Tony_S

I didn't think he would appreciate any remarks about self tapper dancing either. Tony

I don't seem to have a to-do list today (except for cooking dinner which will be goulash) so I think I will attempt to do some clearing in the garage. I did have a bicycle on a wall that I want to put shelves on. As I no longer seemed strong enough to lift the bike up I took it down (to be honest, let it fall) and replaced the brackets with a Lakeland bike-lift last weekend. I now have to work through the "that bit of wood may be useful one day" pile. Tony

Morning all. Sky is sort of blue-grey here at the moment but it is getting bluer. No illness to report but I think last night's butternut squash risotto caused some strange dreams. As a result of believing I was being chased by a were-panda I fell out of bed and hit my head on the bedside table. Apparently it was something to do with the cupboard under the stairs, which is odd as we don't have one. Gordon, I hope your feet are OK, it sounds like the kind of thing I do. Tony

My mother in law had a lot of trouble with even voice communication over her tree affected telephone lines. It didn't get any better after the trees were trimmed. I think without the trees the cables moved more when it was windy. Eventually they did replace the cable and it seems OK now. However she doesn't have any internet. Tony

Morning all. Just back from a drive along the A13 to take Matthew to college. There appears to be a new bus timetable that has no buses on the route for 2 hours (7.30 - 9.30). This would appear to a strange timetable change. The weather is cloudy with some rain here at the moment. Nothing too exciting planned for today unless cooking butternut squash risotto for dinner tonight counts. Tony

Good morning. Nice to see all the suite puns. It is sunny today. We had a phone call from our neighbours who have been in Denbighshire visiting their grandchildren this week. They were concerned to read about the "Benfleet Tornado" in their newspaper. I assured them that they (and we) still had roofing.

Our sofa is 31 years old this month. I suppose I should pay more attention to the adverts, I'm clearly not fashionable.

I'm not sure that One Tree Hill (another local place!) is either. The tornado seems to have affected one street about a mile from here. Not a lot happens in Benfleet so it was strange to hear it mentioned on the news. Tony

It is rather windy here. Apparently while I was out playing trains a tornado blew through part of Benfleet. The BBC local website shows lots of downed fences and (former) shed roofing and a damp rabbit. On the drive home a large lump of tree leapt out at my car. It only hit the door mirror but it was hard enough to knock the glass out of the frame. Fortunately it is a heated mirror so the cables stopped it falling to the ground. It all went back together and seems to work. Tony

Good Morning. The weather isn't too bad here at the moment but it is supposed to get worse later. I'll take Robbie out for his walk early today before I go to play trains. Matthew would take the dog out but he has hurt his little finger and that apparently makes it difficult to control a Cocker Spaniel. Matthew doesn't complain too much about aches and pains so I'll believe him. Like Dominik I too hate colds. I also dislike toothache but at least I haven't had a cold recently. I'm probably don't meet enough people to become sneezed on. I've got Sky Sports channel (and ESPN, as Matthew likes US sports). There is lots more cricket (domestic and international)to watch on it other than just the home Test Matches so even if the 5 games in the UK summer are free I'd probably still keep up the subscription. Tony

It seems to have finally stopped raining here but it is getting very windy. I've just retrieved garden furniture (plastic not metal) from around the garden and stacked it so I hope it is still there tomorrow. I was hoping for a quiet evening but I've had to solve a computer problem for my wife. I finally did but it took longer as I'm not that familiar with where Vista and Word 2007 hide things. I suppose it is good to exercise the brain occasionally though. Tony

... I think it was a rather good statement than a rant. My first DCC experience was with a Dynamis and I still use it on my ON30 layout (with lots of fluorescent lamps, WiFi and DECT phones about without any problems. I then got a SPROG as I was too impatient to wait for the Pro box and a Lenz system for my other layouts (which is fortunate as the club I've joined uses Lenz equipment. Apart from the lack of the PC connection with the Dynamis I'm still very pleased with it. Tony

Hello all, It is raining here and I think it may have been raining all night. Even the dog was reluctant to go out this morning which is most unusual. Model railway tasks for today include 1)going to the post office to collect the package that couldn't be left (signature required) yesterday while I was in London 2) I've volunteered to help put the club modules in the van for the monthly outing on Saturday 3) finishing the baggage / trailer car I've been making for about the last month. Tony

In the dim and distant past when I cycled to school, if it rained the standard waterproof was a yellow cycling-cape. That way if you were old enough to wear long trousers they were only damp from the shin down. I can't imagine many of today's younger teens tolerating short trousers so long. At the secondary school I went to, the uniform included short trousers until the third year (modern year nine) unless you were over 5 foot tall. Some short boys were shaving before they were allowed to wear long trousers. Tony

Good afternoon. I didn't log on this morning as I had to go to Barts (for our non UK posters, Barts is a hospital in London). I must be doing well as they don't want to see me for a whole year (as long as I keep taking the tablets etc) Also I was told to lose weight which is good, as for years I was never well enough to gain any. Apparently walking the dog doesn't count as exercise. Perhaps if I ran around barking and jumped in ditches it would be exercise. Just as I was about to go into the hospital Matthew phoned to say he had shut the door behind him but had left his keys and wallet in the house. I told him he had enough time to walk to college but apparently if you don't have your ID card you have to pay ??2 for a temporary card to get in. Fortunately someone down the road (they have a son of about the same age and understand this sort of event) lent him some money. Interestingly, Matthew didn't forget his lunch or his homework so I suppose there is hope! Tony

Morning all. It is much warmer and drier here today. Putting the bin bag out wasn't too arduous a task. Nothing special planned for today apart from a few household tasks. The tooth fairy doesn't seem to have left anything but perhaps she has privatised the service and it will come by courier sometime between 8am and 6pm. Tony

I'm back from the dentist. He telephoned and said there was a cancellation and I could have an earlier appointment. It only takes a couple of minutes to walk there. Anyway it was a nice clean, painless extraction. When the anaesthetic wears off, I may have a different opinion. With all the dressing in one cheek I look like a lopsided hamster at the moment. Tony

Our dentist only does teeth but I think the place I'm driving my wife back from this afternoon does everything. We've never actually been there before as the local retinal photography clinic is booked up until January. The fog has lifted and I can see to the end of our road. I've just seen a bus go by so the strike must have ended and Matthew won't need a lift to college. Tony

Hello all, I think it is misty enough to count as fog here today. The list for today is mainly health related. I go to the dentist at lunchtime and my wife goes later to have the inside of her eyes photographed and will need driving home as apparently driving is forbidden for some hours afterwards. Tony

The people at Sunday School were very nice but there just wasn't any point going any more. My brother in law stayed in the Scouts for ages doing all kinds of Duke of Edinburgh stuff and then went on to BTCV and other conservation groups. Tony

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