|
|
Mon
31 Dec 2001
New Year's Eve |
Over
to Peter & Chris's for the evening, along with Lynn & Barbara,
and some other friends of theirs, Mike, Steven and his flatmate. 'Weakest
Link' and 'Millionnaire' on PlayStation, bubbly at midnight.
Happy New Year! |
|
|
| Sun
30 Dec 2001 |
Back
so bad it took me nearly an hour and 2 Solpadeine to get out of bed.
Eating chocolates and playing PlayStation games all day. Lazy.
Just discovered that the lyrics to a song, 'Meet Mike', by a group
I used to follow a little in Milton Keynes called 'This Happy Breed',
were taken from one of the public information films on Steve's DVD,
called Teenagers
Learn to Swim from 1972. You might recall it if you're old
enough, all about a fairy godmother granting 3 wishes, and producing
a new boyfriend called Mike, who could swim, for the heroine. I'd
always thought the songwriter had been on drugs when he'd written
it...
Was going to get the Scalex out today but haven't because of back.
So I've been updating this site pretty extensively, while Steve seems
to have become World Rally Champion. |
|
|
| Sat
29 Dec 2001 |
Woke
up with very bad back - generally miserable all day, including journey
home. |
|
|
| Fri
28 Dec 2001 |
To
Steve's parents, to exchange presents. They bought us an electric
grill, as well as chocs and booze; we got them a selection of books
and other bits and pieces, and for his Mum a pendant and chain. We
took the PlayStation with us, and delighted them with the 'Who Wants
to be a Millionaire?' game. |
|
|
| Thu
27 Dec 2001 |
Into
town this morning, mainly to buy PlayStation games, which we've done.
We've got what's probably the last copy of 'Gran
Turismo 3' in Croydon, though we had to buy it with a steering
wheel and pedals! I also bought the power adaptor and controllers
I needed for the Scalextric.
In the evening we went to see The
Lord of the Rings with Peter and Chris, Lynn and Barbara,
Christine, and Chris's Mum. It was epic and spectacular, with some
truly amazing special effects, but neither of us really enjoyed it.
Maybe because we didn't already know the story. |
|
|
Wed
26 Dec 2001
Boxing Day |
After
Peter had cooked an invigorating breakfast, Steve and I went home
and spent the rest of the day playing with stuff - mainly his PlayStation. |
|
|
Tue
25 Dec 2001
Christmas Day |
Early
to Peter & Chris's, not forgetting to wish Chris happy birthday
(we'd printed some t-shirts with 'Happy Birthday Chris' and his picture
on, which we wore under our shirts and revealed to general delight).
We opened presents almost straightaway. Of course Steve was delighted
with the PlayStation 2 I'd got him, and secretly taken over to Peter
& Chris's last Thursday. He'd got me something I've wanted for
ages, but certainly wasn't expecting: a Sony MiniDisc Walkman.
I also got: a torch with LEDs instead of a bulb, a book called '4000
More Things You Should Know', a cardigan (seriously!), some Turkish
Turkish delight, and the DVD of Chocolat,
from Steve; a Jamie Oliver DVD from Peter & Chris; a garlic bread
board and knife, a metal cat-tail key hook thingy, and a candle-snuffer,
from my Mum & Dad; a mug and some Turkish Delight from Alison
& Richard. And we got: some brilliant place-mats which we've wanted
for a long time, and a bottle of wine, from Roxana & Alan; some
shot glasses and ice-bucket (we think) from Paul & Frank, together
with a bottle of vodka; a herb and spice carousel from Estelle &
Rob, and some brilliant drinks coasters made from the cut-out centres
of real old 78rpm records from Jordan. Steve got a DVD of old
public information films (it's brilliant!) from Peter & Chris;
and I got him loads of other bits and pieces as well, including the
Robbie Williams Albert
Hall concert on DVD.
Peter had cooked a fantastic meal, and Chris produced some surprise
presents in the middle, which was a really nice touch - we had some
gigantic wine glasses each (each one can hold an entire bottle of
wine!) filled with sweets. I had my traditional single sprout. Pudding
came in blazing.
We spent the afternoon and evening dozing and playing with presents,
and getting gently sozzled, and went to bed tired and happy.
Thank you Peter and Chris for a wonderful day. |
|
|
Mon
24 Dec 2001
Christmas Eve |
Steve
broke up from work today. We watched carols from Kings College Chapel
on TV this afternoon. This evening we're going over to Peter &
Chris's to do a table decoration in preparation for spending the day
with them tomorrow.
Steve submitted an entry
to the BBC 'Have Your Say' board about the new portrait of the Queen
(it's a little over half way down).
Happy Christmas, everyone! |
|
|
| Sun
23 Dec 2001 |
Scary
times, still. Yesterday a ship was stopped in the English Channel
suspected of carrying explosives or biological weapons into the heart
of London; and today we learn about a very close call - someone about
to blow up another airliner over the Atlantic en route to the USA
was stopped and overpowered by passengers and crew in the nick of
time.
Paul & Frank are spending Christmas apart (Paul's working in A&E,
Frank's going to his family in France) so they were having Christmas
Day today. They came to us and we had some bubbly and mince pies together. |
|
|
| Sat
22 Dec 2001 |
Absolutely
freezing today, got very cold going into town. Looking forward
to the panto tonight - do you know I've never been to one?
Wow! That was brilliant! We went to the New Victoria Theatre in Woking,
and saw 'Aladdin' with Gary Wilmot, John Inman and Vanessa Feltz (who
needn't have bothered). But everyone apart from her was fantastic,
and all the kids in the audience obviously had a great time: the atmosphere
was really good, and I'll go to another one next year.
We got to Woking a bit early, so we sussed out somewhere to eat afterwards,
and raced to it (an Italian
restaurant called Cafe Latino) as soon as the curtain went down. |
|
|
| Fri
21 Dec 2001 |
Worrying
e-mail from Roxana concerning Padfoot, who managed to get himself
into a fight with a car - though it seems as if he will mend in time,
thank God. But apparently he now has a truncated tail, although he
hasn't lost his voice, and his mischievous character is also intact.
How many lives does that leave him with? |
|
|
| Thu
20 Dec 2001 |
Shopping
in town today, and had a special Christmas hair cut. |
|
|
| Tue
18 Dec 2001 |
Wasn't
able to travel to Derbyshire as I was very unwell last night. |
|
|
| Sun
16 Dec 2001 |
An
important event happened this morning which those who were a party
to it know about, but I cannot go into more details here. But it was
good.
Steve and I got Roxy back on the internet, as she'd been having some
technical difficulties.
I was disappointed to discover on getting home that the power transformer
and hand controllers are missing from the Scalextric set, so if I
want to play with it before the New Year I will have to either go
back to Alison's to pick them up, or buy some new ones, which will
cost around £40. Aaaarrgghhhh! Nothing's ever straightforward,
is it? |
|
|
| Sat
15 Dec 2001 |
To
Salisbury with Steve, arriving at Roxana's in time to go to the Arts
Centre (a beautifully converted old church) for lunch with her, Alan
and Geoffrey. There should have been live music, but the act pulled
out; nevertheless, a nice experience. We saw round where Roxana worked;
then shopping; then returned to Roxana's; I visited Mum & Dad's
and delivered presents there, and learnt about Aaron's son Zeke (see
'about me' section); and back to Hamilton Road for a flying double-parked
visit from Alison - who briefly met Steve, a somewhat bizarre and
anxious experience on both sides I think. But 'tis done now, and I'm
very pleased.
Alison dropped off the Scalextric, which excited me rather - I've
been trying to get hold of it for about 2 years. I'll be playing with
it at home after Christmas before I go back to work.
We managed a quick trip to the pub before enjoying a fantastic meal
cooked by Roxana, at which everyone had a tiny bit too much
to drink, especially Alan who had a tiny bit more than that... |
|
|
| Thu
13 Dec 2001 |
Team
meeting at work today, and now I've broken up for Christmas with my
remaining lieu days and leave days and Bank Holidays taking me through
to 3rd Jan, except for 2 silly days next week when I have to go to
be 'transformed' (I kid you not!) in Ashbourne in Derbyshire, of all
(out-of-the-way) places. The work Christmas 'do' is tonight, but I
never go - rather be at home with Steve. |
|
|
| Mon
10 Dec 2001 |
Feeling
a load better today.
Next weekend we're going to stay with Roxana in Salisbury. [Whisper:
and I'm hoping to come back with the family Scalextric to play with
before Christmas!] |
|
|
| Sat
08 Dec 2001 |
I've
spent the last week in bed with the flu. Poo! And we should have gone
to Steve's parents today, but Steve's Dad can't have anyone who might
be infected near him, so we've stayed at home while I recover fully
from a nasty cough - hang-over from the 'flu. |
|
|
| Sun
02 Dec 2001 |
Estelle
and Rob visited yesterday and stayed overnight after a lovely meal
cooked by Steve; we mostly talking about their wedding next April. |
|
|
| Tue
27 Nov 2001 |
The
garden
looks very pretty today. |
|
|
| Mon
26 Nov 2001 |
This
morning on the way to Swindon I diverted off the motorway because
of an accident up ahead, and had the pleasure of driving down autumnal
lanes for a time.
I had to drive later from Swindon to a place north of Birmingham,
and instead of using the M5 I chose the A419 to Cirencester, then
the old Fosse Way (Roman road) up through Stow towards Warwick; the
Cotswolds are beautiful, probably never more so than in the autumn.
I think only Bath stone can look better in autumn sunlight. |
|
|
| Sun
25 Nov 2001 |
It
was brilliant! If you've read the book ('...and the Philosopher's
Stone') the movie - it seems to me - absolutely captures the whole
magic of it. More than that, for the most part the 'reality' on
the screen matched the images I had in my head from reading the
words on the page, especially I would say things like the dining
hall scenes, and quiddich matches (though I wished we'd seen some
of the practicing which is described in the book). We went with
Peter and Chris, who had been earlier in the week as well, and Peter's
sister Julie, who hadn't even read the book, and she seemed to thoroughly
enjoy it, so it must work on that level too.
[I was just reminded of Stephen Fry in 'Room 101' taking the mickey
out of television reviewers who say pretentious things like: "It
seems to me this film works on thirty-two different levels";
"Oh really, I thought it worked on 48."] |
|
|
| Sat
24 Nov 2001 |
We're
going to see Harry Potter tonight - and I'm really excited!
I'll report what I think tomorrow. |
|
|
| Wed
21 Nov 2001 |
This
morning I left the house and was just yards from the station - late
of course - when I realised I hadn't closed the bedroom window, and
hadn't even checked if it was open or not. I called Steve, but he
couldn't remember if he'd opened it the night before either. So I
had to go back and check - of course it was closed. Idiot. |
|
|
| Tue
20 Nov 2001 |
This
is getting embarrassing - I've won two more on-line competitions:
another one from Rainbow
Network, and I've won a 'Classroom in a Book' from Adobe
(which was on my Christmas list!). |
|
|
| Mon
19 Nov 2001 |
Oops!
Naughty John! |
|
|
| Sun
18 Nov 2001 |
One
thing I've noticed is how much my legs are aching today - I haven't
been used to standing all day, as I had to do last Thursday and Friday,
since I used to work in a shop, not to mention all the walking to
and from stations. I'm not complaining, I'm just surprised.
We've had quite a sociable weekend - yesterday evening we went to
Peter and Chris's for a delicious meal with them and Peter's sister
Julie (including a stupid number of potent cocktails!); and this afternoon
we saw Paul and Frank, and they gave me my birthday present, which
was Elton John's new album 'Songs from the West Coast', which I would
recommend to anyone. The production is crystal-clear, and Elton has
returned to a simple piano-and-voice style which suits him so well,
and harks back through his previous work to much of his '80s hits,
and even further to the extent that 'The Emperor's New Clothes', for
example, could have been on 'Tumbleweed Connection'. 'I Want Love'
is of course the current single, one of many tracks which would have
done the job, and the track 'Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes' is
so vintage Elton John that you can sing along the first time you hear
it. If you're 30-something and like decent music these days, you do
have a fabulous choice, including amongst other artists Elton John,
Robbie Williams, Madonna, and so on. Robbie's new direction - Swing
- is going to prove very interesting.
I've just watched last night's Parkinson on tape; the singer, Diana
Krall, has a voice more smoked- than cut-glass: wonderful. |
|
|
| Fri
16 Nov 2001 |
Yesterday
and today I've been working in Kennington, so I've been a right little
commuter - Croydon to Waterloo via Clapham Junction each morning,
and the reverse home. |
|
|
| Wed
14 Nov 2001 |
Just
come back from Cambridge where I've been working this evening - made
it back to Croydon in 1 hour 30 - and all at completely legal speeds...
honest! (Well nearly!) The only really annoying thing was the 40mph
limit on the M11 through the roadworks near Stansted - what's that
all about? |
|
|
| Sat
10 Nov 2001 |
Blimey,
it's cold this morning in Croydon: 4°C when I woke up.
Put a load more pictures up today, in quite a few galleries, so you'll
have to search for them. |
|
|
| Wed
7 Nov 2001 |
Have
Rice Krispies got smaller? Or have I just got bigger? |
|
|
| Sun
4 Nov 2001 |
The
other day I laid a network cable from the study to the lounge, and
this morning we made all the connections, so I am updating this
page from the laptop in the lounge over the network while Steve
uses the main computer in the study.
Great to see that Concorde is due to fly again from next Wednesday.
It is quite amazing - isn't it? - how one-and-a half vodka and Coke's
can make you see the world so much more clearly... I'm sitting
here messing about with my website, in some sort of a 'catalogue-perfect'
setting, by which I mean surrounded by Ikea furniture, widescreen
Sony television, home computer network, subtle indirect lighting,
easy listening on the stereo... you get the idea. Yet... and yet,
despite the fact that it is the very image of what the marketing
people from so many companies want to project as the aspirational
'lifestyle' 'experience' (sorry, I had to put both sets of inverted
commas in there)... yet despite all that, it just feels like home
and I still feel some weird form of envy when I picture (in my mind
or literally on the page) the lifestyle image I'm supposed to aspire
to. So they win every time, and I'm never completely happy with
my lot. And I go out and spend a little more money on another object
to bring me a little closer to the imaginary ideal... which doesn't
actually exist, I've decided. Thank you for that insight, Absolut
(there's another one...) |
|
|
| Sat
3 Nov 2001 |
Quick
trip into Croydon to get my hair cut and buy a shirt before Peter
and Chris came over and we had a glass of Cava and a slice of birthday
cake. Then we caught a bus to the station, train to Waterloo, stroll
over Waterloo bridge to Simpson's-in-the-Strand, in fact upstairs
to have a wonderful meal at Simply
Simpsons. Review here.
I had kipper paté to start, followed by chicken and mushroom casserole
with mashed potato and red cabbage, and ended with a bread-and-butter
pudding. For main courses Steve had an enormous steak and kidney suet
pudding, Peter had beef and Chris had liver with bacon and kidneys.
Then over the road to the Adelphi, to watch a musical I've wanted
to see since I learned it was coming to London: Chicago. It was brill!
We had great seats towards the front of the dress circle from where
we could see most of the stage. Go see it, especially while Alison
Moyet is still in it. The official website is here.
Loud, coarse and full of energy, it's also got a great story which
actually makes sense.
Afterwards we walked to Trafalger Square (stopping for a quick drink
at Halfway to Heaven) then up the Mall to a strangely blacked-out
Buckingham Palace (though the Queen Victoria Memorial was floodlit),
skirting St James's Park and ending up at Victoria Station. We sneaked
into a first class compartment and had a sleepy journey back home.
What a fantastic day! |
|
|
| Thu
1 Nov 2001 |
I
had to go to Wembley today, and I went by train. I decided to go to
Victoria from South Croydon station for a change, which is
a lot smaller than East Croydon, but is still mostly an original Victorian
station. It had a kind of calm dignity about it, wasn't at all crowded,
and I boarded the 6.44 to Victoria with what seemed to me a much more
select bunch of passengers than the barging rabble at East Croydon.
And it meant I got a seat, which these days is a bonus on trains around
London.
This evening for my special birthday tea we ordered in curry, and
I carved the rather lovely 'builder's bum' (I kid you not) novelty
cake which Steve bought for me. |
|
|
| 31
October 2001 |
I
bet you didn't know this: the zebra crossing is 50 years old today!
The first one was 'laid down' (or whatever you do with a zebra crossing)
outside Boots the Chemist in Slough on 31st October 1951. But don't
go looking for it because it isn't there any more... |
|
|
| 30
October 2001 |
Had
an unexpected adventure today. I was supposed to be going to the doctors
to have a look at the x-rays taken of my 'reticulated cuff' (see 5th
October below). It's a nice day, and my car is full of equipment,
so I decided to walk, which should take about half an hour there,
then I had an errand to run in Croydon on the way back. Should have
been really straightforward.
But I somehow left the flat with the wrong set of keys, which I realised
just as the door closed behind me. Panic call to Steve (who
usually keeps a cool head in situations like this) who called all
the people who have spare keys - but of course they were all at work.
So I walked to the station and got the next train to Watford, met
by Steve with his keys, next train back and I've arrived home with
2 hours missing from my life, and around £7 (train ticket plus
a newspaper to read) poorer. Silly burk!
The nicest bit was walking back and scuffing through piles of autumn
leaves. I hate most things about this 'season of mists' but I do like
a good pile of leaves to kick. |
|
|
| 26
October 2001 |
Roxana
sent us a lovely e-mail, from which among other things I've learned
that Geoffrey has been rather unwell. Hope you're better soon, Geoffrey!
He posted a lovely entry in my Guestbook; have you seen it? |
|
|
| 21
October 2001 |
For
Frank's birthday, he, Paul, Steve and I met in London and went for
lunch at The Cinnamon Club, a remarkable new restaurant in Westminster.
Check my review here.
|
|
|
| 20
October 2001 |
Peter
and Chris came for a meal. Steve made what is possibly my favourite
'comfort food' (that wonderful expression of Nigella Lawson's), sausages,
mash and onion gravy. I made a chocolate and orange mousse, then we
all watched/fell asleep to Snow White on DVD. If you haven't
seen the new, restored, version, buy it now, because it's strictly
Limited Edition! |
|
|
| 19
October 2001 |
Another
e-mail, from Vic,
a chap from school who I haven't spoken to since we both left Prior
Park in 1985, although we have exchanged a small handful of e-mails
recently since I did a Yahoo search for him and found him. Anyway,
he included his phone number in the mail, so I called him and we had
a long chat - fantastic! |
|
|
| 15
October 2001 |
An
e-mail from my friends Louise and Mark (another Woody) in Bedford.
I am godfather to Louise's daughter Abigail - who I haven't seen for
ages - and who also now has a baby sister, Olivia. |
|
|
| 14
October 2001 |
Spent
the weekend at Steve's parents - quite relaxing. We showed them our
holiday photos and all the videos from the last year. |
|
|
| 08
October 2001 |
On
top of the news today and yesterday of the air strikes against Afghanistan,
we learn today that 118 people have lost their lives in a plane crash
at Milan Linate airport, which we used for our recent holiday to Lake
Garda. |
|
|
| 07
October 2001 |
Postponed
from last Sunday, we went up to Aylesbury to Simon and Elizabeth's
beautiful house, where we had fajitas, more wine and conversation.
Fantastic weekend, all in all, apart from the arm thing. |
|
|
| 06
October 2001 |
Arm
in sling and off to Salisbury, Steve driving. Had a great day with
Roxy, Alan and Geoffrey - here's a pic.
Good food, good wine, good company. |
|
|
| 05
October 2001 |
Last
Monday I noticed a twinge in my shoulder, which by last night had
turned into a severe pain. I couldn't sleep overnight, and this morning
I went to the doctor who has diagnosed a 'reticulated cuff' in my
shoulder, and prescribed an anti-inflammatory and painkiller, and
a sling to rest my arm. |
|
|
| 30
September 2001 |
Hair
cut today - now I look like this.
|
|
Spoke
to Roxana - after Steve's illness when we returned from holiday, followed
by mine this last week, we're looking forward to visiting her next
Saturday, and our friends Simon & Elizabeth next Sunday. |
|
|
| 21
September 2001 |
Lake
Garda holiday diary now written - follow links from Holiday gallery. |
|
|
| 20
September 2001 |
Into
town today to the travel agent, making enquiries about our proposed
holiday to Berlin next February - and to see if travel by train is
a realistic possibility. Pleased to find it is not only possible,
but reasonably-priced and will only take about 12 hours London-Berlin. |
|
|
| 18
September 2001 |
We
return from a fantastic holiday in northern Italy, staying in the
resort of Malcesine on Lake Garda. The pictures are going to appear
here as soon as possible, together with a full diary of the holiday. |
|
|
| 11
September 2001 |
A
dark day. We travel to Italy and while we are in the air over
6,000 people are killed in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania
by terrorists. Exactly a year ago we stood on top of the World
Trade Centre, so it is doubly difficult for us to take in. I
am aware that so far the one picture up on this website from
that New York holiday last year shows the Twin Towers. I resolve
to create a memorial section as soon as possible on my return.
(See Gallery 4m.) |
|
|
| |
|
| 10
September 2001 |
All
packed today for holiday. Jo's Mum hasn't received the letter giving
the honeymoon destination yet. [Discover later that it's Dominican
Republic.] |
| |
|
| 09
September 2001 |
All
the best wedding pics are on the site now, in Gallery 8. |
|
|
| 08
September 2001 |
We
travelled up to Cold Brayfield yesterday, and met Jo at her mum's
house where she was getting ready for the wedding. When she came out
of the house for photographs she looked absolutely stunning, in a
beautiful dress. Her bridesmaids looked amazing too. The ceremony
in the village church was lovely, conducted by a German lady vicar!
And the most amazing coincidence: one of Bob's friends who had come
over for the wedding from Hong Kong, and was an usher, was none other
than Terry O'Neal, who I went to school with at Prior! It was great
to catch up with Russell and Lorretta, who I hadn't seen for around
five years, and introduce them to Steve, and also to see Woody and
Steve K. |
| |
The
reception at the Swan
Hotel in Bedford was fantastic; a good time was certainly had
by all, though there are parts which seem a little hazy... We stayed
overnight at the Swan and left Bedford about lunchtime today after
a wander around the town. |
| |
Jo
and Bob are due to travel on honeymoon from Gatwick airport on Sunday
morning, and are staying at a fantastic hotel near Crawley tonight,
and we were delighted to receive a phone call inviting us down for
a drink. We showed them the unedited video on the little camcorder
screen, and tried to persuade Bob to reveal where he was taking Jo,
but the best info we could get was that they had had Hep. A, Malaria
and Typhoid injections. Apparently we can call either mother on Monday
evening, as he's posted letters with all the details to them to arrive
Monday. I'll publish here as soon as I know. |
|
|
| 06
September 2001 |
I've
won another on-line competition! It was on the Rainbow
Network website, and I'm a bit vague about the prize, but it seems
to be an album compiled by Boy George called 'boygeorgedj.com', which
is a weird title for an album... |
| |
I
sort of lost contact with my friend from school Mark
after he went to Mongolia a while back, but discovered he's on the
Friends Reunited site, so I sent him a mail today to which he's replied,
so that's another link re-established. I really wish I wasn't so crap
at keeping in touch with people. |
|
|
| 05
September 2001 |
The
head of our department went to America, for the first time in his
life, a couple of weeks ago, for a family holiday. They went to Chicago,
Miami and Boston, so they did it big. Anyway, he got back to work
on the Monday to discover the company was sending him back to America
for business a week later! |
|
|
| 03
September 2001 |
Steve
pointed me in the direction of a really good site the other day for
rediscovering old schoolfriends; it's called Friends
Reunited, and obviously relies on people registering their details
against their school for others to find. Anyway, I registered, and
had a mail today from someone I hadn't thought about for probably
around 18 years or so, Jonathan
Howells. Fantastic! |
|
|
| 25
August 2001 |
I'm
really touched: Jo has asked me to do a reading at her wedding. |
|
|
| 24
August 2001 |
These
days I seem to spend a huge amount of time on the phone to the customer
service departments of companies complaining about one thing or another,
so it's incredibly pleasing to report some really outstanding customer
service. To cut a long and boring story short the parts department
of Kenwood sent me the wrong part for our espresso machine, but a
lovely lady called Kate at Kenwood Customer Services has sent me a
replacement part (worth at least £24) absolutely free of charge
because of the hassle. Brilliant! Buy Kenwood,
I say. |
| |
|
| 17
August 2001 |
Tons
more photos uploaded today, so the site's really humming now. |
| |
|
| 16
August 2001 |
At
last my section (rather stupidly called 'shiny things', but what else
can I call it?) with wonderful pictures of beautiful, desirable objects
has been completed. The first subject is... well, you'll have to have
a look for yourself, won't you? |
| |
|
| 11
August 2001 |
Steve
has now met Roxana, Alan and Geoffrey, following our trip to Salisbury
today. He likes them. We also walked into the town, and briefly visited
the Cathedral,
which was impressive as ever. (I'm afraid you'll find from their website
that they have a Mission Statement. Can't any organisation manage
without one today?) Of course we saw the Magna Carta and the oldest
working medieval clock in the world. Next time we visit we will climb
the tower to the base of the spire. On the way back home from Salisbury
we stopped for a meal near Bentley, at the Anchor Inn. Very nice. |
| |
|
| 10
August 2001 |
Exactly
one month tomorrow and we will be at Lake Garda in Italy! I discovered
some webcams
around the lake today. And tomorrow I take Steve to Salisbury. |
| |
Tonight
Peter and Chris arrived to tell us about their recent holiday in Cuba,
with a bottle of Cuban rum, an enormous bag of coffee beans for our
coffee machine, and a small plate with a picture of Che Guevara and
the words: "Hasta la victoria SIEMPRE". Can anyone translate? |
| |
|
| 04
August 2001 |
Out
visiting. We went up to Northampton and saw Jo,
and met Bob for the first time. Thought we ought to know what he looked
like before the wedding! Looked over photos and had lunch, and saw
their fabulous apartment. |
| |
Then
on a pilgrimage to Filgrave, to see Barbara again and look at the
house. Boy has she made some changes! She has transformed the place,
and it looks amazing! From a redesigned garden to an en-suite bathroom,
the place has changed completely. The weird thing is the surreality
of, for example, standing in a kitchen I don't even recognise, looking
out of the window at a completely familiar back garden, or then turning
round and seeing MY garage door key on MY cheap plastic keyring hanging
on the same hook behind the door where it has hung for 26 years! And
the most wonderful thing was seeing the suite of furniture from my
great-grandmother's workshops in Salisbury from the turn of the century
(i.e. 1900) reupholstered and made into a good, modern set of furniture.
She is clearly so happy and at home there, and that makes me so pleased. |
| |
Lastly
on to visit Peter and Amanda (and bump) in Newton Blossomville. It
was really nice to see Peter again, and meet Amanda for the first
time. Of course all these people were new to poor Steve, who was bewildered
by the end of the day! Round to the pub next door, The Old Mill Burnt
Down for a fantastic meal - ate too much of Jill's superb food. If
you go to the review section there is a write-up on the Old Mill. |
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All
in all a tiring but super day for both of us. |
| |
|
| 02
August 2001 |
Today
I finished work early and drove down to Salisbury and visited my parents,
who are both, as my Dad reminded me twice, 74. I also saw my nephew
Geoffrey, now 10, and Roxana and Alan, and Alison, who gave me 2 photos
of Vanessa, Geoff and their two children [now in Gallery 2]. |
| |
Dad,
Alan and Roxy confirmed some dates so I can update the 'My
Life' section. |
| |
Roxana
and Alan have invited Steve and me down to their 'open house' on August
11th. |
|
|
| 31
July 2001 |
Paddy
gets a phone call from Murphy. "Paddy," says Murphy, "I've got a problem."
"What's the matter?" replies Paddy. "I've bought a jigsaw and it's
too hard, none of the pieces fit together, and I can't find any edges."
"What's the picture of?" asks Paddy. "It's of a big cockerel," Murphy
replies. Paddy says, "Alright, Murphy, I'll come over and have a look."
He gets to Murphy's house and Murphy opens the door. "Oh thanks for
coming Paddy." He leads Paddy into the kitchen and shows him the jigsaw
on the kitchen table. Paddy looks at the jigsaw, then turns to Murphy
and says, "For God's sake Murphy, put the cornflakes back in the packet."
|
| |
|
| 26
July 2001 |
Work-wise
days don't get any better than this. I had to drive, in beautiful
sunshine, to Wellingborough to look at some equipment. I had the air-con
on, some good music on the stereo - it was fab. The demo was quite
interesting actually. Then around lunchtime I left there and drove
across country to Swindon in time for my date with the astronaut. |
| |
They'd
set up the area where Dr. Scott was due to talk with low-level lighting,
and dry ice spilling everywhere - very atmospheric and not as silly
as it sounds. He spoke and answered questions for over an hour, and
around fifty people sat there captivated. I certainly did. He talked
in the main about the Apollo 15 mission, and showed a sequence of
slides from just after take-off (with the curvature of the earth just
visible) through to the point where the whole blue and white marble
that is the earth was receding into the distance, then the moon got
bigger and closer until they landed.
On that expedition Scott and his crew-mate Irwin explored the base
of a 15,000ft mountain range, and drove to the edge of a vast canyon.
The most amazing thing he told us was that the earth (which goes through
the whole range of phases from full to crescent as the moon does to
us) could be blotted out simply by holding up your thumb at arm's
length. That, he said, made him realise just how fragile that one
tiny speck is that we call home, and how desperately important it
is that we look after it. |
| |
I
asked what I thought was an intelligent question: I reminded Dr. Scott
that today was the thirtieth anniversary of the launch of the Saturn
V rocket which sent Apollo 15 towards the moon, and I asked him how
he felt when he woke up that morning 30 years ago, knowing today was
the day he was going to the moon. Unfortunately Dr. Scott had difficulty
hearing many of the questions from the audience, and he actually thought
I'd asked what it was like being launched atop that rocket. In fact
his Apollo 9 mission three years earlier was the first time the Saturn
V was used, and he described an unexpected phenomenon: when the first
stage ignites at lift-off to begin to push the whole assembly upwards,
it actually compresses the rest of the rocket, and then when that
stage drops away after it has burned out it was as if a compressed
spring had uncoiled, and it sent the three astronauts almost out of
their straps into the instrument panel in front of them. |
| |
Notwithstanding
the acoustic difficulties, he answered all the questions very thoroughly
and to my mind 'freshly', even though he must have spoken on this
subject literally thousands of time over the last 30 years. When he
answered my question he looked directly at me for the 3 or 4 minutes
it took. I couldn't get it out of my head that this was a man who
assessed dangers, weighed up risks, and became a pioneer. A man who
has walked on another world. What a guy! |
| |
|
| 20
July 2001 |
Oh
dear. This is the 'leader of the free world' (speaking to BBC Washington
correspondent Stephen Sackur): "I guess I could have gone with
a strategy of playing like this makes sense. But I chose to be as
open as I could and explain in terms that we share the same goal,
that we will come with a strategy that makes sense, but that the treaty
wasn't going to pass." And then a bit later: "I look forward
to seeing [Tony Blair] at Chequers. And we sat next to each other
at my first EU luncheon - NATO luncheon - anyway, at the first luncheon
with leaders I sat next to Tony. It was very comforting to sit next
to a friend, kind of the new boy in class, you know - sat next to
a friend." Be afraid, be very afraid. The whole interview is
here. |
| |
|
| 19
July 2001 |
Only
12 men have walked on the moon, and I'm going to meet one of them!
Dr.
David Scott, who was the seventh person to walk on the moon's
surface, in 1971, is coming to give a talk at my work next week. Scott
flew with Neil Armstrong on Gemini 8 in the year I was born, 1966,
when they successful docked with a satellite. He flew again on Apollo
9 in 1969, again in earth orbit, where they flew the lunar module
off the orbiter and redocked it, testing all the procedures before
Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins flew Apollo 11 to the moon later that
year. Then he commanded Apollo 15 on the 5th (4th successful) lunar
landing expedition. This was also the first time the Lunar
Rover was used, and Scott did the famous Galilean 'hammer and
feather' experiment. [You can watch it here].
I can't wait! |
| |
|
| 17
July 2001 |
Today
is the anniversary of Bruno's
death, so he is much on my mind all day. |
| |
Which
is better, Ford
Puma or Peugeot 206 CC? |
| |
Had
an e-mail from my old mate Peter
Holloway - his girlfriend Amanda is pregnant! |
|
Watched
a British Airways Concorde take off from Heathrow live on BBC News
24 - the first BA example to fly since the Air France crash a year
ago. What a magnificent site, what an incredible noise! I still remember
seeing Concorde for the first time: when I was about 4 years old Dad
was painting Roxana's name on the lid of her new school trunk, in
the back bedroom of our house in Farnborough. It was a summer's day
and the window was open. Suddenly we heard the most amazing noise
unlike anything we'd heard before. We all rushed to the window and
saw Concorde flying quite low overhead, practicing for the Farnborough
Air Show. |
| |
|
| 16
July 2001 |
The
postman delivered a Bosch pressure washer (for cars) this morning.
I won it in a competition on Top
Gear Online, which proves people do win! We are going to keep
it until we get a house. |
| |
|
| 15
July 2001 |
New
look for haymee.com, as I begin changing all pages over to
the 'purple & white' standardised design. |
|
Started
Weight Watchers points diet. I am, it seems, slightly overweight,
but I'm not saying by how much. Once the diet's worked, I'll post
all the gory details! |
| |
|
| 14
July 2001 |
Hair
was getting long, so after a trip to the hairdresser I look like this
again now. |
| |
|
| 06
July 2001 |
Someone
ran in to the back of my car at a roundabout in Swindon this morning,
so the Astra is in for repair. In the meantime I have a Fiat
Marea, which I don't like much, although the seats are comfortable. |
|
|
| 29
June 2001 |
We
spent a weekend in Newquay and driving around Cornwall. The pictures
are in the Gallery section. |
| |
|
| 05
June 2001 |
Steve
showed me DreamWeaver. We put together a
basic couple of pages. haymee.com is born. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| MY
LIFE (before June 2001) |
|
| |
|
| April
1927 |
My
mother Evelyn
is born. |
| June
1927 |
My
father John
is born. |
| September
1950 |
John
& Evelyn marry. |
| August
1951 |
My
eldest sister Alison is born. |
| December
1952 |
My
eldest brother Ian
is born. |
| March
1955 |
Third
child Duncan
is born. |
| March
1957 |
Fourth
child and second daughter Roxana
is born. |
| February
1966 |
I
am conceived whilst my parents are on post in Poland. |
| November
1966 |
On
the 1st of the month (All Saints' Day) I am born in Odstock
Hospital, Salisbury, Wilts. The line-up is complete. I am everyone's
baby brother and am teased and bullied accordingly. This continues
pretty much until I eventually outgrow them all. |
| December
1966 |
The
family moves from Salisbury to a beautiful house called 'Kingsleigh'
in Lynchford Road, Farnborough, Hants. |
| August
1971 |
Alison
marries Richard in Cove, Hampshire. I am a page-boy. |
| March
1972 |
With
most of my siblings in their various boarding schools, and Alison
& Richard living in Kingsleigh, my parents and I move to Paris,
where my father is posted to the British
Embassy. I attend two French schools. |
| April
1972 |
My
niece Vanessa is born to Alison & Richard. |
| August
1974 |
We
return to the UK and I go to school in Farnborough. |
| August
1975 |
As
my father is transferred to a Foreign Office facility in Buckinghamshire,
we move to the tiny village of Filgrave,
near Olney
(pronounced "oh-knee"). I attend the school
there. Nearby is the home of Aston
Martin, Newport
Pagnell. |
| June
1976 |
My
nephew Matthew
is born, Alison & Richard's son. |
| _____
1977 |
Ian's
son Aaron is born, my second nephew. |
| April
1978 |
In
preparation for my parents' posting to East Berlin, I am sent to Prior
Park Prep School, Cricklade. |
| December
1978 |
Following
my flight to Berlin for the Christmas holidays, I develop an ear infection.
My eardrum bursts, and I am admitted to the government hospital 'Regierungeskrankenhaus'.
I spend about eight weeks on the children' ward, where I have an operation
to remove an abcess from my middle ear which involves a 'mastoid-ectomy',
or removal of the bone behind the ear. After daily high-powered syringing
and 'audio-gram' tests I am allowed home where I convalesce,
and return to England at the half-term holiday. Back at school I find
myself a bit of a celebrity. |
| July
1979 |
Record
four radio programmes as part of a series called 'TeenScene' on BFBS
(British Forces Broadcasting Services) radio in West Berlin, with
other (forces) kids. I'm a novelty as I live in the East. Some clips
from these broadcasts may be available here soon. |
| September
1979 |
Return
to England to the senior school, Prior
Park College, Bath. |
| June
1980 |
Mother
and father return to UK. |
| June
1983 |
Sit
'O' Levels. I pass eight. |
| April
1985 |
Roxana
marries Alan in Godalming, Surrey. |
| June
1985 |
Sit
'A' Levels. I pass three, but turn down a place offered at North Cheshire
College in Warrington on a Media Studies course, feeling that I would
like to take a more vocational course leading to a qualification that
would enable me to join the BBC as a trainee cameraman. As this will
involve reapplying the following year, I look for a job to help me
get the place. |
| July
1985 |
Work
for about 4 weeks at Tyringham
Clinic, as a porter. This is not the job to help me get
the course to get the BBC job... |
| August
1985 |
Start
work at Simon
Photographic, an independent camera shop in Central Milton Keynes
shopping
centre. My starting salary is £2688 p.a. I slowly abandon
my ambition of going to college, especially as I begin to earn money. |
| June
1986 |
Pass
my driving test, and start driving a 12-year-old Austin
Allegro (with a square steering wheel!) bought from a colleague
of my Dad's. |
| August
1986 |
Lured
by newspaper advertising, and desparate to own a brand new car, I
buy the only model I can afford, a Citroen
2CV. I quickly hate it. |
| November
1986 |
The
first of two spectacularly bad financial deals: I part-exchange the
3-month-old 2CV for a one-year-old Ford
Fiesta, still possibly the best car I've ever owned, and a
finance deal. |
| May
1987 |
The
second money-down-the-toilet deal: as the payments are getting hard
to afford on the Fiesta, I sell it for cash to a Lada garage in Stony
Stratford (yes I said it was bad) and buy a 7-year-old Mark
II Ford Escort 1.3 Ghia, which is ace! Twin-choke Weber carbs,
leather interior, carpets, headrests... what more could you want? |
| September
1987 |
Leave
Simon's to work for Dorman's
Photographic in Bedford (starting salary £5244), following
in the footsteps of the manager Graham
Thompson and another member of staff, Martin.
Dorman's is bigger, with 4 shops, and the owner Alf Dorman (who is
sadly to die within a few short years) and his son Nick run, for me,
a much more pleasant business to work in. |
| ______
1988 ? |
I
move from living at home (Filgrave) to lodging with my friend Stephen
Bryden in his cottage
in Lavendon. The place is very small, and we fall out often (I mean
we argue, not we fall out of the cottage - it wasn't that small!). |
| ______
1988 |
Sell
my Escort and buy a second-hand VW
Golf GTi (early 1600) from the owner of the model shop 3 doors
down from Dorman's in Bedford. The most fantastic driving experience
of any car I have ever owned or looked after! |
| ______
1989 ? |
My
friend Peter
Orme decides to stop working as an award-winning photographer
for local papers in Milton Keynes, and goes freelancing in London.
Although there is little doubt he'll be successful, he wants a lodger
at his house
in Conniburrow, Milton Keynes, just to be on the safe side. So I move
in there. [Peter, a dedicated, hard-working, highly-skilled, funny,
generous, exasperating man, died in June 2001. He leaves a beautiful
wife, Heidi, and son Nicholas, who both, I know, miss him terrribly]. |
| ______
1989 |
Still
working for Dorman's, I move from the shop in Bedford to a new role
at the brand new head office/warehouse in Flitwick, Beds. I am grandly
called 'Professional Sales Manager', meaning I am supposed to go out
selling photo and video equipment and materials to 'pro' customers;
but a lot of my work is internal admin. I also get my first company
car, a little red Escort 1.3 'Popular', which I soon wreck
(spinning it and dropping it spectacularly into a ditch near Newton
Blossomville). I receive a slightly newer Escort
1.4 LX (ooohh!), but I manage to bend the front of this before
long . |
| September
1990 |
Following
the death of my paternal grandparents, my father inherits the house
in Kings Road, Salisbury where he was born and lived most of his childhood,
and in which both my parents lived for a time following their marriage,
and they move down to live in it. In a sudden insane moment I decide
to buy the house in Filgrave from my parents, and a deal is worked
out with my Dad. At irregular but frequent intervals over the next
ten years I bitterly regret this decision. |
| September
1990 |
A
small, frightened, hissing, viscious little bundle of claws and black
and white fur (who I call Ilford
after the brand of black & white film) comes to live with me.
He has been born in a hedge up the road to a wild mother, and rather
unnecessarily named 'Tuppence' by the old lady who found him. After
quite a short time we become best friends. |
| July
1991 |
Roxana
and Alan produce a son, my nephew Geoffrey. |
| July
1991 |
My
friend Russell's sister's cat produces a litter, and I choose the
prettiest, and bring her home to meet Ilford, who is not impressed.
She is a soft tortoiseshell, and for no good reason I call her Pippa. |
| May
1992 |
Pippa
isn't even a year old and she produces a litter
of four, starting one evening at about 11pm and continuing
with me as midwife until 2am. When the last kitten is born Pippa is
too exhausted to cut the cord, so I do it for her. She has had: a
ginger male with small white patches, who I call James, and who eventually
runs away; a slightly plump and mischievous black and white male,
who I call DJ, and who is to later die of a mystery virus; a very
similar black and white girl, who my friend Steve takes and calls
Jen, but who also dies; and the runt is the all-black Bruno,
who stays with me. |
| April
1993 |
I
meet Grant,
who becomes my boyfriend. He lives in Bedford and works ridiculous
hours for Beefeater. Over time I effectively move into his flat. |
| November
1994 |
I
leave Dorman's and start work for WHSmith,
doing technical work in the Security Department based in Dunstable. |
| August
1995 |
Vanessa,
now known universally as 'Nessie' as I discover, marries Geoff in
Farnham. I film the wedding video. |
| May
1997 |
Grant
and I split, and I soon meet Steve,
who lives in Croydon and works for a large computer consultancy. We
realise fairly quickly that we are soulmates, and destined to be together.
Over time I move myself and the cats into his world. |
| September
1998 |
Steve
gets rid of his small rented flat and buys a flat in a small, friendly,
low-rise block on the other side of Croydon. It has beautifully-maintained
gardens and agreeable views, and more importantly heaps more space. |
| February
1999 |
Nessie
and Geoff produce Amber.
I'm 32 and a great-uncle already. Oh brilliant! |
| June
2000 |
After
around four years of varying degrees of effort I finally sell the
property in Filgrave. As I haven't really lived in it for this long
I have only been wasting money on mortgage payments, insurance and
other bills. It's a huge relief, and made even more pleasant as the
new owner, Barbara, tells me she feels immediately at home there,
and quite obviously loves the place. |
| July
2000 |
Having
initiated contact with them nearly two years previously, I accept
an offer to work for HM
Customs and Excise National Investigation Service. I start work
there on Monday 10th, but by the Tuesday afternoon I know the job
- and organisation - are not for me. The reasons are too complicated
to explain here. I resign on the Friday, with half a promise of my
old job back at Smith's. |
|
On
Monday 17th, while I am at home, Bruno dies, suddenly and painlessly.
The vet cannot say for certain why, but suspects an embolism. We are
devastated. |
|
On
Monday 24th I restart my job at Smith's, and collect the new
car I had ordered just before handing in my notice. |
| August
2000 |
Aaron
has a son, Ezekiel Isaac. |
| January
2001 |
With
a very powerful dose of the 'flu about to kick in, I smoke what turns
out to be my last cigarette on Thursday 18th. |
|
On
Monday 29th Ilford is hit by a car and dies yards from our front door,
trying to make it back to the flat. Our main consolation is that just
an hour before we had been playing with him and giving him a huge
amount of love. He was a much-loved cat, a real character with whom
we practically conversed. Naturally we are shocked and grief-stricken.
As time goes on we learn to accept his loss, and Pippa forms the focus
of our attention. Bruno and Ilford are never forgotten, and sometimes
we still cry when we think of them. |
| April
2001 |
Amber
has a sister, Chloë,
my new grand-niece. |
|
|
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Now
continue reading in the journal
section. |
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