Tony_S

I quite enjoyed being in the cubs but on the day I went along to the "proper" Scouts they all seemed to be running around the scout hut with rolled up newspapers on fire. I decided they must be crazy and decided not to continue my association with Scouting and went home. I stopped going to Sunday School at the same time. Tony

If I make too much I put in the refrigerator and microwave it the next day. However that won't be necessary today as it has been eaten (and I don't think Goldilocks or the three bears were visiting). Matthew made a rather risky statement that he preferred my porridge cooking to the version produced by his mother. Tony

Good Morning, The sun is doing its best to burn the condensation off the car's windscreen. I've just made a huge amount of porridge and then I'll take Matthew to college as he informed me that there is a bus strike this morning. Tony

My wife decided that something soft would be good for dinner tonight so we had what were allegedly Hungarian style meatballs with noodles. We didn't have any Hungarian wine so Australian red did quite nicely. Tooth/gums feeling quite good tonight so either Australia or Hungary deserve some thanks! Tony

I can't imagine this tooth is going to come out in one piece either if my previous experience is anything to go by. It is when the dentist says come back in a couple of weeks and I'll get the rest when the gum swelling reduces, you suspect that it may hurt after the anaesthetic wears off. My brother-in-law who is a GP has had some success in helping patients who are phobic about dentistry. Unfortunately whenever he has to go he can't stop thinking about the dental scenes from "Marathon Man". Tony

I don't think she meant me to drink it all at once! The antibiotic I've been prescribed doesn't have a bad reaction with alcohol (unlike some, eg Metronidazole which certainly would). Actually I'll save the alcohol until later, as fortunately the pain is kept at bay with a couple of paracetamol. I'm sure the tooth will be much better when it is removed! Tony

Morning all. I'm not planning anything today! The antibiotics seem to be working and although my tooth is still generating some discomfort the gums are almost normal so the extraction should be OK for Tuesday. My dentist won't extract teeth if he thinks it will hurt. My wife and Matthew didn't bring back a doggie bag from lunch yesterday (I didn't go ) for me but my mother-in-law did send a bottle of whisky for me. Tony

Pet cleaning and drain clearing always seem to be my job. Tony

Morning all. It is quiet here as well. We were supposed to be going to lunch at my wife's sister's house today. My mother-in-law is off tomorrow to California for a month so it was supposed to be a bon voyage lunch. If my toothache hasn't started to ease I may stay at home. I'm sure they will send me a food parcel! Tony

Just back from the dentist clutching prescription for antibiotics and appointment for Tuesday for extraction of tooth. Now off to collect antibiotics! BT just sent me an accelerator to add to my phone socket that is supposed to remove interference that affects ADSL. I'll fit it later after Matthew goes to college. He has a late start (2.40)as his morning subject tutor is meeting the chief examiner. The college (and students and parents) are still unhappy about the grades awarded this summer. Tony

Our recycling system here seems sensible and they do modify it if something seems silly. We are supposed to squash the milk bottles and replace the top to reduce volume. My mother (who doesn't live in Essex) is worried about getting prosecuted for putting the wrong thing in the wrong bin. She felt more relaxed after seeing the bin men chucking it all (including the waste food container) in the same vehicle. Anyway I'm off on an unplanned visit to the dentist. I thought the mouth pain I've had for a couple of days was just an inflamed gum but I think it may be a cracked tooth. I rang the dentist at 9.30 and he will see me at 10:45. It is nice to have a nice dentist within walking distance. NHS as well! Back soon! Tony

I was looking at the second Kingfisher photo and had just scrolled so only the birds feet were showing as my wife walked past. She wanted to know if my friends were now posting pictures of fences. I scrolled back so she could see the kingfisher. I think she now wants a pond for her birthday! Tony

I suspect it is just doing a spot of reconnaissance (spell checker corrected the previous word for me!) for the herons. Tony

Morning all, I've been visiting Deliaonline trying to find a cake recipe for my wife's birthday. The birthday is today so fortunately you can search on words like fast, quick etc. Anyway something has been selected, not a traditional cake but what is supposed to be blackberry and apple tart. I'll substitute pears for apples and there must be some sort of berry fruit in the freezer. Bonfire night was very quiet here. We set off a couple of pretty fireworks nothing at all noisy. Robbie kept trying to sneak out and join us but in the end watched from the dining room. He may have been more interested in the food going outside. Spaniels seem to be specialists in catching falling food. Tony

It may be better not to. My brother was in a similar position recently and has taken his pension early. Now that it has been discovered there is no one to do what he did he has been offered some consultancy work. I don't know whether as yet he intends to take up the offer. Tony

Hello all. Quite sunny here but it isn't that warm yet. It can't have rained in the night as Robbie was quite dry when he came back in after checking the garden this morning. Tony

Matthew is allowed to use a computer at college and for exams. His philosophy tutor was concerned that when he submitted handwritten work it was of a very much lower standard than if he word processed it. He was struggling to write and not putting down what he thought. He had to be assessed and was given permission by the exam boards to use the pc. His slow handwriting was due to co-ordination problems. Things like holding pens or cutting with a knife seem to be very difficult but using a mouse and keyboard seem straightforward. In addition when younger, he had gross motor skill problems, he was always falling over but had no problems riding a bike. I'm glad I no longer have to sit examinations although I suspect I could pass the A level Government & Politics as Matthew insists on telling me about everything he has done in that lesson. I don't understand anything my wife is writing about in her thesis (which may be complete in 2010!). Tony

At the school I went to (a long long time ago) those studying science subjects did not take General Studies, just some English examination to prove to universities that we were literate. My Matthew got a C in the AS General Studies. He is now taking the A2 General Studies course (not compulsory now) as he thinks he may need all the points he can get(he knows which Universities "count" General Studies and those that don't). If a subject is "compulsory" you may find that it is possibly because it attracts funding for the school/college without incurring too many staffing or consumable costs. Tony

Hello, Blue sky, no cloud but rather cool as I put the bin-bags and recycling stuff out. I don't know if I have anything planned for today. As the new bookshelf hasn't fallen over, I may put some books on it, or I may just carry on reading Blood, Iron and Gold by Christian Wolmar. Robbie will require a walk at some time later this morning. Tony

It is now raining heavily here. Robbie was confused slightly on the walk as the stream he usually jumps over and paddles in is about 20 foot wide now and must be 6ft deep today. It looks quite nice north of here. Anyway I'm just off to buy some sort of hardware to stop the new bookshelf falling over if someone (not me) climbs up it rather than getting a step-stool. IKEA always include a safety strap in their shelves and cabinets. Tony

I think the person I saw did it more convincingly!

There seemed to be a few comedians at Essex who while going over the top did a handstand. This did seem to confuse some of the onlookers as they saw an inverted person in the descending lift.

Like Eldavo I too saw the Essex paternoster while I was on a pre university visit/interview. I didn't go there. Matthew went on a University of Essex open day recenty but the architecture put him off (apparently he thought it looked like "it had been designed by s pair of depressed Soviet Union era architects who didn't talk to each other". There were many GEC Marconi establishments around here. I used to collect my brother-in-law from Chelmsford and take him back on Sunday night. He only did the first year of an electronics sandwich (a chip butty?) course after he decided he would rather study medicine. It is raining here but looking brighter, (I nearly forgot the weather report!) Tony

I went on one sometime last century at Essex University. Some people seemed to get quite excited about it.

Hello all. It is very sunny here and the forecast predicts it will remain so. No back ache (less thanusual in fact this morning) after playing trains yesterday. Perhaps playing trains is the new Pilates. Wife and child are back to college; dog and I are not. Tony