2010 — 20 March: Saturday
Next thing you know, I'm closing the last page of John Macnab, switching off the world's largest iPod, and the time seems to be 01:15. It's still raining out there so there's no chance of a walk in my immediate future. Besides, Mike will still be clearing up after his flat roof repairs.
My next burst of excitement: the plumber's visit a few hours from now. G'night.
Drizzle drizzle
Did you know Wayne Fontana's real name was Glyn Ellis? No? Nor did I. From which you can deduce it's once again time to listen to Brian Matthew and "pop's golden decade". The first cuppa is offsetting the drizzle as I type. All I need now is for Brian the plumber to magic the latest troublesome radiator out of existence. It's 08:37 and counting.
The witless wonders who designed and built this house decided they need pay no heed to the "law" of gravity. Hence, the heating system's drain-off point is on the boiler, and thus higher than any of the radiators downstairs. But1 we've stuck a hose on it, and opened all the bleed valves on the radiators upstairs to encourage all the fluid (I hesitate to describe it as water) to depart the premises over the next several hours. The gas supply to the boiler is off, its electrical supply is off, the room and boiler thermostats are at minimum — we're talking "dead system" here. And it will remain dead until its replacement is installed in about three months from now.
Between now and then I need to tackle the minor detail of getting all the books safely into their new temporary storage home where Mr Kipling used to bake all those fine jam tarts, and I need to de-clutter globally to give Brian a fighting chance of being able to get at each radiator in turn, and replace all the supply pipework under the floorboards too. What a nightmare of upheaval.2 It did occur to me that it would in some ways be simpler just to move house instead, but this is my home and it's where I wish to see out whatever I have by way of my remaining days.
Good to have a hobby, isn't it? It's 10:28, Mrs Landingham. What's next? How about a cuppa...
I hadn't previously seen the term "black collar crime" but it's just about perfect.
New Moon?
Thanks, Mr Postie. The bill increasing my combined gas and electricity payments (a little ironic now that the only regular gas consumption for the next several months is going to be the pilot lights on the "plasma" fire and the cooker) accompanies my latest Blu-ray — "New Moon" is the second lump of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" saga, and will form the bulk of tonight's viewing:
My reader may recall that Peter and Peter's g/f took me to see this wonderful tosh in the cinema. It will be nice to watch it again from the comfort of my armchair and with the sound volume that suits me rather than peering up at a screen from the left-hand side of the front row of a completely-packed (and oestrogen-filled) cinema.
Ornette Coleman on BBC Radio 3 for an hour. Does it get any better than this? I think not. Well, not until, say, Gil Evans, or Miles, or... etc etc. I think my Dad would have been quite surprised at the way my taste in jazz has developed over the 35 years since he died. Dear Mama can't stand jazz in any shape or form. Come to think of it, I don't think Big Bro is all that keen, either. Takes all sorts.
Is there a...
... world beyond Narnia? I've heard a couple of radio trailers for this, tomorrow evening. Should be interesting. And this is written by, and features, two very talented ladies. Jessica Hynes (was Stevenson) was very funny in "Spaced" and Julia Davis equally edgy in "Nighty Night". Fingers crossed.
Later
It's 20:49 and, as far as I can tell, the heating system has finally drained (to the point it can, at least). It must have been pretty well clogged up but, with luck, there should be no more nasty wet radiator incidents. Mind you, it does mean the house is currently rather on the cool side. I may yet resort to firing up the plasma fire to accompany the plasma screen.
Speaking of which, my chum Brian (who is, of course, still ground down by the weight of his IBM salary) has just treated himself to a new Denon A/V amplifier to set up and play with. He's already hinted he'd like to see how it behaves with my Oppo Blu-ray (which incorporates the same VRS video upscaling chippery). Currently he's using a PlayStation as his Blu-ray player. I'd be interested to see3 his new toy, too, though I don't now think I could be persuaded to re-enter the bells'n'whistles camp having tried the relatively Zen approach of my multi-channel Audiolab pre/power combo.
Assuming the rain dries up overnight, Mike and I have tentatively planned a walk for tomorrow. At least that should make the house feel warmer when I get back...