Then it shone

The sun did come out and the planes did fly. The Battle of Britain trio were circling over our way while waiting to display. Other than that and the odd Red Arrow speeding past the window I couldn't see much, but it sounded like a good show!

Here comes the sun?

While everywhere else seems to be experiencing a heatwave it has finally stopped raining and the jumpers have come off again. The clouds seem to be lifting a bit so lets hope we see some action today. I of course will just be listening to the display while glued to my comp (although I may have to hang out of the window when the Red Arrows are on). Fingers crossed it all goes ahead today.

All work and no play

I have been given a deadline for finishing my thesis which means that I am tied to this machine about 18 hours each day, apart from today that is, when I have been scraping paper off walls. The wife was looking dangerous perched on top of the ladder so I decided it would be safer if I helped out, yet another muscle group I was unaware of is aching tonight. One good thing to come out of it though is that the bright pink which was revealed three days ago is actually starting to grow on me (I have always said that the wife has terrible taste)! This sudden push is because we have found the house we want but before we can put in the offer we need to get this place ready to sell and I need to get finished in order to get confirmation of my new job for the mortgage etc. It's all quite scary but at the same time after four years together, it will nice to make a bit more of a commitment to each other than pooling our CD collections!

Potty

Am I the only person in the world not reading Harry Potter (or should that be to have read it, it is several days since the latest book was published after all)? I never have read any Harry Potter nor am I likely to. I also have no desire to see the films either. Not that I have time to read anything these days that isn't related to my Phd, although I could possibly find time to re-read this little masterpiece again. Are the Harry Potter books really that good or did some marketing person just have a particularly good day?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

I don't want to go on too much about the goings on in London but I do want to show my support for the actions of the police on Friday. A guy, wearing a bulky coat, responded to police by running away, jumping a ticket barrier and running onto a tube train in the current climate. This is not normal behaviour and I feel that the police were entirely justified in shooting him, they took the only option they could. I am however sorry that a man lost his life, another victim of the recent terrorist activities. But unlike the 52 who were killed as a result of the bombs on the 7th, this one is understandable.

Trust Nana

Proud parents-to-be and soon to be big brother go straight from their first scan to visit Nana. Excited, four year old James shows the scan pictures to his Nana.

Nana: Is this your little brother or sister then?

James: Yes

Nana: Ugly little bugger isn't it!

Perhaps this is why mothers-in-law have such a reputation.

What to do

While walking back from the shop around the corner (having to have at least one ice lolly each day last week I developed an addiction to Fruit Pastil ice lollies, an addiction which is hard to break even though the holiday is but a distant memory) we spotted an oldish guy lying under a bush and a dog lying under the next bush. The wife decided he was dead but I reassured her that he is probably asleep in the shade on a hot day (spot which of us is the optimist and which is the pesimist). Now I’m wondering which of us was right. But then if he had breathed is last surely the dog would have been sitting at his side whimpering and barking as in the movies?

Metro

I use the Metro fairly often but I have witnessed crime, vandalism etc more often than I have had my ticket checked. As a result I'd guess that quite a high proportion of those 37 million passengers don't buy a ticket.

About time

David Gray finally has a new album out in September and about time too! I do think however that his old stuff is better - Sell, Sell, Sell and A Century Ends are brilliant, more acoustic and a bit rough around the edges if you know what I mean.

The first concert I ever went to was David Gray (not including a Fast Forward Fun Day at Alton Towers back in the early 90's with the likes of Worlds Apart where I did the whole teenage girly scream thing for Aaron et al. In fact, I think their autographs are still in my old autograph book, hidden away at my parents place - shhh, don't tell anyone)!

Anyway, I digress. Must try and find some of this new stuff, see if there are any sneak previews out there, I've been waiting three years for David Gray to come up with something else.
______________________

Drunken ferry boat woman
swayin' on your sea
if I turn on the gasfire
by the rain rattled window
won't you sail on over to me

The hail storm tumbles
the rail line rumbles
you move through the doors with me
on an overcast day
the pale winter city
an afternoons debauchery

Debauchery - A Century Ends

Back at it

Back to work today feeling refreshed and motivated - it can't last surely! Last week was great, a second childhood. Swimming, football, kite flying, swings, slides, sand castles, snots, tears, tantrums and lots of ice-cream (and that was just me). I think I enjoyed the water slides more than the kids, they were a perfect excuse to get away with all sorts! I even have a suntan, we did the right thing staying in the North-East rather than heading abroad. Unfortunately, the dog didn't enjoy his holiday quite as much (we had to leave him with friends), he is scratching constantly. Although scared of their cat he obviously wasn't so scared as to run away fast enough to avoid the fleas. I am wondering which are more trouble - kids or pets. While it was great to have them for a week, it was also nice to take them back to their parents at the end.

Holidays!

Wahoo - off to a caravan by the sea with two over excited four year olds.

Thoughts

I was living in London at the time of the nail bomb attacks in Brixton, Brick Lane and Soho a few years back. I remember how I felt, particularly at the attack on the gay pub in Soho on a Friday evening at the start of a holiday weekend. This, together with the long lasting IRA threat was often in my mind when there were stations evacuated or the train was stopped in a tunnel for long periods of time. Eventually it did become just an irritation but I often felt a little 'jumpy' at what it could be.

Yesterday I couldn't concentrate on my work for listening to the news (I ended up not even trying to work and grouted the bathroom tiles instead). Sadness, anger, frustration, relief when I knew my old friends were safe - so many emotions, yet I now live 200 miles away. Unfortunately it was only a matter of time.

Today it was different. From here, London seems to be carrying on regardless. There seems to be a certain amount of positivity. Comparisons to the blitz and the IRA campaign have been made and life goes on.
This has all already been said today (far better than I can say it) by so many other people, but I did like Emma Kennedys statement "...I remembered how much I love London and how a handful of fucked up mentals aren't going to stop me loving it". I hope that people carry on loving London and that this doesn't put people off visiting one of the best cities in the world.


Ed: Blogger is claiming that it's Saturday, but only just, my head is still in Friday. Trust me to be a little bit slow!

London

After such joy and celebration yesterday, this today. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. Let's hope the worst is over and that there are no more incidents to come.

Warming

This weather will go a long way to help to convince Bush about global warming. It's so cold and hasn't stopped raining here all day.

Here's hoping that Monsieur Chirac can find something edible while he is in Scotland and that Mr Blair doesn't have too much fun! Okay, Bitching over.

Olympics 2012

Come on London.

Just doing my bit to 'back the bid'.

Appeal

I'm not really laughing at the woman across the road who appears to have locked her keys in her car.

I am also not leaving this room until Chapter 5 is written. Will someone please send coffee and ginger nuts my way. And if you could grab one of the Juliet Turner CDs off the shelf on your way up the stairs, that would be much appreciated!

Turning failure into success

This is a great idea, the Journal of Failed Experiments, as is the Journal of Irreproducible Results. To think of the time I might have saved over the last few years if I knew that my experiments were going to fail or if I could publish experiments that did work once but will never produce the same results again. Alas this is not how science works and even when you do get good results no one really wants to believe you. Forget Nature and Science, I'll keep aiming for the Journal of Negative Results. It might save some disappointment.

Spreading the news

This week is Alzheimer's Awareness week. The are over 750,000 people in the UK with dementia (around 4.5 million in the US) and while most people think that dementia is a disease of old age there are around 18,000 people under the age of 65 with the disease. Although rare, there are people as young as 30 who develop Alzheimer's.

As anyone who has known someone with dementia will know, the condition impacts not only on the patient but also on whole families and in particular carers. The Alzheimer's Society do fantastic work, in particular the support they provide to affected families, as well as campaigning on policy and research funding. I have heard some fantastic stories about the help the society has provided for people affected by dementia. (The Alzheimer's Association do the same in the US).

Just wanting to help to increase awareness of dementia and publisise the work of the Alzheimer's society.
Thank you and goodnight.

Time flies

Oh poo! It's July already. That means that the self-imposed June deadline for submitting my thesis has passed (probably because since setting that deadline I discovered those lovely people over on the left who have too many interesting things to say). July also means that I have to remember several birthdays, in the right order (and try to forget my own) as well as a family wedding. How many times will I get asked why I'm "not settled down yet?" or "are you courting yet" etc, etc. Somehow I don't think "well actually I have been living with my woman for the last four years" will go down too well. But it might be interesting!