chrisf

This moring's news is not entirely welcome. I have started chemotherapy. More ruddy tablets ... Chris

My seasonal greetings cards are now ready to be posted or delivered. I am now faced with major expenditure on stamps. What the heck: the cards are a good way of keeping in touch with friends and relatives. Any that I receive will be deployed as decorations, assuming that I can find the Blu Tack. This afternoon I shall relax and enjoy Titfield Thunderbolt on TV. Tomorrow I must phone the vet yet again, for my legs are still not working as they should and are painful. Age does have its downside. Chris

It is a pity that none of the other B set designs was chosen instead. Chris

It does, and more to the point, my printer now works. Only three visits to the repair shop were required. Chris

I have mislaid an envelope containing rather a lot of second class stamps, enough to despatch all the seasonal greetings cards that I prepared yesterday. How long. I wonder, will it be after I have bought some more before they reappear? Chris

I hope that the show is a success. I am usually there on the Sunday but I will be giving it a miss this year. Lately I have found it too much of an endurance test but others with more stamina than I have may disagree. Thanks to the incompleteness of the rail network I am stuck with driving, which is OK for the outward journey but often a pig going home. It will be a shame to miss out on meeting all and sundry there but it can't be helped. Maybe I will feel differently next year ... Chris

Some gentle readers will remember that I have been having trouble with the labels for my seasonal greetings cards. The printer has now been back to the shop three times for attention. I have just tested it again and this time, touch wood, it seems to be working as it should. Now I find that I have run out of the right labels! What's the betting that the stationers have none in stock? I shall find out in the morning. Most years I quite enjoy preparing the cards. They are a good way to stay in admittedly tenuous touch with old friends but this year's grief has rather detracted from the pleasure. Chris

Update: my appointment is at 4.30 this afternoon. When my legs work properly it is 10 minutes' walk. As they are not working properly today I shall allow rather more. I shall not worry about printers until I am more fully mobile. Chris

It is a long time since I tried to make an appointment with a GP. I suspect that the pains which prompted me to see the vet will have gone before I get a response but you never know. Chris

I have no idea. Nothing was said about that when I bought it. Chris

Apologies if this post turns into a rant, but I have had a most frustrating morning. Gentle readers will recall that a couple of weeks ago I bought a new printer. To say that I am disappointed with it is an understatement. I am the first to admit to a degree of technical ineptitude but the failure of the machine to do as it is told is causing me much frustration. I cannot make the wretched thing print! When I click 'print' a blank sheet of paper emerges from the machine. There is probably a perfectly simple explanation. The only way I might find out is to take it back to the shop, so guess what I will be doing first thing in the morning. Wish me luck ... Chris

I had intended to be there but my legs are not working very well at the moment. This is singularly unhelpful when it comes to driving about 100 miles each way and walking round a show. All being well, I intend to be there next year. Chris

I would have been an early riser this morning but for cramp in both thighs which trapped me in bed! Chris

My thighs have become very painful, to the extent that it took me a good 10 minutes to get out of bed this morning. I hope that the pain will not persist, but if it does I will be in no fit state to drive to tomorrow's show. This is particularly annoying because I have had to cancel a brief encounter with an old friend. i do hate it when my body dictates what I can or cannot do. Chris

This looks like the route from Cricklewood Broadway towards Golders Green [645 and 660]. Chris

When the M1 is clear and free-flowing I can get from Bedford to Harpenden comfortably in 45 minutes. At midday yesterday it was anything but clear. I suspected that all was not well when I encountered congestion at Junction 13. That and a 40 mph limit on the motorway made it certain that I would not be in Harpenden in time for the start of my meeting at 1 pm. What the cause of the delay was I have no idea: if there had been a contretemps the evidence had been cleared away. My journey must have taken over an hour. The others at the meeting were very understanding even though my late arrival had wasted their time as well as my own. I am due to use the M25 on Saturday. I can only hope that it will behave itself better than the M1 did yesterday. Chris

Good morning, fellow sufferers I have been getting to grips with my new printer. The good news is that it prints. The bad news is that it printed far too many copies of what I wanted, which is probably down to my technical ineptitude [so many things are!]. Later this morning I will be off to Harpenden for Area Group lunch. This will give other members of the group the opportunity to make fun of my battles with technology. Chris

So do I, Baz. When I have had breakfast I will be taking the infernal device back to the shop to seek an explanation of how it is supposed to work! Chris

I am not getting on very well with my new printer. It will go back to the shop on Monday morning. With any luck the shop assistant will be able to tell me how it works. Most people would find it childishly simple to set it up and get trouble free operation from it. Let's just say that I'm not most people. Chris

I spent too long yesterday arguing with computers, much preferring instead to enjoy the Tolworth show. Today's lunch will be a nice juicy steak, which I would much rather think about than IT related things! Chris

I could not agree more! Chris

I ended up buying a new Epson printer yesterday. The impression I got in the computer shop was that there was never any question of repairing the old one. All I have to do now is learn how to use the new one, which is considerably more hi-tec than its predecessor. This could be interesting. The walking involved in meeting a friend for lunch at the local ‘Spoons convinced me that a day in London would do nothing to take away the pain that is still plaguing me. I really would have liked to attend Tolworth Showtrain today - always good - but even I have to be sensible sometimes. Fingers crossed that I will get to the Portsmouth exhibition next Saturday. Chris

I am taking my printer to the repair shop this morning. I hope that this will not be too expensive in terms of time and money ... Chris

I was hoping to be there too but it's not looking good - the evil combination of computer related trouble and bodily pain Chris

I am likely to be off line for at least part of tomorrow and probably longer. This afternoon I was all set to print the labels for my seasonal greetings cards and some other paperwork relatng to the festive season. My printer had other ideas and refused to co-operate. The trouble is probably something trivial and piffling but I won't know until the nice people in the repair shop have made me feel a fool at my expense for not being able to fix it myself. I will be waiting for the shop to open first thing in the morning and fear the worst. I shall have to entrust them with both laptop and printer for the duration. Later, all being well, I will be havng lunch with a mate. With any luck he will cheer me up but I'm not betting on it. Does anyone else hate technology? Chris