Category: old blogging

So far this morning, I’ve spent getting on for half a month’s wages. Oops. To show for it, I have:

• a pale charcoal grey pure wool suit, which is to be altered and will be ready on Wednesday morning. Bargain at £209 from Stephen Lawrence – reduced from £309.
• a shirt, also from Stephen Lawrence. £59.
• a new pair of smart black shoes, almost boots really, from Russell and Bromley. £125.
• a pair of brown nubuck boots, totally lovely and adorable, also from Russell and Bromley. £140, including the insoles needed to make them fit more comfortably.
• a gift for the wedding. Value not disclosed!
• a new suitcase by Linea at Army and Navy. £80. My old soft case was getting a bit battered and the zips were beginning to fail. It doesn’t really fit the modern smart business image. So I’ve got myself a smart black job, the sort that has a handle and wheels, that is slightly rigid and should prevent the contents being crushed. I’ll need to do something to distinguish it in readiness for baggage reclaim, as the world and it’s wife has black bags that look just like it. I was tempted by the silver, but I could see from the display examples that it marked very easily.

Down to earth now, with a trip to Waitrose. I need to give them some money too.
And I can see why RBS Advanta have made the card with a corner cut off and transparent plastic – everywhere I went, as soon as I pulled it out of my wallet, everyone went "oooh! look at that! that’s funky! I want one!"

Weebl and Bob fans should check out this Chris the Ninja Pirate game without delay.

Late beer with Al, Arron, Bren, Greg, Kearn and Paul "Open University" F.

Tom Coates on why the British don’t like Blaine. Because, basically, he’s a twat.
And I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone in West Wittering use the word "wanker". Too much blue rinse down there for that.

Robert Palmer, RIP.

My new RBS Advanta credit card has arrived, with a scarily large credit limit on it. It really does have the corner missing. Not only that, but it is transparent. Novelty value, or what?! But the main thing is my application was successful, and I can now exploit the 0% balance transfers to reduce my monthly outgoings.

Today I shall not be in the office. Instead, I’ll be going to the tax office to try and sort out the Inland Revenue’s incompetence and general failings and get myself a pair of new tax codes so that the debt that I’m steadily building in unpaid tax does not become overwhelming (I estimate that it currently stands at around £700). After that, I shall be relying on Jo to help me relax with a 45 minute session in the hair salon. That’ll be followed by an afternoon back at home, waiting for the gas engineer to come round and give my central heating its annual service, which, in view of the cool nights we have had recently, is timely. After that, I have to head over to the office, pick up various bits of equipment and then head across the road to the mill to give a presentation on the history of the nursery – and break the news to assorted local busybodies that the place will cease regular trading at the end of the year. That’ll start them talking.
If I get back to Chichester early enough, I might amble into the bar to end the day.

One pie in the hole is worth one pie in the hand.

Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mark Rothko. Overview of his career here.

I think that this is utterly brilliant, both architecturally and conceptually.