Month: April 2003

Nick Assinder previews the local elections:

I predict a landslide victory for apathy.

Readers are reminded that my birthday is May 12. Less than two weeks.
Readers are also reminded that my Amazon wishlist can be found here.
Message ends.

I’m having a strange old paranoia attack, which, I know, if thought through in a reasoned manner, is utterly irrational. But logical thinking isn’t always a good antidote to paranoia. If I’m logical, I’d realise that I’m not even in a situation where paranoia is justified, but it doesn’t stop me feeling that way.
I need distraction. And reassurance.

This game is, officially, bloody difficult. It is also brilliantly simple, as all the best games should be.

What is being called "good quality rain" is falling outside at the moment.
It’ll be even better quality if it stops by the time I have to walk home.

Football update: the last Division One matches will, of course, be played on Sunday, not Saturday. I knew that. Really.

Is it going to be one of those days? Today I have to go and view and measure up a site and prepare a planting list – in the rain. I’ve left my mobile phone on my desk at home. I’ve just had a whinging customer on the telephone cancelling her order and moaning about the cancellation fee (even though she has had access to our terms of trade, but simply hadn’t bothered to read them). And I’ll be in sole charge of the place this afternoon when my parents go to a funeral.
And I’ve got to go to the dentist on Friday. siiigh. This could be a long week.

Went for a walk this afternoon around the walls and down the canal to Hunston and back, camera in hand. Still only about half way through this film, so it’ll be a week or two before you see the photographs.
I notice that the Cathedral Works Organisation has removed some of the scaffolding from the upper part of the south side of the Cathedral. Now, if you stand in the Bishop’s Palace Gardens, you can get an almost scaffold-free view of the Cathedral, the first time that has been the case for years and years. The new stonework at the top of the south transcept looks immaculate – almost too new, and needs a little wind and rain on it to take the hardness from the stone. Hopefully they will remove some more of the scaffolding – if they do so, I’ll get some pictures.

Do you reckon that, following all the news coverage of Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and other parts of the Middle East, you are pretty hot on Middle East geography? Try this educational game and think again.

Highlights from yesterday’s outing to Brighton:

• lunch in the Eagle with Sarah and Kate
• inspecting carpet and rugs – best of the bunch was definitely GAFF – really nice thick stylish rugs that would definitely be heavenly to pad about on barefoot in the morning. I’ll sort out some measurements and head down there with my credit card, I think.
• CD shopping – a Peace Orchestra remix album, the utterly brilliant album by James Yorkston and The Athletes and the incredibly good and funky album by Will Holland’s Quantic Soul Orchestra, which has had me bopping around the living room all morning.
• purchases of nightlights at The Pier and smelly bath bubbly stuff at Lush, inevitably.
• a moderately expensive short sleeve shirt ready for summer, and a very expensive but splendid long sleeve linen shirt that I’m dead pleased with…
• but no boots. I looked in more than a dozen shops, tried on several pairs, and actually found a couple of pairs that I really liked. But in each case, they either didn’t have a style I liked, the size I need or the boots were too narrow across the instep for me to get on and off. Oh well, the search continues.
• Lemonade at the excellent Hotel Du Vin, which I think could become a regular genteel watering hole.
• Dinner with Kate, Charlie, Pete and Blini at chez Charlie – a splendid way to round off the day, with fabulous roast duck and lots of marvellous conversation – a favour that I will gladly return.

A pretty darned good day, I’d say, spoilt only by crappy South Central trains diverting the last train home to Bognor Regis, and not offering or providing any transport on to Chichester, even though the train was scheduled to come back here. Thankfully, I was able to share a cab with another stranded passenger, so it cost us only £7 each instead of £14. Grr.