chrisf

A couple of pages ago we were discussing Accrington Stanley. Far too many do not know of the folk performer Stanley Accrington. I do not know his real name but the derivation of his stage name is obvious. May I share with you one of his particularly clever utterances, about a former member of the Greater London Council. It may be sung to a well-known tune: "Oh, Shirley Porter, what did you do Sold council houses to your mates and made a bob of two But now the sh!t has hit the fan, you've really gone too far Oh, Shirley Porter, what a silly cow you are" On that happy note I shall shortly be setting out for Taunton. Chris

As I expected, the Young'uns were excellent at The Stables last night. My only disappointment was that they did not sing "Be The Man". They did at Cardiff on Thursday night so that's OK then. Today I should have been on my way to the Epsom show but it has been cancelled. When it happens the journey by rail is an easy one and includes breakfast at the Victoria station 'Spoons. With any luck it will be back next year. All being well, tomorrow I will be on my way to Somerset for the SWAG event. It would help if I could recall where I had breakfast last time. No doubt it will come to me. Before that I need to put some petrol in the car, for there is nowhere near enough in the tank to get me to Taunton. It is so good having places to go! Chris

Tonight I shall be at The Stables to see and enjoy the Young'Uns. Who they? A trio from Tees-side who harmonise. One member, Sean Cooney, is an accomplished writer of songs and gave us "Be The Man", which is enough for any man to go down in history. Long before the concert there will be yet another fodder run. The shopping list reflects the advent of the salad season. Strictly speaking I am not supposed to eat pork pies but a little of what you fancy does you good! There now follows another attempt to soak away the aches and pains that inhabit my back. I may be some time. Chris

There is good news and bad news. The good news is that two of my favourite societies/associations have announced annual general meetings following gaps caused by that ruddy virus. The bad news is, of course, that both meetings are on the same day. What to do? Answer: send apologies for absence to both societies! On the same day there is a concert that I should like to attend. It is much, much nearer to home than either of the outbreaks of democracy. It could be worse: one year, I recall, I faced a choice of FOUR AGMs on the same day. Keeping the COVID passport up to date is proving problematic. It would help if the documents did not have quite such a degree of built-in obsolescence but doubtless those in charge know exactly what they are doing. Thanks to a helpful young man on the other end of 119 my new one is on its way but the expression 'post-haste' is likely to promote hollow laughter if, as I suspect, it does not arrive before the old one expires. Chris

My short festive break in Somerset is now booked. I shall put it in the diary just in case I forget all about it eight months hence. More immediately, May Day is fast approaching and I need to check with the friends who share the revelry just what is likely to be happening. May Day falls on a Sunday this year and this may impede the festivities. By some quirk of the licensing laws it is usually possible to sit down with a pint and a fry-up at 7 am on the big day provided that one is in the right pub in the right town. I can hardly wait but sadly I must. This evening sees the monthly meeting of Chilterns Area Group. To me a virtual meeting is much better than no meeting at all but I for one would rather a face-to-face encounter than yet another two hour session in front of the screen. Thanks to technology the organiser will be able to take part whilst away on holiday, assuming of course that there are no glitches. It would not be the same without him. Chris

I shall probably live to regret this, but despite the fine weather I just could not face venturing into the jungle yesterday. I reasoned that my bad back would not wish to be made worse by the exertions of tilling the soil. Other excuses are available! Full well do I know that the job must be tackled sooner rather than later and I am sure that I will find the job satisfying once I have summoned up what passes for the enthusiasm to tackle it. Today there must be an early morning fodder run. Later I hope to book my Christmas break in Somerset. A communication from the venue urges patrons to book sooner rather than later and something tells me that it would be wise not to take chances. As some know, I enjoyed Christmas and New Year in Switzerland for several years until that ruddy virus loused everything up. I do not intend to give up on Switzerland but rather find another way of enjoying that fine country. Chris

There are probably many better things to do than spend a Sunday afternoon watching television. I spotted two "Carry On ..." films so that was the day sorted. They may not be the finest examples of cinematic art but they are good fun. "Carry On Dick" I had seen many times before: imagine if you will the late Dame Barbara Windsor as a highway-person. "Carry On Loving" was new to me, amazingly. Thank you, ITV3. There is not much to anticipate in the week ahead. On Wednesday evening the conclave of Chilterns Area Group will once again be on line. Gone are the days when those present would put the world to rights over a pint in a pub, at least for the time being. On Friday night the Young'uns are in concert at The Stables and are truly a fine band. Much of Sunday is due to be spent on the M5 as I plan to attend the gathering in Staplegrove Village Hall. What of today? A step into the garden, perhaps? Expect nothing, gentle reader, and you will not be disappointed. Chris

Absolutely! Such humans are skilled in the use of a till, unlike some customers. Something that bugs me is the increasing reluctance of some retail outlets to accept cash. Insistence on payment by card is all very well but it strikes me as ridiculous where only a small item is procured - a cup of tea, for instance. Another increasing reluctance which bugs me is that of retailers to issue receipts for card transactions. How are card users supposed to keep track of their spending without evidence? Maybe today's card user blithely accepts what the statement proclaims without bothering to check it. The opportunity for fraud should be glaringly obvious! Chris

It's called Root One, at Brightwell c u m Sotwell, OX10 0PT. Beans, yes, but sadly no fried bread. The "large" breakfast at £9.99, is sufficient for the absence of my beloved fried bread not to matter too much. Chris

There can be few better ways of spending Good Friday than making a trip to Pendon. Yesterday's visit was the first for what must have been three years. Among the changes in the Vale scene was the arrival of the village church. It is far from being fully detailed and I could not help wondering how long it will take to reach that state. These things must not be rushed! On the road from Wallingford to Didcot lies a garden centre where there is a cafe that serves a very good value breakfast. I am grateful to Mike Stationmaster for telling me about it as it is almost certain that I would never have found it on my own. Apart from some sort of fodder run I have no plans for the remainder of the bank holiday weekend. Given the ongoing backache, this is probably just as well. We shall see what happens. Chris

Various commentators on the radio this morning are predicting heavy traffic on the roads. I plan to make a modest addition to it by driving to Oxfordshire to visit Pendon Museum. On the way I hope to have breakfast at a nearby garden centre. Goodness, it must be three years since I last did so. What of the remainder of the weekend? Dare I brave the great outdoors and check on the garden? It has been a while since I set foot in it, much less tended it, and I rather dread what I may find. Let us not worry about that until the morrow. Chris

My two pennorth on tea: I use leaf tea, a small teapot and a strainer. What remains of my sanity depends on starting the day with a cuppa so I felt quite deprived on the Mediterranean island where tea was not to be found. I can tolerate coffee if it is not too strong but, as you might expect from a retired Civil Servant, I much prefer tea. Today I hope to have a blitz on outstanding tasks. These include the post-holiday customer survey for Ffestiniog Travel and another dawn patrol to the supermarket to buy what I forgot to put on the list yesterday. The day would not be complete without that perennial favourite, ironing. At least I do not have to spend any more time scrabbling around on the floor for a 20p piece that I dropped yesterday. It took ages to find and did my aching back no favours. Tomorrow I plan to pay what is normally my annual visit to Pendon Museum. I will not be deterred by the gloomy prophecies on the radio of traffic congestion. Famous last words? We shall see. Chris

Last night I had not been inclined to drive to Hitchin for the RCTS meeting. Then a change of speaker was announced and a change of mind followed. Geoff Plumb's look back on 1965 was well worth the journey. Earlier in the day I received a phone call from the Stalag Surgery physio giving advice on how to deal with a bad back. There was a bit more to it than 'time is a great healer', but not much. Today I need to brave the supermarket before breakfast. On past form I should be able to whip round the store, using my trolley as a surrogate zimmer frame, only to find that only one checkout is staffed. One cannot win. A job that did not get done before my holiday is to book a hotel in or near Bristol at the time of Bristol Pride in July. Something tells me that I will not be spoilt for choice. There was a quick double-take just now when koalas were mentioned on the news. It appears that the poor little marsupials are now to be subjected to assisted reproduction techniques. I suppose that is better than extinction. Chris

I think not. If I understand correctly a B set comprised two brake composites. It was not just B sets that were branded with the line on which they were intended to work. Chris

Flavio, I too have prostate cancer and have had it since at least 2015. At the moment it causes me no trouble, but I know that it has the capacity to turn round and bite me. There are many worse cancers to have! I take some comfort in having survived for more than the allotted three score years and ten and hope to emulate my last surviving uncle who became a centenarian just after Christmas. Of more concern to me at the moment is the back pain. I was on the phone to Stalag Surgery for over an hour yesterday morning, more than half that time being spent waiting for the phone to be answered. I am told that a physiotherapist will call me early this afternoon. All being well, the pain will subside in good time for me to march at Pride in London on 2nd July. Whether I will be allotted a place in the parade is another matter. Some laundry was done yesterday and some ironing is due this morning. It is as if I had never been away. Chris

I need to phone the vet - sorry, doctor - this morning. Even before I went away there was an ache in the small of my back, just above the buttocks, which I kept at bay with Deep Heat. The ache is at its worst when I am walking about so I am trying not to do that if not absolutely necessary. It is a while since I have needed an appointment with the GP but something tells me that Monday morning will not be the best time to phone Stalag Surgery. I am hoping, possibly against hope, that whatever is causing the pain can be brought under control in time for Pride in London on 2nd July so that I can march from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square. Wish me luck! Meanwhile the task of catching up continues. I seem to have recorded rather a lot of TV programmes. Chris

Neither am I. Chris

Good morning all! I had a good holiday and it is good to be back - though heaven knows when I will catch up on ERs! Getting to and from the Med brought home to me just how unpunctual the airline industry can be. At Gatwick on the way out I was panicking at how close the departure time was and how far I was from the aircraft. Needless to say we were still on the ground an hour later. There is more to say but it will have to wait untiI I have had a long hot bath in concentrated Radox solution. My back has been giving me gyp and I plan to phone the vet tomorrow morning. Chris

As some know, I’m off on holiday today. This afternoon I shall travel to Gatwick Airport by Thameslink ahead of tomorrow’s flight to Palma. The holiday, in Mallorca, will be my first in Spanish territory and my first visit to the Mediterranean. It will also be my first experience of flying by Sleazyjet. Those visiting Spain now have to complete a health form which is not the most intuitive of tasks. I do not regard myself as unduly dense but I found it necessary to phone Ffestiniog Travel for assistance. Why Mallorca, I hear you cry? Because it has some delightful vintage electric traction by means of which the island may be explored. Jamie has kindly posted some photos and with any luck I shall take some myself. All being well, I will be back in a week’s time. By then I will know what octopus tastes like. Gulp. Best wishes to all Chris

I imagine that much of today will be spent remembering something else that I should have put in my suitcase and searching frantically for it. A break of five days in Mallorca seems to call for an awful lot of preparation but I intend to enjoy it. The Spanish authorities require a questionnaire to be completed by all inbound travellers. It has been a bit of a swine, calling for no fewer than three desperate phone calls to Ffestiniog Travel for help in completing it. Yesterday the lady administering the tour admitted that she had not studied the questionnaire too closely. When she does, she will find out why there have been so many phone calls! Participants have been given the tour leader's phone number, though quite how she will be able to help from a hotel room at Gatwick Airport could be a good question. I never had all this grief with Christmas in Switzerland! I've missed ERs so much ... Chris

How do, folks! I need to finish packing for my imminent holiday in Mallorca so I'll bash on with that and maybe pop in a bit later. It's good that we are all here again. My thanks to Baz for noticing that RMweb is back and letting me know. Chris

The week ahead looks to be quiet, which will be no hardship at all. On Wednesday I am due to receive a phone call from Stalag Surgery which threatens to interrupt a Zoom session but should cause no difficulty otherwise. After a not particularly active day yesterday I enjoyed a TV programme about a puma family, narrated by Sir David Attenborough. Nobody does it better. Something tells me that its place in the schedule might have been designed to boost the audience for the next programme, Peaky Blinders. Not for me it didn't. If there is any area at which TV excels, for me it is wildlife. Long may that be so. Where it irritates in no small measure is speculation. Two days from now there is due to be a Government announcement about certain financial matters. The guesswork is quite unrestrained. Sufficient unto the day, folks. The Chancellor will do what the Chancellor sees fit and something tells me that he will pay no heed to mere journalists. Chris

Thanks, Graham. Well informed? Moi? Chris

I was struggling a bit yesterday thanks to backache. Fortunately there were enough chairs scattered about the halls for at least one to be available when I needed to rest my weary limbs. Since the show was last staged Nick Freezer, who selects the layouts for the MRC, has not lost his touch. Among those that I liked were Rossiter Rise and Redbridge Wharf, neither of which I had seen before, and Swaynton, which it was good to see again. As for Arun Quay and Copenhagen Fields, how can anyone not like those? I would have liked to spend longer admiring Wainthrop Bridge and Oak Road and will look out for them again when I am less infirm! Shopping comprised two bottles of butanone and two hefty books. My credit card took a pasting - more than it should have done, thanks to the venue's poorly publicised policy of not accepting cash. I am relatively happy to use a card to pay for a round of drinks, but £2.20 for a cuppa? Come on! I cannot comment on the catering because a long time ago I learned to bring my own fodder. It takes next to no time and not many pennies to make a few sandwiches! In addition to the select few with whom I had a beer I met a good few that I know and that I only see at shows! It's good to be back ... Chris

That is very true. "Lager" implies that the brew has been stored, taking on flavour in the process. I get the impression that if it were possible the stuff made in the UK would be sold within seconds of emerging from the chemistry set. Chris