Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Livid ol' divil *
I was bamboozled into switching from BT to Telco (I’m not even giving them the courtesy of a link) and so far have seen no evidence of any savings. Admittedly, with Number One Daughter now home from Uni, and using t’Internet for job-hunting, and with statements arriving monthly instead of quarterly, it’d be difficult to compare.
But having paid the bill on Friday, on Sunday? they cut us off.
And the killer is, when we rang their “Customer Service Number” – and I use that phrase loosely – the recorded message said they weren’t going to be open on Bank Holiday Monday, oh and by the way, we’re not here today either.
So, a telecoms company that you can’t ring for a full 48 hours.
Mrs.D. has agreed to ‘discuss’ the matter with them today, as I fear that their recorded calls system might use my conversation as n example of a thoroughly pi55ed-off customer who could cheerfully rip their corporate head off and pi55 down their open neck.
* I’m part Mick and can pronounce “devil” howsoever I like. I’m in a “don’t mess with me” mood today – can’t you tell?
# posted by Mr.D. @ 8:36 AM
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Friday, August 27, 2004
Venomous
I love the unabashed, vitriolic lyrics of Faithfull's song. Much as I like "Common People" by Pulp.
That's it, really.
# posted by Mr.D. @ 8:49 AM
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Thursday, August 26, 2004
What was I thinking of?
While shaving this morning, a reasonable topic for today's blog popped into my head.
I mentally rehearsed, ordered and parsed the cyber-sentences. Could even see it laid out on the Posting screen.
Then completely forgot about whatever the subject was.
Worrying, eh?
# posted by Mr.D. @ 8:35 AM
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Monday, August 23, 2004
Blown out, blown, blown away
Before I’d even set off for the South Coast on Friday evening, I knew that Saturday’s dives had been cancelled. Divers returning from that day’s trips reported being unable to see their hands in front of their masks. So our planned dives were blown out.
Instead, some unexpected time for retail therapy had me blowing the dive fees on some much-needed fishing tackle, for our assault on Ireland next month.
The we went to see “The Bourne Supremacy”. While watching it, I was thinking “this is just like a Robert Ludlum plot, all espionage, good guy/bad guy stuff, but the book I remembered reading was “The Bourne
Identity”.
It was only while I was recounting later, how the film had totally blown me away, that someone said it’s part 2 of a trilogy from Ludlum (so I’d clearly missed part 1). Rats.
That’s the end of the ‘blown’ theme.
Or is it ….
# posted by Mr.D. @ 12:42 PM
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Thursday, August 19, 2004
Flash flood reprised
We visited Polperro in South Cornwall many years ago. Walking down the hill towards the sea, on either side of the road were stone 'bridges' under which ran two small streams, just outside the peoples' houses.
Some years later, we watched in horror as pictures of a flash flood appeared on the tv, with torrents of water pumping up from under the pavements as the flood poured through and out of the very street we'd walked down.
So to see the wretched population of Boscastle with their homes waist-deep in mud and slime was truly horrible - and an awful sense of deja vu.
I hope they're able to recover.
# posted by Mr.D. @ 8:54 AM
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If they made them now. No.274
David Bowie: "Diamond Guide Dogs"
# posted by Mr.D. @ 8:40 AM
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Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Occurring early in the morning
It's not often that Orwell throws an unusual word at you - it's usually that chap
Burgess who sends me scurrying for the dictionary.
But I do like the sound of "matutinal".
And if I hadn't already chosen a medical term for my blogtitle, "sahiblog" would have proven equally difficult for Google!
# posted by Mr.D. @ 12:40 PM
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Monday, August 16, 2004
Time out
Saturday night's bbq was not the usual boisterous session, because our friends had a late change of plan that meant they couldn't stop overnight.
Well, you can't get elephant's* when one of the combatants has to drive home...
So, having no Sunday morning catering or bed-changing to do, we found ourselves with rare free time. I was able to compile some new music for the daily commute
and found a new sport to watch - women's beach volleyball**. Where
have I been?
What do they mean - there's very few spectators? That event looked pretty well attended. Although why one of the Brazilians was wearing her kacks inside out bemused me.
* Elephant's trunk - (very) contrived Mockney for drunk.
** Now
Zed'll comment that I'm a pervert for watching fit lady Olympians...
# posted by Mr.D. @ 8:37 AM
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Friday, August 13, 2004
Parturition
Aprosexic.com is born?
# posted by Mr.D. @ 1:08 PM
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"Fcuk patience, let's do it!"
“
The heat rolled from the earth like the breath of an oven”
George Orwell: “Burmese days”
Ordinarily, at this time of year, we’d be on holiday with our lifelong friends. That’s because the two weeks would encompass his and my birthdays, thereby giving us a ready-made reason (as if we’d need it) to imbibe several glasses of fermented grapes.
But having taken our break earlier in the year, it resulted in neither of us celebrating either day together – a first for many years. In fact, I can’t recall it happening before?
But we’re getting together soon, possibly for a couple of scuba dives off of the Sussex coast (tides and weather permitting) and in between glasses of ullage, will be plotting our ‘boy’s week’ of fishing in Ireland.
He goes every year for an annual competition, but it’s ten years since I last visited God’s Own Country and since I last saw my uncle, who’s 85 and a teetotal bachelor (it must make it
seem like a long life?). So it’ll be nice to pay him a surprise visit (again) – last time, two English voices at his door nearly scared the life out of him!).
Time to dust off the tackle, then.
Oo, er, Missus.
# posted by Mr.D. @ 8:41 AM
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Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Incongruity
The musical accompaniment to today’s commute was one of the minidisks I compiled for last year’s 50th.
I (somewhat selfishly) decided to trawl through my vinyl, tape and CD collections, extracting and recording one track per band, anything which had meant something to me during the years.
I then arranged them (with boring predictability) in alphabetical order – obviously, omitting the definite article from bands called “The something or other”, because there’d have been a hell of a crush in the “T’s”.
So it was an accident of juxtaposition that the Sex Pistols were sandwiched between Seal’s “Kiss from a rose” and Simon and Garfunkel’s “Old friends”.
But then, I always have enjoyed variety…
# posted by Mr.D. @ 8:53 AM
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Monday, August 09, 2004
BBQ'dOUT
A small bbq for my 51st on Saturday. Nice to see our friend back onto 'normal' food, after her doctor-controlled 100-day liquid-only diet.
Ate and drank for England, she did - good on 'er.
So decided to use up the remaining griddle-fodder yesterday while wondering where the forecast severe thunderstorms had got to?
Hope yours was good, too?
# posted by Mr.D. @ 8:35 AM
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Thursday, August 05, 2004
The Office goes West
Most of the crew (and a few partners) went to see “We will rock you” last night – some for the second (or even third) time. No-one came away unsatisfied.
Scaramouche and Meatloaf remained constant stars in the firmament, but the cast changes involving Figaro Galileo and Britney definitely provided an intriguing twist to the plot. Great entertainment, if you haven’t been to see it.
Then sat waiting to leave London Bridge. The train driver brightly regaled us with stories of destinations we
might visit,
if they managed to acquire the other half of the necessary crew?
“Calling at East Croydon, the Eiffel Tower*, Gracelands**” he intoned, before, twenty minutes later, "You might as well get off and find another train”.
So we all regrouped, then decamped at cosmopolitan East Croydon, where we stood like an incongruous gathering of Christmas carollers who’d forgotten the words to the songs – stunned into catatonia by the hour and the appalling lack of service.
Fortunately, Mrs.D. had parked The Motor near to the station, so we were spared the final trek back to our cot this morning. Where we learned that NoD has finally landed a job – with, unselfishly, a lead from her new employer to an even better one?
2.00 a.m. to bed, then the alarm sounding off at 6.00 a.m.
* I may have drifted off at this point
** Like EAP himself, by now I’d lost the will to live
# posted by Mr.D. @ 12:06 PM
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Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Epitaphy
Unless some dire emergency leads to me becoming a rescuing hero, I’m now unlikely to leave a huge impact on the planet or mankind.
And as I plan to be cremated, there will be no headstone to mark my existence.
But I was wondering what I’d want inscribed, to sum up my meagre achievements.
Perhaps there are people out there who are professional tombstone scriptwriters.
People who can sum up a lifetime in snappy, witty one-liners?
What would you want on your virtual grave?
# posted by Mr.D. @ 10:57 AM
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Monday, August 02, 2004
Turn ups
No, not those things that fashion periodically dictates look good on the far end of yer strides, but unexpected visitors.
I hadn’t seen Bruv for some time, then a local emergency dragged him over to our neck of the woods yesterday, so he called in for some refreshment. Three bacon and tomato rolls later, swilled down with fresh coffee made with some of the beans we acquired in Hawai’I last year, and he was back up to speed.
Then Number One Son’s mates all decided to descend on us last night, creating an impromptu party, with several bottles of red wine turning rapidly into a refillable state, and the odd shot of ouzo, acquired during this year’s holiday in Crete.
Two separate ‘drinking sessions’ rekindling some great memories.
Don’t you just love it when that happens?
# posted by Mr.D. @ 12:14 PM
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Drinking and Driving (but clearly not simultaneously)
