renaissance man
I just replaced our loo seat. The old faux-mahogany one was never good. It looked cheap and nasty. And eventually it fell apart. I’ve no idea how long this one will last. But it’s better made, was easier to install, looks much nicer, and wasn’t too expensive. So I’m crap-happy!
We just got back home, from childminding duties at my sister’s. As we occasionally do, we stayed a second night. I was exhausted after an evening shift delivering for Amazon, and then sharing a bottle of wine with Teresa and Hannah.
Amazon were taking the piss royally yesterday, on two fronts: first I arrived a few minutes late (2-3, or thereabouts) for a midday shift. The crappy Flex app then proceed to load so slowly that by the time it was up and running I’d ‘missed your [my!] slot’!
So I returned later the same day, and did an evening sesh. I try not to do these, on account of it being harder and more stressful in the dark of winter evenings/nights. And herein was the second Amazon piss-take:
Actually this was a double-barrelled piss fest: first I had an order ‘to be delivered no later than 4pm’. Yet it was the second delivery of about eight or so, and I didn’t start collecting the items, never mind delivering them, until 4pm, when my shift officially commenced!
I told the recipient that I’d have bent the laws of physics to deliver to him by 4pm, if it lay within my powers. And, if he was unhappy – fortunately he was a jovial and understanding chap, and was absolutely fine – please take it up with Amazon, and don’t blame me!
But the real piss take the second, was the sheer distances they had me travelling. I started in Cambourne, then went to Royston, then Potton, then Sandy, then home. I reckon that the fuel costs of this run will prob’ have accounted for half my earnings.
But my main prompt for this post was returning to our frigidarium home. Our car was plenty warm en-route home. With two of us in the the confines of a little MX5, plus the car heating, we were very cosy. The house was 8°C, according to our wall mounted central-heating doodad (thermostat/controller?).
The pic atop this post is how I got myself up to brave a trip to our littlest room! Which used to be an outside privy, when the house was built. And today feels like it still is! I was worried my bowels would refuse to open, so damn chilly was it!
I’m now enjoying that most plebeian of pleasures, a pot noodle. Pornography for the palette, granted. But warm and flavoursome. It maketh me happy!
Having had to postpone my Wednesday teaching to today (Thursday), I had to cancel it altogether. On account of the car still being a frozen block of ice!
However, the sun was out today. And despite the temperature remaining zero or below, it meant I could more easily defrost the car.
Not only had the Arctic conditions drained my battery. They had also meant that the door locks weren’t working as the should. Somehow the electrics for the door locks were going mental, or just seizing up altogether. Squirting WD40 into the locks seemed to ease them a bit.
Around midday I decided to try to start the car again. I’d defrosted it, partly with the sun’s help, and the locks were now responding to my keys (at one point the locks had been so seized up I couldn’t even insert my keys!).
And, lo! The car didst start!! We drove to Halfords, where I’d bought this battery (prob’ about three years ago?), and they tested it. Somewhat to our surprise they told me it was fine. Fine!? Oh well… saves us some more unwelcome expenditure. I just hope tomorrow she’ll start up on, as it’s fookin’ freezing again!
On my drive home from doing a spot of Amazon Flex deliveries I witnessed a car crash. I’ve often seen the aftermath of accidents. But actually seeing one happen is pretty shocking. It’s all over in a flash!
I’m guessing it was about 3.45/4pm, on the B1101 March Road. What I actually saw, of the accident itself, was a puff of smoke and a car spinning off the road.
A Van very close to the collision was unscathed, even though it had driven through the debris of the collision. I spoke to the driver of this van, and he said that the grey VW involved was the culprit, speeding past his van in an overtaking manoeuvre that went horrifically wrong.
The other car involved in the collision – a silver VW – had been spun off the road and into a field. The lady driver was in shock, and had a visible bleeding leg injury. Given the proximity of trees and deep ditches either side of the toad, it was miraculous that things weren’t far worse.
I was the closest car in the southbound lane, and dropped and approached the scene on foot. There were two men from the grey VW, both moaning and calling for help. An overweight middle-aged guy was behind the wheel, and a skinnier younger guy was laid out on the verge, having managed to exit the car.
Several factors – besides the shock of seeing injured/distressed people stuck in or near their vehicles – really struck me: first, the source of the smoke/steam, which was the engine of the VW. This had shot out of the car, and lay on the verge, about 50-100 yards from the vehicle. The impact must’ve been massive to cause that!?
Second, the VW’s plates had only been held in place by gaffer tape. The rear one wasn’t on the vehicle any more. Nor was the front one; the whole front was totally trashed, and mostly missing. A sole reg plate, with some gaffer on it, lay near the van. Was this the front or back plate? I’m guessing it was the rear one, as the front end was in hundreds of pieces all over the road.
After calling 999 – which the van driver on the scene had also already done – I talked to all the injured parties. I couldn’t offer any aid, as I’m totally unqualified to do so. Bit of a shock that; makes me feel I ought to know more.
The copper on the 999 call got me to take certain info – registrations, etc. (difficult re the grey Golf, for reasons alluded to above!) – and wanted to use my iPhone camera remotely. But that didn’t work.
As already mentioned, I talked to the van driver. He told me that another car had sped past, overtaking him, and then the grey VW attempted to do the same, but lost control, and collided with the silver VW in the oncoming lane.
The gaffer taped number plates, the race or chase scenario, and just a general vibe off the VW occupants – trackies and super-bling jewellery – lead me to suspect they may be criminals, perhaps in a stolen car.
Whether this proves to be the case, or not, I just hope their reckless driving hasn’t harmed the lady in the other vehicle too badly.
The emergency services arrived pretty promptly. The police first, then the fire brigade, and I’m assuming an ambulance, although I don’t actually recall seeing the latter.
The van driver who so nearly got caught up in the accident, myself, and several other people got involved, talking to the car occupants, calling 999, etc. It was pretty horrible. Esp’ when the two guys in the grey car were moaning, the driver semi-screaming, calling out for help. I think he said something along the lines of ‘I’m dying’!
A salutory reminder to always drive carefully. And – however carefully one drives oneself – to be as aware as poss’ of other road users.
UPDATE: In the aftermath of this accident I was constantly googling for info, and I even posted about it on a local FB discussion group type page.
The latter lead to the lady in the accident posting, to say she was injured but had survived. It was good to hear she was, in a way (see below), ok.
But nothing official appeared in the media about it for over a week. Eventually a slew of identical ‘features’ appeared in the local press, from where I take the following:
Police are appealing for witnesses after a collision left a woman with life-changing injuries and two others seriously injured.
At about 3.45pm on 8 December, a silver Volkswagen Golf and a dark grey Volkswagen R32 Golf were involved in collision on the B1101 March Road, between Coldham and March.
The driver of the silver Golf, a woman aged 50, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The driver of the Gold [sic*] R32, a man aged 49, received potentially life-changing injuries and a passenger, a man aged 30, was left with serious injuries.
All involved were from the Wisbech area.
PC Joe Woolf said: “I am particularly keen to speak to the driver of a sports-type silver Audi who I believe witnessed the crash. I would also urge anyone else who saw what happened or believes they saw the vehicles in the build up to it, or has relevant dashcam footage, to get in touch.”
Anyone with information is advised to contact Cambridgeshire Police on 101. They can also report it via the force’s web chat, quoting incident 346 of December 8.
* Having already said it’s dark grey, I’m assuming this typo should read Golf!?
Today’s sunrise was garlanded with a rainbow, putting me in mind of that rather lovely John Sebastian lyric about ‘painting rainbows all over your blues’.
As the day lightened, it was beautifully sunny, even though the sun hadn’t as yet cracked the horizon. My route to work passes alongside a canal or river waterway. Which is where I got the above shot.
Then I spotted what I think is termed a ‘sun dog’, or little partial ribbon of rainbow. Which proceeded to grow, till it eventually became a phenomenal double rainbow. Sadly the camera on my iPhone doesn’t do these morning glories (aye… steady!) any justice at all.
The view the other way was amazing as well. The strange yellow light is totally not captured by my iPhone. Aaargh!
None of my photos really catch the intensity of the colours. But you do get a sense of how the rainbow refraction makes the sky ‘inside’ the rainbow lighter, and ‘outside’ darker. I wonder why that is? Must find out!
I managed to get home early enough to catch the England Iran game yesterday. I missed the first ten minutes or so, and arrived back during what turned out to be a marathon time-out, due to the Iranian goal keeper bashing heads with one of his defenders.
This wound up adding 14 or 15 minutes of extra time to the first half. Is that a record?When I got home I knocked on our neighbour’s door, knowing he had the day off, and thinking watching the footy on the social might be fun. It was. Too much fun, in the end!
The match itself was goalless when I arrived. But, once play resumed, the goals started coming thick and fast. I think it was 3-0 by half time. Not the dull game I had worried it might be.
In the end we wound up having dinner round there; I picked Teresa up at the station, and Regina very kindly fed us all. The only bum note was my excessive intake of alcohol (ah, the irony!*). I bought a couple of cases of Shipyard Ale, on a two-for-one (almost) promo’, at Sainsburys. And then drank way too many cans.
Now I’m paying for it. With a hangover, and a gassy bloated tummy. Aaargh…. How I hate being an idiot! Still, at least the football was fun.
* Qatar tried banning booze altogether, upsetting sponsor, Budweiser. I’m still not clear what the situation is! Here’s something on the subject.
Amazingly, with six goals, Kane – instrumental in a few of them (feeding Sterling the third goal, and Rashford, the fifth – on his third touch! – for example), and still key to our success – didn’t actually score any of them. He must have been both very chuffed at the result, and a bit gutted not to be on the scoresheet. Speaking of which:
England
J. Bellingham 35'
B. Saka 43', 62'
R. Sterling 45+1'
M. Rashford 71'
J. Grealish 90'
Iran
M. Taremi 65’,90+13' (P)
Taremi’s first goal for Iran was superb. His second – a penalty – prob’ shouldn’t have been given. But you can’t begrudge him or Iran their two goals, in the end. England’s emphatic dominance and victory were still more than adequately reflected in the final result.
How good was it to get off to such a good start!? Amazing.
And, amidst all the political controversy, it was lovely to note that Jack ‘Calves’ Grealish dedicated his goal (England’s sixth of the match!) to a young fan:
BTW, the politics of the region once again made itself apparent: the Iranian players didn’t sing their own national anthem – which caused Gary Lineker to make the observation that it was ‘a powerful and very significant gesture’ – and there were protest placards in the crowd, with slogans such as ‘Iranian women’ (in ref’ to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini).
On a lighter note, I met Miklas’ pet rat (very cute!), and had a go on their Carlsbro e-kit. I was so drunk and the kit is set up for southpaw Chris… I could barely sit on the stool, never mind play!
It’s incredibly rare that I hear of this sort of thing before it happens. More typically I learn about it long after. And frequently – the Burt Bacharach or Magma complete box-sets, for example – it’s so long after that they are no longer available at anything but insanely high prices, if at all.
But, for once, I’ve heard some fab news with almost perfect timing. Joni’s For The Roses, released in ‘72, the year I was born, is now, like me, 50 years old. And it has been released in a remastered form, on vinyl. Including a rather snazzy blue version. So I’ve ordered me a copy.
Teresa and I are currently on holiday in Cardiff, with family, visiting my sister Abbie, and her husband Dan, who’re now living here, in the Welsh capital. When I learned of this reissue, yesterday, I immediately ordered it. And today I got an email confirming it has been dispatched. We travel home today, so I’m looking forward to it arriving soon.
For The Roses, her fifth studio album, is part of Joni’s early years run of pure gold. Rather like Woody Allen’s purple patch, or Tom Waits in his prime; such artistic genius and musical gloriousness is to be savoured and treasured.
Overshadowed by her two best-selling albums – Blue, which was her previous release, and Court And Spark, which came next – I hold Roses to be an overlooked meisterwerk. My picks/favourites are Barangrill, Electricity, and Woman Of Heart And Mind.
According to the Wikipedia article on For The Roses ‘she originally intended for the cover to be a drawing entitled For the Roses, the imagery in which relating to her feelings on the music industry.’ I’d love to see the artwork in question! I wonder if I can do some sleuthing in that direction?
A sudden wave of nostalgia swept over me, recently, in the guise of the theme song from Hanna Barbera’s Hong Kong Phooey theme song.
Recently, well, today, to be precise, we watched almost all of the episodes whilst child-minding for my sister. I actually dozed off for a considerable portion. And then I had to help cook the evening meal. So I didn’t actually see as much as I’d hoped to.
Now, back home, I’m watching from the start again. And it’s really silly! Not amazing, but just kind of fun, especially as a dose of nostalgia.
Scatman Crothers’ voice is perfect for Phooey, somehow approximating in vibe to his half-closed eyes when in Penry mode: mellow, relaxed, and winningly self-confident, despite his hopeless incompetence. Blissfully unaware that his triumphs are all accidental, or brought about by Spot, the cat, or other helpful characters.
Sgt Flint is endearing, as a gruff, dim and bear-like flat footed-copper. And Rosemary? I loved Rosemary way back when. And I find I still love her now! ‘Your lovable lady fuzz’!? Delicious!
The stories are ridiculous. Never was a ‘McGuffin’ less relevant to the enjoyment of a show! It’s all just an excuse to have Phooey (and frequently Spot) goofing about in crazy situations. The charmingly doofus Phooey, with his correspondence course book of Kung Fu up his sleeve, is undoubtedly where the charm lays.
For a cartoon with such a short run, it seemed to hit some kind of nerve, such that it’s remained on screens ever since it was made, way back in ‘74. And I find, that whilst I’m now far older, I still have a soft-spot for this mild mannered janitor/superhero, and his sidekicks, Spot, Flint, and very definitely, Rosemary!
The plan for today is extremely modest; lazy morning, late lunch, a trip to Huntingdon to look at antiques and walk by the river, maybe sit and read. And poss’ a movie back home with dinner, to finish.
We had booked a small cottage via AirB&B. But, for the first time ever, we had to cancel. Times are tight! And, by the looks of things, likely to get worse. We would only have bee. Just outside Norwich. So not far! But instead we’ll be home.
We’ll try and make it feel like a holiday with little day trips. Like the one we’re about to leave on now… Just finishing a moules marinierre and pancake lunch, and then orff we go!
Oh, and a literal footnote; yesterday some Brazilian flip-flops arrived. No doubt just in time for the change from summer to autumn!
Later we went for a walk along the river in Huntingdon. The sun came out here and there, and we had a picnic type snack, and sat and read in the car!
‘Tis Sunday. A day of rest! Or not. I was off to Screwfix early, and then back to the shed, doing lots of little bits of work. Such as filling in gaps in the cladding, as pictured above.
And I added a more or less horizontal tie-beam, to stop the middle of the shed, where, along the longer sides, two panels abut, to stop the shed bowing either outwards or inwards, and to keep it square/parallel.
I was able to fill in most of the cladding gaps. But there are three places where I need longer pieces of cladding than any I currently have.
Hopefully I can get these gaps filled soonish?
All the windows have now been washed. Including the only ‘original’ one that’s left, pictured below. I still think I’ll want to add more glass, as I want the workshop to be as well lit, naturally and electrically, as poss’.
And all the original doors have been re-attached, alongside the path. Including both the double ‘barn style’ doors, pictured immediately below. And the larger single one, down another pic. The latter opens and shuts just as it ought to.
As well as the doors above not quite closing aright, you can perhaps also see that I’ve had to add a temporary lower framing member. This is another of the myriad small jobs that needs properly finishing, ASAP.
I’d like to make the additional piece tie in as strongly as possible. Esp’ as it not really supported. Hmmm!? What joints shall I use? We shall see…
And below is a view from the pathway. Showing all the side doors back in situ. I’m tempted to remove the double doors altogether, as they’re not opening or closing quite as they should. And, what with the two larger doors – the new one in the front, and the other older one, closer to the camera in the above photo – they may very well be redundant anyway.
Teresa and I are currently spending lots of our time at home our in the garden. During this heat wave we’ve mostly sought out the shadier spots. And one of these is the area under the tree that’s now behind the latest shed.
When we’re both home we’ll have our meals outside as well. It’s really rather lovely! And we’ve now got a good deal of choices, as to where exactly in the garden we might want to be. It’s such fun!
