It's the Tuesday after a Bank Holiday weekend at end of May and the rain keeps coming. All plans to paint the flat roof have been put on hold as the roof is never dry long enough to sweep the dust off let alone apply the special paint.
So the day has been spent pottering around Dereham, watching the rain fall, watching Roman Holiday on DVD. The positive outcome was the purchase of a couple of folding sack trolleys ready for moving stuff around at Cambridge.
We'll have to wait to see if there is a break in the weather long enough to dry out the felt so we can get it painted one weekend. Meanwhile, it's back home tomorrow.
30 May 2006
29 May 2006
What we did on a wet weekend
Things never quite turn out how you plan. In the end we didn't go to the party or to the Arboretum. Instead, Saturday was spent doing laundry and a bit of shopping for birthday presents etc. Sunday was a different matter. I woke up and decided to finally swap the sitting room and dining room round as Sonia had suggested before Xmas.
First problem - how to move the TV, NTL box, video and DVD? Obvious solution: Dig under the stairs for the cable and connectors that were bought last year for this purpose and make extension cables for TV aerial and NTL cable.
Second problem - how to get the cables from front room wall to new TV position in back room? Trailing cables around the walls and through two doors was not an option so it was up with half the carpet in the living room and then up with a few floor boards to feed the cables. Drilling a couple of holes and then the judicious use of carbon fibre interlinked tent poles, blue rope and a pair of long barbeque tongs meant we soon had the two cables running below the floor boards to their new position in the former dining room. A quick connection up and check showed that the TV and NTL box worked.
Third problem - how to move a dining table from the back room to the front room, and move a 3 seater sofa from the front room to the back room? Brute force and careful angling (and the lifting of the back room door of it's hinges when it got jammed) were the order of the day. Only complaint from Sonia came when she was under the sofa in the hall way and I asked her to hold it while I removed the door. Other than that it went smoothly.
We then had a clear out of books, moved the videos and DVDs around, and decided that the front room carpet could go back down for now as we'll now need to decorate the front room. The late afternoon included a trip to deliver the birthday presents before collapsing on the sofa for the evening.
Monday morning was spent in town buying a new vacuum cleaner and net curtains for the front room (didn't need them when it was a sitting room but now it's a dining room we eat our breakfast in there and the public doesn't need/want to see us first thing in the morning...). After attacking the meadow at the top of the garden for 45 minutes I had got about two thirds of it down from knee to ankle height when the rain started. I'm a coward and decided to stop using the electric strimmer, so I've still got some more strimming to look forward to next week.
After lunch we headed over to Norfolk as I'm planning to help my Dad paint his flat roof tomorrow if the rain holds off. Popped in to see him at the golf club where he was helping run a Juniors Competition. The early evening was spent helping him set up a Flikr account so that he can share his photos with family in Australia. We seem to have got that sorted and while he's gone off to watch a bit of TV with Mum and Sonia I'm typing this lot up.
Oh well, time to be sociable with the rest of the family. Let's see if drinks are being served. To quote my mother "The sun is over the yard arm somewhere in the world"
First problem - how to move the TV, NTL box, video and DVD? Obvious solution: Dig under the stairs for the cable and connectors that were bought last year for this purpose and make extension cables for TV aerial and NTL cable.
Second problem - how to get the cables from front room wall to new TV position in back room? Trailing cables around the walls and through two doors was not an option so it was up with half the carpet in the living room and then up with a few floor boards to feed the cables. Drilling a couple of holes and then the judicious use of carbon fibre interlinked tent poles, blue rope and a pair of long barbeque tongs meant we soon had the two cables running below the floor boards to their new position in the former dining room. A quick connection up and check showed that the TV and NTL box worked.
Third problem - how to move a dining table from the back room to the front room, and move a 3 seater sofa from the front room to the back room? Brute force and careful angling (and the lifting of the back room door of it's hinges when it got jammed) were the order of the day. Only complaint from Sonia came when she was under the sofa in the hall way and I asked her to hold it while I removed the door. Other than that it went smoothly.
We then had a clear out of books, moved the videos and DVDs around, and decided that the front room carpet could go back down for now as we'll now need to decorate the front room. The late afternoon included a trip to deliver the birthday presents before collapsing on the sofa for the evening.
Monday morning was spent in town buying a new vacuum cleaner and net curtains for the front room (didn't need them when it was a sitting room but now it's a dining room we eat our breakfast in there and the public doesn't need/want to see us first thing in the morning...). After attacking the meadow at the top of the garden for 45 minutes I had got about two thirds of it down from knee to ankle height when the rain started. I'm a coward and decided to stop using the electric strimmer, so I've still got some more strimming to look forward to next week.
After lunch we headed over to Norfolk as I'm planning to help my Dad paint his flat roof tomorrow if the rain holds off. Popped in to see him at the golf club where he was helping run a Juniors Competition. The early evening was spent helping him set up a Flikr account so that he can share his photos with family in Australia. We seem to have got that sorted and while he's gone off to watch a bit of TV with Mum and Sonia I'm typing this lot up.
Oh well, time to be sociable with the rest of the family. Let's see if drinks are being served. To quote my mother "The sun is over the yard arm somewhere in the world"
26 May 2006
What to do on a wet bank holiday weekend?
The Bank Holiday weekend is in the balance - quiet or rowdy? Wet or dry? Whatever the weather I'm hoping of a relaxed weekend as I'm recovering from a small visitor. A stomach virus came to stay with me for a couple of days so I've been off work and have spent my time on the sofa catching up with the backlog of Lost videos in between dashing up stairs...slept through for 10 hours on Wednesday night from 7pm and was even too feverish to work a computer so it must have been serious. Made it back into work today but was warning people not to stand between me and the door.
On the rowdy front, there's a possible party in Hucknall for one of Sonia's friends from her MA course, but as we forgot to RSVP we'll need to ring to find out if it's OK to turn up. Plus we might pop into the Arboretum during Saturday afternoon for Audio Massage in the Park if the wet weather holds off.
On the quiet front, the wet weather might also scupper my plans to nip over to Norfolk to help my Dad paint his flat roof next week. In the mean time we've also got a few birthday presents to sort out, so it looks like a trip into town tomorrow. This should be interesting as NCT bus drivers are on strike. So, will town be quiet or rowdy? My money is on the queues for the car parks getting rowdy so we might get some exercise from the walk as I'll not be driving in and definitely will not be on a scab bus!
But we won't be able to walk far under the weight of our flak jackets and stab vests, clambering over the burnt out wrecks of stolen cars that litter the ring road as we try to get away from the millions of muggers who lie in wait around every corner...if you believe the national media's version of life in Nottingham.
On the rowdy front, there's a possible party in Hucknall for one of Sonia's friends from her MA course, but as we forgot to RSVP we'll need to ring to find out if it's OK to turn up. Plus we might pop into the Arboretum during Saturday afternoon for Audio Massage in the Park if the wet weather holds off.
On the quiet front, the wet weather might also scupper my plans to nip over to Norfolk to help my Dad paint his flat roof next week. In the mean time we've also got a few birthday presents to sort out, so it looks like a trip into town tomorrow. This should be interesting as NCT bus drivers are on strike. So, will town be quiet or rowdy? My money is on the queues for the car parks getting rowdy so we might get some exercise from the walk as I'll not be driving in and definitely will not be on a scab bus!
But we won't be able to walk far under the weight of our flak jackets and stab vests, clambering over the burnt out wrecks of stolen cars that litter the ring road as we try to get away from the millions of muggers who lie in wait around every corner...if you believe the national media's version of life in Nottingham.
15 May 2006
A quiet weekend in Nottingham
It was a quiet weekend, just a birthday party, a cup final, a haircut and some tickets.
Chris had his 54th birthday bash BBQ. We started at about 7. The rain held off most of the evening as the dozen or so of us sat around chatting and making sure that the kids didn't get too near the hot charcoal. Sonia is starting to convince Rob that they are distant cousins. Lots of lovely grub and drink, then after we'd eaten all the food and drunk all the beer and wine, we all headed off to the pub to carry on. Think we left at about 11.45 (ish).
Woke up on Saturday morning with a sore head and the cambridge tickets in my wallet. There was a vague memory of Chris with a string of tickets about 7 ft long and him handing them out to the appropriate parties. Headed off to the weekly shop. While Sonia was doing the hunter gatherer bit I went for the head massage of a No2 haircut. Barber's "bangin' mix tape of happy house" was not quite what the doctor ordered...
Afternoon was spent texting Paul each time West Ham scored, but as a Liverpool fan he had the last laugh with their usual display of a late equaliser followed by victory in a penalty shoot out.
Chris had his 54th birthday bash BBQ. We started at about 7. The rain held off most of the evening as the dozen or so of us sat around chatting and making sure that the kids didn't get too near the hot charcoal. Sonia is starting to convince Rob that they are distant cousins. Lots of lovely grub and drink, then after we'd eaten all the food and drunk all the beer and wine, we all headed off to the pub to carry on. Think we left at about 11.45 (ish).
Woke up on Saturday morning with a sore head and the cambridge tickets in my wallet. There was a vague memory of Chris with a string of tickets about 7 ft long and him handing them out to the appropriate parties. Headed off to the weekly shop. While Sonia was doing the hunter gatherer bit I went for the head massage of a No2 haircut. Barber's "bangin' mix tape of happy house" was not quite what the doctor ordered...
Afternoon was spent texting Paul each time West Ham scored, but as a Liverpool fan he had the last laugh with their usual display of a late equaliser followed by victory in a penalty shoot out.
05 May 2006
Billy Bragg, De Montford Hall, Leicester, 04/05/06
I woke up this morning with a smile on my face. Not just because it's my birthday and Sonia was there beside me but because of the Bragg gig last night.So why am I smiling about a gig? Let's start with a big thank you to Helen and Phil for doing the driving so I could have a pint, which meant I was relaxed when Bill came on stage at 9.
He opened up with The World Turned Upside Down and kept the volume and speed up for the next couple of songs before starting his characteristic "chats" between the songs. The 2 hour set was a mix of new songs such as I Keep Faith, old songs in a new way (with topical references thrown in such as - "how can you lay there and think of England when you don't even know who's the manager yet?") interspersed with explanations of what the Hope Not Hate Tour was about.
At one point we were given Bill's theory of how St George became the patron Saint of England which involved a jobbing Saint looking for work and coming here in the 14th Century. He moved on to produce a big cross of St George flag and talked about the need to reclaim it from the likes of the BNP, epecially as we are only a few weeks away from the World Cup Finals where a multiracial England will be represented by a multiracial England team. Personally, I'm not convinced that we need National Flags and Saints at all (says the "aging" socialist idealist in me).
The self proclaimed "soul/folk" singer gave us a few traditional tunes including John Barleycorn - that morphed into England, Half English. The music wasn't all "politics and shouting". Bill was joined on stage by Ian Mc Lagan, formerly of The Small Faces and The Faces, who provided keyboard support for several songs. A poignant section was their cover of a Ronnie Lane song about his father (the tune sounded like Witchita Linesman to me) which was followed by Bill singing the song he wrote about his - Tank Park Salute.
The first session ended with the "traditional" updating of The Great Leap Forward with Benjamin Wegg-Prosser getting a mention this time. The first encore was followed by a second "greatest oldies sing along" encore. A man on stage with an electric guitar singing most of the songs from his first 2 albums with an audience that knew the words was about as good as it gets. Bill seemed to be really enjoying himself, and so were we. I didn't feel cheated when he finaly finished the second encore at just after 11 and left the hall asking "how good was that then?"
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