test please delete

[eek]

Afternoon all

Cloudy but bright and dry. Currently 17 degrees and that's the high for the day. Some slight chances of showers. Barometer continues its downward trend to 1011 mBar.

Sunrise 06:33; Sunset 17:52

Busy morning. Actually done something for a change.

This evening HWMBO and I are off to Prague for the weekend. This is the last trip I have booked for this year. Obviously it won't actually be the last as I am 100% certain I will be booking another jaunt or two within the next couple of months.

Obviously I had to scroll back for aeons to find out what the hell this was about.

We booked Prague for November last week. Where are you staying?

So far this year
I've got Paris (and Bayeux) next week
Berlin in May
Cornwall in June
Turkey in September

So skipping April I need somewhere for July / August and October or December.

December will be Christmas markets but the question is where..

[NickFitz]

Home again!

The crash at Sandbach was cleared long before I got there, so no delays to speak of on the journey up and I arrived at the cemetery chapel (disused but it's the central point and meeting place) at about quarter to one, about the same time as everybody else - my cousin turned out to be in the Range Rover that had been in front of me for the last mile or so. The cemetery chap turned up on a little John Deere quad bike towing a trailer with buckets of turf in it, and said we should follow him to the grave.

Our Aunt Pauline (not a real aunt, but an old friend of our Mum's) wouldn't have been able to walk far enough so he got her to hop in the passenger seat next to him. And then (possibly having realised we were all knocking on a bit) he said that actually, we should bring our cars round and park near the grave, as all the paths in the cemetery are wide enough for a car, probably so Victorian mourners could get their broughams along them.

So we ended up forming a motorised funeral procession, but Pauline couldn't be bothered to get down again so rode at the head of it on the quad bike

We didn't have anything religious going on at the grave so after a short speech, my brother put Mum's ashes in and I placed Dad's next to her, with our sister assisting both of us. And so Mum and Dad came back to Liverpool, nearly fifty-four years after we left our home there to move south

Then we all went off to a pub nearby, past Paul McCartney's old home, for lunch. I had fish and chips; their assertion that the batter would be "cooked to golden perfection" turned out to be accurate

And after a few hours we all parted ways and I headed back. Returning took about fifteen minutes longer, but no holdups really - some of the extra time was because the outer ring road near the motorway junction at this end is closed tonight, so I came back past the old flat and so did everybody who would otherwise have taken the outer ring road

It was a good day all in all. Later in the year, when the stone is back at the grave with the added inscriptions, I think I'll go up to Liverpool for a day or two, just to revisit old childhood haunts. I was trying to remember when I was last there and it must be over twenty years. But every single place I went today was just so familiar, because it was all within the areas where we and the extended family lived back in the 1960s, and a lot of it seemed hardly changed. If nothing else, the Hunt's Cross Supper Bar is still there, and I remember that opening for business in 1969 or 1970. Excellent gravy

[NickFitz]

No premiere tonight because I decided I wanted to rewatch Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) so I did

This afternoon, my brother told me that his daughters, aka my nieces, love me to bits and then added "Though I'm not sure they know quite what to make of you" which I regard as a great compliment, or maybe just confirmation that I shouldn't be too bothered that I'm not sure quite what to make of myself

Anyway, in the spirit of it being unclear what to make of oneself, I rewatched The Accountant (2016) because it's been a while since I watched it and it's very much about that kind of thing

Goodnight all

[ladymuck]

Morning all, Prague calling, local time 0829

Sunny, no fluff to be seen from my vantage point currently 3 degrees with a high of 15 expected. Barometer at 1017 mBar.

Sunrise 06:31; Sunset 17:56

Arrived late yesterday. Neither Uber nor Bolt were picking up from the airport - accepting then cancelling jobs. So we grabbed a waiting taxi, who took a scenic route and tried to charge us £65 for a sub-£20 trip. Expected to pay more than Uber/Bolt.but not that much. Settled on about £35 which was still expensive but at the same level as a meet and greet car service.

We've stayed in this hotel before and it's lovely. Good location, comfortable rooms, lovely staff. This time they have the cafe/restaurant next door open and we managed to get a very well made G&T before they closed. Will be sampling breakfast soon.

[eek]

Arrived late yesterday. Neither Uber nor Bolt were picking up from the airport - accepting then cancelling jobs. So we grabbed a waiting taxi, who took a scenic route and tried to charge us £65 for a sub-£20 trip. Expected to pay more than Uber/Bolt.but not that much. Settled on about £35 which was still expensive but at the same level as a meet and greet car service.

Thanks for that - I will sort out a meet and greet service...

[ladymuck]

Thanks for that - I will sort out a meet and greet service...

Usually it's ok. They also have Uber Airport service which you can book from kiosks in the arrivals hall and then walk outside to a waiting car. Didn't check the price of that.
EDIT: HWMBO has just told me that this was about CKR700 (~£21) so that's a few quid more than Uber/Bolt but cheaper than a meet and greet. Apparently can be booked via the app as well as the kiosks. It's a specific option you can select.

I've used Welcome Pickups before, in many countries, and while they are a little bit pricier than Uber or Bolt, they are reliable.

Just noticed I didn't answer your question yesterday. We're staying in The Manes hotel. https://www.themanes.cz/

[DoctorStrangelove]

Morning.

Saturday.

Poor night's sleep due to my shoulder. . Had to get up & apply some ibuprofen gel.

Dry.

Very sunny.

Chilly in here at 13.8 deg, 12.5 in the kitchen, 12 in the leanto.

1002 mBar, 29.589 in Hg, 751.56 Torr, 14.533 psi, (down from 1004 last night), 65% RH (Lidl electric).

Meanwhile on the 30th of december 2019 NF watched The Rutles and yet another Bond film (Goldeneye: I've never watched it), there was discussion of CobolScript and a link to the github thereof, Brillo was watching something about Christine Keeler.

Walk (unabbreviated) walked in the wan sunshine. Almost not chilly out there in places.

Lunch: brunch.

Entertainment: Money Box.

. Drugs, gimme drugs. .

Ow Ow Ow.

"The naked week". Well there's a thing: Chinese using different algorithms to feed crap to non Chinese kids.

After the drugs: Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. :suity. Stone me. I've got things I need to do this afternoon, surely 400mg should do the trick? .

Enough of a trick to allow the putting on & taking off of the overalls, in turn enabling some minor potching to take place around the tin shed.

Then the clouding over culminated in some rain, so the potching concluded for the day.

Freecell score: 70%, running average: 82%. Obviously not in the zone today.

More drugs taken, paracetamol this time.

Book.

Tea: tomato soup etc. Nice enough.

Entertainment: PM.

Another 400mg of ibuprofen: this seems to have taken the edge off, thank feck. There'll be more at bedtime as I couldn't cope with another night like last night.

Now reached the state of Inspector Kemp from "Young Frankenstein".

Classic Albums: Rumours.

Bit of "The Lake House (2006)".

"Mirage Men (2013)": ufo bollox on Blaze. Richard Doty stars.

[NickFitz]

Afternoon denizens

Sunny day out. Currently 15°C which is the highest point for today, and it's expected to continue to be fairly mild tonight, dipping no lower than 5°. The barometers are down a bit at 995/1002mB

[NickFitz]

Roast beef bap (wholemeal) for lunch

[ladymuck]

Lunch was "Pečené kachní stehno s červeným zelím a bramborovým knedlíkem."