Tony_S

Well quite a lot of the EH sites are ruins but there was plenty to study at Audley End. We took Aditi’s uncle who lives in California to,Audley End. He loved it.

You are going to be able to celebrate the return of Wetherspoons to Basildon soon.. Quote from Essex Live website.

I am at my MiL’s at the moment. She has a few pictures I know are correctly hung but they look wrong. It may perhaps be the picture frames are not quite rectangular.

I think Aditi hold world records in how long it takes to examine all the notices and information sheets in ancient buildings or museums. I am usually rooms ahead and try to look for a seat until she catches up.

Glad it isn’t just me! I wonder how I can possibly mislay a metre long bright yellow spirit level.

I can’t read it but there were similar examples of gps jamming in the Baltic recently.

I never really experienced the Balti restaurant boom in Birmingham as I left before it really got started. My brother worked near the Balti restaurant area and used to go for lunch. Being married to a Punjabi who doesn’t like the food in curry restaurants in this country has meant I am familiar with Punjabi home style food but not the local restaurants. I reckon between us we can cook anything we want, so eating out is for social reasons. Going on holiday is different, we wouldn’t look for English food when we are overseas.

I like noodles and rice ! Last ones eaten were rice noodles.

Aditi’s Dad’s garden had very light rapid drying soil. He actually grew all kinds of things that weren’t supposed to do well in the Midlands. Down here in Essex, yucca and agave grow fairly well. Historically really dry except for the last couple of winters which have been wet, and not particularly cold.

That is Interesting. My father in law had some quite tall yucca that he grew just outside Nottingham. They were damaged in a big storm and were just shrublike afterwards. So when I saw something that looked similar a few houses away from us, I just assumed they were big yuccas. Anyway more careful observation shows they are almost certainly Torbay Palm. The palm trees in Southend are Windmill palms. Our neighbour’s wisteria doesn’t like her bit of Essex, it only flowers on our side of the fence!

Aditi’s cousin opened a cafe in Delhi serving European snack food like pizza, pasta dishes, and quiche. She started it “for something to do” but it has proved popular.

We are east of the M25 so,I don’t know what that would get our culinary options rated as. I wouldn’t base what is served up on Southend seafront as typical of what is available elsewhere. Actually our nearest seaside caff down on the sea wall at Canvey is very good (and I do mean the cafe not the upstairs restaurant). Sitting in an Ove Arup building looking out at the ships going by, is probably the nearest I am going to get to Sydney Harbour. We went to Yorkshire in November and we had no difficulty finding good food. Tony

His and a good chunk of infected abdomen as well. When he had all the stitches removed I had to hold him facing away from me while he was sitting on my lap. The vet promised to not slash at me with the stitch cutter..

Robbie never stole food until he was eight. He needed an emergency operation that involved remove of testicles. After that the coffee table could not have food left on it. Otherwise no change in behaviour after the op.

I don’t think I have seen a Yo-Yo biscuit for about half a century.

I went to a grammar school that had a Latin motto but Latin wasn’t taught. Aditi went to a school where Latin replaced any craft or art. The only science at her school was biology and any girl who wanted to study chemistry or physics had to go for lessons at a nearby independent school.

Highly unlikely. There was a bench available and my prescence didn’t exceed the half class size limit craft teachers had in those days.

Music was compulsory but not examined (only one lesson a week) until 5th year (year 11 for younger readers). At the beginning of 4th year you had to choose between art or woodwork. I chose woodwork, the woodwork teacher (not a very nice man really) rejected me. So the did the art teacher. I did ask if I were supposed to sit on the stairs but the art teacher got his way and I was sent back to woodwork. I passed the o level but my theory paper results must have very good because my practical was awful.

I think one of the bits of knowledge we had to retain for 0 level woodwork theory was about elm and how it was used for docks and buildings that got wet and dried out as it was rot resistant .

Just like Nelson at Copenhagen.

For some reason Aditi says she really enjoys ironing. I don’t and I have tried to tell her that for most of my clothes the wrinkles will disappear with wear but she insists.

£15 here. They changed to long poles a few years ago.

Do you have a kitchen with integrated appliance that look like cupboards? Years ago we were looking for a new washing machine. We were told the machine was available as a version for integrating behind some door or decor panel. Aditi actually said that if she were paying that much, she wanted to see it.

I had an interview for a head of department post at a school in Essex. They were planning to introduce the same sort of IT curriculum I had been supporting in London. It was going really well until they asked if I had any questions. So I asked when the other PCs would be arriving and who would be installing them. The chair of govenors said there was to be no more expenditure. So I gently pointed out the software for the courses they intended to implement would not run on their existing workstations . The chairperson told me I was wrong and she had seen all the software demonstrated by their current head of dept whom had specified the system. I said she must have seen it running on the server as a standalone, not on their network stations. They didn’t offer me the job although the county advisor rang my boss to say if I wanted a job don’t tell the chair of governors they don’t know what they are talking about. He said apart from that I did very well.

What a lovely surprise.