Friday night was taking it's usual shape - I left work late instead of early, took Mum out for tea at the Tap then enjoyed a few pints with the regulars.
A couple of the guys left early to see a band who were playing in one of the other pubs in town, and although I didn't fancy it at the time, I had an unexpected change of heart about half an hour later and took a walk across town to join them.
It was there where things took a distinct change for the unusual when I met a rather nice young lady who accompanied me to a couple more of the town's venues. Obviously I've no intention of elaborating any further, but it occurred to me that if I'd posted this tomorrow, everyone would assume it was an April fool...
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Mist again...
I guzzled down my breakfast and flew out of the door having misheard our local weather and travel bulletin this morning, but instead of embarking on a right old piss up, it was a right old pea-souper - an' no mistake Guv'.
I've posted once before about Barnetby Top junction on the M180 and that some days it could boast thick fog on the brightest and sunniest of days, but today was something really special. It was so thick I could barely see the inside of my glasses.
Following quite a pleasant day, weather-wise at least, I was surprised to see it had descended again tonight to accompany my trip home. The combination of thick fog and darkness meant that by this time I could barely see the inside of my corneae, but there's little else to do but get your driving lights on, keep a sharp watch on the road ahead and try your best home as quick as possible, but more importantly, in one piece.
Rather unlike the moron who flew past me at over 70mph on the wrong side of a single carriageway road with no possible means of knowing what was ahead of him. Why? I haven't the foggiest...
I've posted once before about Barnetby Top junction on the M180 and that some days it could boast thick fog on the brightest and sunniest of days, but today was something really special. It was so thick I could barely see the inside of my glasses.
Following quite a pleasant day, weather-wise at least, I was surprised to see it had descended again tonight to accompany my trip home. The combination of thick fog and darkness meant that by this time I could barely see the inside of my corneae, but there's little else to do but get your driving lights on, keep a sharp watch on the road ahead and try your best home as quick as possible, but more importantly, in one piece.
Rather unlike the moron who flew past me at over 70mph on the wrong side of a single carriageway road with no possible means of knowing what was ahead of him. Why? I haven't the foggiest...
Monday, March 26, 2007
Tanks for that...
When I'm not gawping out of my car window trying to spot churches along the route to work, or finding magpies to salute, or squinting at an un-dipped glare heading from the opposite direction, my fuel gauge remains a constant source of fascination to me. Not my personal fuel gauge of course; that glass is always half full.
The petrol gauge on my car (and every car I've ever owned for that matter) appears to have a will of it's own. It usually takes about 6 working days for me to get through a full tank and it usually equates to about 450 miles worth, but the journey from F to E always seems an erratic one.
I frequently travel around 80 miles before the needle moves and often over 150 miles in less than a quarter of a tank, but have never yet have got anywhere close to 600 miles before the warning light appears. I'm always wary of leaving it too close to empty; firstly because most of my trip to and from work leaves me several miles from the nearest petrol station and secondly because of the time honoured warning that it will drag all of the sediment from the bottom of the tank through the engine. Surely, no good can come of that.
As often happens, I was searching for an appropriate picture on Google to accompany my post on the matter, when I inadvertantly stumbled across a reasonable explanation. So now I'm left without a way to finish my post:
a) Well that's enough of my gassing
b) Which goes to show that there's no fuel like an old fuel
c) I'm off to discuss if further with my pet troll
Perhaps I'll settle for
d) None of the above...
The petrol gauge on my car (and every car I've ever owned for that matter) appears to have a will of it's own. It usually takes about 6 working days for me to get through a full tank and it usually equates to about 450 miles worth, but the journey from F to E always seems an erratic one.
I frequently travel around 80 miles before the needle moves and often over 150 miles in less than a quarter of a tank, but have never yet have got anywhere close to 600 miles before the warning light appears. I'm always wary of leaving it too close to empty; firstly because most of my trip to and from work leaves me several miles from the nearest petrol station and secondly because of the time honoured warning that it will drag all of the sediment from the bottom of the tank through the engine. Surely, no good can come of that.
As often happens, I was searching for an appropriate picture on Google to accompany my post on the matter, when I inadvertantly stumbled across a reasonable explanation. So now I'm left without a way to finish my post:
a) Well that's enough of my gassing
b) Which goes to show that there's no fuel like an old fuel
c) I'm off to discuss if further with my pet troll
Perhaps I'll settle for
d) None of the above...
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Missing Time...
I know posts continue to be a bit thin on the ground around here, but other than work, there has been very little to report or rant/laugh about in the last week.
Steve has been across from Canada for a few days so we took the chance to sink a beer or two on Friday night and catch up with goings on from respective sides of the pond. Strangely enough, three of us ended up in that club again, although I must confess that I remember very little between arriving there and waking up at home the following morning.
I'm pleased to say that by whatever means, I managed to get home with jacket, phone and wallet intact, although I appear to have lost an hour sometime over the weekend...
Monday, March 19, 2007
Gang aft agley...
...but not in this case, it was a great weekend starting with my escape from the office half an hour early.
A less than leisurely drive home and a quick taxi ride led to a few beers and chance to catch up with the guys in the Tap, then at closing time I joined the football team (no don't be ridiculous) for a few drinks in town before we all ended up in a club where, quite bizarrely, all of the dancers were apparently either from Poland or Lapland.
Saturday afternoon I opted to suspend St Patricks Day celebrations until the England v Wales match; maybe not the best of ideas in hindsight but the Guinness went down a lot better than the rugby. Well it did for as long as it lasted.
Sunday saw an early start to clear the house up before collecting Mum to inflict some of my Chinese cookery upon her after which we watched a film and the comic relief highlights from Friday. (Yes, I know it's wrong to skip the charity bits but I donated money anyway)
Best of all, I couldn't get a wireless connection to the office all weekend so I hardly got any work done at all. The factory hadn't ground to a halt this morning as a result so, I might give this normal working hours a serious go this week.
Who else takes any notice of mice and men anyway...
A less than leisurely drive home and a quick taxi ride led to a few beers and chance to catch up with the guys in the Tap, then at closing time I joined the football team (no don't be ridiculous) for a few drinks in town before we all ended up in a club where, quite bizarrely, all of the dancers were apparently either from Poland or Lapland.
Saturday afternoon I opted to suspend St Patricks Day celebrations until the England v Wales match; maybe not the best of ideas in hindsight but the Guinness went down a lot better than the rugby. Well it did for as long as it lasted.
Sunday saw an early start to clear the house up before collecting Mum to inflict some of my Chinese cookery upon her after which we watched a film and the comic relief highlights from Friday. (Yes, I know it's wrong to skip the charity bits but I donated money anyway)
Best of all, I couldn't get a wireless connection to the office all weekend so I hardly got any work done at all. The factory hadn't ground to a halt this morning as a result so, I might give this normal working hours a serious go this week.
Who else takes any notice of mice and men anyway...
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Best Laid Plans...
Having been on the receiving end of several well intentioned talking-tos this week regarding my excessive hours of late, I got away tonight a mere two hours late.
It doesn't take a genius to work out that there's not going to be a lot of work going on this weekend. Tomorrow sees the last three games of the 6 Nations and I intend to make amends for working through Englands victory against France last Sunday. It also happens to be St Patrick's Day which always entails a certain amount of celebratory imbibing on my part.
Sunday of course is Mother's Day so at her request I shall be treating her to Sunday lunch Chez Seany. We decided on something Chinese this year although right now I'm still undecided over which of my two best Chinese meals to cook (and neither are from the take away thank you very much).
I polished off a garlic baguette with supper this evening in the hope that my breath will deter the usual influx of visitors from my office tomorrow so with a bit of luck I can get another flyer shortly after lunch. I need to leave work early to go and discuss tattoo designs after which of course it will be time to head to the pub and work on getting my very own red nose...
It doesn't take a genius to work out that there's not going to be a lot of work going on this weekend. Tomorrow sees the last three games of the 6 Nations and I intend to make amends for working through Englands victory against France last Sunday. It also happens to be St Patrick's Day which always entails a certain amount of celebratory imbibing on my part.
Sunday of course is Mother's Day so at her request I shall be treating her to Sunday lunch Chez Seany. We decided on something Chinese this year although right now I'm still undecided over which of my two best Chinese meals to cook (and neither are from the take away thank you very much).
I polished off a garlic baguette with supper this evening in the hope that my breath will deter the usual influx of visitors from my office tomorrow so with a bit of luck I can get another flyer shortly after lunch. I need to leave work early to go and discuss tattoo designs after which of course it will be time to head to the pub and work on getting my very own red nose...
Monday, March 12, 2007
Le mot juste...
I was genuinely pleased to hear on the news today that as part of a curriculum overhaul due by 2010, it will be compulsory for seven to fourteen year olds to study foreign language.
I was fairly lucky to have attended a junior scholl that taught French from the age of nine and our secondary school encouraged French and German for those who were interested. I know I speak from a biased perspective as languages were always my strongest subjects, although it still amuses me that I earned higher GCE grades in French and German than I did in English!
However, as I have grown older and travelled more widely, it remains a source of total embarrassment to me how the English arrogantly expect people to speak their lanuguage wherever they go - and to our complete shame, they usually do. I guess you're almost entitled to expect it from receptionists of large hotel chains or airport staff but I'm talking about everyday folk such as taxi drivers and waiters/waitresses.
It is something I have frequently discussed with my Polish and Portuguese colleagues and from their perspective, it is simply a fact of life that of you want any kind of reasonably paid job, then you would need to be fluent in English. I suppose we are where we are on that score but I've always believed that a little courtesy goes a long way, even though I may often be met with a knowing smile and an "aww bless him for having a go" type expression.
Admittedly I'm far from fluent, I'm proud to be able to mutter a few appropriate phrases in about four languages other than my own but if you're looking in Sis, sorry - my Japanese is still not quite up to scratch...
I was fairly lucky to have attended a junior scholl that taught French from the age of nine and our secondary school encouraged French and German for those who were interested. I know I speak from a biased perspective as languages were always my strongest subjects, although it still amuses me that I earned higher GCE grades in French and German than I did in English!
However, as I have grown older and travelled more widely, it remains a source of total embarrassment to me how the English arrogantly expect people to speak their lanuguage wherever they go - and to our complete shame, they usually do. I guess you're almost entitled to expect it from receptionists of large hotel chains or airport staff but I'm talking about everyday folk such as taxi drivers and waiters/waitresses.
It is something I have frequently discussed with my Polish and Portuguese colleagues and from their perspective, it is simply a fact of life that of you want any kind of reasonably paid job, then you would need to be fluent in English. I suppose we are where we are on that score but I've always believed that a little courtesy goes a long way, even though I may often be met with a knowing smile and an "aww bless him for having a go" type expression.
Admittedly I'm far from fluent, I'm proud to be able to mutter a few appropriate phrases in about four languages other than my own but if you're looking in Sis, sorry - my Japanese is still not quite up to scratch...
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Catching up...
Following my recent moans about extended hours and overwork during recent weeks, it came as a huge relief to get a couple of days to my own devices this weekend.
Did I really take advantage of it? Well, I managed a few obligatory beers, caught up on chores about the house, slept lots, ate very little, watched loads of TV and then this afternoon settled back down to a few hours work again. Oh well, fun while it lasted I suppose.
Surprise achievement of the weekend? I finally got my name back down on the tattoo studio waiting list, but now I can't find the design I've been hanging onto for the last 12 months. I've given him a basic idea of what I'm looking for, but I'm going to have to dig through the piles of "work in progress" drawings to find the most recent one. Not so much mystery this time as there are quite a few people out there who know what I've been thinking of (no, still not the Hobgoblin).
For those who don't know yet, I'm afraid his appointment book is as busy as before so you'll just have to watch this space for the next few weeks...
Did I really take advantage of it? Well, I managed a few obligatory beers, caught up on chores about the house, slept lots, ate very little, watched loads of TV and then this afternoon settled back down to a few hours work again. Oh well, fun while it lasted I suppose.
Surprise achievement of the weekend? I finally got my name back down on the tattoo studio waiting list, but now I can't find the design I've been hanging onto for the last 12 months. I've given him a basic idea of what I'm looking for, but I'm going to have to dig through the piles of "work in progress" drawings to find the most recent one. Not so much mystery this time as there are quite a few people out there who know what I've been thinking of (no, still not the Hobgoblin).
For those who don't know yet, I'm afraid his appointment book is as busy as before so you'll just have to watch this space for the next few weeks...
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Roxanne...
I can barely find words to convey my utter elation when almost every night this week, having left work long after everyone else had gone home (and probably gone to bed for that matter), I find myself sitting in my car on a deserted road, in a town I don't particularly like, watching the rain pouring down around me and waiting for every successive set of traffic lights to change from red whilst absolutely fuck all passes in the other direction...
Saturday, March 03, 2007
There goes another one...
I was about to start with my now traditional excuse for not having posted for a week, when I realised we've actually rolled into a new month. So, white rabbits, white rabbits, white rabbits; pinch punch; or whatever takes your fancy. Did anyone notice whether March came in like a lamb or a lion? Any ides I ought to beware of?
Unsurprisingly I've barely looked up from my desk of late; not even to notice that for the first time in my working life I appear to have worked twice as many hours in one week than I will get paid for. I've even been in today with another day planned there tomorrow in time for the big "go live" day on Monday. Still, there is possibly a trip to Cornwall to be had out of this extra effort - I'm sure I heard mention of getting a couple of days in Looe.
On the bright side, in return for our slogging away into the small hours, so far this week I've managed to blag Indian for supper on Wednesday, Chinese last night and KFC/Pizza Hut today . Can you guess which meal the extravagant Brits lashed out for? Either way, it occurred to me that perhaps I am now worthy of carrying my own sign...
Unsurprisingly I've barely looked up from my desk of late; not even to notice that for the first time in my working life I appear to have worked twice as many hours in one week than I will get paid for. I've even been in today with another day planned there tomorrow in time for the big "go live" day on Monday. Still, there is possibly a trip to Cornwall to be had out of this extra effort - I'm sure I heard mention of getting a couple of days in Looe.
On the bright side, in return for our slogging away into the small hours, so far this week I've managed to blag Indian for supper on Wednesday, Chinese last night and KFC/Pizza Hut today . Can you guess which meal the extravagant Brits lashed out for? Either way, it occurred to me that perhaps I am now worthy of carrying my own sign...
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