Tuesday 20 August 2019
Monday 19 August 2019
Hoping
One of the great things about having a blog that has been running for over ten years, and with over 1,300 posts in it (even if they can be seriously sporadic at times), is that I can dip in, select a date at random, and see what I was writing about way back when.
The best ones are about family.
Some of the best stuff is about J, partly because I may have included a little detail about what he was up to on a particular day, and his life has changed rather a lot since 2007.
Today (and tomorrow for a different reason) is another one of those days for J.
So, he missed one of his exams back in May. Well, actually he had to come out of it after only 30 mins or so due to a bad headache. I so desperately hope he doesn't turn into a migraine sufferer. Of all the characteristics to pass on to your son, that's not the one to hope for. Anyway, today's the day to have another go at it, and as I type this, he'll be on his way to London for the 3-hour challenge. I know he's been working hard over the last few weeks, and I know that he has the ability and the knowledge to do well in this exam (yesterday evening he took great pleasure in explaining to me a particular question and his elegant solution). I only hope that the exam its conditions provide him with an opportunity to give the best of himself.
I hope he comes out happy, I hope he gets all the things that he deserves, and I hope that he thrives in his continuing studies when the new term comes around.
I hope so many things for my wonderful boy.
The best ones are about family.
Some of the best stuff is about J, partly because I may have included a little detail about what he was up to on a particular day, and his life has changed rather a lot since 2007.
Today (and tomorrow for a different reason) is another one of those days for J.
So, he missed one of his exams back in May. Well, actually he had to come out of it after only 30 mins or so due to a bad headache. I so desperately hope he doesn't turn into a migraine sufferer. Of all the characteristics to pass on to your son, that's not the one to hope for. Anyway, today's the day to have another go at it, and as I type this, he'll be on his way to London for the 3-hour challenge. I know he's been working hard over the last few weeks, and I know that he has the ability and the knowledge to do well in this exam (yesterday evening he took great pleasure in explaining to me a particular question and his elegant solution). I only hope that the exam its conditions provide him with an opportunity to give the best of himself.
I hope he comes out happy, I hope he gets all the things that he deserves, and I hope that he thrives in his continuing studies when the new term comes around.
I hope so many things for my wonderful boy.
Sunday 18 August 2019
Gifts
What punishments of God are not gifts?
Remarkable, to be able to see life in this way. What a thought-provoking interview, and I'm glad I found this conversation between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper.
Remarkable, to be able to see life in this way. What a thought-provoking interview, and I'm glad I found this conversation between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper.
Saturday 17 August 2019
Friday 16 August 2019
Witchwood
Having done a quick check on Goodreads, I see that I read 'The Last King of Osten Ard' in May 2017, designed to be a warm up to a return to the world of Osten Ard, and to get us all in the mood for another trilogy along Dragonbone Chair lines.
Well, after a meandering and very long read, I have recently finished 'The Witchwood Crown'. And how was it? Well, I'm not really sure. I think I am pretty out of practice at the whole epic fantasy fiction genre. Certainly it was long, and there was a very large cast of characters to get to grips with. For fairly large chunks of the book, not a whole lot happened - people trudged about, talked to each other, had the occasional skirmish, and so on. I suspect that the same may well have been true for the Dragonbone Chair as well - I think that Simon may well have been stuck in a forest for a few hundred pages towards the beginning. I have no intention of re-reading it right now to check. It's been about 25 years since I read it, and I have plenty of unread books on the shelves right now.
However, Tad Williams does draw you in, I do enjoy his writing style, and if I remember anything from his first Osten Ard trilogy, I seem to recall that he lays a pretty solid foundation, and things start to warm up nicely as the tale unfolds. I suppose as the ultimate seal of approval, I've bought book 2 (Empire of Grass), and I understand that he's busy writing book 3 (The Navigator's Children).
Well, after a meandering and very long read, I have recently finished 'The Witchwood Crown'. And how was it? Well, I'm not really sure. I think I am pretty out of practice at the whole epic fantasy fiction genre. Certainly it was long, and there was a very large cast of characters to get to grips with. For fairly large chunks of the book, not a whole lot happened - people trudged about, talked to each other, had the occasional skirmish, and so on. I suspect that the same may well have been true for the Dragonbone Chair as well - I think that Simon may well have been stuck in a forest for a few hundred pages towards the beginning. I have no intention of re-reading it right now to check. It's been about 25 years since I read it, and I have plenty of unread books on the shelves right now.
However, Tad Williams does draw you in, I do enjoy his writing style, and if I remember anything from his first Osten Ard trilogy, I seem to recall that he lays a pretty solid foundation, and things start to warm up nicely as the tale unfolds. I suppose as the ultimate seal of approval, I've bought book 2 (Empire of Grass), and I understand that he's busy writing book 3 (The Navigator's Children).
Thursday 15 August 2019
What3
Read this very interesting article on the BBC website today.
What3words looks like a brilliant idea.
What3words looks like a brilliant idea.
Wednesday 14 August 2019
Hazards
The hazards of life without parents can be daunting at times. I seem to live in a state of heightened emotion, at risk of going over the edge at the slighted provocation.
Four examples, all from the last few days, mostly from TV programmes!
1. Watching 'Who do you think you are' the other evening with Kate Winslet. Seeing her trying to explain in a matter-of-fact way at the start of the programme that it had been nearly two years since losing her Mum to cancer, and not quite managing to get through the sentence.
2. 24 hours in A&E on Channel 4 last night. One of the stories was about a girl who'd broken her thumb. However, that wasn't really the story, it was the interview with her Dad. He was sharing the story of how much he loved his own Dad, how special he had been, how much he'd influenced the way he wanted to be as a parent, and how he was obviously trying so hard to celebrate a wonderful man through the pain of losing him.
3. Walking into the lounge and finding Nicky watching a programme about a maternity unit, and finding myself watching a new birth. Realising that we're both holding our breath as the midwife unwraps the cord from around the baby's neck, and then that my eyes seem to be watering, again, when baby starts to cry.
4. Listening to the radio on the way to work this morning and hearing 'Castle on the hill' and for some bizarre unknown reason being reminded of stories about the house in the clouds.
Four examples, all from the last few days, mostly from TV programmes!
1. Watching 'Who do you think you are' the other evening with Kate Winslet. Seeing her trying to explain in a matter-of-fact way at the start of the programme that it had been nearly two years since losing her Mum to cancer, and not quite managing to get through the sentence.
2. 24 hours in A&E on Channel 4 last night. One of the stories was about a girl who'd broken her thumb. However, that wasn't really the story, it was the interview with her Dad. He was sharing the story of how much he loved his own Dad, how special he had been, how much he'd influenced the way he wanted to be as a parent, and how he was obviously trying so hard to celebrate a wonderful man through the pain of losing him.
3. Walking into the lounge and finding Nicky watching a programme about a maternity unit, and finding myself watching a new birth. Realising that we're both holding our breath as the midwife unwraps the cord from around the baby's neck, and then that my eyes seem to be watering, again, when baby starts to cry.
4. Listening to the radio on the way to work this morning and hearing 'Castle on the hill' and for some bizarre unknown reason being reminded of stories about the house in the clouds.
Tuesday 13 August 2019
League tables
For the record, on the way to London on Friday, before a ball had been kicked in the new season, Jake and I both made our Premier League predictions for the end of the season, and this is how they look:
| Me | Jake | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | Man City |
| 2 | Spurs | Liverpool |
| 3 | Liverpool | Spurs |
| 4 | Chelsea | Chelsea |
| 5 | Man Utd | Arsenal |
| 6 | Arsenal | Man Utd |
| 7 | Everton | Everton |
| 8 | Leicester | Wolves |
| 9 | West Ham | Leicester |
| 10 | Wolves | West Ham |
| 11 | Watford | Newcastle |
| 12 | Southampton | Bournemouth |
| 13 | Burnley | Watford |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | Crystal Palace |
| 15 | Aston Villa | Aston Villa |
| 16 | Bournemouth | Burnley |
| 17 | Norwich | Southampton |
| 18 | Sheffield Utd | Brighton |
| 19 | Brighton | Norwich |
| 20 | Newcastle | Sheffield Utd |
Interesting to note some of the consistencies between our predictions. We have 5 teams in the same place, 7 within one of each other, and 4 within two, leaving only 4 further apart (Southampton, Burnley, Bournemouth and Newcastle). It should be noted that I have a downer on Newcastle, but I do think that Jake has been a little optimistic on their behalf putting them in 11th. Also I've optimistically put Spurs in 2nd, as well as having Norwich stay up. Jake obviously doesn't fancy either of these chances.
We will have to check in against these predictions as the season progresses!
Monday 12 August 2019
Sunday
Sunday news being posted on Monday, but hey, at least I'm catching up.
Sue and Martin came over yesterday. Official reason was to collect cushions to go with the chairs that we had delivered some time ago (and that Nicky and Jake had hunted for in the storage unit). We had sandwiches and scones, and it was good to catch up.
The afternoon was spent at the Volvo and LandRover dealerships. Interestingly the XC90 seems to be making a bid against the Disco. Things are getting serious, and test drives have been booked in both for next weekend.
Roast beef for dinner!
Sue and Martin came over yesterday. Official reason was to collect cushions to go with the chairs that we had delivered some time ago (and that Nicky and Jake had hunted for in the storage unit). We had sandwiches and scones, and it was good to catch up.
The afternoon was spent at the Volvo and LandRover dealerships. Interestingly the XC90 seems to be making a bid against the Disco. Things are getting serious, and test drives have been booked in both for next weekend.
Roast beef for dinner!
Sunday 11 August 2019
Weekend
First of all to catch up with Friday's news, we headed up to London mid afternoon, and cabbed it to the Ivy Brasserie in Soho where we had a table booked for an early pre-show dinner. Food was good, and we were pleased to be inside as we watched the rain lash down, and people huddle under the restaurant awning. Timing was good, and we were able to make the transfer from restaurant to theatre in the dry.
Show was excellent. Genie lots of fun. We definitely had the 'proper' genie, but we think that a number of the other parts were being taken by understudies (almost certainly Aladdin and Jasmine). Didn't detract from the show - perhaps they were just being given a run at the main roles before the show closes in a couple of weeks.
Thankfully the show wasn't even adversely effected by noisy people in the theatre. A combination of what seemed to be people coming to see the show for whom English wasn't their first language, and young children who were no doubt Disney fans, but perhaps not old enough to sit through West End show.
The whole enterprise was Nicky's treat, and as a very small token of thanks, Nicky is now the proud owner of a genie teddy!
A brief moment of concern that our return travel was going to be difficult, as there had been an enormous power cut and trains and other travel had been disrupted, but we got away with it, and our Ebbsfleet line was fine.
As for Saturday, Nicky went to London for the day with Carolyn, and champagne and cocktail-ed it around the city. Jake and I played tennis at his new club. I considered it a significant achievement to take five games from him over the course of two sets.
Show was excellent. Genie lots of fun. We definitely had the 'proper' genie, but we think that a number of the other parts were being taken by understudies (almost certainly Aladdin and Jasmine). Didn't detract from the show - perhaps they were just being given a run at the main roles before the show closes in a couple of weeks.
Thankfully the show wasn't even adversely effected by noisy people in the theatre. A combination of what seemed to be people coming to see the show for whom English wasn't their first language, and young children who were no doubt Disney fans, but perhaps not old enough to sit through West End show.
The whole enterprise was Nicky's treat, and as a very small token of thanks, Nicky is now the proud owner of a genie teddy!
A brief moment of concern that our return travel was going to be difficult, as there had been an enormous power cut and trains and other travel had been disrupted, but we got away with it, and our Ebbsfleet line was fine.
As for Saturday, Nicky went to London for the day with Carolyn, and champagne and cocktail-ed it around the city. Jake and I played tennis at his new club. I considered it a significant achievement to take five games from him over the course of two sets.
Friday 9 August 2019
Thursday 8 August 2019
Toe
A trip to see a man about a toe today. Don't know if it will make any difference. Will have to wait and see.
Wednesday 7 August 2019
Cafe
Lunch with Nicky in Tunbridge Wells today - bonus for a workday! We had a relaxing and long lunch at the café over the road. Definitely something we should do more often. Nicky left Jake at home, and he went to play tennis with some of his friends.
I failed to mention yesterday that Nicky had taken Barley to the vets for some osteopathy and acupuncture! Apparently it all went very well, Barley was very relaxed, and didn't seem to mind at all having needles stuck in her. She is having four sessions in all, and they took a video of her walking before the first treatment to compare with after the last one to see if they can see any change.
In other pet news, Willow didn't want to leave the woods today in case the squirrels came down from the trees, and Coco was having a very chilled out day.
I failed to mention yesterday that Nicky had taken Barley to the vets for some osteopathy and acupuncture! Apparently it all went very well, Barley was very relaxed, and didn't seem to mind at all having needles stuck in her. She is having four sessions in all, and they took a video of her walking before the first treatment to compare with after the last one to see if they can see any change.
In other pet news, Willow didn't want to leave the woods today in case the squirrels came down from the trees, and Coco was having a very chilled out day.
Tuesday 6 August 2019
Uploading
I have logged on to flickr on the Surface. I have even changed the way to log on to flickr, partly so that Nicky doesn't get some sort of alert on her phone every time I try to log on, and then has to send me a PIN number to type in. I think also it may be that flickr is keen to distance themselves from Yahoo now that they are under new ownership.
Anyway, I am back in, and even though it may be a never-ending task, I have decided to start uploading again. Starting with my phone, as phones are where most photos get taken these days (and Nicky's photos get shared to my phone as well). The amazing thing is that in recent years we've started to use photos for all sorts of other things as well as actually taking "photos". There's pictures of all sorts of nonsense in our photo-stream. There's screen shots of things from the web, things that people have sent us, tickets, reminders, lists, etc etc, and then from time to time there are actually photos that are worth saving. Unlike before, when it was a case of uploading pretty much everything and not worrying about getting the occasional dud, now you get to be a lot more choosy.
In any case, here are a couple from recently.
Anyway, I am back in, and even though it may be a never-ending task, I have decided to start uploading again. Starting with my phone, as phones are where most photos get taken these days (and Nicky's photos get shared to my phone as well). The amazing thing is that in recent years we've started to use photos for all sorts of other things as well as actually taking "photos". There's pictures of all sorts of nonsense in our photo-stream. There's screen shots of things from the web, things that people have sent us, tickets, reminders, lists, etc etc, and then from time to time there are actually photos that are worth saving. Unlike before, when it was a case of uploading pretty much everything and not worrying about getting the occasional dud, now you get to be a lot more choosy.
In any case, here are a couple from recently.
Monday 5 August 2019
Minimalism
Is it weird that just after the arrival of my new Surface I've downloaded a new book from my library app that I had on the waitlist - the title of the book is Digital Minimalism: on living better with less technology?!
Sunday 4 August 2019
Tea
A very quick post to record a visit to Coulsdon for afternoon tea (thanks Bec) and a chance to catch up with Sue and Martin. Hopefully will see them again in a few weeks.
Saturday 3 August 2019
Surface
The Surface has arrived, and so, like a message from about seven and a half years ago, that time sent from Florida, this is my first blog post from a new computer. So far so good, although I can't really claim to have done very much with it just yet or to have set it up properly.
Following up on yesterday's post, Hove cricket went ok, although Kent lost! Fairly limited showing of former colleagues as well, but still good to catch up with a few old faces.
Nicky and I are just back from supper at The Cheese Room, my first visit there, and very pleasant it was too.
Following up on yesterday's post, Hove cricket went ok, although Kent lost! Fairly limited showing of former colleagues as well, but still good to catch up with a few old faces.
Nicky and I are just back from supper at The Cheese Room, my first visit there, and very pleasant it was too.
Friday 2 August 2019
Ashes
First test is underway. Jake and I have a little prediction competition going for the first couple of days. I lost day 1, having said that England would win the toss, and that there would be 7 wickets falling in the day. Not too sure how my day 2 predictions are going to work out either, seeing as I said that Roy would top score, and he's already out before lunch for 10!
Off to Hove later on for the cricket (entertaining to do a blog search for Hove - mentions of going to the cricket there in 2011, 2014 and 2015, and that's not a complete list as I'm sure I've been since changing jobs as well).
Hopefully will be able to blog from my new 'Surface' tomorrow - ordered from Amazon yesterday evening.
Off to Hove later on for the cricket (entertaining to do a blog search for Hove - mentions of going to the cricket there in 2011, 2014 and 2015, and that's not a complete list as I'm sure I've been since changing jobs as well).
Hopefully will be able to blog from my new 'Surface' tomorrow - ordered from Amazon yesterday evening.
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