Big (2nd hand) boast…
It’s been a period of extensive testing in many Spanish schools. Daughter’s school (I can already see your mental light bulbs going on as if
A death in the family
I mean, what do you say to people when you learn they’ve had a very close family bereavement? ‘I’m sorry’ is so lame. And meaningless.
Been quiet hereabouts lately
Sorry about that. Combination of way too busy, far too tired, much too much to do and just too much travelling. Normal service will be
A funny thing happened on the way to the office…
A couple of miles outside Gloucester along the A417 (also called The Cotswold Way – it’s a modern-day road that follows the line of an
Survival school
On the way home this evening the only things I could think about were school-related. Many rambling thoughts. Much bizarreness – especially when I calculate
Early Sunday evening
17.32 On the couch. Laptop on my, erm, lap. Television trying to tell me about the book awards. I’m resisting the information. I’m wearing my
I want, I want, I want, I want…
I want a dog. It would love me and let me cuddle it and I could take it for a walk and it would curl
This Reality – Podcast No 7
Episode 7 (28 minutes running time). Introductions once again from the lovely-voiced Citronella and the great Adam Curry. Episode 7 started out being recorded in
Another work-related post (kinda)
Walking the thin line between revealing just the right amount of information and retaining my liberty, or giving away too much information and getting locked
Book review: Into Africa; Sam Manicom
The strapline on this book reads: ‘Africa by Motorcycle – Everyday an Adventure’ To get to this point, the place of being able to write
A103 TMA08
TMA08: The Sixties TMA08 is an interdisciplinary assignment relating to Block 6. When you have completed it, please send it to your tutor to arrive
Losing the will to live now
TV advert. What channel is this particular episode of Friends on Soph? E4+1. Right, so we’re watching E4+1 and there was just a phony TV
Later the same day…
I detached myself from The Lovely S and hurled myself out of bed in an unexpectedly sudden burst of energy. Brushed teeth, dressed and left
There are more questions than answers
It is mid-morning Sunday and The Lovely S and I are in bed. She is watching Hollyoaks and I’m doing internetty things. The debris of
This Reality – Podcast No 6
Episode 6 (33 minutes running time). No contributions from other realities this week (shame on you folks! 🙂 ). Introductions from Citronella and The Podfather
Breaking the pattern
So… Why would a woman completely change the pattern and style of her dress? Every working day for the last eight months she’s worn a
A foggy day
The drive down the M5 this morning made me laugh. The weather in this part of the world was foggy. Very foggy. Thick, thick, thick
Clever people
Gah! Love ’em? Hate ’em? Still got to admire ’em, right? So there’s a guy at work. He’s not particularly clever at work though. Hey!
Blogging at work
(this is a legitimate work post, honest!) As part of a much wider collaborative tools trial I’ve created a WordPress environment at work. We’re using
Eat them all up, they’re good for you!
So… The contents of a half-pound bag of chocolate-coated raisins. That counts towards my five-a-day. Right? B.
Morningtime blues
I don’t know why. It just is. Anyway the tuned-to-my-mental-state-iPod served this up: The River, by Breed 77 from the album Cultura In the morning
Abbey again
Do you remember that little incident I had with Abbey (or Abbey National)? The case of them sending me account statements and then a credit
That’s a relief
I have found a new use for the McDonald’s at the Droitwich M5 exit. It’s the perfect distance from Swindon for me to stop. I
Sunday evening weekend review
How was your weekend? You’ve either had an active or an inactive weekend? Or maybe you’ve had a weekend where bouts of activity were mixed
This Reality – Podcast No 5
Episode 5 (31 minutes running time). This week we have a lovely contribution from an overseas correspondent who tells us of a number of things
And another thing…
Chocolate. Why, when I am unwell with, ahem, a stomach complaint, am I filled with a craving for chocolate (which, contrary to anything Soph might
And there’s another thing…
Why is it that when one invariably wakes from slumber in the bed of sickness, the first thing one wants to do is ring the
And there’s a thing…
Colonic irrigation. WTF? Someone sticks a hosepipe up your bum and for that you pay them money? There’s people out there would pay money to
Schooling…
After all the show jumping we’ve done lately, I chose to give Vin a hefty dose of flatwork schooling on Wednesday evening. How brilliant it
It’s now time to punish the parents
14-year-old Brendan Harris attacked, kicked and killed Sophie Lancaster in a park in Lancashire; he was drunk at the time. He was joined in his
‘Ello? Yeah, it’s me. I’m on the ‘plane
The news that Ofcom has approved the use of mobile telephones on aeroplanes fills me with dread. In the UK we laugh when comedians (cf
In regione caecorum rex est luscus
When Desiderius Erasmus (1466 – 1536) wrote “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King” [Adagia (III, IV, 96)] his simple statement
Tiscali, they’re really really shit
*** Original article written on 25th March 2008 *** *** Updated 9th May 2008 (see below) *** *** Updated 21st May 2008 (see below) ***
Not just semantics
There are expressions which, when used in different – perhaps less ‘mainstream’ walks of life – that take on different shades of understanding. It is
Really scary stuff
I don’t know whether I’m in conspiracy theory mode or if I’m just pointing out a very peculiar product but… There’s a toothbrush on the
OU and podcast query
A public answer to a private email from a non-broadband internet user… Should the podcast go in to detailed discussion of OU-related activities, it would
This Reality – Podcast No 4
Danger – bad words lurk herein! The ‘Explicit’ tag has finally been switched on. Episode 4 (30 minutes running time): I’m feeling creative! And are
Basking in the glory of others
It’s 21.21 (ah, such numerical synchronicity!) Good Friday evening, there’s pants on the television but that’s OK because earlier we went to the cinema and
Today I have learned that
This blog’s number one search term for the month of February (with a staggering average of 200 googles per day) is the word ‘dogging’ I
So farewell then…
Arthur C Clarke. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Expedition to Earth, Rendezvous with Rama, Childhood’s End, The Fountains of Paradise, Of Time and Stars, Imperial Earth,
A hairy situation
Standing in the queue for a coffee this morning, I couldn’t help noticing that the blonde woman in front of me wore her hair in
Got the Abbey Habit
It used to be be an advertising slogan that the Abbey National Building Society used. I remember it well. The accompanying logo was a cartoon