Day 7, actual day 5

Met up with a mate for lunch.  We went to the Blue Moon Cafe, I'm a bit partial to it, he'd not been before and had had never got around to it.  He enjoyed it.  We moved on to a coffee place and he bought me a birthday coffee, we talked about music, work, and architecture.  Once we'd finished our drinks we mooched around town, looking at buildings, standing and pointing, giving our development ideas an airing.  We are experts in these areas and it was a pleasant way to pass an afternoon.

Down the Moor we went in to the new market building, neither of us had been in before.  I mentioned going to the old market as a kid with my mum and having a tray of cockles from the fish market, he said he did the same with his dad, he'd also have tripe.  I only ever had tripe twice, in The Blake, on the same day, it was so unpleasant I had a second piece just to be sure.  Not so much unpleasant as tasteless and rubbery, which might be synonymous.  I won't be buying tripe but there were plenty of other things I will return for.

Back mooching around we muttered about the dearth of adventure in the modern architecture of the city, on the whole it's mediocre and clichéd construction passed off as grand design and innovation.  As we are experts in these areas it was a pleasant way to pass an afternoon.

Day 6, actual day 4

A hack joke we've all heard a heard a thousand times, but here it is.  I went to water a plant on the front bedroom window ledge (that isn't the hack bit).  I could see a man slowly walking down the pavement past the house, he was faffing with an electronic device.  A meter reader.  I went downstairs to the front door and there was the card, "we called today but you were out", etc, etc.

Now, why is it that they knock at a frequency outside that of human hearing, with all the strength and power of an injured ant worried that it might be causing a disturbance?

Insert the name of your favoured delivery company in the above.

There isn't actually a joke above, or anywhere else.

Day 5, actual day 3

Kelvin Flats.  Was going to say that we moved on when it was first built and that during demolition I climbed over the fence and was the last person to go in our old flat.  But I'm not, so bollocks to that.

Oh, what a giveaway.


Hedge trimming is much about as hard as I was expecting, quite heavy work with a petrol trimmer.  And what a fine collection of multi-legged creatures ended up living in my shirt.

Wasn't expecting that.

Michael Palin at The Crucible, he did very nearly three hours.  Approaching Ken Dodd proportions.  VG & VFM.

Day 4, actual day 2

A good sharp cooking implement.

Why would anyone want anything else.

I use it.

Made from razor steel.

Kitchen knife, hand made by Stuart Mitchell using SF100 grade Stainless Steel. SF100 grade Stainless is usually used for manufacturing razors, scalpels and other surgical instruments and has this composition - CARBON - 0.60% - 0.70% SILICON - 0.50% MAX. MANGANESE - 0.50% - 1.00% CHROMIUM - 12.00% - 13.50% SULPHUR - 0.025% MAX. PHOSPHORUS - 0.03% MAX. The presentation box contains this note - "This Centennial Knife has been manufactured to celebrate 100 years of Stainless Steel - an invention that was born in Sheffield and rapidly spread worldwide. The original Stainless Steel knives were crafted by Ernest Stuart 100 years ago for R.F. Mosley & Co. of Portland Works, Randall Street, Sheffield. They were made from an experimental block of steel provided by Harry Brearley of Brown-Firth who invented what is universally known as Stainless Steel in August 1913. This celebration Stainless Steel kitchen knife has been crafted and produced by Stuart Mitchell in his workshop at Portland Works in 2013. It has been made using Sheffield Stainless Steel donated by Brinsworth Strip Mills/TATA specifically for this project. This is a Limited Edition of 100 numbered knives. It has been designed and made to be used. It will last a lifetime...."

Day 3, actual day 1 of holiday

How the capitalist system mangles language in an effort to create more $$$.

Profit!

Bought some ear plugs.

2 pack foam ear plugs.

Now that to me says it’s a 2 pack of foam ear plugs as, unless I’m mistaken, ear plugs come in pairs.

Most of us have two ears and would use two at a time, therefore a pack of earplugs equates to two earplugs, hence the plural, earplugs.

Not earplug.

When a packet is labelled '2 pack foam ear plugs' it conjures up an image of there being 2 sets of earplugs. A set being enough for one human being, and there being a second set for another human being. Or, for the first one of those two beings to use as a new set in the event that the first set become ineffective, or for spares in case one of the current plugs drops out and into a drain, or a slugs nest.

2 pack.

The only time that 2 pack equates to a single entity is when referring to the deceased rap/hiphop artist of similar name.

2 pack. 2 Pac. Tupac.

This pack contained one pair of ear plugs.

Surely that’s - 1 pack.

For goodness sake.

1 pack.

Now what sort of name is that for a rap, stroke, hiphop artiste?

This is quite clearly a capitalist ploy to mislead, inconvenience the customer, and make an absolute shedload of cash on repeated purchase of these £1.99 earplugs.

They’ll be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.

And on that day I’ll be wearing ear defenders.

Not ear plugs.

Day 2

1984 was mentioned on QI.

Apparently most people that claim to have read it haven't read it.

I haven't read it.

That doesn't mean I've read it.

No reverse bluff going on here.

I'm currently reading -
George Orwell
Essays
Penguin Modern Classics
New Edition
29 June 2000

I've read almost all his other books, the exceptions being A Clergyman's Daughter, and 1984.

There are some essays in this collection that I haven't come across before.

It's almost 30 years since I read the rest of his works, over a period of a year or two.  That was interspersed between pretty much all the Hunter S Thompson writing available at the time, and a mass of other stuff, some trashy, some high-falutin'.

But I've not read 1984.

Perhaps that should be remedied.

Day 1

Here's to this.

Apparently on this day in 1860 the Second Opium War finally ended, and in 1964 on this day the New York World's Fair closed for its first season after a six month run.

Perhaps a secret deal has occurred somewhere today to legalise the trade of some narcotic substance, and maybe there's been an event where the noble objective of achieving Peace Through Understanding has been taking place as was the aim of that World Fair.

If either of those things have happened they've passed me by.

It's more likely that mafia, extremist, fundamentalist activity has been taking place where funds have been raised by the trade in narcotics with the aim of destabilising governments and generally causing a fuss.  Whereas our government is in the process of yet another mission to achieve Peace Through Bombing the Shit out of People.

Today I've refrained from consuming heroin derivatives and from being a club wielding chest-beater, which might be considered an achievement in some quarters.

I have however been to the shop and bought groceries, and also supplies for the birds.

My world-view is not always so narrowly defined as by my activity over the last 16 hours.