2008 — 4 Feb: Monday, and a new week
All cars in the EU should be capable of 35 miles to the gallon, heh? And more women than ever are having face-lifts. Plus Spring is arriving early this year. The world is going madder than ever.
Still, a mere half hour of elbow grease and our ancient cooker's ancient grill and hobs are very nearly clean. I wonder how long it's been since the back left burner last ignited? It certainly doesn't at the moment. No wonder Christa was eyeing up the new cookers section whenever we were in Comet latterly; we bought our present device in April 1976. I should, of course, have paid more attention to such things. Actually, I guess there were many things I could and should have paid more attention to. Learn from Uncle David's mistakes, kiddies! It's never too late until one day it's too late.
Well, it's too late (01:10) for any more rambling tonight. See you in the morning.
Passage of Time... dept.
As I remarked recently, on this day in 1974 I entered the computer industry. That was just a couple of months before I met Christa. What a lifetime we packed in between then and now, heh? Be that as it may, it's now time for brekkie, and quiet contemplation of this morning's snailmail haul.
The pretty young lady1 above, for example, reminds me that St Valentine's Day will soon be upon us. Her tie-side knickers are a mere £65 and (you have to snort) "will arrive beautifully gift wrapped and ready for play". Nice font, though. Sex still sells. Oh well, time to go out and do some more basic hunter gathering while the sun is shining out of this lovely clear sky. What happened to all that rain the BBC web site was happily predicting as recently as yesterday afternoon?
Later that same day...
The hunter gathered, for a change in Asda, picking up a DIY Peking Duck Kit, another variant on last week's successful experiment in marinated cooked chicken bits for a cold collation (moving beyond basic Lidl into an exotic five-spice mode), and enough ham for the next couple of picnic lunches. Not a sausage in the DVD department, however, (though I admit to having picked up "Atonement" and weighed it thoughtfully for a few moments — I like Keira Knightley, and I liked the version of Pride and Prejudice made by Joe Wright). But I'd listened to a bit of a hatchet job review on the Beeb a day or so ago; though why anyone ever thinks a good book necessarily can be turned into a good film always baffles me. Still, I've been a fan of Ian McEwan for over thirty years, since his early (and frankly disturbing) short stories.
Then it was off to Lunch with Len. He'd booked us a table at the Plough in Sparsholt, and navigated2 me there without too many sphincter-clenching3 moments. Nice meal, nice chat, nice try to palm some of my old A/V kit back off on me!
The sun still doing its shining thing up there then tempted me out on another little jaunt. Business first, so I once again proved my identity at the Building Society that's been mucking me around with this Savings account passbook. The hapless clerk is so fed up with me, she barely glanced at my passport, let alone my driving licence. Then what? How about a little trip down into Southampton? A last-minute right turn meant a mild joust or two with the various traffic lanes at the top of "handbrake hell" (above the railway station), but then safely down into Staples — a 4GB memory stick for less than £20 still strikes me as amazing, not that I have any current need for one. Followed by a more leisurely browse in Borders and the following books and DVDs from their various bargain shelves:
- Cool sharing by Louise Pickford — raid the fridge for recipes — feeding friends
- Just 4 ingredients who ever knew a thing called "Scallops in Vermouth" existed, he asked drily?
- The Lovers all 13 episodes by Jack Rosenthal starring Richard Beckingsale and Paula Wilcox (1970 and 1971, for heaven's sake!)
- Jake's Progress by Alan Bleasdale (1995)
- The Girl by Sande Zeig, from the deliciously-named "Peccadillo Pictures"
- London to Brighton by Paul Andrew Williams
I have to say, some of these cookery books recommend lists of basic things I've never even heard of! (All new to me, remember.) I also have to say I never realised quite how early the "rush hour" starts. Still, it made for a safe, if quite slow, trip back up the Avenue. And the new sport of making eye contact with the lady in the car behind (all new to me, remember). Time (18:05) for tea, methinks! I'm doing well, though: I've already put the correct colour of bin on the other side of our back garden gate for tomorrow's collection. It's easily less than 25% full.
Evenin' all
Quiet, and undisturbed. Got some filing done — don't ask! Drooping quite dramatically at 23:36 so, to the sound of the rainfall on the skylight, I shall declare "Lights out for the territory" for tonight. (It's the title of a 1997 book by Iain Sinclair.) Normal service will be resumed on the morrow, I trust.