chrisf

More trouble, I am sorry to say. Way out in the sticks between here and Hitchin there is an automatic speed camera. Trust me to exceed the speed limit and have this heinous crime recorded for posterity on the way home from the RCTS last month. It is probably more of a punishment to have to make sense of the paperwork than to fork out the £100 fixed penalty. With everything else that has happened this week I am not terribly happy. Before anyone asks, I got clobbered for an educational course a few years ago. Chris

Thanks for waving, Barry. I seem to have spent half a lifetime trying to tidy my lounge. It will be no surprise to most that this is something that I find infernally difficult. Tomorrow sees a little excursion to the VW dealership so that the Polo may be serviced and fettled and, all being well, get through its first MoT. I had hoped to be driving to Cardiff on Saturday but this excursion becomes less and less likely. One day, perhaps ... Chris

Maybe, if it is fine to believe fondly that it is Sunday when it is really Friday. Oh dear. Chris

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Things are not going at all well today. Here we are at the crack of noon and I have only now remembered my bounden duty to inject what may or may not pass for words of wisdom into ERs. Earlier I took a trip to Tesco to buy some provisions but I bet you anything you like that I will need to return in a few days given the chronic state of my forgettery. Pushing the barrow round the store was not helped by aches and pains that I thought had gone. I should rest for much of what is left of the day once I have unpacked the merchandise. The worst thing is that I forgot to listen to the omnibus edition of The Archers. What must you all think of me? Chris

Many thanks for that, Q. I had the pleasure of meeting "Tatty Tom" at Radio 1 in 1968. As some may have noticed, I have been absent for a few days, having been sufficiently unwell to take to my bed. I'm OK now, I think (I hope!), but boy have I got some catching up to do! Chris

Today is an important anniversary – well, I think so. On this day in 1967 pirate radio was mostly legislated out of existence and such popular and much loved stations as Big L, aka Radio London, ceased to broadcast. Almost two months later Radio 1 came along. It did its best to replace them but it could never have been the same. Chris

I keep forgetting to buy tomatoes, which is ludicrous at the height of the salad season. The next attempt to remember to buy them will take place shortly. Wish me luck ... Chris

I know that senses of humour are individual but I'm afraid that mine does not embrace Mrs Brown. Takes all sorts, I suppose ... Chris

Oh dear, I am very late posting this morning. I had a rescheduled appointment at the surgery at 9 am but if I had had my wits about me I could have done the deed before trekking along the road to see the lady with the syringe. Gentle readers, that is a very big 'if'. I felt sorry for that whale in France yesterday. Swimming along the River Seine may have appealed to the whale at the time but it ended badly and the poor animal did not complete its journey despite having over 80 humans on hand to help it. Nor, sadly, did it live to tell the tale. I long for the day when an errant marine creature is rescued successfully but something tells me that I have a long time to wait. Chris

Yesterday I had an early morning appointment at the surgery – or so I thought. When I arrived there were blank looks from Checkpoint Charlene. It turned out that my appointment, for a vaccination, had been rearranged. Sadly the process of letting me know before I trekked to the surgery had gone wrong. I am quite prepared to believe that a text was indeed sent to my mobile phone in good time for me not to attend, but I cannot find it now and I was not aware of it arriving when it was sent. There is a consensus that my rescheduled jab will be administered tomorrow morning. Time will tell. It was not all bad yesterday. I found and enjoyed a TV programme about koalas. The first batch of post-holiday laundry is now done but I cannot claim to be looking forward to the ironing. Chris

It's OK, folks, I did not post this morning purely for want of something coherent to say. Since then a few things have happened. If it's OK with you good people I will share them in the morning. Chris

Have I only been away for a week and a half? It seems a lot more than that. On the way to Sidmouth I visited my remaining aunt in her Bristol care home, where she says that she is very comfortable and I believe her. In Sidmouth there was abundant sun, no rain and plenty of good music and I would have been dumbfounded if the latter had not been the case. There are so many events that it is quite impossible to see everybody and everything - here a concert, there a dance display and in all probability an event that is not in the programme. The breakfast facility on the camp site rejoices in the name of “wakey wakey, eggs and bakey” and dispenses a most welcome mug of tea as well as the solids implied by the title. Yesterday morning I left the camp site at 6 am and was home by noon, at the cost of a recurrence of the aching back that had slightly hampered the enjoyment of my holiday. Postie had been over generous with deliveries in my absence, many of them bills. How nice. From one missive I discovered that there is a speed camera on the way home from the place in Hitchin where the Royal Corps of Train Spotters meets. There is no escaping whatever will happen, for I know only too well that I was driving my car on the date and at the time and place where the camera was triggered. It is a good job that my lengthy rapid transit of the M5 yesterday was not photographed, touch wood. Chris

Being forgetful has its drawbacks. Yesterday I was unable to remember my bank PIN number, though I did remember it at 1 am today. Fat lot of good that was. Fortunately the bank staff were very helpful. At the very least this is an argument against closing bank branches. With any luck I have enough cash to get me through my forthcoming holiday. I plan to get on the road at 6 am tomorrow. I remembered to print off a map showing the location of my aunt's care home. All I have to do now is remember to put it in the car. I am due back on 7th August. Best wishes to all Chris

I telephoned my aunt in Bristol yesterday. She was pleased to learn that I will be driving to Sidmouth later this week and will be dropping in on the way. It will only be a flying visit but it's still a visit. Nowadays she lives in a care home so I will not be getting a cuppa. This matters little. Chris

Gosh, I seem to be rather late this morning. I have slept very long and very heavy. This is not good. If I feel like this for the next few days it will be interesting driving to Sidmouth on Thursday. Perhaps I shall feel better later in the day. Chris

I've been up for two hours already, with much to do. The first task was to retrieve the car from the next street, where it had been left for want of a space anywhere near my house. Between now and Thursday it will be loaded with camping gear and other holiday accessories. The latter should include a portable radio which was not where I half-recalled leaving it and has not yet surfaced. One happy rediscovery was a carrier bag containing three Swiss rail atlases which I had not left on a train after all. After I retrieved the car I enjoyed a long soak in the bath. Oh, the luxury. There was a river festival in Bedford yesterday which I did not bother to attend. I thought it best to devote the time preparing for my imminent week and a bit in Sidmouth. It's the sort of job where I think I have packed everything only to find something that I had overlooked. It continues today. Chris

I have been rounding up what I need to take with me to Sidmouth at the end of next week - tent, sleeping bag and so on. This is a task which it is a good idea to initiate well in advance. Somewhere in the haven of untidiness that I call my home are several torches. Only one has come to light so far and, of course, it needs batteries. It must be three years since I last slept under canvas. I find it good for the soul, if not always the small of the back. Chris

I had forgotten that it is Baz's birthday. Many happies! Chris

One thing is certain: the current heat wave will not last into next week. This is because I will be going on holiday in just over a week's time. A week and a bit on a camp site in this weather would be great but my luck is just not that good. Chris

Last night's concert at The Stables was superb, featuring as it did the Quebecois music of Le Vent Du Nord. There is a possibility that the band will return to the venue in May 2023. I shall look forward to that. The weather forecast for today suggests that some of us at least will be dripping - not in so many words, you understand. I don't mind heat provided that there is not too much of it. Today that is a distinct possibility. Lying down in a darkened room could be a good idea. Chris

The pair of jeans was successfully procured and is likely to be deployed today. This morning I plan to view the new Railway Children movie at the multiplex and I should get home afterwards just in time to watch the original on TV. This evening a favourite band, Le Vent Du Nord, is playing at The Stables. All in all, today should be dead cultural. Chris

Mission Impossible today - a visit to town in search of a new pair of jeans. Ideally they will look good as well as fit properly. Since when was this an ideal world? Chris

You are not alone in your suffering. When I am afflicted I have to grimace and bear it because my then GP told me that there was no remedy, or was it that she did not know the cause? Probably both. I wonder what happened to her? The last time I had them was in both legs at 2.15 am - must be a couple of weeks ago now. My reaction tends to be "Oh ****, not again". Chris

Professor Oncologist phoned yesterday. He told me that my PSA reading is down to 2.3, which is quite a contrast to the 800+ it was when prostate cancer was first diagnosed. My medication is to be fine-tuned but more because of licensing than effectiveness if I understand the Prof correctly. I permitted myself a sigh of relief. Another came after I had spent much of the morning searching for a bank statement that had wrongly associated itself with other papers before it could be filed in its designated ring binder. Today the new Railway Children film opens in cinemas and it is quite conceivable that I will swing by my local multiplex in the next day or two to secure a seat in an imminent screening. Chris

Nicely put ... Chris