December 2010
119 posts
1 tag
The Noughties - a retrospective
When I was young I read a great deal of science fiction. Many people were less than complimentary about my choice of reading, notwithstanding that at least I was reading.
I amassed a collection of paperbacks that I still have tucked in boxes in my workshop. I haven’t dipped into their pages for many years, yet nonetheless I feel unable to let them go. There lie great classics from masters...
Oh hello appetite!
and so the misery continues...
I felt a lot brighter this morning, but that began to tarnish as the day wore on. My wife, who is just as ill, told me in _very_ clear terms to phone the GP. I suspect she’s tired of trying to sleep next to what sounds like a deep sea diver at 30 fathoms. So, I dutifully called and tried to occupy the kids whilst waiting for the triage call back.
Actually, the wait wasn’t too bad,...
Watchnprfreshair:
RIP to all the amazing musicians who died this year … and made the world sound a little better while you were here. We had forgotten about some of these.
— braiker
“Sunny, thank you for the sunshine that you gave”
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Good morning tumblr
Today is the first day since Christmas Eve that I have woken without a temperature and bathed in sweat.
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This is why I love the UK press
It’s interesting to see the different approaches to headlining the same story:-
Gunman dies after Armed Police Stand-Off - Sky News
Gunman dies after shooting at police during siege - BBC News
Gunman dies after six-hour siege in Yorkshire - The Times
Man shot dead by police in gun siege named - The Telegraph
Man shot dead following armed siege with police - The...
There is a silver lining
The birds in the neighbourhood are the best fed by miles. Earlier, I put out a whole side of salmon that we cooked Christmas Eve and nobody touched it. Been in the fridge too long, so it had to go. No point in taking chances with food poisoning when you’re already this ill. We have a fridge full of cold meats that will follow over the next few days.
I’d be feeling really miffed if I...
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OK. I was wrong.
It’s not flu-like symptoms anymore. It’s flu; the real McCoy in all its horrible glory.
I guess I shouldn’t complain. This is only the third time in my life, so it’s not bad going really at an average of once every eighteen years. (Yes, my young followers, I really am that old - and today I feel every single day of my age.)
It’s also the first time that both my wife...
Stand by for Boxing Day spam...
3 tags
It's flu-like symptoms
not flu. If I keep telling myself it’s just a cold may be I’ll feel better on Christmas Day.
Choices
The big news in twinset & pearls territory is that a new Sainsburys store will open in the New Year. The build has progressed at a remarkable pace, but with insufficient alacrity to capture the Christmas retailing opportunity.
The decision to allow the development pretty much split the town. There are those that shop in Aldi and Iceland who welcome the news. They tend not to shop in Waitrose...
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Gorgonzola
One of those oxymoronic moments
The Tube (London Underground) wasn’t packed tonight, but there weren’t any spare seats. When a lady boarded and stood in front of a seat occupied by the young boy we’re looking after just now, my wife told him to vacate his seat and allow the lady to sit.
He wasn’t impressed, but the lady definitely was: “How did you do that?” she asked. My wife said it was all...
Christmas trade
I spent some time talking to a young entrepreneur from the West Country today. He decided to invest seven grand on a stall on London’s South Bank this year, after visiting the capital last year. His logic seemed sound; £7,000 over 35 days yields a pitch fee of £200 per day, so you need a £20 sale every hour over an average ten hour day to break even.
Now look at the location. You’re...
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High fives BoJo!
Just spent the day shambling around an alarmingly empty capital. Hats off to Boris Johnson, who has ensured the streets are devoid of snow in what must have been a remarkable operation. Stepping off the train at Ashford International tonight underlined what an awesome job BoJo’s people have done. The pavements in Kent are lethal.
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I cannot spend another Christmas in retail.
emmabutton:
I want to do something. I want to be making a difference. Don’t get me wrong, I like my job… but I am made for so much more than this.
You are making a difference. I notice it, and I’m not in retail. You are critically aware of every other store that you walk into. You are in tune with your store’s operation, turnover and staffing levels. You have an eye for detail that...
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“You’re not grumpy, you’re just intolerant.”
– My dad, RE: me. (via emmabutton)
That’s my Princess!
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More snow
Outside, the snow is falling steadily again. Already, the evidence of the few brave (foolhardy?) souls who ventured out today has disappeared under a layer of fresh whiteness.
Someone admonished me for crowing about fitting winter tyres to my Land Rover. Perhaps I deserved it, but it strikes me that an awful lot of people seem happier to complain instead of doing something positive.
On Saturday...
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Snowbound UK
Good old Blighty has been taking a bit of a bashing in the press recently. Whereas the white stuff is a familiar fact of life in many other countries, we’re relatively snow free in general. Consequently, we grind to a shuddering halt at the merest whiff of a snowflake.
Or so you’d think from the tabloid style “Our shame” comparisons with Oslo, where flights are unaffected...
A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I’m An... →
xntrek:
yowhatsthehaps:
Brilliant. This is basically everything I want to say about the matter, but can never manage to say without making someone terribly angry. I love you, Ricky Gervais.
So next time someone tells me they believe in God, I’ll say “Oh which one? Zeus? Hades? Jupiter? Mars? Odin? Thor? Krishna? Vishnu? Ra?…” If they say “Just God. I only believe in the one God”, I’ll point...
Land Rover
plus Cooper Mud & Snow winter tyres.
I don’t understand what all the fuss is about. What’s so hard about driving in snow?
I think my fish are actually acrobats in disguise.
I think you mean aquabats ;-)
My browser is going through a phase.
emmabutton:
Where it’s just adding bookmarks to the bar without me even asking it to. Any clues?
Try Chrome instead.
Soap
We have a child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder here, which makes them interpret things very literally. I noticed the bar of soap in the downstairs bathroom had been carved into an interesting sculpture.
“What’s the story with the soap, then?” I asked.
There was a long pause.
The child looked at me very seriously and replied ”I don’t know any stories about...