…grayblog…

Category: miscellaneous

  • Thrown in

    This afternoon we took delivery of our new (to us) car. Hels seems very pleased with it. Colin, the guy who sold it to us, has very kindly thrown in a wheelbarrow. I kid you not. I’m actually very pleased with the wheelbarrow – it’s suitably cement-lined, battered and slightly rusty, and is currently in the back of Hels’s shiny new motor, much to her chagrin.

    We also went to the Hardy Plant Society Sussex Group’s 10th birthday bash today. I set the group up with considerable help from several like-minded people, and it is really quite rewarding to see the group is in such good shape. Hels came with me, and had to deal with a large number of ladies-who-lunch saying "oooo! you’re Graham’s wife!" but, in spite of being thrown in at the deep end, took it all in her stride, as usual.

  • and a half

    It’s my half birthday today – six months from May 12th, six months to May 12th. Send all your half birthday cards to the usual address.
    Which means I missed out on my thirty-three-and-a-thirdth birthday. Bah!

  • News update

    • I think I have the beginnings of a cold – sore throat and general lacklustre status.
    • Yesterday, we bought a car – a 2000 silver Peugeot 306. If I’m lucky, I may get to drive it once a month – for me, it’ll be the handmedown 1992 Peugeot 106. Seriously, I think we got a good deal, having spent most of Saturday and a large part of Sunday morning trawling through used car dealers (limited choice, some expensive), used car supermarkets (big choice, very expensive) and the small-ads (good choice if you don’t mind travelling, and sometimes good value, but no warranty, servicing or extras). The car we have chosen comes to us from a small dealer and has actually been used by his fiancée – he had the V5 to show it has been in her name for quite a while. Only one previous owner, a very low mileage, brand new MOT and a service history at a Peugeot main dealer. He’s also getting a minor bump on the back bumper fixed and getting a new service at the dealer before we take delivery of the car this weekend.
    • Amsterdam was its usual hectic and mildly aggressive self. I can’t recommend the Botel floating hotel – although the location is great (right by Amsterdam Centraal station), the thin walls and ceilings mean the rooms are noisy. It was also particularly cold. However, flying EUJet from Kent International is a good thing – cheap and cheerful, yes, but cheaper and easier than EasyJet from Gatwick, assuming you have the means to get to Manston.

    UPDATE: it seems our new car is an import, so we may have problems with insurance.

  • News round

    A few current and recent news stories:

  • Word to the wise

    If you plan to set up mail redirection because you are moving house, it pays to be aware that Royal Mail require five working days to set it up, which I guess is not unreasonable. So be sure to set it up more than five working days before you move, ok?

  • Weighty tome

    I have a new headset for my phone. It comes with a manual that is 225 pages long (or thereabouts), of which only 16 are in English.
    So what is cheaper? Putting a slim pamphlet in the box when you know which country it is going to (and, therefore, which language is appropriate), or printing a manual that contains 14 different languages?

  • Firefighting

    Currently occupying 110% of my concentration:

    • the Formula 1 calendar – it impacts significantly on planning of my Garden Event at West Dean, as we must avoid a clash with the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the date of which is dependant on the Formula 1 calendar (wot no British GP???).
    • trying to establish exactly how well my clients are doing with certain plant material I have supplied them with, and whether I need to arrange a trans-Atlantic cross-supply.
    • dealing with some politics that some potential clients have arising from some legacy representation arrangements (though to have my main competitor described as "yesterday" is a nice boost).
    • trying to help along another client who seems to have been messed about by his clients (who also happen to be my clients).
    • sorting out a list of trial material required from my breeder clients to get things moving with my grower clients – upon which rests the future earnings of PFE.
    • fixing up paperwork on all the house sales and purchases – too late to save Hels’s sale, but paving the way for a quick and smooth new sale as soon as we find a new buyer, as well as salvaging the purchase, which has become an all-consuming passion for me.
    • oh yeh, the wedding.

    Bugger this, I’m off for a pint.

  • Phone

    Well, the new phone has passed the test – it’s a little heavier than my old one, but the improved functionality and lack of scuffs and scratches makes up for that. However, I wasn’t impressed with the personal hands-free thingy that came with it, largely because it doesn’t have a clip to hang on to your shirt/blouse/car seatbelt/whatever, so dangles in space being a bit of a nuisance. So I’ve just ordered a Bluetooth headset, as well as a larger MMC card to slot in for all the MP3s I’ll load onto it, and also the USB to PopPort cable – all three of which are hugely cheaper if you shop around online instead of paying Nokia prices (for example, genuine cable £5.95 vs Nokia price of £15).

  • Hazard

    Seemingly in preparation for my impending stag night, my brother has today been out and purchased some traffic cones.

  • New phone

    So, O2 charge their old customers £59.99 to upgrade to a phone that they give for free to new customers. Unless your bills are as large as mine, in which case they give it to you for free because you are clearly too good a customer to lose.
    Which is good.
    So, a new Nokia 6230 is winging its way to me.