…grayblog…

Month: May 2004

  • Stop work

    Play – it helps to preserve sanity.

  • Normal life?

    Sometimes I wonder what life will be like when Hels and I can finally stop stressing about selling flats, buying a home and organising a wedding, not to mention work, family and all the rest. We’ve yet to experience anything that approaches what most people would consider to be "normal life" together. We frequently talk about the prospect of blissful times together, when we don’t have to do anything to a particular deadline, don’t have to worry where we will be living, not have to plan a major event and concern ourselves with the needs and desires of other people – and, most importantly, don’t have to hold those discussions over the telephone because we live 65 miles apart. We can’t wait for those days to come – at the moment, the prospect of those days is all that is keeping me going. Positive mental attitude. Positive mental attitude. Positive mental attitude. If I repeat it enough times, it may sink in and actually work.

    [EDIT: actually, that’s not entirely true. What’s keeping me going is a very beautiful, amazing and wonderful woman who I love very much and who I know loves me too. But I didn’t want to say that too loudly in case you all threw up.]

    In other news, happy 40th birthday today to Lord Percy. I spent a few hours this afternoon with Lord Percy and Lady Bren, helping to tidy and pack at Percy Towers, as they are moving to the new and more imposing Percy Towers, complete with columns, tomorrow. To say that they are mildly stressed would be an understatement – I hope I provided a little light relief.

    And talking of light relief, Elaine over at Little Blue Fox has submitted an excellent new image to the Little Otik photo competition. Go see.

  • Windows 2004

    It would seem that we now have the nod for new fenestration. Now all I have to do is decide when to do it.

  • Little Otik abroad

    I’m frighteningly short of time for creating content here, so apologies for that.
    Even more short of time than me is Lord Percy, who is moving house this week. However, he has found time to do some PhotoShop wizardry on Little Otik:
    Little Otik in London

    Which seems as good an opportunity as any to launch a new picture editing competition. (You can find the results from the last one here – apologies for some of the broken image links – they’re on my old desktop which is currently mothballed and won’t resurface until we move in to our new home).

    As usual, the prize will be a pack of pickled onion flavour Monster Munch (which, as Ade will vouch, is unlikely to ever be delivered), with firm handshakes for the runners-up.

    For all the details, click here.

  • Still hunting

    Busy busy.

  • Beer with…

    …Alison C, Paul F, Malcolm, Stein and Kearn. I’m tired and a bit stressy. I wish H was here.

  • Hunting

    I’ve spent the whole day driving many miles and visiting umpteen estate agents. I also viewed three properties, one of which is "really quite promising and high on the list". Another would rank as "very interesting". I looked at a third from the outside and ranked it as "having potential". All in all, however, the whole experience has been utterly exhausting and I’m fit to drop. I’ll be more than happy when we’ve settled on a place.
    EDIT: it seems that I’m not alone.

  • Litte Otik

    I feel that I should explain the whole Little Otik thing, as I may be being a bit obscure for you all here. Some time ago, I went with Lord Percy and Lady Bren to see Little Otik at the cinema. It’s a film about a tree stump that looks like a baby.
    B and G were working in their garden the other day and found a dead Pelargonium that looked like a little man, complete with hair. Naturally, they were reminded of the film, and with my birthday approaching, decided to put it in a spiffy little box and give it to me as a present.
    It’s fab!

  • Busy day

    I’ve been busy.
    And I’m missing H.

    Ho hum.
    Anyway, I spent most of the day talking to Australians, visiting a garden, looking at a plant trial and trying to find some important papers that seem to have been eaten by my desk.

    And to keep Lord Percy happy, here is a picture of your hero and mine, Little Otik.
    he's dead, Jim

  • Ho hum

    I haven’t said much about Brighton’s place in the Division Two play-offs. This evening, the hope of a quick return to Division One was finally laid to rest.
    Without a new stadium, there is no hope of Brighton ever succeeding in Division One. The lack of capacity and facilities is also a handicap to success in the lower divisions. As it is, I now fear that the best players from the team will be cherry-picked for life in Division One, sold to help finance the on-going planning battles, leaving a team impoverished in both financial and sporting terms. I’m not optimistic for the future.
    …which all goes to prove that it isn’t over until the fat lady sings. I need to go and lie down now.
    BBC match report here.