The Wife & I usually trudge round the supermarket on a Friday morning. Not the most enjoyable activity, but what makes it even remotely tolerable is the fact of breakfast out. That in itself is hardly the highlight of the week but it does enable us to people-watch while we gird our loins. An added bonus is that a hand carwashing facility is offered in the car park, no doubt by immigrant workers (legal & otherwise) under a gang master. I have learned to make a memorable remark when commissioning their expertise to avoid the more easily being charged twice for the service, or being thought dishonest for not paying on return to my car. This morning I jokingly requested a "short back and sides" as I handed over my tenner. It was as well I did for the young man did indeed approach me for payment a second time, but he remembered my jocularity when reminded. Be warned!
A nightmare of being retired and home most of the time is that occassionally one has to put up with The Wife's friends. We entertained five of them to lunch on Tuesday. The event passed off reasonably happily with many laughs. Janet & John (not their real names) came, also Darby & Joan, with Heidi. All are now in their 70's at least which made The Wife & I feel quite spry. Long may they continue to make us feel that way!!
The car expense, which I mentioned last time, turned out to be both the clutch master cylinder, and two font coil-springs. The clutch is probably wear & tear, but the other problem has to be pot holes. The roads are quite (some very) bad. Although the Council is, as I write, attending to the most serious problems in that regard, much more needs to be done. The government has made available an additonal £100M towards the national cost, but they could also help the unemployed by giving them some of the work. Now there's a thought.
Twitter is not the experience I thought it might be. It is fun and easy, but the sheer volume of tweets is mind-blowing. I had hoped to keep my end up, as it were, but in reality am overwhelmed by all the other trivia. I enjoy it and will continue at @dufferroy
Is summer here? The last two days have been simply glorious weather. Today I removed the winter covers from the various garden benches (noting inter alia that some of them need painting) and better sited them in the garden. Shade was provided by judicious placing of umbrellas, and it felt good to believe that all is right with the world. Number One Cat eschewed my efforts and remained stubbornly indoors, but my will shall prevail eventually. All that remains is the barbie season to properly arrive, and for the evenings to remain balmy not hot (or cold) and we shall have achieved perfection. Roll on summer.
Friday, April 08, 2011
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Vicissitudes
I suppose that we all have them, but that truth doesn't alter the frustration we feel when Life decides to throw a wobbly.
We have a broken loo seat. Normally one would visit the DIY store and pick up a replacement for a few quid, buit noooo! This one comes with a fitting which I cannot fathom, unless the solution is to remove the toilet from the wall in order to gain access to the rear of the thing. Enter the plumber, a representative of the local firm who fitted the wretched thing. After an hour or so he emerged triumphantly with the broken seat in tow and announced that it looked like a special purchase. He departed for the supplier, while I had visions of having to replace the entire toilet for want of the seat. We then had to send him photos of the loo to aid identification (Goodness knows what any intercepting agency might have thought). That was on Wednesday and we shall not see the new seat until Monday, perhaps, at a cost of some £65 + VAT. For a loo seat? And then there is the cost of fitting..
Yesterday my car played a trick on me. Exiting a car park which I have used countless times, a sound from beneath the car suggested a grounding, unlikely. Instantly the clutch pedal refused to return to its position, leaving me to change gear with a movement based on about half-an-inch of travel. The car ran ok, even if changing gear was necessarily cautious. After some 10 miles or so and to the accompaniment of another "graunch" the pedal returned to its full height, making driving easier. What can it be? Hopefully the garage will diagnose the cause and remedy tomorrow.
Number One son has had some set-backs of his own this week and some good news. Due to the activities of some at his workplace, and other happenings in his life, great stress has been endured. He is now signed off work for a couple of weeks while the problem gets sorted (hopefully) by an independent third party. Additionally, his legal challenge to recover money from a previous house sale failed, meaning that the immediate future will be a little more impecunious. However, sale of his current house went through smoothly, as did the move to the flat of the Intended, enabling him to put most of these trials behind him. Life goes on and should now get better and better.
I have joined Twitter! Early days yet, of course, but I hope to join in with the wider community in due course. Watch this space!!
We have a broken loo seat. Normally one would visit the DIY store and pick up a replacement for a few quid, buit noooo! This one comes with a fitting which I cannot fathom, unless the solution is to remove the toilet from the wall in order to gain access to the rear of the thing. Enter the plumber, a representative of the local firm who fitted the wretched thing. After an hour or so he emerged triumphantly with the broken seat in tow and announced that it looked like a special purchase. He departed for the supplier, while I had visions of having to replace the entire toilet for want of the seat. We then had to send him photos of the loo to aid identification (Goodness knows what any intercepting agency might have thought). That was on Wednesday and we shall not see the new seat until Monday, perhaps, at a cost of some £65 + VAT. For a loo seat? And then there is the cost of fitting..
Yesterday my car played a trick on me. Exiting a car park which I have used countless times, a sound from beneath the car suggested a grounding, unlikely. Instantly the clutch pedal refused to return to its position, leaving me to change gear with a movement based on about half-an-inch of travel. The car ran ok, even if changing gear was necessarily cautious. After some 10 miles or so and to the accompaniment of another "graunch" the pedal returned to its full height, making driving easier. What can it be? Hopefully the garage will diagnose the cause and remedy tomorrow.
Number One son has had some set-backs of his own this week and some good news. Due to the activities of some at his workplace, and other happenings in his life, great stress has been endured. He is now signed off work for a couple of weeks while the problem gets sorted (hopefully) by an independent third party. Additionally, his legal challenge to recover money from a previous house sale failed, meaning that the immediate future will be a little more impecunious. However, sale of his current house went through smoothly, as did the move to the flat of the Intended, enabling him to put most of these trials behind him. Life goes on and should now get better and better.
I have joined Twitter! Early days yet, of course, but I hope to join in with the wider community in due course. Watch this space!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The Joys of Living
Living as I do on the fringes of woodland, it is an education at this time of year to watch the nesting birds. Predominantly here we have rooks and jackdaws on a site where they have nested for close on 300 years. To watch them setting up home, with their constant squabbling and incessant chatter is to watch a mirror on our own society.
First comes the selection of a suitable tree, then that bird departs in search of a mate for a second opinion. Meanwhile another bird views the same site and leaves also. The first, now pair, return and begin to build their nest, performing real acrobatics in order to wrest suitable twigs from the living, but leafless, trees. Now the second pair return and squabbles abound. In the event they set up home in a neighbouring tree where they continue to barrack their neighbours and, determining to be the neighbours from hell, stealing the nesting material collected by the first pair.
As if that isn't bad enough, both pairs refuse to retrieve any material dropped, instead leaving in search of fresh replacement, which of course gives the opportunity for more stealing! Eventually things settle down, although the occasional squabble occurs. Exchanges are more inclined to be reduced to more of the chat over the garden fence type, except when new neighbours decide to move in adjacent and the whole cycle begins again, this time with the original two pairs ganging up on the newcomers!
Eventually all settles down except that the jackdaws do seem to have a real gift of the gab as they chatter all day and all night. Presently we shall have chicks yelling for food 24 hours a day, and then the mess begins to build up. Discarded twigs, moss, faeces, feathers, all in my garden! Then will come the spectacle of the fledglings standing their ground on the grass, waiting for another meal and facing down the local cat who is also hungry.
Soon they join their parents in their daily excursion who knows where, and quiet will return to the trees. Until, that is, about 9 pm when the entire flock returns together with the loudest chorus to take up their nightly roost. In the long evenings of summer the returning flock get later, but as the nights draw towards autumn they return increasingly early until, eventually, they settle down to a new routine for winter. Peace. But there is always next year...
Domestic animals also give pleasure of course. Number one cat, Portia, who has always used a litter tray, decided a while ago to also go outside. This made our life less messy and marginally cheaper. Imagine The Wife's chagrin when she found the midden in the garden! Having cleared it, twigs, thorns, and other deterrents were placed, but Portia simply moved them aside and continued her daily visits. She must, sometimes have balanced on two legs to get into the correct position. Rediscovering the midden yesterday, I cleared it and decided that if I couldn't deter Portia, at least I would try to ensure that it was all in one place. I therefore removed the twigs and ensured that the soil was fresh, clean, and loose. Portia promptly used her box! Oh, well.
For many years The Wife has kept fish. First it was goldfish, then tropicals, now both. The large tropical tank has been stable for some years and well cared for. On rising yesterday it was discovered that the water was extremely clouded, one fish was dead, and the others were all struggling to breathe. Fortunately we have a small reserve tank which was hurriedly set up and the struggling fish transferred. The large tank was tested for toxins, with negative results, and then thoroughly cleaned. This morning the fish survived their overnight in the smaller tank, but the large one remains clouded as though there is something in solution. We are baffled and concerned about the surviving fish's welfare since the change in their water may yet cause them to fail. We shall see.
First comes the selection of a suitable tree, then that bird departs in search of a mate for a second opinion. Meanwhile another bird views the same site and leaves also. The first, now pair, return and begin to build their nest, performing real acrobatics in order to wrest suitable twigs from the living, but leafless, trees. Now the second pair return and squabbles abound. In the event they set up home in a neighbouring tree where they continue to barrack their neighbours and, determining to be the neighbours from hell, stealing the nesting material collected by the first pair.
As if that isn't bad enough, both pairs refuse to retrieve any material dropped, instead leaving in search of fresh replacement, which of course gives the opportunity for more stealing! Eventually things settle down, although the occasional squabble occurs. Exchanges are more inclined to be reduced to more of the chat over the garden fence type, except when new neighbours decide to move in adjacent and the whole cycle begins again, this time with the original two pairs ganging up on the newcomers!
Eventually all settles down except that the jackdaws do seem to have a real gift of the gab as they chatter all day and all night. Presently we shall have chicks yelling for food 24 hours a day, and then the mess begins to build up. Discarded twigs, moss, faeces, feathers, all in my garden! Then will come the spectacle of the fledglings standing their ground on the grass, waiting for another meal and facing down the local cat who is also hungry.
Soon they join their parents in their daily excursion who knows where, and quiet will return to the trees. Until, that is, about 9 pm when the entire flock returns together with the loudest chorus to take up their nightly roost. In the long evenings of summer the returning flock get later, but as the nights draw towards autumn they return increasingly early until, eventually, they settle down to a new routine for winter. Peace. But there is always next year...
Domestic animals also give pleasure of course. Number one cat, Portia, who has always used a litter tray, decided a while ago to also go outside. This made our life less messy and marginally cheaper. Imagine The Wife's chagrin when she found the midden in the garden! Having cleared it, twigs, thorns, and other deterrents were placed, but Portia simply moved them aside and continued her daily visits. She must, sometimes have balanced on two legs to get into the correct position. Rediscovering the midden yesterday, I cleared it and decided that if I couldn't deter Portia, at least I would try to ensure that it was all in one place. I therefore removed the twigs and ensured that the soil was fresh, clean, and loose. Portia promptly used her box! Oh, well.
For many years The Wife has kept fish. First it was goldfish, then tropicals, now both. The large tropical tank has been stable for some years and well cared for. On rising yesterday it was discovered that the water was extremely clouded, one fish was dead, and the others were all struggling to breathe. Fortunately we have a small reserve tank which was hurriedly set up and the struggling fish transferred. The large tank was tested for toxins, with negative results, and then thoroughly cleaned. This morning the fish survived their overnight in the smaller tank, but the large one remains clouded as though there is something in solution. We are baffled and concerned about the surviving fish's welfare since the change in their water may yet cause them to fail. We shall see.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Wouldn't you just know it?
A couple of weeks ago I complained that my car was covered in mud (some of it quite thick) following a police diversion. Since then the weather has been inclement to the extent that I have been very reluctant to wash the car. It has either been too cold, or wet. I am averse to using an automated car-wash after an Incident with the previous car. Thus the car has languished in its unwashed state, albeit in fairly regular use which increases the dirt.
On Saturday, with the temperature positively balmy and the atmosphere dry and sunny, I decided to undertake the much needed washing of the car. Out came the hosepipe, the bucket, shampoo, leather, polishing cloth, window cleaner, elbow grease and MP3 player. Some 90 minutes later with sweat dripping and aching in both arms, I surveyed the beast. Bright, shiny, and gleaming in every (visible) part it was a work of art, a labour of love, and worth more than the cup of tea The Wife presented me with. Away went the hosepipe, bucket et al and I retired to the TV with that smug sense of satisfaction that every car-washer knows. Will we never learn?
Sunday dawned, and the weather was chucking it down, and did so all day. High winds accompanied the rain just to make sure that muck from way off was whipped in the general direction of my car, where it stuck to the now wet paintwork, chrome, plastic, and glass. Now the car needs washing, again...
I am reminded of the immortal song by the late Michael Flanders and Donald Swann, "The Gas Man Cometh". Those two knew a thing or two about life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPZM8Ebt-mU
On Saturday, with the temperature positively balmy and the atmosphere dry and sunny, I decided to undertake the much needed washing of the car. Out came the hosepipe, the bucket, shampoo, leather, polishing cloth, window cleaner, elbow grease and MP3 player. Some 90 minutes later with sweat dripping and aching in both arms, I surveyed the beast. Bright, shiny, and gleaming in every (visible) part it was a work of art, a labour of love, and worth more than the cup of tea The Wife presented me with. Away went the hosepipe, bucket et al and I retired to the TV with that smug sense of satisfaction that every car-washer knows. Will we never learn?
Sunday dawned, and the weather was chucking it down, and did so all day. High winds accompanied the rain just to make sure that muck from way off was whipped in the general direction of my car, where it stuck to the now wet paintwork, chrome, plastic, and glass. Now the car needs washing, again...
I am reminded of the immortal song by the late Michael Flanders and Donald Swann, "The Gas Man Cometh". Those two knew a thing or two about life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPZM8Ebt-mU
Monday, January 31, 2011
You never know...
One day last week The Wife & I were invited to "take tea" with The Daughter, who lives in a rural suburb some 13 miles away. All went well until we approached the last village of size before the main road that has to be crossed or otherwise negotiated en route. Police were evident in quantity, the road was closed and a diversion was in place. I should explain that the road is a single carriageway and at the time we were travelling (about 1.30 pm) most traffic flows north - our direction. Thus we were in a line of cars and one large (but not articulated) lorry.
We all turned left to follow the diversion, onto a farm track thick with mud. The track was riddled with pot holes, some filled with water, and was single file. We bumped and rattled round this course trying not to skid on the mud and narrowly avoiding by deft maneouvering the small amount of oncoming traffic. "Our" lorry was doing well on the bends until it came face to face with another of similar size in the opposite direction. Eventually the diversion spat us out onto a crossroads in a part of the village I had not previously seen with no indicaton of direction. I headed for the church, the tower of which I could just see above rooftops in the middle distance, and eventually arrived at The Daughter's for tea.
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The Daughter has two rescue cats. One is fit (should that be fat?) and healthy, the other is of great age, has multiple medical problems and is greatly emaciated. However, he is perfectly happy and eats like a horse. He is not in pain or distress but is slowly fading. When we arrived he was sitting by the front door in the sun.I'm sure he had no idea where he was or what day it was, but he was warm.
After arriving home we discovered that the police presence had been due to a fatal accident that morning. The victim was 30 years old. I'm sure that most of the drivers in the diverted traffic complained about the mud (now thick on my car, too) but that was nothing compared to the tragedy that had occured. Later still we heard that the other driver had been charged in connection with the death. The accident had happened at 8.20 am and we wait now to see if drink was a factor. How easily and quickly these things happen.
We all turned left to follow the diversion, onto a farm track thick with mud. The track was riddled with pot holes, some filled with water, and was single file. We bumped and rattled round this course trying not to skid on the mud and narrowly avoiding by deft maneouvering the small amount of oncoming traffic. "Our" lorry was doing well on the bends until it came face to face with another of similar size in the opposite direction. Eventually the diversion spat us out onto a crossroads in a part of the village I had not previously seen with no indicaton of direction. I headed for the church, the tower of which I could just see above rooftops in the middle distance, and eventually arrived at The Daughter's for tea.
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
The Daughter has two rescue cats. One is fit (should that be fat?) and healthy, the other is of great age, has multiple medical problems and is greatly emaciated. However, he is perfectly happy and eats like a horse. He is not in pain or distress but is slowly fading. When we arrived he was sitting by the front door in the sun.I'm sure he had no idea where he was or what day it was, but he was warm.
After arriving home we discovered that the police presence had been due to a fatal accident that morning. The victim was 30 years old. I'm sure that most of the drivers in the diverted traffic complained about the mud (now thick on my car, too) but that was nothing compared to the tragedy that had occured. Later still we heard that the other driver had been charged in connection with the death. The accident had happened at 8.20 am and we wait now to see if drink was a factor. How easily and quickly these things happen.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
I Just Knew It!!
The New Year started off much too smoothly, something was bound to go wrong. Not only did my calm euphoric state not last, it was shattered in a variety of ways and just to make it more emphatic it happened on successive days.
It started quietly enough with the car warning me that the brake pads were worn down. No problem, book the car in for remedial work. An unexpected expense, but ok it is wear and tear and, to be honest, something to cope with where mechanical devices are concerned. Fine. I trust the garage who do the repairs, I've used them for years, and duly took the car to them on Friday.
Later that day, while surfing the Net, I picked up one of the nastiest viruses imaginable. It told me my computer had a multitude of problems and that I should pay money to a particular website for the key to unlock their removal tool. Then to underline the problems (which I did not previously have) it disabled my security software, prevented access to any program which might help to remove the offending virus and, over a few hours, progressively prevented access to other programs too. All the while it bombarded the screen with pop-ups and periodically connected me to websites that I'd rather not see. So, I switched off and rang the chap who in the past has ministered to our various computers and who seems really to know his stuff. Saturday was the day for salvation. To cheer up The Family I booked cinema seats to see The King's Speech on Saturday afternoon.
On Saturday lunchtime I loaded the defective computer into the newly repaired car and delivered it to the repair guy en route for the cinema. The cinema had no booking (for which I'd paid) and, worse, had no showing at the relevant time! There are two cinemas in our town, about two miles apart, one of which changed its name from Vue to Odeon a while ago, while the other is still Vue. I had apparently booked Vue when I should have booked Odeon, but now it was too late to make the booking on time! We ended by paying again. It's a good job the film was good and in some way made me feel that I didn't mind quite so much paying twice as much to see it!!!
I collected the computer on Sunday. The Guy had been up half the night removing the Offence, but it had left the computer so slow that reformatting was the only option. Now I have my car, and pleasant memories of a good film to ease my task in re-loading the computer with my software. Thank God I keep back-ups of my data!!
It started quietly enough with the car warning me that the brake pads were worn down. No problem, book the car in for remedial work. An unexpected expense, but ok it is wear and tear and, to be honest, something to cope with where mechanical devices are concerned. Fine. I trust the garage who do the repairs, I've used them for years, and duly took the car to them on Friday.
Later that day, while surfing the Net, I picked up one of the nastiest viruses imaginable. It told me my computer had a multitude of problems and that I should pay money to a particular website for the key to unlock their removal tool. Then to underline the problems (which I did not previously have) it disabled my security software, prevented access to any program which might help to remove the offending virus and, over a few hours, progressively prevented access to other programs too. All the while it bombarded the screen with pop-ups and periodically connected me to websites that I'd rather not see. So, I switched off and rang the chap who in the past has ministered to our various computers and who seems really to know his stuff. Saturday was the day for salvation. To cheer up The Family I booked cinema seats to see The King's Speech on Saturday afternoon.
On Saturday lunchtime I loaded the defective computer into the newly repaired car and delivered it to the repair guy en route for the cinema. The cinema had no booking (for which I'd paid) and, worse, had no showing at the relevant time! There are two cinemas in our town, about two miles apart, one of which changed its name from Vue to Odeon a while ago, while the other is still Vue. I had apparently booked Vue when I should have booked Odeon, but now it was too late to make the booking on time! We ended by paying again. It's a good job the film was good and in some way made me feel that I didn't mind quite so much paying twice as much to see it!!!
I collected the computer on Sunday. The Guy had been up half the night removing the Offence, but it had left the computer so slow that reformatting was the only option. Now I have my car, and pleasant memories of a good film to ease my task in re-loading the computer with my software. Thank God I keep back-ups of my data!!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Happy New Year!
It's not too late, is it?
The Event passed off unremarkably, not even many fireworks down in the valley we overlook. Perhaps people were just so jaded after the Christmas thing, or perhaps a beginning to reigning in spendig, like the government wants. Anyway, it suited our mood and we are all in this together!
New year, new beginnings. The Daughter and The Boyfriend came for dinner and games on the 2nd. It went ok from our end, but things may have been a bit fraught at theirs Anyway their stay was pleasant enough. The rest of that week passed off quietly and we were glad of it. No 2 Son returned to work, and the Wife and I returned the house largely to order, but we still have all that drink...
This (2nd) week has been occupied. I suddenly had a warning light on the dashboard telling me the brake pads are clapped, so the car is booked in for Friday for remedial work. Vauxhall attended to the recall work within 20 minutes on Monday but I haven't noticed any difference yet. No 1 Cat went to the vet for a blood pressure test on Tuesday and was found to be OK. That visit and one the previous week for routine jabs cost me £64. Wednesday I had off (!) and today I was at the quacks for a minor routine check; all is well.I really don't know what I shall do next week as normally the demands of this week would be spread over a month! Still, the car goes in tomorrow for the brakes, but who knows what else they may find...?
The Event passed off unremarkably, not even many fireworks down in the valley we overlook. Perhaps people were just so jaded after the Christmas thing, or perhaps a beginning to reigning in spendig, like the government wants. Anyway, it suited our mood and we are all in this together!
New year, new beginnings. The Daughter and The Boyfriend came for dinner and games on the 2nd. It went ok from our end, but things may have been a bit fraught at theirs Anyway their stay was pleasant enough. The rest of that week passed off quietly and we were glad of it. No 2 Son returned to work, and the Wife and I returned the house largely to order, but we still have all that drink...
This (2nd) week has been occupied. I suddenly had a warning light on the dashboard telling me the brake pads are clapped, so the car is booked in for Friday for remedial work. Vauxhall attended to the recall work within 20 minutes on Monday but I haven't noticed any difference yet. No 1 Cat went to the vet for a blood pressure test on Tuesday and was found to be OK. That visit and one the previous week for routine jabs cost me £64. Wednesday I had off (!) and today I was at the quacks for a minor routine check; all is well.I really don't know what I shall do next week as normally the demands of this week would be spread over a month! Still, the car goes in tomorrow for the brakes, but who knows what else they may find...?
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