…grayblog…

Category: miscellaneous

  • You want content?

    It comes to something when the log-in page for updating this site has nearly fallen off my "recently visited" list. Sigh.
    Still, the good news is that the sale of Hels’s flat may not be completely scuppered after all. Completely scuppered with this particular purchaser, yes, but not scuppered entirely. What does seem to be scuppered, though, is any realistic hope of living together in our own home when we are married. It looks like I’ll have to cram as much of my stuff as is reasonably possible into Hels’s flat whilst still making it appear like a home that someone would want to buy, thereby allowing us to at least live together even if things are not ideal.
    In other news, I’m psyching myself up for a 4am start on Thursday for my trip to Ireland. Looks like there’ll be an opportunity for some airport blogging, which I know that you all love for its increased level of rambling.
    And finally, I really need a pint. Thankfully, it’s Tuesday – cue a "beer with…" post later.

  • Distracted

    Apologies for the general lack of content at the moment. As I am sure you can understand, I’m a bit submerged at the moment, not only with sorting out property sales, but also with regular work and social events. I’m off to Ireland later this week for a flying visit, and we also have an appointment with the vicar.
    But added to the list of things that I need to write about are

    • Neil and Emma’s wedding
    • Charlie and Pete’s barbeque
    • property sale update

    Hels is not very well, a combination of virus, stress and overdoing it. Like me, she has a busy week ahead – somehow we have to fight through it.

  • House martins

    Hels lives in an attic apartment, under the eaves of a lovely Georgian red brick building. You can lounge in the bath and look out the window to glorious views to the west and south-west over the roofs of the oldest part of Tunbridge Wells. It’s a view that you can get very fond of, and something that we will both miss.
    Recently, as we’ve been soaking in the bath and soaking up the view (separately – keep your dirty thoughts to yourself!), we’ve had the feeling of being attacked as a pair of house martins fly directly toward the window, only to veer up vertically at the very last second. An external inspection of the building revealed a nest under the eaves immediately above the bathroom window, and recently we’ve heard loud cheepings from chicks within the nest. Since the chicks have hatched, the parents have been constantly coming to and fro, delivering flies for the chicks to eat. We can watch them flying over the rooftops in search of their prey.
    One of the things that always impresses me is how martins manage to build their nests. In the case of our resident family, the nest has no support underneath, and is built at the apex of the gable. How do the birds begin to construct the nest? And how do they learn to build such a robust structure? Maybe they get contractors in.

  • Quiet

    Apologies for the continuing quiet here. I haven’t forgotten that list of things that I said I’d write about, and can now add the following:

    • the house martins (not capitalized)
    • going to church
    • Fahrenheit 9/11
    • John Lewis at Bluewater

  • Zombie

    I am home. Well, actually, I’m in the office. I have more work than you could believe.
    At some point, I will write on the following subjects:

    • flat sales and house purchases
    • driving in the Netherlands
    • plant factories
    • Charlie and Pete’s wedding
    • other miscellaneous subjects

    In the meantime, please amuse yourself in whatever manner you feel is appropriate.

  • Idle thoughts

    33 years ago today, Jim Morrison was found dead in his hotel. If he was alive today, he would be sixty years of age.
    What do you think he would have been like as a sixty year old? And was his fame magnified purely because he died young?

  • Personal news update:

    Not much to write about at the moment. Work is still the dominant feature in life.

    • Drove 375 miles yesterday to deliver some plants to Cambridgeshire. Driving a Transit Luton in a strong wind is never much fun.
    • Took Hels’s car for its MOT test today. It failed. I’ve been and purchased the parts required to make it pass, and Tim is kindly fitting them. However, he’s already hit a problem, though hopefully it can be remedied quickly.
    • I’m currently printing all the inserts for the wedding invitations (where to stay, how to find it, etc.). We should get them in the post next week.
    • I’m working my way through a huge backlog of work emails that I’ve filed but not yet replied to or dealt with. PFE has reached a stage where an admin assistant would be useful, but the money is not available to pay for it. So it looks increasingly like I’ll be working longer hours to try and get everything done. Still, at least I remain in total control of everything, and I guess that is a positive.
    • And, whilst losing the football last night is a disappointment, I can see absolutely no justification for this idiotic behaviour.

  • 6p! Six whole pence!

    BT are to charge six pence if you press "3" after dialling 1471, according to this BBC News item. However, just using 1471, writing the number down, and then dialling it manually, will remain free. This seems to make no sense, as surely automating this process in the exchange must reduce exchange load and have a lower cost for BT – Brian?

  • Mmmmmm yeasty!

    Word of the day at dictionary.com is "yeasty" meaning full of life. I’m not sure that many people would find it flattering to be described as yeasty.

  • Boring

    Today’s boring entry: I did lots of work today. Will you be visiting West Dean this weekend?