Up the river

This years Christmas river trip was a subdued affair as most of the usual suspects were absent for one reason or another.
We carried on regardless and it became five drunks in a boat.

Just around the first bend in the river is a nice view of Beccles church. This is quite unusual as the tower has been built separately from the church and only has clocks on three sides. The side facing the river doesn't have a clock as the land was considered unusable for anything other than growing marshes and damp things so why put a clock on it.

I though I would join Dive on the wobbly water pics crusade.
The sun was just over the yard arm but looked remarkably low in the sky considering it was only 12:30.

This is what Norfolk looks like.

This is just for Vic.
I saw this and thought of you.

We tried to get some comment from these two but as they were mute swans they just did some contemporary mime and then fucked off.
They did make some more wobbly water.

This is the final destination, The Wherry at Geldeston.
Log fires, good beer and a dartboard, just what we needed.

It was a good trip and we didn't need to break any ice on the river which has happened in the past. We always make the trip whatever the elements throw at us.
Roll on next year.

Yo Ho Ho.........

That's my contribution to the festivities out of the way.

I'm off down the river on Boxing day and it's into the City on Saturday for a lunchtime session round the pubs and it all ends up on New Years Eve with our fancy dress pub crawl around Bungay so I should have something to post.

Merry Xmas to you all and Yo Ho Ho Blah de fucking blah...............etc.

Gone to the dogs

Life is always interesting in the magic kingdom and to keep our spirits up, a few of us formed The Curry Club.

It consists of Mikey, who is the supervisor for composite and body manufacture, (glueing & sticking), little old me with my mini empire in process engineering and paint, (colouring in) and five of my process guy's.

Every 5-6 weeks we all get the train into the City from our various starting points at around 18:30 and meet up for a few beers.
We then move on to a curry house for several courses of anything that takes our fancy, washed down with a few more beers, then we wander back to the station with the occasional stop for a few beers and get the last train home around 10:15.

All harmless fun and it makes a big difference at work too.

We thought we should have a change this Christmas so we booked for a night of greyhound racing at Gt Yarmouth Stadium.

Greyhounds are not the only dogs you find in Gt Yarmouth as I know from gigging there with Big Bro for many years. These ones were o.k. though.

We just booked for a normal race night but we got ourselves included in the Christmas party season so we all ordered big steaks and got turkey with all the trimmings as a bonus extra meal. Sirloin with turkey, Brussels sprouts and roasties is an interesting combination but what the hell, we'd had a few by then.

This fine figure of a man is my graduate, "Honest Phil".
He has a degree in mathmatics and statistics and has just got his first real girlfriend who he met at church group. I think Fresh needs to give him the St Patricks Day treatment to clear the cobwebs for the lad.
We had a bunch of draw tickets and he won a festive bear for his true love.

We were merciless with Honest Phil and his little bear.

As the evening wore on we got into the racing.
We had a waitress for our food and beer and a tote girl to take our bets and our lewd drunken suggestions as to why she should come home with us.

I don't have too much of a clue when it comes to betting and odds and the like but we all bunged a tenner into the pot and also made our own bets depending on how strange the dogs name was or which one had a crap before the race etc.

This was what I got from a £2.00 reverse bet on 1st & 2nd. £120 ish plus change. Not bad considering I didn't have a clue what I was doing.

I think I won around £200.00 for the night and the Curry Club cleared around £500 so it was a pretty good night. I ended the night with around £100 more than when I left home and this is what that feels like.

Mikey broke even on the dogs but we can't all be winners and this is what that feels like.

Next year Curry Club will be off to Newmarket for a Friday afternoon horse racing meeting and we'll all loose our shirts.
They have a gig in the evening so we are going to book for Jules Holland in the summer.
Next Curry Club will be a standard City job so I will try to get some piccies for another post around early Feb.

To Alice

I've been inspired recently by the pictures which Kate has been posting and it will end up costing me money, as I have to replace my old faithful Nikon with one of those new fangled digital jobbies.

Anyway, as Kate is about to get the decorations dusted off and everyone is preparing for the Festival of Greed in their own way, all your posts prompted me to pass on one of the memories of Christmas that will stay with me forever.

I was down at the boatyard which is owned by one of my oldest friends and he asked if I would mind nipping over with him to see his mother and deliver some garden furniture.
His mother's name was Alice, she sadly passed away a couple of years ago, and she was a wonderful character. She was from an old Romany family and had a real twinkle in her eye, a superb dry sense of humour and a real warmth, calmness and wisdom that made you think "well that's o.k. then".

We loaded up the truck and drove the five miles to Alice's house, un-loaded the garden table and struggled with it down the side of the house and into the back garden.
"Where do you want this Alice" I asked, and that's when it started.

Alice - "You see that bit down the bottom by the hedge"?

Us - (carrying the table) "yes"

Alice - "Well don't put it there because it only gets the sun in the morning. That grass by the apple tree....."

Us - (carrying the table) "yes"

Alice - "I don't think I want it there....."

This went on for a bit and the we said "don't tell us where you don't want it Alice, it's too bloody heavy to run around the garden with"

We settled on the perfect spot in the end and Alice suggested we had a cup of tea and could we help her sort her decorations for the tree.
We were greeted by 2 large boxes of baubles and tinsel and 2 large boxes of tree lights which looked they had been dragged through somewhere that lights shouldn't be dragged.
A nice cup of tea and 45 minutes later we had un-tangled the lights and checked through every single bulb to make sure they were all tight and would not pose a fire risk.
30 minutes later we had to admit that we couldn't get any of the damn things to work and did Alice want us to get her some new ones.
All this time Alice and her neighbour had us in hysterics with their stories and were watching us getting more and more frustrated at our failure to fix the lights.

Alice - "That's o.k. they didn't work last year either so I got some more, do you want another cup of tea"?

It always makes me smile when I think of that morning over at Alice's house and it's a shame that the spirit of friendship, family and good humour is lacking in these days of consumerism and selfishness.

We will raise a glass to Alice again this year as we meander down the river to the Wherry Pub for our annual winter trip and remember the laughs we shared for so many years.

Keeping warm

So it's -150 degrees outside and it's spitting that really cold rain that "soaks you through".

The perfect day to start the garden project.
I got a couple of mates round and we attacked the big shrubs and forged a path along the old knackered fence in order to rip it all out.

10 cups of coffee, a load of sandwiches and 6 hours later we had the new panels up.
We were warmer by now!

This is "Ceefor" (C for cat), my garden cat thinking "what the hell's going on in my territory".

Next stage is to get the tree muncher round and turn all this crap into wood chippings, then start getting some plants and rocks together for the spring.
I need some tall stuff for the bottom of the garden, maybe some bamboo, and rocks and pebbles planted with alpines, and maples etc along the stream and the pond.
Any suggestions gratefully accepted as I'm not a garden designer.

Evolution

Dr Who regenerates from time to time.
He is a Time Lord for those who didn't grow up here in the sixties and seventies. Fought the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Yeti, the Zarbies (they go back a bit, but I hope Dive remembers them. Or did I dream them) and many other cheap "special effects" alien monsters.

It's been up-dated over the last couple of years and is worth a watch, if only for Billie Piper in the first two series.

Anyway, as a Deity, I also have the ability to re-generate at will, so as I have my new Mac, I thought it might be fun to have a change.

This is the new me working hard using my psychic powers to make pretty patterns on the screen.


It's tough to use the keyboard with no fingers.

So what do you think, is the new look o.k. or should I change back?

Roo

I've just popped back from Rich's site and Lin's recipe page.
MMMMMmmmm food.

This reminds me, I cooked the kangaroo steaks a couple of weeks ago.

Dive was over here to help set up my new mac so it was a good enough reason to try something new.
It was quite simple fare in the end, a quick mushroom & onion sauce with chilli, wine, garlic and lots of black pepper. New potatoes, lightly crushed and mixed with spring onions (scallions for Rich), butter and wholegrain mustard, petit pois for a bit of colour and the roo whacked onto a hot griddle pan and cooked until medium rare.

It was bloody fantastic. For me it tasted like pork with a hint of liver and the consistency of fillet steak.

I will get some more.

Zebra or wildebeest is next.

Leafy things

As we have all been waiting for the trees to get with the program and realise it's autumn, I thought I would wait until the sun was out on Thursday and snap the road outside the factory.

I had to rely on my friend Karen to let me know the sun was shining because I don't have any windows in my office. She rang around mid afternoon and by the time I got out it was dull again but I took the picture anyway.

I had a wander around Kett Hall after I had my breakfast coffee with Big Bro this morning.
The gardeners cut small trees from time to time and lay them down to be reclaimed by nature. There are lots of trunks and log piles around the place all becoming interesting with mosses, fungi and all things dark and mysterious.

This is the old path from the side of the Hall which leads down to a small wooden bridge over the top end of the lake. I don't think too many people ever come down here but they should. It's very peaceful and there are all manner of birds and furry creatures wandering around without paying too much attention to me.

This is for Lynn's "who has the best leaves" competition. I tried to count them but all I can say is there are more than 7.

This only makes me want to get a decent camera and not have to use my phone.
The light coming through these leaves would really benefit from some spot exposure and filters. Looked nice at the time though.

This is the old willow which we climb to spot big carp cruising in the summer. Shame the fucking otter killed and ate them all. Looks like we need to shift some more weed.

This would look better with a flash but the moss was nice. Maybe I could nail some of Dive's pigeons to it.

Light

There was a really weird look about the sky the other day.
I took this around 06:45 as I arrived at work.
Either it was one of those strange Norfolk autumnal dawns or something had just gone very wrong in the test cells behind the stores building.

More beer

I have the day off today. I thought it would be for the best as I was at the 30th Norwich beer festival last night with a few mates.
It is held in St Andrews Hall, a beautiful setting usually used for choirs, orchestral works etc but one week a year it is turned over to "Camra" the campaign for real ale.


This is like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory for beer drinkers.
Below is one side of the main double sided bar with a smaller cider bar on the opposite wall.
To the right is Blackfriars Hall with food and the local Norfolk ales. There is also a huge marquee housing all the bottled beers and world beers.

Music is provided by various bands during the week, last night it was The Cawston Band playing everything from The Dambusters March and The Floral Dance to Queen and The Police. Very entertaining. There are also steel bands, skiffle, jazz, a string quartet and organ music, so something for everyone.

We even had bagpipes last night!

No too sure what these two were up to though. Maybe groupies or Scottish super heroes!

My own personal favourite beers were there of course, as Mark the brewer has been charging about running the cellar at the festival for years.

Mark owns and runs Beeston Brewery and when he is not clambering around on the racks changing barrels he tries to make sure we get to taste the best beers in the room. Cheers mate.

The festival made the local news for another reason this year. A sparrowhawk flew into the main hall on Monday when all the bars were being set up and decided to stay, perched quite happily in the rafters.

The R.S.P.B. spent hours with a dead pheasant tied to a piece of string trying to lure the bird out but to no avail. I didn't manage to get a picture but it got headline news in the local rag and no, we didn't get shat on.

Rugger and stuff

Lynn asked what I thought of the rugby World Cup Final.

Well, if someone had told me six weeks ago that we would lose in the Final, I would have been happy considering all the crap people were writing and saying about the "grumpy old men" of the "washed up with no chance of progressing past the pool stages" England squad.

The best team overall in the tournament ended up winning which is the way it should be.

As for the ref and the Australian fourth official, (the one who said it wasn't a try) well there's no point whinging because it wasn't given, well played the Springboks, move on.

Oh and well played Argentina for spanking France in the 3rd - 4th place play-off on Friday evening.

Next stop for England is a new squad with hopefully a few grumpy old men still around with a sprinkling of young talent to take the Six Nations after Christmas but with an eye on New Zealand and the next World Cup in 2011.

I will be blogging on my new i-mac after next weekend if Dive can get it hooked up for me.
No more p.c. for me, I have been converted.
We had some sweary fun on Saturday and Sunday after I bought it and we couldn't get on t'internet because BT are fucking crap and only send out installation packs for p.c.'s.
Never mind, I'm sure Big Bro can get it all sorted this week end.

There is also an impending regeneration on the cards for The Monkey God.
Dr Who does this every now and again and I can feel it in my bones so watch this space.

Waterloo II

So it's Au revoir to "Les Bleus" for this World Cup.

Into the Stade de France went the brave 15. Well 22 actually as there were also 7 substitutes, without whom we could not have beaten France.
They didn't have to face cannon but there was Sebastan Chaball, nicknamed "The Caveman".
I know how effective he is because he plays in the English Premiership for Sale.

14 points to 9 after a bruising encounter.
It may not have been pretty but the passion and commitment was there for both sides.
I'm nearly out of beer now after beating the Aussies last week and now France, with the Final next weekend against either South Africa or Argentina, a trip to the brewery is in order.
France will have their chance for revenge around Feb/March next year when we play them again in Paris in the Six-Nations tournament.
Should be interesting.

What a shame.......Never mind.

As a life-long rugby freak, with Leicester Tigers and England running through my veins, I would like to take the opportunity for a tiny little gloat.
O.K. so Gloucester beat us at home last night but this was just a bit of payback for them because we rather "stuffed" them in the Premiership Final last May. ( I was there, and it was awesome), and they were the better team, so that's one for Lynn.
The big story here is the exit of both Australia and the All Blacks. (that's New Zealand by the way).
There has been a lot of derogatory talk in the media from various parties within the Australia camp about the current World Champions, ( that's England by the way) but maybe eating a large portion of humble pie will take away the taste of their collective feet in their oversize gobs.

I feel for all the Aussies who get tarred with the same brush because I know quite a few from down under and they are all thoroughly good eggs.

I stick by my prediction that South Africa will win but my heart still says England.
Thanks to the French for coping with the "always peaking too soon" All Blacks who have, yet again not taken the pressure game.
With the Aussies it's over-confidence but New Zealand just didn't react to a fired-up France who were fighting for more than just national pride as they are the hosts for this World Cup.

Anyway, as the Aussies are no longer represented, I though I would celebrate.
I need some help from Kate on this as I'm not too sure what recipe is best for Roo.


I also need the perfect Australian (whine) to go with this. Maybe "shatto Mortlock"? definitely best served cold.
Dive, you are invited next weekend to celebrate one northern hemisphere side's guaranteed passage into the final.
I hope it's us but if not, then "bon chance mes amis" because William Webb Ellis should live north of the equator.

She's here !!

This looks kinda cool.

It's by a French born artist called Louise Bourgeois and titled Maman 1999.

It's 9 metres high and made from bronze, stainless steel and marble.

Dive dosn't go to London on Thursdays, now we know why.

Shelob springs to mind.

Morning coffee

As inhabitants of The Small Glass Planet will know, I usually meet Dive on a Saturday morning for a fix of coffee, a "grump" about the previous week and a wander around the book shops and back streets of Norwich looking for anything interesting.

Several signs have been seen recently which, as we are in Norfolk, could cause some confusion with certain members of the shopping public.

I don't agree with this one. The Norfolk landscape is superb any time of the year. Huge skies of bright blue dotted with cotton wool clouds in the summer, menacing storm clouds in the autumn and winter and an ever changing carpet of fresh worked fields, ranging from rich dark brown through green, purple, brilliant yellow and warm gold as the year passes.

Another misleading offer found in an office supply store which boasts a limb replacement service if you buy a chair!

We spotted a number of other rather amusing advertising faux pas and as the festive season is now arriving in our shops, I'm sure this could develop into a hobby.

Dive, don't forget your camera next week.

Catch up

So apart from work, what does a Deity get up to to keep him from Blogger for so long?

Well if you want the low-down on the Goodwood Revival this year, pop over to Dive's and see what you missed if you didn't attend. (and this one too)

That was good day #1

Good day #2 was a trip to London to visit the relatives. Well we are somewhat removed from them but with evolution and all that, there must be a link somewhere.
This is why they became extinct, supermodel diet regimes and heads full of plaster.

You should quit while you are still "a head" (well I thought it was amusing).

Good day #3 was at one of my favourite places, Twickenham.

I am usually here to watch rugby but I made an exception for The Police world tour, plus it was a chance to get on the pitch and see what it's like to look back up to where we sit.

Below is the view from our seats

It was one of the best gigs I've seen and the sound quality was superb.

They do look old on the big screens but they still put on a phenomenal show.

We have an open day at work this Sunday and I am taking Big Bro, so check out his post on that because he is excited about it and it's just an extra bloody day at work to me.

If you like big boys toys it should be good day #4.

Transmissions will be resumed shortly

It's been a while, so if anyone is out there, I should have some time to post some of whats been going on since June (ish).

It's mostly been work but I got to see The Police at Twickenham a couple of weeks ago so there's some piccies etc and if you follow my Bro dive, you will know I popped up to London with him to see the dino's and stuff.
Oh, and Goodwood.

Yours truly enjoying a pint of the Black stuff on the pitch at Twickers before the gig.



It was a good gig.

Something for everyone

I was out with some friends on Saturday night. We went to the small market town of Bungay, about 5 miles from my old home town.
The beer is good and the locals mostly have the correct finger to head ratio of 8:1 plus 2 thumbs.

We usually start in a pub called The Fleece and work our way through the town ending at The Chequers.
This night however, we were dropped in the centre of town and took a different route to The Fleece.
Walking up the hill I noticed that Bungay had joined the ranks of the open-minded society and now has specialist shops for all persuasions.

I'm told there is a brass plaque on the floor in one corner which bears the legend "Brace yourself"

Stress relief

I've had a bloody busy month.

How dare other people have holidays and time off for "Man flu" and "hurty tummies".
Wimps, wheres their fucking commitment.

Anyway, I managed to get away Friday afternoon for a bit of R&R at our lake. Yes those are my "wellies" and Dive, you paid for the top couple of feet of that rod with the cash you gave me for my birthday, thanks.


I am fortunate to have been a member of our little fishing club for the last 20 years. It is exclusive to employees and old Formula 1 team members.
The lake is in the grounds of the old hall where the race team had their headquarters in the good old days of World Championships with Andretti, Fittipaldi, Peterson, Senna, Mansell et al.
It's only 5 minutes from the factory and me and a few of the guys needed to unwind so we had a dangle in the lake....................... Then we went fishing.




It's very peaceful over there and one is surrounded by nature in all her finery.
As I sit contemplating life, the universe and everything, I am watching a kingfisher catching fry not ten feet away. Dragonflies are content to sit on my float, rod, feet or hands without any apparent fear, and a barn owl is hunting in the field behind me.

The swans didn't want me to get any closer than this though, as they thought their cygnets needed protection from me and a camera. "HHHHIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSS", they said.

That's the rear of the Hall on the far side of the lake. We left this end un-disturbed until later in the year so the swans can raise their family.

We do have a new arrival this year, an otter. I love to see them on our rivers and coasts but this one turned up at our lake earlier in the year and has killed and eaten most of the big carp.

We had several fish over 30lbs and at least 20 fish from 15 to 25lbs which have been found almost entirely eaten, just a few bones and scales are all that was left. If we were to replace these the bill would run into thousands of pounds and Mr Otter would get another fish buffet so we will wait to see if he moves on later in the year.

All we can do is get as many members to fish as often as possible this year and hope the human presence will be enough to encourage him to bugger off and eat someone else's fish.

Maybe I should ask Old Knudsen, I'm sure he could come up with a plan.

Tarka tikka kebabs anyone?

Mmmmmmmmmmm Beer

Spent the week end with an old work colleague who chucked in the rat race last year and opened his own brewery.

It's in a small converted out-building next to the old farmhouse he bought with his partner Rachel.

They have worked bloody hard since the middle of last year to get the business going and work on the house, so I thought I would offer my services for a bit of painting/moral support and so I could pinch some of his flints for the stream in my garden.

This is the church across the field which he uses as his logo (see wrought iron sign above). The vicar is a good customer!

So I spent the weekend staining and waxing oak beams, painting, building cupboards, eating nice food and drinking excellent beer at the village pub. Yes it came from Marks Brewery.

No time this week end but I hope to give him a hand with a brew some time soon which will be great. Finding out how the flavours are developed and the chemistry/alchemy which turns hops, yeast, sugar and his own underground spring water, along with some eye of newt and wing of bat etc into beer. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Just for Sassy

We have an ancient publication over here called The Radio Times.
It is the original T.V. listings magazine and still my favourite. It only used to list BBC T.V. and radio programmes but now has all the major broadcast info for satellite and cable etc.

As I know Sassy is a Grey's addict and I have never seen the show, I thought I would post the write-up for "Today's choices"

DIGITAL/CABLE CHOICES

Grey's Anatomy
10.00pm Living

Grey's is the TV equivalent of a not entirely genuine sick day spent listening to Westlife and eating cream straight from the pot, all the while dressed in pink polka-dot pyjamas.
It's shallow, sinful and girlier than kittens.
Meredith Grey is a fuzzy basket case, and her girl surgeon chums aren't much better.
The chaps are dreadfully bland, sensitive alpha males in awe of the women folk.
This week, a girl doctor bakes her way through her grief and Meredith can't decide whether she wants Dr McDeamy or McOther One.
Series three continues tonight.
Watch it, but don't tell anyone you did.

How could it fail to get top ratings with that endorsement.

May even be worth a look.....................only kidding.

Sassy, the reviewer is called Ruth Margolis, you may want to visit her in the small hours and put a bat up her nightdress.

It gets lots of publicity on the satellite channels over here so you have Brit allies.

Rain?

It's Bank Holiday weekend again and the forecast is chilly and wet.

Now I'm not going to go banging on about "it always rains on Bank Holiday" because I don't really care what the weather is like. If it rains I have stuff to do inside, and if it's fine then I have to finish re-building the stream which which runs into my pond, and wash the car and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Anyway, it rained a bit yesterday afternoon and I kind of liked the way the water formed on the irises in the pond, so here are a couple of piccies.

The blue one flowered for the first time this year. A nice supprise as I thought they were all yellow.

Got a new Japanese koi last week, he's called Bob, and was in hiding with all the other Bob's when I took these.