Sunday, July 24, 2005

Ever tried to ride a unicycle?

Many years ago! (isn`t it funny? I used to be able to say a couple of years ago :o))) I decided that to raise some money for a charity along with many others, I would try and ride my sons unicycle around the Theme park I ran ( don`t let my ex boss tell you anything different, he only took all the credit :o)) ). So I spent about four weeks hanging onto the washing line and generally falling badly on the paved area of my back garden. I never really got past being able to do a twenty metre burst which involved a spectacular crashing dismount. I did however raise about eight hundred pounds from contractors other Managers, and friends. I later found out that most of my staff had also donated to the sponsorship. How the hell my son rode it everyday to University I will never know but he told me it was great for "Pulling" (his words and nothing to do with my escapade you understand). I managed to get around the park but fell off about a million times much to the hilarity of my staff. There I was making a fool of myself for a charity! well £8oo wasn`t to be sniffed at was it?.

The previoust year I had announced that I would walk stilts around the same park, and manufactured a pair of stilts from 100 mm drain pipe, yes they were flimsy but they worked. I went up to the circus, with them, and "instructed" the owner to teach me how to do it. his immediate reaction was to laugh telling me that I must be mad, and asked how long I had got to learn.

When I told him two days he just laughed even harder. I asked him again but in a somewhat more subdued manner as to why he was laughing. He told me that he couldn`t remember how long it had taken him to learn ( Circus owners can usually do most things required to build a Tent and often several acts. the stilt walking amongst other things was used to fit the side walls of the big top) but it was a lot longer than two days. Oh well! I said would he try which he agreed to do. He went to get a coat and I progressed into the big top and started to put the stilts on, sitting on the fourth row of the seating. when he came back he showed me that I actually had to be seated at almost the same level that I would be walking at which was about 6 feet so, first mistake made, I moved onto the band box which overlooked the stage and was at the right height. He told me that the only way to the ground now was either by grabbing on to something and lowering myself with help or to fall badly so he directed me to look at the quarter poles of the big top and told me that traditionally Circus stilt walkers learnt their trade by walking from one pole to the next and back untill they were proficient .

Well I stood up, with help, and felt sick with the vertigo I took my first step and promptly overbalanced but was held upright my the circus owner. This isn`t going to be easy I thought.
W ell to cut a long story short. Eventually I managed to walk fully around the circus using the quarter poles for support and yes I did fall quite a few times (the pro wrestling helped me a lot with that) and I sprained a wrist, but dont you always?

On the day of the proposed fundraising I had, promised or collected, fourteen hundred pounds in sponsorship. My secretary had bullied all the contractors to give generously and the staff had come up trumps chasing their friends and families. I had spent an hour back in the big top trying to walk unaided and without the use of the quarter poles and found that I could almost get about unaided.

At the appropriate time for getting ready I was approached by the circus owner with a smartly pressed bundle of clothes. He told me that whilst I had defeated the odds in learning to walk stilts, I really didnt look the part and so here were some clothes to add to the illusion. The parcel contained a proper lenght set of trousers newly manufactured and a clowns jacket and wig that were the late Coco the clowns props. I was over the moon and with help got kitted up and out on to the start line which was the other end of the park. The circus performers all to a man/woman shook my hand and said how they admired my learning so fast, telling me to break a leg, can you believe it and they meant it too, and off I went. I headed for the lamp posts and made a late descision to miss the first one and see if I could make the next one and so on and all of a sudden I was back at the start/ finishing line. No I hadn`t gone the wrong way round I had actually completed the course. I was really chuffed, everybody clapped and sitting on on an Ice cream stall roof I regained my breath ( not from excertion put pure fear of failure) I went back up to the circus to dismount and rejoined the party later. I gave the stilts to the Circus owner who said that they were the best pair of stilts that he had ever seen (sicophantic old bu**er but I loved him!).

It was two years after when I was trying to think of a scheme for the next fundraising that I was told by my secretary that the sponsors of the previous years thought that catching a bullet in my mouth might be a good one and that they had only sponsored me to watch me get hurt. Now isn`t that unkind?? :o)) The charity got well over the fourteen hundred pounds that I initially raised and I thought it was time to step back and "quit while I was ahead" What a booring life it is now. :o(( not

Its my birthday today 62 years old and feeling like I`m twenty (millenia not years) Te he!

Friday, July 22, 2005

Where I am

Today I took delivery of my designated GPS thingy that connects to my laptop via a USB port. This takes the place of my Sextant and operates the position fixing aspect of my World plotting programme. It shows me where I am at any time on my electronic charts, to within a three metre radius anywhere in the world. Handy eh!

I ordered it yesterday and it was deliverd this morning thats service for you? When I think that my Sextant cost over five hundred pounds when I purchased it, and took quite some time to master. This thingy cost less than Thirty pounds and with little or no effort gives me an almost immediate fix. The joys of modern technology! (until my first lightening strike that is)

I am currently sitting in the conservatory installing the software for the GPS with three foxes (two cubs and the mother) sitting looking through the patio doors so I must go and feed them. I am cutting back a little every day on their portions of food so they will be encouraged to search elsewhere for their food, it seems to be working as now and again I see them chasing pidgeons and Magpies across the lawn and occasionally I find to odd patch of feathers from a successfull surprise attack)

I haven`t gone down to the boat this weekend and really miss it, I don`t like sleeping on land and don`t sleep well when I do. I will miss the gentle rocking of the boat and the whisper of the breeze and occasional unfamiliar noises associated with life on a boat. Not too unfamiliar though I must say as I am soon awake and out of my bunk to investigate. Im still suffering from my late life chrisis :o((((( Get your thumb out of your A**e and get on with life Rob. Just because you can`t post on other peoples Blogs anymore!!!!!

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Always a circus performer

I was walking up to the top of my road with the girl from three doors down, she had a crush on me and was altogeather too familiar, but I walked with her because I wanted to show off to her my new light brown cordroy long trousers, that my dad and grandad had bought for me at Pettycoat lane the previous Sunday.

These were my very first pair of long trousers and were fabricated out of four pieces of corderoy and the grain didn`t mach on one front panel, I didn`t care and was very proud of them. She was on her way to ballet classes at the local church hall and her mum had said that I could walk her around there as long as I went back and told her that she had got there OK.

We talked about "not much" and as we approached the building on the corner of the road where my mum used to work, I decided that I would do my party piece. I had often tight rope walked along the top of the spiked railings and took great delight in frightening all my mates in doing so. I sprang up onto the wall and duly walked out on to the top of the railings. I could hear my companion saying don`t do it you will get hurt and felt good that she was impressed. This was easy I said my aim was to do it on my hands eventually. I took another step and my trousers caught on the spike and I overbalanced and missed my next step and plunged down onto the railings with a leg either side.

I was in pain and could hardly breathe my companion upon seeing the blood running out of my trouser leg ran for home to get help. I was suffering with acute embarrisment at failure and real pain at being impailed on the railings. I really didnt know what to do. To save myself any more embarassement I thought that I would go straight back home and ask my grandad what to do. Fortunately there was a rail further down that I could get my feet on and with my heel on one side and my toes on the other I tried to straigten up. I nearly passed out with the pain, I felt weak but could feel the spike withdrawing, with a slurp I was free and swung my leg over the railing and making sure that my shirt was free from the spikes I dropped to the ground. My legs collapsed upon impact and I managed to get to my feet.

I made for home and walked into the kitchen. My Grandad was sitting in front of the fire place with his pipe in full smoke and my Aunt Lill was just about to give him a cup of tea . She took one look at me and dropped the tea, ran out into the garden and locked herself in the outside toilet. My Grandad did no more than jump to his feet and in one motion he had his pipe on the mantepiece and told me to take my trousers off, my lovely new trousers, I hoped that I hadn`t ruined them. He went out into the scullery and with some hot water, clean cloth and some Disinfectant (Dettol) he started to clean me up, the pain from this activity was excruciating, I wasnt a sissy but I could not take it any longer.

He was concerned, he had seen many wounds in his battle scarred years and this was serious. The very fact that when he tried to hold the wound closed it spurted blood, according to him, meant that I was going to have to go to hospital. I was terrified, Not the Antivivi! I thought, its local reputation for everybody dying in there filled me with fear. I was starting to feel weak and Grandad gave me a cup of tea with so much sugar in it that I almost couldn`t drink it, he cooled it first and made me drink it quickly and told me that I was going to have to "get off to the hospital" (which was a ten minute walk away) He finished dressing my wound and somehow using a large piece of his old shirt rolled up with a knot in the middle, having plugged the hole in my inner thigh with another piece of clean cloth he successfully bandage me up. He then got a clean white towel and layed it across the crotch of a pair of my short trousers and made me pull them on ensuring that the towel was in position correctly.

All this seemed to take hours, in fact later, I found out that it was no more than five minutes for accident to dispach to hospital.

I left the house feeling embarassed I was now wearing a pair of blue thick winter short trousers with a piece of now bloody white towel sticking out of each leg. As I passed the girl down the roads house I looked down and kept going I was in pain and felt dizzy and knew that I had limited time to get to the hospital. I had seen it in a John Wayne film that my Dad had taken me to at the Super Palace in York road Battersea, he too was loosing blood and feeling faint, so I kept going I remember crossing a road without looking, something that I new was a definate no no but did it anyway. I walked passed the house of a now Transexual mate (thats another story) and up to the white stone pillars that were the Antivivi `s entrance. I turned into the entrance and started to flag, my feet were wet with blood and I had no socks on at the time, my shoes (Baseball boots from Bata`s) were full of blood and soaked too.

I lent against the wall that was on either side of the entrance road and passed out. I woke up on a table with a starched nurse talking to me. I had been found in a pool of blood (their description not mine) by an ambulance returning with another casualty. I had been carried into the hospital by the Ambulance drivers assistant. According to the nurse the large lump of "something" that was tight onto my groin was there to stop the blood from escaping and the Doctor would soon sort me out. I had apparantly perforated my femeral artery in a minor way but enough to cause come consternation. I was duly knocked out, sorted and discharged a few hours later.

My Dad arrived home and asked why an ambulance hadn`t been called and generally berated everyone more in a concerned way (as one does when you were unable to take part in any way for what ever reason) .

As for my new trousers, when I asked Grandad where they were, I was shown to the garden and they standing up in a corner solid with congealed blood, I was assured that they would never be worn again and that I could go up to Pettycoat lane the next weekend with my Dad and Grandad to get a new pair. When I finally met up with the girl three doors down she asked me if I was OK, as her Dad had said that I would have a "problem" with a wound in that place "You know OK! and haven`t lost anything?" I realised what she was eluding to and wished that I had said that I had, but instead said that all was OK and from that moment she wouldnt leave me alone, Whenever I saw her she wanted to see my scars. Rob aged 9 going on 62

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Another selfish blog

I was going through some old photos the other day and came across some of my mother and one remaining one of me at the same age as Elliot, it started me thinking about my youth and a few rememberances that I had from an early age (about 7). I used to go up to the shop to buy my mums cigarettes "Players weights" and on this particular day I was returning back to home in Battersea when the local window cleaners 1932 taxi cab (with the perambulator hood) pulled up with its ladders on top, as a hearse passed . My father was sitting inside and the window cleaner (Pat) said we`ll be back in a while Grandad is at home with auntie Lilly waiting for you, and off they went. The night before I had crept into my mums room as I hadn`t been allowed to see her for the last six days, to just look at her and I noticed that she was lying flat on her back in bed fast asleep. My mother used to cough all night some times and couldn`t sleep as she was that night, but I didnt think anymore of it. I kissed her goodnight and as she felt cold I covered her up a little higher with the spare blanket. She had come home from hospital a week ago and I was so happy to have her home, even if I couldnt see her tor a while. The last time I had seen her she was waving out of the Brompton hospital as I had to wait on the pavement outside behind the fence.

I used the key on a string inside the letterbox to get in to my house went into the Kitchen where my Grandad was sitting, my Auntie lill was in the scullery making tea. I gave him the cigarettes and he thanked me and out of the blue told me that I wouldn`t be able to see my mum again and that it was all for the best, her best. I remember he had tears in his eyes and my aunt looking from behind the wall of the scullery was also crying. I asked why and told him that I didn`t want that and wanted to know where she was to stop her from actually going ahead with this.

He was a very brave man having survived three major wars in his youth and his hobby was amature boxing. He had obviously been left behind to break the news to me . I will never forget him for that and the way that he explained to me that my mum had gone to "live with God" as we all do eventually and that I would be with her again when I died. I obviously cried and told him that I didn`t want that to happen, and then the cold realisation about my last nights activities when I had crept into my Mums bedroom only to find her cold and asleep, hit me. She was actually dead. The Funeral crowd returned and I was taken off to Leicester to live with my aunt Vera who lived over a fish and chip shop in a rather nice flat with a scatty dog (a Daschound called fritz) I must have stayed there for about 10 weeks and then returned to my home minus my Mum, a Dad that worked from 07-00 to 18-00 and a Grandfather that was a lamp man on the local diggings. I used to creep out of the house at midnight to go and sit with him and share his tea and sandwiches, I loved him very much as I did my Father. In the later years when my grandfather had passed on I would sit and remember these times. The smell of parafin still immediately brings back the memories of the black that I used to be covered in after a visit to his particular diggings, where he would look after the lamps to make sure that they were all alight and doing their job like little soilders he woud say guarding the hole so no one would come to harm.

The highlight of my visit would be when he would let me ligh up a few lamps and put them in their positions, I felt really quite grown up, (I really missed my mum at that time too!) he had a small hut that had scaffold boards for a seat and an old coat that he used to wear if it was cold and often I would snuggle down in it and sleep until the early hours when we would go home togeather and I would have to get cleaned up for school, we kept it a secret from my Dad, our secret, that I had been with him for the night but later My Dad confessed that he knew all the time. I was seven years old when my Mum passed away and nine when my grandad died. From then on I had little or no real parental guidance , My father used to work all the time to keep us and pay the bills, and his occasional enjoyment would be to have a drink, and I went completely off the rails. I never attended school unless they were really on my case. I drove my father hairless, as to where I was, sometimes going missing for days on end. I became a ferral Kid street wise to the limit, a genuine "Battersea boy". "The school board man", one day, actually collected me from Richmond park where I was fishing instead of being at school (I was grassed up by the long suffering lady who lived upstairs to us) I loved my dad and during all those years that we were togeather he never chastized me, he would explain where I was going wrong in his gentle voice and put up with the flack from all and sundry about their window being broken by me, of how they thought I was out of control and that I should be "locked up" My dad loved me too, and later on, used to relate that as a seven year old I had ensured that both my Grandad and he had got to bed safetly on Coronation night after the street celebrations, They had both had a skinfull and needed virtually to be carried up the stairs to bed. (To be continued maybe)

A blog for me!

I woke up this morning having had a very bad night (it must be a full moon :o))). I read a whole book and a few pages of another by the time I turned in (about 06-20 this morning). I rose at 11.30 and went off to the café for lunch. I don’t do this often but today I felt a bit strange. I rather felt as if I was walking down hill on wet cobbles wearing wooden stilts (yes I can walk stilts up to about 8 feet high! why? Don’t ask!). With my fairly comprehensive experience in life (true or not) I felt that I was looking over the heads of people nearer the ground than me (not wearing stilts) and that my legs were moving more and more apart as I gained speed downhill towards my eventual, general demise. What a funny feeling it was, I guess that it has all been brought about by my late life crisis, the general demise being a wake up call to get my arse into gear as time is passing, Te he!! And then.

I met my very first “Christian” fundamentalist, believe it or believe it not, in the café I use when “in residence” He has been visiting the café for a very long time and keeps himself to himself mostly. We have talked in the past but never to any depth other than pleasantries, but today I happened to ask him how he was and he went into one about the state of the world blaming it upon the worlds religions (not his he added) whereupon I mentioned that I wasn’t a great believer only that I thought that religions were man made to control the world, in some form or other and that the resultant problems were incited by the Clerics to gain and retain power, through fear.

He really let loose at this comment and insulted my intellect and told me how very wrong I was and that his religion was the only true one (he is an almost life long Jehovas Witness with a short pre-period as a Catholic) I mentioned that I knew very little about his religion, only that I understood that it was “created by a mortal in 1914, for the very same reason that I stated and that it was one of the very latest cults.

Well he exploded and told me that I must have some intellect and that I should use it! Among other rather hurtful and defamatory statements that I won’t go into here. Phew!!!! I won’t indulge him again other than to say good morning and then very carefully :o)). I have to say that I found his belief commendable and similar to that found in the other fundamentalist religious groups. His eyes widenedbecoming wild and he quoted chapter and verse from his “cults” version of the bible. I agreed to disagree and ate my Lunch which I always enjoy.

If nothing else he blew the cobwebs away for me and I left commending his belief but I will never be able to understand the immense hold that particular religion actually has over their “believers”

I have to trip to Dover now to rebuild two Perkins 4108 engines and so will not be blogging again for a few days, Ho hum!

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Fridge is still only 50% working but!

Well the frige is still working on 12v dc only but!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The water pump that brings the tank water to the various heads (WCs) the wash basins, showers, sinks and deck showers, has been causing the bilge to fill up with water. I have finally found the leak that was causing so much consternation and have replaced the pump with another identical, one from a friends stock (always have good friends if you are into boating) I have stripped down the ailing pump and it all looks good except that when it was fitted by an expert (not me) the tank side connection was "cross threaded" and obviously finally gave out. That was why I wasnt getting the usual running of the pump when the water wasn`t being used, which denotes a leak on the high pressure side. The low pressure side was running continually into the bildge without being easily spotted.

Yesterday the Engineer ( at my request) took out all my injectors (12 in number) and cleaned them and their sleeves up like new and refitted them using "copperslip" so they will always be easy to remove in the future. Why??? it seemed like a good idea at the time!

I am hoping to have the refrigerator working fully by the weekend but who knows, it all depends on how I get on in Dover and then France.

Tonight we had dinner with our Daughter in her local golf club and chatted about life and our lives in common I explained to her that she has bought me a U.S.B.- G.P.S. ( I finally grasped the nettle and bought one from E Bay, 16 channel and low usage!) for my birthday and that I was thinking of having my left eye operated on for Astigmatism (with a lazer or untrasound) ( sounds like I was having "all my teeth out and a new fireplace fitted" :o)))) and she has offered to contribute towards that too! what a generous young lady, she will make somebody a great wife one day! (Oh yes I do worry! but she seems quite happy, 35 and single???? or is it just for me?).
Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Brighton and my birthday soon.

As my son is opening a new club on my birthday and my daughter will be in Milan again, I am having to have to put my birthday back (so Im told) so that they can both attend the celebrations! what celebrations?? I ain`t having any, why celebrate that I am 62 years of age and should know better? Anyway I am still in Brighton and the weather is georgeous, I have been given the crappy computer in the internet cafe as I am old and can`t use the compbox like "normal young people" :o)) On my left are wet coffee stains, now on my elbow, and I am on the end of a peninsular unit so that as everybody leaves, they stop and read what I am typing! what it is to be old eh ? Te he. I guess that they only want to help and make sure that I dont get into any trouble (Fat chance of that).

My daughter rang the other day to check out what I would like for a birthday present and I really couldn`t think of anthing, how about that! the man with everything, I guess that is true. I suppose I will get a shirt and tie from Milan in silk maybe from Gucci or someone like that, but I don`t get to wear them as antifouling greates a problem for the laundry :o)) AHHHHHH! I have just thought what I would like a GPS for my computer that fits the input ports. Yea!!!! that would be great it will go with my commercial navigation program that sits on my laptop and I could use it when I deliver my next boat as it will be totally isolated from the vessel itself. Yea! thats what I will ask for. I can order it from EBay and it should be with me in time. well thats £30 spent. (I do like spending other peoples money) I now have all the world charts on my laptop, so I can transverse the whole world :o)) (I wish!).

I visited the Brighton Pier ( the "Noble organisation" not known for their operational skills) the otherday for something to do and was amazed at the standard of maintenence and the service from the staff. I stopped to eat in a small restaurant in the middle of the pier and it was clean(in fact shiney) the staff were very pleasant and the food was great. I spoke with the manager and complimented him on his organisation, he came from london juging by his accent and thanked me for my kindness. he worked out that I had spent some time in the leisure industry and told me that, because of the language schools in and around brighton he had employed about 70% of his staff from this source and that 99% of them were Polish. There`s my answer it certainly wasn`t the "lazy brits" that worked so hard in the operation and kept it going so well but Poles. He also told me that he currently had two newly qualified Doctors and a Dentist working in his restaurant as a means of polishing up their already excellent english. No wonder he had good staff wih professional people like that working for the "minimum wage".

Well I am going to continue my walk around Brighton now! I am feeling a bit pissed off at the moment and need to take my mind of getting old and miserable. I guess a dose of Gnasher would soon sort that out!! te he!

I am off to Dover on Wednesday to strip down and recondition two Perkins 4105 engines for a friend. one for sale and the other one I am taking to Arques (france) to fit into a boat that blew his engine up a short while ago so it should be a full week. I quite like this sort of involvement as it gives me great job satisfaction when the engine fires into life and what was a wreck goes on for another 25 years.

The boat in Arques is on its way to the med via the canal system. he is another old man who has a dream and is making for Turkey where he has a friend and togeather they are off around the med for a while. he has had a spleen removed a quintruple heart bypass and and aortic embolsim sorted out (grafted with new) so he has but one chance he says! I am not so sure!
Oh well I have to go now as the clock is nearly about to close me out.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Well its 02.00 on Thursday morning and hot

Bored bored bored! can`t sleep! I should be on my boat! Still waiting for Haloscan to reply to my mails its been three days now! bloody useless crowd get your act sorted! Or is it me perhaps? How do I get rid of Haloscan myself and return to my old Blog. Anybody know?

Gosh I must be thick!

I have been about three days trying to get to grips with Halocan. I have finally asked them to remove all traces of it from my Blog and so far they have done nothing. its OK for these companies to set something like this up, but I do feel that they should give the service too. Its not good enough to say check the FAQ or look in the forum! what about the dingbats like me don`t they have a life too, shouldnt they be able to get some sort of reaction even if its just to set them back to where they were before the bloody program sodded it all up. come on Halobloodyshit sort it out!!!!!Please.
Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005


Look at Hannibals teeth! I can`t help thinking that he as been asked to "Pose" for this photo? What a lovely Fire truck I would have loved one as a child! Posted by Picasa

Haloscan

Obviously, I have gone over to Haloscan now and I have lost all my previous comments! please continue to comment (by haloscan if necessary) I trust it won`t put you all to too much trouble
Regards
Rob

And here I am worrying about a frige on my boat and another 50 plus people have died in the war!!!

Get real Rob! Here I am worrying about a fridge on my boat not working and fifty plus people will never return home from London!

Now is the time for me to offer my condolences to all those left behind, not just in the U.K. but everywhere a war situation exists and the life of innocents is extinguished. It isn’t my way to offer any thought for those lost only to say that it make me very, very sad. My step Mother used to believe that here on earth was Hell and whatever happened to us after was Heaven. I am not so sure that I believe as she did. “There are no unbelievers on the battlefield” Ardie 78 Who knows I don’t.

Well the Frige is working on the 12 volt dc only at the moment so its 50% fixed and working OK on the boat batteries . the cause is the current selector that takes the 12 volt dc and the 240 volt ac and changes it to the correct wave 12 volts dc that will run the compressor ie it enables the frige to work on the batteries and the town supply (the town supply taking priority) what is happening now is that, whilst the control box that the saga was all about! Yes it was done! no it wasn’t done for about four weeks is now working OK but the Current regulator only works on the 12 volt dc and produces 9volts dc when on the 240v dc town supply which isn’t enough for the Compressor to work properly and so it automatically switches off. Soooo!!!! We now have an operating fridge once again. WooooooHooooooo!!!!
I would never have believed the inconvenience that this could cause (even if, in the greater plan, a small thing in comparison)
I will fix the current regulator by replacing it with another one that I just happen to have in stock, :o)) next week ish maybe !!!??? :o))

This weekend a couple of friends came to stay with us on the boat and I have to say that it was a very pleasant time . on the Saturday we rose early 09-00 and after coffee we walked up to the Cafe on the headland and had a super breakfast and then played 16 holes of Pitch and putt ( poor mans golf) I didn’t win so I won`t mention this again “its not about the taking part its about the winning” Ardie 76
In the afternoon a trip in the boat wasn’t on the cards as my friends wife gets terribly sea sick so I pumped up the dingy and we toured the marina for a couple of hours checking out the boats, arriving back at my boat a little sun scorched but ok. On Sunday we again rose early and strolled after coffee along to the harbour entrance wall and down to the end where there is a coffee stall (with seats) and indulged in a Skipper breakfast which includes black pudding and copius amounts of coffee and tea, until it exudes from your ears, Wow what a gorge!!!!! I swear I didn’t eat for a day after. On the way back to the Marina shopping area we passed the Bowling alley and decide to have a couple of games. I didn’t win this either so no more said I did however get my thumb stuck into the ball and nearly traversed the alley down to the pins. (won`t do that again in a hurry).

Whilst I was sitting waiting for my turn a “person” came along and mistaking my head for a ball tried to put their fingers up my nose and into my eyes until they realised their mistake (joke!).

In the evening we went to the Casino and wasn’t very impressed with it (lacking the atmosphere of Vegas/Monaco in any way shape or form) Whilst I have been a member for several years I haven’t felt the need to visit and I shall not do so again. We couldn’t even get a meal there unless we had booked at least a couple of days in advance.

At about 22-00 a couple of other friends from another boat appeared and finished off our bottle of gin having brought their own Tonic and we chatted on deck until about 02-00 on the Monday. They had also been to the Casino but had booked a table for a meal with friends and won £75-00 on American Roulette. Don’t you just love it???

Well that’s my boring weekend for what its worth I really do feel for those left behind but feel totally useless, not being able to do anything to help them! War is so bad in all its many forms!!!!
Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Oh no! not the Bloody Olympics as well!

as if things arent bad enough! we`ve somehow managed to to win the bloody Olympic games hosting. Why! Why Us!!!! I can see it now! Poxy, Ken Livingstone arena, Tony Blair street.
Prescot pool Blahhhhhh! What really worries me is that we will go grossly overspent ( didnt we with Wembly and the Dome) and the nation will pick up the tab. Whats more the Labour Government will leave a trail of disaster just in time for the Tories to get in and inherit all the problems of sorting it out. We really have something to hang our campaigns on now don`t we Great Britain? we can`t even call it that anymore.

What a master stroke for Chirac getting caught on a live microphone slagging off the "Ros beef" That confirmed that they wouldn`t get the hosting, Like "lambs to the slaughter" we went dancing into the abatoir.

OK so we get to renovate a run down part of the City!!! who owns all the property around that area, capitalist! thats who! and who supports the Labour party the very same capitalists, lets face it they will support whosoever is in power at the time, thats how they become capitalists.

I`m really sick!!! I am positive now that the UK is sinking fast !

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Saga of the fridge!

For the last four weeks I have been without any sort of refrigeration on the boat. I have only one refrigerator which is large and has an ice section at the top. A few years ago it crashed and I replaced a small electronic controller that takes the 12 volt from the main feed and converts it into the correct voltage for the compressor (basically made it work). I mentioned that it was on a boat so the manufacturers then charged me 5 times what it would be normally.

This time it is the same thing, so I mentioned it to a friend and that I was going to get a new "control module" and was immediately told not to as he knows an engineer that "can repair these items" I take it off and give it to him and it duly dissapears with the words it will be a couple of days (relayed from the Engineer). In my experience no electronic engineer would be able to repair such an intricate P.C.B without a drawing so I phone him direct and am told that it wasn`t needed. So far I have phoned every week to be told that "its on his bench being repaired at this moment" , and "I have given it to a specialist who knows these things better than me". "it will be done this thursday", "it will be ready next Tuesday", "Oh! I need an electrical circuit drawing" (didn`t I say he would!! What am I chopped liver??). Well you can imagine whats going on in the houshold (boathold)? I am getting stale milk with my cereal, Tea, Cofee, you name it and I`m getting it with it. Yes I have a perfectly good travelling frige at home, in the loft, but haven`t as yet bothered to dig it out as the main frige will be repaired "tomorrow"( yea right!!!). The cool bag I am using is OK but I forget to replace the cool thingies and have to go and get them replaced from a friend who also has a freezer only to be told that they defrost their frige a little, but "they think it will be OK!". That instills confidence in asking them to carry on freezing my "thingies" doesnt it? (not).

Bloody English Tradesmen. Yes I know I have been one in my time but I don`t believe that I would string anybody along like this Electrical engineer. My mates throughly embarassed by the whole thing and has tried to defend the engineer a bit but has even given that up.

I am about to order a new one from the manufacturers now (lead time 3 weeks) the bloody summer will be finished by the time I get it running, still I guess I am lucky that I can do these things? (or perhaps unlucky).

I reckon the engineer has so much crap in his workshop (and he does) that he has lost it. I`ll find out today as I will ask for it back along with the operating manual (which I gave him as well, and the address of the English suppliers repair shop and the Italian factory that manufacturers them) . I need it to get the manufacturers model number off it. All to economise on £200-00 is it worth it? Of course it is! but The Bloody english Workmen of today are really crap crap crap!!!!!
"simmer"! P.P.P.B.D.S.R.B.P.M.P ????? Well that engineer (with a small e) is anyway. Rant over!!! Frige still not working, B*ll*CK* Bloody engineers!!!!!!! Im going to take a six day course to become one it can`t be all that bloody difficult difficult!!!!! I hate being held to ransome by an incompitent like that. Shut up Robin!!!!!!!!! Well I ask you??? Shut up I said!!! see whats happen s now Im talking to myself!! arent I , Arent I?????? Answer me damn you :o)) Ah thats better I`m calming down now! Bloody english tradesmen, really piss me off