Reply to: test please delete

[NickFitz]

First up on the box tonight was Mary Beard on iPlayer talking about Caligula. I thought she didn't look any older than the time I saw her in the pub in Cambridge, and it turns out the programme was from 2013 so she probably wasn't

Then a rewatch of Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995). I like this one, though IIRC they're all good

And then a further episode of The Plot Against America in which life for the Jewish community is starting to get worse in various insidious ways

The rain persists

Goodnight all

[NickFitz]

There were a few spots of rain as I was heading home from the parcel place and it's settled in now, raining steadily. Despite this I ventured forth, driving down to the VAT fraud chip shop; so tea has been fish & chips

[NickFitz]

Missions accomplished!

I got off to a bad start by turning the wrong way out of the flats, having forgotten I needed to go to the bank. But I remembered before I was off our little backwater of a neighbourhood, so just had to turn right instead of left down the road to get back on the right track

I found a place to park just up the hill from the bank, directly opposite a place the Dutch GF and I lived in twenty-five years ago and more, so I was able to get a bit of nostalgia in as well as dealing with the cheque

Then back out of Spinney Hill via a circuitous route, because the road network around there was deliberately made very complicated to deter kerbcrawlers when it was adjacent to a red light area back in the 1970s and 1980s, and has never been fixed. This took me past or near various places I used to live even longer ago - back when the ladies of the night were still all over the place, in fact, such areas being the standard spots for students to rent rundown properties in those days. I don't think today's helicopter parents would be very happy with Jocasta or Jocelyn living in such districts now

Onwards then to Sainsbury's, past the old place. I may be wrong, but I think whoever's living there has managed to break a second window. I don't know what they're playing at; I lived there for eighteen years without breaking any, and to judge from the aged appearance of the panes, so had everybody else who'd lived there since it was built around 1880

I ended up popping into M&S as well, and generally did OK in terms of getting the shopping. Most importantly, perhaps, I got myself a tin of Quality Street as required by law at this time of year

I'd forgotten, though, that the meat tends to have short use-by dates at this time of week. I assume they aim to get stocked up on Thursday and Friday ahead of the weekend crowd, so Wednesday is the time when they're trying to flog off the last of the week before's batches

Anyway, onwards from there to the parcel company depot. This is out on an industrial estate, not too far from the huge Walker's Crisps factory, and they clearly don't expect many visitors. When I entered the "reception area" there was another chap already waiting, a typical Leicester lad off the estates I reckon, who'd already tried to rouse them by following the printed instructions concerning calling some extension, or trying a bell on the wall. Nothing happened so after a few minutes he rang again, and this time someone answered! They told him to ring the bell on the wall. We waited another five minutes or so, with the occasional warehouse worker spotting us through the small glass window of the "No Admittance" door behind the counter and hastily looking away, and the local lad was just trying the phone again when a chap finally appeared, full of apologies for the delay. The lad very politely told me I could go first even though he was already there when I arrived, and the bloke managed to find my parcel eventually, so I was good to go. The warehouse chap even offered to carry it out to the car for me and, though I assured him I could manage, insisted on rushing out from behind the counter to get the door for me. So it took a while, but at least everybody displayed excellent manners

And so home, where I was relieved to discover none of the neighbours had nicked my favoured parking spot near the front door, meaning I didn't have to carry everything too far

[NickFitz]

Lunch: a bacon butty

Still gloomy and breezy out. Soon, I shall venture forth on sundry missions. First, I need to pop up to the bank branch where I paid off the mortgage to pay in a tax refund cheque, as HMRC print them in a format that isn't supported by either of my banks' phone apps. Then to Big Sainsbury's. And from there, rather than the usual route home, I go the opposite way round the ring road to get to the parcel depot. It's very near Glenfield Hospital, so at least I know the way back from there

[WTFH]

This was followed by a second rinse cycle, a steam wand clean, and finally a nice Paris blend coffee. (all billable time)

[DoctorStrangelove]

Morning.

Wednesday.

Grey.

Sunless.

Damp.

Dreary.

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

1005 mBar, 29.6776 in Hg, 753.8119 Torr, 14.576 psi, (up from 1003 last night), 70% RH (Lidl electric).

Meanwhile on the 12th of December 2019 NF was off to vote & visit Greggs, voting early & often, LM was tidying the flat so she could return to a tidy flat after a trip, WTFH woke an hour early by mistake, and Scruff gave advice on how to run a bead of silicone around the kitchen sink, something I've never successfully achieved ever.

Walk (unabbreviated) walked in the grey gloom, timed correctly because it's drizzling now.

Lunch: brunch. Really getting through those Weetabix (BBE 14/11/2014) now.

Entertainment: Y&Y waffling on about water bills, followed by imported Septic snacks with illegal food ingredients. Who knew that mineral oil is a food ingredient?

Forgot about the book of the week so listened on line.

Thing about the feet found in the sea off British Columbia.

Freecell score: 72%, running average: 80%. Gave up. Not in the zone.

Tea: chilli con carne etc. nice enough.

Entertainment: PM.

Didn't bother with the UFO bollox.

Read book. Found Yet Another Book & read bits of that: looks like this one will be read backwards. Read more of first book.

Maigret: Cecile est mort. More Bruno Cremer. I seemed to zone out here & there, probably due to watching Shooter until 01:55.

Arena: Alan Bennett at 90. He uses a manual typewriter & hunts & pecks, though quite how he manages to get the keys to stick is remarkable. Probly needs servicing. The typewriter not him.

[WTFH]

And lo, the coffee machine descaler arrived, and the machine took me through the process step by step. It is currently on the rinse cycle.

[NickFitz]

Morning denizens

Windy day out and with a damp feel, despite there being no rain until this evening. As predicted it's 12°C at the moment and will remain there until it starts to get colder around sunset. The barometers have plummeted to 990/998mB

[ladymuck]

Morning all

Overcast and wet out. Currently 13 degrees with a high of 14 expected. Rain forecast off and on in varying levels of enthusiasm all day. Barometer down to 1006 mBar.

Tired today. I keep waking up in the 4am hour, overheating. Then I spend ages trying to get back to a comfortable sleeping temperature (too cold, too hot, too cold) and never properly get back to sleep before the alarm goes off.

[xoggoth]

Overcast out and quite a strong breeze

Ditto. Group walk later then book reading thing. Tired, not sure I can be bothered with either of em.

[WTFH]

Morning all
Overcast out and quite a strong breeze.

As Nick has been waiting for his Harveys Bristol Cream, I've also been waiting for my coffee machine descaler.
The machine is currently telling me I have 14 coffees until it locks me out.
Royal Mail say the package is out for delivery today.
Based on a quick check, I believe it's going to be delivered by the postie. Up until last month that would have been Vicky, but since she quit, it's now one of 3 or 4 different people.
Let's hope they deliver.

[NickFitz]

Back in July 1916, George Sherston and his comrades have been involved in the first day of the Battle of the Somme, with one of his friends being killed by a sniper while grinning at him; and due to the strange way wars are operated, his company has then ended up being parked fifteen miles behind the line for several weeks with very little to do, before being sent back to roughly the same place

It's become very windy out and there was a brief spell of rain earlier. Yet overnight it'll keep getting warmer, and should be up to 12°C by sunrise

Goodnight all

[NickFitz]

Tea has been lamb cutlets with chips and beans

Accompanied by a new Police Interceptors. It's still from Northants, after the strange reversion to Notts for a couple of episodes

[ladymuck]

Uneventful day at the coal face.

Christmas cards have been written and I'll post them tomorrow. I have a birthday card that needs to be written too.

I ought to pop to Sainsbury's and pick up some tonic (currently on offer) as HWMBO returns tomorrow.

[NickFitz]

Still no delivery…

The website still shows my parcel as "out for delivery" and no other contact (email, SMS) has been made. I finally decided they were unlikely to be here today and went to check out the "Collect from depot" option on the website. On that page - not on the order tracking page, but on the page you only go to once you're despairing of them - it showed that the delivery had been rescheduled to tomorrow

It's only across town so I'm going to get it myself, on the way to do the shopping I would have done today if they'd told me what was going on