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    Tonight’s motion picture premiere was The Last First: Winter K2 (2026), a documentary just released on Apple TV+ about a bunch of mountaineers attempting the first winter climb of the notoriously dangerous second-highest peak in the world in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic (which, BTW, is still happening, no matter what middle management might say as they try to get people to work in offices again). It’s pretty clear that at least three of the five people who died did so as a direct result of a business that takes amateurs up Everest taking them to K2 instead, as Nepal was still locked down to outsiders, and then failing to make the appropriate arrangements on the mountain; though the bloke responsible doesn’t admit that, of course. It seems like three competent people who died were victims of the incompetence of others, and K2 has no forgiveness for incompetence: until that winter, 25% of those who’d reached its summit had died before getting back down, and many who didn’t make it to the summit died trying. I can just about understand why people try to climb Everest, but I don’t understand why anybody goes anywhere near such a deadly mountain as K2, let alone takes a bunch of amateurs up there

    After that, I was in need of an escape from brutal reality and decided on a rewatch of Inside Man (2006). I’d forgotten how good this is! Cracking bank heist thriller that keeps the twists and turns surprising you right to the end

    Finally, a couple more episodes of Dark Matter. I’m still confused by this one, finding it hard to work out which is the “real” universe (i.e. ours) and which of the protagonists (i.e. the same bloke in different universes) I’m supposed to be rooting for. But it’s keeping me watching and I suspect I’m deep enough in that I’ll carry on until I work out what the hell I’m supposed to be making of it all, so it seems to be doing what it was made for

    Goodnight all

    Comment


      Morning.

      Saturday.

      Odd things happening up the road last night: no idea WTF was going on but there were blue lights up there when I went to bed & the road was closed.

      Damp.

      Grey.

      19.7 deg, in here, 20.2 in the kitchen, 18.5 in the leanto, 15 out the back, 16.7 in the saltinghouse.

      1022 mBar, 30.18 in Hg, 766.6 Torr, 14.82 psi, (up from 1020 last night), 69% RH (Lidl electric).

      Meanwhile on the 5th of April 2020, between 20:37 and 22:40, barrydidit, LM, MrMarkyMark, NF, PhilTheGreek, and I popped in.

      Washing frenzy in progress.

      Walk (unabbreviated, towpath) walked in the sunshine.

      Lunch: brunch. Entertainment: bit of News Quiz. dashcam bollox S4 E1. The bit I missed due to needing bowel movement last Monday involved a bus driver & a moped rider knocking 7 bells out of each other for a good 5 minutes.

      That requiring the iRon has received its attentions & is now airing upstairs.

      Entertainment: Archive Hour: "Rock bottom: 50 years since the IMF crisis". Gosh.

      Came back in to discovered I left an empty kettle on. Which is not a good thing to do. Better buy a spare just in case, like.

      Most stuff in off the line & airing upstairs.

      Tea: beans on toast with scrambled egg. Need to buy more eggs. Entertainment: PM. Robinson talking to some Labour lovey or other.

      "Maigret: The Simple Case (1961)". The one with the headless body in the canal.

      Blazian bollox: World War Weird: inmate revolt in Sobibor. Mentions the post war pogroms in Poland & Ukraine. Disposal of war gases in the sea. Chunks of sulphur mustard pulled up by fishermen. Why some Norwegian trees failed to grow at for up to 9 years: Nazi smoke used to camouflage the Tirpitz: chlrosulphuric acid. Cosmos 954 reentry over Canada. Operation Morning Light. Last ep.

      Blazian bollox: Secret Wars: the new cold war. Made in 2022 so misses out on all the good stuff that's happened since then. . Last ep.

      Some other undefined bollox that I haven't found yet. There isn't anything, thusly: <click>.
      Last edited by DoctorStrangelove; Yesterday, 22:12.
      When the fun stops, STOP.

      Comment


        Afternoon denizens

        It’s a sunny day, with some high wispy cloud here and there and the odd small cumulus bimbling about. It’s 18°C which is the high for the day, and the barometers are up a touch at 1018/1026mB

        There were five crows down on the lawn earlier, and the younger ones were absolutely fascinated by a piece of tin foil they’d found, about A5 to A4 in size. I don’t know if it was the sunlight sparkling off it, or the sound and texture as they pecked at it, or if it had traces of something delicious on it. But they couldn’t get enough of it, with one in particular spending a good ten minutes exploring it from every angle

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          Afternoon all

          Cloudy but dry and warm. Currently 19 degrees ('feels like' 25) and that's the high for the day. Barometer down a smidge to 1029 mBar.

          Sunrise 07:05; Sunset 18:36 BST

          I have run a few errands this morning and popped to Tesco to pick up things for today's and tomorrow's dinners. I'll take Mum out for a walk to the park soon.

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            Didn't go to woodland volunteer thing this morning, grotty night and couldn't be bothered to roll out of bed. Anyway, we were doing the same thing as last time, rather boring, looking for Rhododendron and hardly finding any. Been trimming the hedge, yawn. Off on walky soon.
            bloggoth

            If everything isn't black and white, I say, 'Why the hell not?'
            John Wayne (My guru, not to be confused with my beloved prophet Jeremy Clarkson)

            Comment


              Mum and I took a walk through the park, up to the beach, along the seafront and back. Very nice day for it.

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                Tea was brought to me from the South Indian place past the park. Very nice and rather zingy

                I need to make the bed soon, as that’s been airing and I’d rather like to lie in it

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                  Monkey Life and other important stuff was on earlier

                  And tonight, the bed was duly made and I read more of Old Baggage

                  Goodnight all

                  Comment


                    tum tiddley tum.
                    When the fun stops, STOP.

                    Comment


                      Morning.

                      Sunday. Om.

                      Dry.

                      Blue sky in parts.

                      Sunny.

                      18.7 deg in here, 18.3 in the kitchen, 15.5 in the leanto, 10 out the back.

                      1023 mBar, 30.2 in Hg, 767.3131 Torr, 14.84 psi, (unchanged), 67% RH (Lidl electric).

                      Meanwhile on the 5th of April 2020, between 22:53 and 22:53, WTFH & I popped in, whilst between 00:24 and 07:33 on the 6th of April 2020, in popped NF for a post with Brillo making up the rest.

                      Walk (unabbreviated, towpath) walked in the grey gloom. 1 brief conversation pointing out the plaque dedicated to Alwyn Jones, followed by pointing out the other plaque on "his" rock in the river where he spent much time fishing back in the day.

                      Lunch: brunch. Entertainment: dashcam bollox S4 E2, E3.
                      Last edited by DoctorStrangelove; Today, 13:03.
                      When the fun stops, STOP.

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