Notts v Surrey at Trent Bridge. If anyone wants to come along let me know. I can get guest vouchers for the members area. 29th August. First day.

…

Exam results day today. We no longer have an interest in this but having seen four offspring through the system I know how stressful a time it can be. 

…

Must be years since I’ve driven through London. Central London at least. On that occasion I got stung with a congestion charge fine. Totally escaped my mind that I needed to pay the charge. It hadn’t been a thing when I’d last driven through London the time before that.

This time I discovered that everywhere had a 20mph speed limit. No idea whether there will be repercussions as I only noticed this after passing through a speed camera at twenty six mph. Hmm.

No idea why people drive in London. The Premier Inn has no parking. When we got here I parked in a staff parking bay and went in to scope the sitch. The manager said I  was fine to park there whilst unloading. Bringing the bags in the person who checked us in was not as confident as the manager so I left the girls to it and went in search of a D3 zone where our Joe had secured us a parking permit.

The nearest D3 parking was only two streets away but this was easier said than done. The high street has traffic lights every 100m or so making progress painfully slow. Streets I had intended to turn down turned out to be one way, the wrong way.

Anyway I’m ere now, in the room. When I found D3 parking there were plenty of spots so that’s ok then. The girls have gone out to find a sewing shop. The largest in London apaz. Then we are off to tooting Lido for a shiver. 90m unheated open air poo!l The things that you do for the love of a good woman 🙂

THG’s finest home made granola with yo’gurt and berries on the deck this morning. THG makes great granola. I bought the yo and the berries. My contribution. Slooking like another fine day ahead although slightly overcast right now. About five degrees warmer in Chelmsford than at home. Deep south innit.

Had a good afternoon out in the city yesterday. Work but nothing too onerous. Ended up in City Spice which apparently is the best curry house on Brick Lane, so they tell us 🙂. I had a lamb madras. Was good fair play.

Our last operational day here before moving on to Tooting tomorrow. Tooting has an open air swimming pool, the Lido, which is apparently 90m long and unheated! We are booked in at something like 3.30pm. Joy 🙂. 

We are staying at Tooting’s finest Premier Inn. It is quite a few years since I stayed at a Premier Inn. There are few options in Tooting. I seem to remember them as being a bit of a step up from a Travelodge.

I always stayed at Travelodges when at Timico. The company policy meant that Hilton’s et al were excluded on the basis of price. Senior managers would sometimes whinge about this but I would say if it was good enough for me… Haven’t stayed at a Travelodge since packing it all in ten years ago. They are pretty crap really.

Our Joe lives in Tooting hence the visit. There is a bbq in prospect with a full Davies and partners turnout. Shud be gud. Should be gould. Something like that. We are gathering in the pub ovver the road first. What’s not to like.

But that is all for tomorrow. Today is another roll up the sleeves job. Well I’m wearing a tshirt so not rolling up the sleeves per se. The sleeves are already rolled up in a tshirt aren’t they?

I have to put up some corner shelves in the bathroom and cut down some knobs whose screws are too long for their intended purpose, apaz. Tbh I’m not sure about that one yet but I haven’t really sized it up. Brought a junior hacksaw with me. The shelves will be ok. I bought some tungsten carbide tipped drill bits specially for the job. It’s always good to find an excuse to buy more tools. There is also a Sam Fender picture frame to put up and a mirror. Eat yer heart out Bob the Builder 🙂

BTW I haven’t mentioned it for a while but lots of you will already have clocked the fact that this year’s trefbash is going to be the last one. Jodie the extremely excellente graphics designer from Fuse2 is working on some options for a logo and I anticipate next month putting it to a vote aka last year.

The theme is “tropical”. I figured tropical would allow for lots of colourful creativity when it comes to fancy dress. Also lots of good music. This year the band is going to have a bigger lineup. There will be lots of dancing, tropical cocktails and great food. Not worked out what the food is going to be yet. Thoughts?

Just been to the shop. M&S food hall. Nearest gaff to where Hannah lives apart from the corner shop. The strange thing is when you hear people talk vey towk loik vis. Just like on the telly but far away from my normal experience. I am not tempted at all to imitate them.

Defo a summer in the South East smell to the morning. Clear blue sky and a hot day in prospect. We are at Hannah and George’s to help with some decorating n stuff. I’m out on their deck enjoying an early morning cuppa.

The soundtrack to the morning includes police sirens, a magpie, blue tit and a robin plus what sounds like a jet airliner. Don’t think we are all that far from Stansted here though I wouldn’t expect to be able to hear the planes. The police car has moved on.

…

Had a stroll to M&S food hall in Chelmsford. It’s only around the corner. A bit more limited than my usual stomping grounds Waitrose but it did a job and I settled in to a pot of tea in the caff before checkout.

Got some lunch stuff in but tbth not sure I’ll be wanting lunch wot with the day warming up an all. The others may well do.