Verbal Diary

Room at the Inn

2012-01-22T20:39:00.001Z

A very successful trip to Gillingham yesterday for AFC Wimbledon. Dons have been struggling for a while but after clawing their way back from 3-1 down won 3-4
Before the game we visited a very pleasant pub. Nice real ale and an intriguing take on smoking outside - in short isn't really outside. You walk through the glass french windows into a very comfy conservatory. OK the outside wall wasn't 100% solid but this was effectively a smoking room.
On a visit to Devon the rumour in my sisters village is that the dodgy new landlord let's people smoke in the main bar.
Our regular watering hole has a small yard which now has a effective canopy of umbrellas.
So are things slowly working back to smoking and non-smoking rooms in pubs?

Room at the Inn

2012-01-22T20:08:00.000Z

A very successful trip to Gillingham yesterday for AFC Wimbledon. Dons have been struggling for a while but after clawing their way back from 3-1 down won 3-4

Before the game we visited a very pleasant pub. Nice real ale and an intriguing take on smoking outside - in short isn't really outside. You walk through the glass french windows into a comfy conservatory. OK the outside wall wasn't 100% solid but this was effectively a smoking room.

On a visit to Devon the rumour in my sisters village is that the dodgy new landlord let's people smoke "inside"-details aren't clear but could this be something similar seeing as direct defiance could prove costly?

Our regular watering hole has a small yard which now has a effective canopy of umbrellas. They have put in large windows so that smokers aren't completely disconnected from main bar.

So are things slowly working back to smoking and non-smoking rooms in pubs?

Cafes, curries and closure (of Greggs!)

2011-07-31T17:28:00.004+01:00

View Larger Map

Two little highlights of Plumstead High Street are worth a mention (or another mention as I am sure I have mentioned one or both before)

-The Cafe Royale a few doors along from Namaste

-The Punjabi Dhaba near the big Barclays Bank

The Cafe Royale is a small coffee shop with coffee that actually tastes of something. Its shown on the above map just west of Plumstead station. Capuccino’s are diligently salted with chocolate. There is a tribal Yemeni sword on the wall. There are comfy chairs to sit down and read your papers (there’s usually a few tabloids and local papers available). They try and aim for it being a western type coffee shop - I think they miss a trick there. I once came in and saw some lovely looking syrupy cake on the counter. They hadn’t intended it for general sale - it was a traditional ramadan breakfast dish. The immense politeness of the lady there meant she sold me a piece and it was delicious. I have had some of their normal patisseries and they are ok too - the pain au chocolat and danish seem to be provided fresh. There are some cellophane wrapped muffins. There are some peculiar looking takes on full dinners and breakfasts laid out in the glass cabinets - an entire cooked breakfast with unusal looking sausages and a ready-fried egg would be an example. I assume they get micro-waved prior to being served but I’m not entirely sure. Going back to the politeness - both the East Europeans who sometimes serve there and the Yemenis are really polite and friendly and not in the artificial Pret manner. Most traders in the High Street are matter-of-fact at the best and generally down in the mouth so some friendliness makes a pleasant change.

A wonderfully down in the mouth man with a droopy moustache usually serves me when I visit the Punjabi Dhaba formerly known as the The Village Restaurant. A Dhaba is a roadside cafe in Indian and this certainly has the food shack feel about it. You find it in Whit Hart Road opposite Lakedale Road. There is transport cafe style seating that often has a group of people being served with sizzling griddle-pans loaded with shikh kebabs and chicken wings. People might be anxious about the hygiene of the place when looking in but the food here is fine. They use various bases such as the mutton curry which they adapt according to the order. I frequently order Mutton Achar and so the standard curry is solemnly scooped up to disappear behind the partition. Much clattering follows and the modified curry arrives with its pieces of lime pickle and other additional flavourings five minutes later. Its nice watching your nan being cooked in front of you (I mean naan, sorry nan). And its really tasty. They also do traditional Indian breakfast there but I haven’t worked myself up to trying it yet. A current favorite order is a mutton biriani,a chana massala (spicy chickpeas) and a nan bread. This is enough for two and comes in at slightly over 7 quid with mint sauce and a bag of salad thrown in gratis. It’s not the same stuff you get in a normal British High Street the main difference being depth of flavor and (on the negative side) quite a bit of salt.

Another place in the High Street that has friendly outgoing staff is the Greggs in the High Street. The bad news here is people simply aren’t buying stuff there any more and the visiting manager said it was being lined up for closure. This would be depressing if it happens - the bread selection in Tesco’s is poor and over-priced and keeping a bit choice going would be good thing. So get in there and buy some chocolate eclairs for the sake of Plumstead.

1834 days

2011-04-17T17:09:00.003+01:00

That is not the time since my last post. It is the time since my Give-Up-Smoking-D-Day on 9th April 2006.

So my thoughts-

1. That seems a respectable amount of time
2. I hardly think about smoking
3. Ugh...I am fat

What else has happened in that time?

1. David died.
2. Eve died
3. Bought a house with R
4. Killed a lot of mice some with my bare hands
5. Followed the Dons from the Ryman Premier to the play-offs of the Conference
6. Gone to Cornwall a lot
7. Met lots of lovely lovely people including wee babies and new children
8. Discovered that staying in is usually the best option
9. Passed an A-level in "Plot of Desperate Housewives Studies"
10.I have become nerdier

I have even done a tiny bit of acting with resonancefm radio and The Southwark Mysteries and the associated to campaign to develop the Crossbones site. Please sign the petition for the latter and chuck cash mindlessly at both.

The rodents have retreated this year so I might have a bit more time to blog. Now where's the chocolate?

Picture by chashama at flickr '"Crone" April 9 2006'

Supplying Cigarettes to Miners

2010-09-12T11:32:00.005+01:00

The guys trapped in the mine in Chile are to be supplied with cigarettes according to this story on the BBC website

"The 33 miners will be sent two packets of cigarettes a day through a supply tube to share between them...until now they have had to make do with nicotine patches and gum, sent to them through a supply tube"

Cigarettes for Miners

If this happened in Britain I wonder if this would be a legal possibility. Will the shaft still be a "workplace" or would it be treated as a "residence" where they would be allowed to smoke in the same way as you can in prison cells?

If it was temporarily designated as part of the British Houses of Parliament perhaps they could enjoy a puff assuming the Houses of Parliament's notorious exemption still applies.

Thanks to cramiuya for the photo "Holy Smoke"

Barclays Cycle Scheme needs a bit of puff - Some Hints and Tips

2010-07-31T10:55:00.018+01:00

R and I went to try out the Barclays Cycle Scheme that started yesterday in London. As you can see in this lop-sided Anti-bullying video my victim-come-able assistant had trouble getting started. The brakes had been over-tightened (we were told) making them incredibly stiff. Not all were as stiff and there is a simple way to check them that you'll find in the tips below. We soon got going.

The bikes - they look very clunky and heavy. I found them a very comfortable ride after a brief spell of adjustment. Shortly after starting I turned into the packed thoroughfare of Borough Market and was able to crawl along very slowly without having to use my feet at all for balance. They are incredibly stable. You feel enthroned on them. The gears are smooth and on the flat you can get a bit of speed on.

Docking stations - it would have helped me as a rider (but not as a resident) if they were bright orange and had thirty foot totem poles beside them and blared out air raid signals all day. It would make them easier to find. The map I had been sent showed a docking station on the North East side of Tower Bridge which is simply not there. I was close up to my thirty minutes and went hunting without a happy ending. I found one in Vaughan Way but arrived there just over the 30 minutes you get "for free".

Docking station assistants - they are just there for an introductory period. When R had trouble with the first bike a friendly and well informed assistant 'fessed up that he had never actually "been on one". This seemed to be the general rule with the assistants and that has got to be a bit daft in anyone's book. After the missing dock fiasco I caught up with R at another dock and explained the issue to the two assistants there. One of the assistants looked like I had accused her of being Raoul Moat's spirit guide. Way too defensive - the sort of defensiveness you get when you haven't been properly trained. The other assistant was pleasantly surprised when I gave positive feedback about the ride-ability of the bike so I guess other riders had been negative. Those stiff wheels one can assume.

Connecting and disconnecting-A lot of people have had trouble taking them out. Lift the saddle so the rear wheel is clearly off the ground before pulling the bike away from the dock. You'll want to do this for the stiff wheel check anyway (see below).

We didn't encounter the "full docking station" scenario. This is where you arrive at your destination and find you have nowhere to dock. As well as the non-existent dock mentioned above we did find a totally out of order dock (Panton Street) when we were going to collect a bike for a new journey. This didn't allow anything to happen and wasn't able to tell you where the next nearest docking station was - you wouldn't have been able to credit yourself the extra fifteen minutes either so a bum deal if you were running close to your thirty minutes.

Check the lights on the dock - I encountered two non-functioning docks (within an otherwise functioning docking station). You have to see green. R got pounced on by curious onlookers (see "Meet the People" below) just at the critical moment so was unsure if she had docked - so concentrate for a few seconds just to make sure. It can take a few seconds for the bike to be recognised and docked. We went to double-check that it had docked correctly online when we got home but the system was down (and continues to be down at the time of writing).

Meet the people - if you crave attention get on one of these before the novelty wears off. This is why people spend loads on clothes and speedy cars, I guess, except that instead of shying away in envy people were really open and communicative. A bit too communicative. Entering into a FAQ session whilst you're waiting for the lights to change on the Tottenham Court Road is a bit distracting. People in vehicles asked questions as we cycled along. It got a bit too much at times. I had a lengthy encounter with some woman who kept pulling incredibly long faces whenever any kind of charge was mentioned. "If you use it a lot it costs less than one pound a week" cue LONG FACE "if you are a professional thief and nick them you get £300 deducted from your credit card" Cue INCREDIBLY LONG FACE OF GOBSMACKED DISBELIEF. After each long face there was an immediate re-birth of enthusiasm which would go fine until any money was mentioned. And she didn't look poor. Meanwhile to my right a very gentle (probably medicated) young man in an anorak slipped in supplementary questions during the woman's dramatic pauses. Then some Angry of Woking type in a suite strode over and demanded "some maps please". I told him I didn't work for the scheme and that I was just a cyclist but he obviously didn't believe me and he walked off muttering about jobsworths.

Earlier in the day a nice, better-informed guy tried me to help me find a docking station as he could see I was lost. "My girlfiend says there's definitely one down there by a small park" - I thanked him and cycled off and soon realised the kindness was greater than the utility of his advice. He might as well have said "there are docking stations in London somewhere".

The weirdest one was the woman sternly shouting at me as I whizzed past "Where is the Swedish Embassy!" - quite who or what she thought I was I will never know - some sort of free-ranging tourist guide on wheels? Maybe they have them in Stockholm.

Hints and Tips

1. Check that the bike's rear wheel spins smoothy. raise the bike by lifting the seat and spin the back wheel. If it looks sticky try the next one until you get one that runs smoothly.
2. Carry a stop watch. You'll need to check how much time you've used yourself there is nothing on the bike that tells you. Adjust your seat height (very easy to do) and load your bags into the basket before you undock to stop wasting any of your thirty minutes.
3. Get a members key even if you're going to be an infrequent user - for the extra three quid you get a lot of convenience . Doing Tip #1 (above) may not be possible without a key (I'll need to check this). I am still not sure if the £3 fee is per key or per order. You can order up to four keys per account (for your non credit card carrying teenage family and friends). I found registration very easy but you do need a credit or debit card.
4. On your first journey put in some planning - though I am an ok cyclist and know Central London quite well combining the two was harder than I thought. I got completely befuddled at Berwick Street when on my way to Wardour Street. My theory is that when you are walking you have more mental route planning time. On a bike you're always ahead of yourself - and its not just routes to "where-you-are-going" but routes to "the-nearest-docking-stations-to-where-you are-going" that you need to calculate. Look at a variety of route planners if you can. The route I had down Cleveland Street from a Tfl cycling map had changed due to one way systems.
5. If you have the opportunity to take some spare maps or literature do so - it will save you chat-time with interested strangers. Explaining the pricing scheme is complicated I can assure you.
6. Look at the Highway code section for cyclists if you're not a motorist already to better understand the road signage - the maze of streets in the centre of town are quite confusing with their various restrictions. As you are riding on public property you're expected to obey the rules of the road.
7. Don't think "Bike Hire" think "Public Transport Journey". This came home to me when R was speculating about the ability to take Scheme Bikes on the Thames Clipper service. There's no point - she was thinking in terms of hiring a bike for a period of time. Her sequence was "Collect bike -cycle to pier- embark with bike on Clipper-travel to desired pier-disembark with bike continue and cycle on to final destination where bike is returned". The proper sequence is "collect bike - dock bike near pier- FORGET ABOUT BIKES ENTIRELY AND GET ON WITH NORMAL LIFE-get off boat and start another completely different journey on a new bike." It is not a bicycle hire scheme. Its "a flexible self-propelled element of the public transport system based on a bicycling model".
8. FIVE MINUTES - that's the time you have to wait between docking your bike and setting off on a new journey. The longer the bike remains unreturned the steeper the hourly rate but there's nothing to stop you breaking your journeys into smaller bits apart from this five minute wait time. The scheme organisers emphasis time and again that this is all about short journeys.

Although I loved riding the things after four and a half journeys and glass of Rosé in Davey's Wine Vaults in Greenwich and a further (own) bike ride home I was totally knackered. R and I found the whole thing totally addictive. I just hope it can keep ahead of the low-level crims and ahead of demand from the many people who are going to use and hopefully love and respect this new transport system.

boris
london
barclayscyclehire
cycle hire

Dear Future Self

2010-03-13T12:55:00.001Z

un buon tiro
Originally uploaded by euzesio

A website has sent me my annual message to my future self asking how well I am getting along with quitting smoking.

Alright thank you.

Disappointed to hear yesterday an old friend had gone back on them after 7 years off.

I will be going to a party tonight that will take me back to the days when I used to work with him. The venue in Bethnal Green was a solid smokers paradise - it will be interesting to see how many of us have kept up smoking and how many have quit.

The website is www.43things.com idf you fancy making any kind of resolutions.

As my quit-o-meter crashed out of existence some time ago I am really hazy about how many years I have been off now. Is it three in April - surely its longer? I did a quick money-saved count the other day and was disappointed. I always managed to keep my smoking budget arountd the ten pound a week mark. If I had been smoking normal fags I would have saved a lot. What I have saved by not smoking roll-ups doesn't even cover this years council tax. Still not to be sniffed at/puffed at.

Plugging the benefits of giving up

2010-01-09T20:38:00.005Z

Another advantage to packing in smoking is that the van's cigarette lighter is constantly free for its other role as general charging socket.

With the cold weather and another travel mug going leaky on us R couldn’t resist taking things to a whole new level and bought an electric travel mug. Not the one in the picture which you can also charge from a usb socket. I will buying that one.

My brain is also trying to recover from Avatar.

Firstly a bread and butter issue for this blog. Sigourney Weaver has a cigarette (and makes a big deal about it too) when she comes out of deep freeze. I thought stars were banned from doing that kind of thing nowadays. She only seemed to have one though. Maybe one too many as later in the film the Flourescent Disco Tree doesn’t allow her to body swap at a critical moment – perhaps punishment for self-pollution? Or is the smoking just a reference to one of the Alien movies?.

The second is a bit more offbeat. It’s strange but whenever I recollect scenes from it they appear much more like cartoons than the first time experience. The scene like the one where he first runs out into the exercise yard is recalled by me as something like a high quality take on the Flintstones rather than "so incredible you can hardly believe its not real". Something juddery. Is it my brain simply insisting on the unreality of it all?

Technorati Tags: avatar,smoking,travel mugs

Froth without Bites (hopefully)

2009-12-01T23:01:00.014Z

Went to look at Daily 5 the beginning of last week. R had told me there was a cappuccino bar in Lakedale Road. I had been up there to find it without luck which is quite a hard thing to do given the limited amount of shops there. It was the very last outlet on the left when heading towards the hill. The shop was empty apart from a man preparing food behind the counter. He said they had been open three months which surprised me and I said how the need for a coffee bar was often mentioned round here. A few pastries were on display above the glass case containing the sandwich ingredients. Some mini Red Bull Energy Boost bottles were also on the counter - perhaps some assumption about the popularity of coffee was being made here? The interior was clean and bright with two sets of metal tables and chairs getting wet on the pavement outside.

I ordered a cappuccino which I took without sugar but with chocolate and a latticed pecan pastry. It came to the grand total of £1.50. "A special promotion" the man said. It was all "to go" and I stepped outside to take a photo. An unleashed and unattended Rottweiler was strolling up Lakedale Road like they do and it paused to sniff my coffee before strolling into the cafe. It's rear end can be seen disappearing inside in the first of my photos above.

I set off to the station wondering if the man was aware of his new customer. When I was a bit further away I started wondering if he was still alive.

The coffee was disappointing with only the mildest hint of coffee flavour - it almost took an act of concentration to notice it far beneath the watery surface. By the time I had got past the Post Office the froth had all but disappeared leaving just a thin film. I decided to do a compare and contrast with Caffe Nero's offering at London Bridge which was on my way. When I got there I was surprised to find how lacking in flavour that was too. I had unbalanced things a bit by asking for a dash of cinnamon as well as chocolate at CN so it wasn't a true like for like comparison. I had however avoided sugar to start with to match my Plumstead brew - though I did sugar it when I was half way through and by this stage the coffee flavour really seemed to be stronger than my initial tastings. The froth of the CN was miles ahead of of the Daily 5's effort. It looked like it would never deflate - the choc and cinnamon powders sat neatly on top of the foam and added to the filtering effect. The chocolate with the Daily 5 went practically unnoticed - it just adhered to the bottom of the lid. If you took the lid off all the chocolate would be on the lid with none on the foam. And another thing, the first thing I noticed with the London Bridge drink was that it was HOT. Was this because I didn't have a sleeve on the cup - or does CN's coffee machine kick out more steam?

The pecan thing from Daily 5 tasted like a sausage roll that had been hastily converted into a danish -a tang of animal fat struck my tastebuds with gusto. It was not too bad after the first few bites though and it filled a hole but was a rather stolid experience. Still the combined price wasn't to be sniffed at. Or woofed at. So I'll score it two out of five - after all it is trying to be something that some people are very keen on having. I certainly want to see more espresso machines in action round here and not necessarily manned by mass-produced baristas. On the other hand I am not in a mad rush to get back there for more.

It deserves a bit of support though and a second chance so I aim to test out their double espresso - there is no hiding with an espresso. That will have to taste of something. My half-empty-bottle mentality means I suspect it might bear more resemblance to the distilled essence of a Turkish wrestlers post-bout battle trunks than to the humble, vivacious and not-too-difficult-to-use coffee bean. Let's hope not.

coffee
plumstead
dangerous dogs

Nathan's Way....

2009-10-12T00:15:00.004+01:00

...could have been the name for my new blog. Perhaps it should have been. I just couldn't afford the the fee for Susan Sarandon's image rights. It is called Plumstead Hi and is really just very short notes about Plumstead things. It is hoped to have more than one contributing editor. In the meantime it's mostly.....well have a look if the subject interests you.

Ridgeway development in Thamesmead

2009-09-11T21:18:00.009+01:00

Have you ever been to Thamesmead? I have several times. Including the rather bizarre experience of watching a film under a flyover there on this very Friday evening. The event was part of a Design for London, Borough of Bexley and Borough of Greenwich redevelopment programme. The austere-as-they-can-be railings were garlanded with flowers and gold painted thrones were lined up on the pavement of Sewell Road as can be seen in the top picture.

The focus of the re-development is the Ridgeway. Basically its a sewer pipe running out of Sir Joseph Bazalgette's Crossness Pumping Station that has become a place of wild natural attractiveness. It has caught the eye of the above agencies and the evening was to introduce us to various ideas that are being floated.

Food made from fruits picked on the Ridgeway was given away along with a recipe book based on the same food. I enjoyed the horseradish and the damson compote.

A film had been specially produced with comments from some of the Thamesmead locals about the wonders of nature and all that kind of thing. Thamesmead locals are a kind of wonder of nature themselves although a disappointing number of them availed themselves of this pleasant freebie.

The film was a very broad brush affair - people did silly things on the Ridgeway. Yachts floated along the path - a questionnaire had been handed out and one of the questions had been what kind of new uses could be found for the Ridgeway. Sailing hadn't occurred to me - neither had "Ridge-ball" which is a game where people stand in a line along the path and rather lamely pass footballs along to each other. It was to get us thinking imaginatively about the future. Someone grasping at straws might have been more approriate. After all there isn't much you can do on what seems to be a narrow path atop a hump that has become a bit overgrown and flowery.

The film was projected against the supports for the Harrow Manor Way Flyover and cars and trucks would pass between the viewers and the screen - often with rather surprised-looking drivers taking in the rows of people in gold-painted chairs. Fun.

A slide show listed elsewhere in the underpass introduced various objectives and projects for improving the path and surrounding environment. It included a paddock for those Thamesmead folk who leave their horses grazing outside their tower blocks. The idea of little hideaways for children was greeted with a bit of scorn - a natural habitat for the not infrequent drug addicts of Thamesmead. Planting more edible plants was more welcome.

There were also two short films about the development of Thamesmead - a delightfully silly advert for the place where jolly old dears ran for buses full of vim and joie de vivre. Then there was a piece of socialist realism detailing the horrors of Life Before Thamesmead. It involved very bad wallpapering and outside toilets apparently. Thank God for the outright alienation of the concrete jungle.

I look forward to seeing how this all pans out and am pleased something is happening. I said I would litter-pick if such a thing ever got organised. R is very positive and thinks it's the beginning of something big.

The older films reminded us that big things have happened here before. Let's hope its more like Crossness in its durability than Thamesmead in all it's ......well.

crossness thamesmead plumstead ridgeway bexley greenwich

Pottering About

2009-05-04T20:18:00.003+01:00

Its Bank Holiday Time at last and there are plenty of things to postpone doing.

R is downstairs re-building the house as usual and I am trying to resist the urge to itch (and to help out).

A few weeks ago I went to visit the doctor. It was all a bit of a deja vue experience. I had being having very bad scratch attacks - a few years ago I made a succession of visits to doctors that culminated in one of them getting concerned about my liver and all that that involved.

I didn't hold out much hope of getting anywhere new with this visit. The Doctor immediately started saying it was eczema and suggested a whole bunch of unguents and creams that I had used before. I raised my concerns saying I had done all this before but she managed to convince me to give it another go.

So, for what seemed a vast cost I acquired the various gunks (one prescription per item-is that new?) then went home and have really enjoyed oiling myself up, with aqueous cream and the like, three times a day.

And do you know what ? - the scratch attacks didn't make their usual daily and nightly visits. (Sorry for the gory detail but I would frequently end up with bleeding shins - the scratch marks are now fading).

Aqueous cream is made of Liquid Paraffin with a bit of White Soft Paraffin thrown on top and a speck of cetostearyl alcohol to give it a bit of zing. Of course I smell a bit "gasoliney" but there are worse things I suppose - I feel it's my duty to bring a bit of excitement to our office anyway. It is just as well I don't smoke - I could easily go up in flames coated in this stuff.

I was also pointed in the direction of T-gel shampoo by the doctor. This has a new fragrance - what on earth was the original fragrance like as this smells very very medecinal (old school unsugared medecinal). This guy's review (scroll down the page) pretty much says it all. Or this gentleman's product review entitled -"T-Gel - Smell Like A Boy From The Blackstuff".

The attacks haven't completely gone away but my oiled up skin can cope with any scratching a bit better. So well done Doctor for urging me to go ignore my reservations and give it another try. As well as the relief of physical symptoms I also feel a bit happier thinking it's just my childhood eczema returning to annoy me. I had been anxious that this was a symptom of my damaged liver not doing its job properly and that it would be chronic and unrelievable. So for the time being ...PHEW!

Thanks to PayImaginaire at Flickr for the photo

eczema cirrhosis liver health skin

Taking the chocolate biscuit

2009-03-14T00:17:00.003Z

Chocolate and Cigarettes
Originally uploaded by Strangelove 1981

Chocolate is in the firing line now that smoking has been pretty much banned and alcohol is on the same road. Some doctors thought it would be a good idea to slap some tax on the sweet brown stuff.

A smug Health Secretary insisted they wouldn't be putting those proposals in the next manifesto.
The oh so trustworthy manifesto....

What is to come I wonder - continual footage of younsters blubbing out in provincial town centres on Saturday night their faces all gunged up with Mars bar residue? Scary dentistry statistics and the "Cost to the NHS"? Vast signs declaring "It is illegal to sell chocolate to anyone over 10 stone in weight" will stare out from the newsagent's windows - provided they can find any room what with all the other imposing signs the government has already forced them to display.

I need a fag.

smoking chocolate ban scotland health obesity<

Enthusiasm, Despondency, Arrogance, Lust, Exhilaration, Tax

2009-03-11T22:46:00.006Z

Well all you buzzing young things - I know you're desperate to contribute. And now's your chance with HM Revenue and Customs' something-or-other portal that helps you shape your future relationship with the taxman.

Don't forget to save it to delicious, join the Facebook group, tweet like crazy and jump off that tall building.

Here it is - I'm sure you little groovers will agree that was well worth the wait.

Thanks to Symic at Flickr for the picture

tax young persons social contribution patronising bastards hmrc

Icing on the cake

2009-02-08T21:30:00.013Z

I was very glad to be in attendance at the Wedding of the (former) Miss MB. She had come along to this blog's Readers Meeting back in the distant past (pictured on the left).

She's an ardent supporter of West Ham and her delightful husband Bobby is Chelsea through and through. (He's not the shiny chap in the main picture - he's a self effacing man and might not want his picture posted up).

Given the fierce rivalries between these two sets of supporters they are lucky to have the (former) Miss MB's calm and reasonable Irish temperament to smooth over any disagreements.

I wish them both joy, happiness and a good local hospital.

irish wedding "west+ham" chelsea

To bloggin'

2009-02-05T09:00:00.009Z

Setting off this morning on the icey streets of Plumstead I found myself in a sidestreet several yards behind another pedestrian. He was carefully making his way along the pavement – he was also puffing occasionally on a skunk-based cigarette.

I have braved the “worst snow in 18 years” over the last few days (hence my pretty picture of St John's Waterloo above). A surfeit of the Blitz Spirit seemed to compel me to go to work on the day when it really hit London Transport Services -Monday 02 February 2009. It was a rare opportunity to visit Central London in one of its deserted days (cue silly video). R and I were also able to check out the new DLR station at Woolwich Arsenal. We cycled there as there were no buses. It offered some specatular views with snow still falling heavily.

Now – smoking and snow. Is it ever a successful combination? I really can't remember much more than a great risk of cigarettes getting extinguished. Unlike with rain people tend not to use umbrellas in the snow and so there is less protection for your little friend.

It wasn't actually snowing today though – but I seem to remember keeping your balance took precedence over enjoying a hit. It did go well with the inevitable wait for the delayed train however.

The lack of snowfall probably decided it for my fellow pedestrian as he weighed up his options before leaving the house this morning. Should he or should he not assist the problematic journey with a semi-hallucinogenic drug or should he try it sober? I know which way the decision went.

If he slips over in a quiet backstreet I hope he remembers to get back up.

smoking skunk plumstead snow london cigarette 02/02/09

Bad Time to Quit?

2009-01-25T15:00:00.003Z

21photo
Originally uploaded by wellohorld

Times are hard. Sacrifices are being made. Take my breakfast - Scambled Duck Eggs (Sainsbury Basics Range) with Blinys (Tesco Value Range) creamed cheese (Somerfield Essentials Range)and Smoked Salmon (ASDA Scrapings Range). No caviar whatsoever. Oh well. Che sera.

One sure fire way to cut down on your little food treats is to cut down on all food. And one way to achieve that is to take up smoking. If you really need to suppress your appetite you might as well get some minor drug thrill along the way.

So things must be particularly hard for anyone who decided to pack it in this New Year just gone. Not only is it the usual post-Christmas depression its possibly your actual 1930's Depression as well.

On the other hand with the kind of tax on tobacco goods you'll help with that backs-against-the-wall-postwar-austerity budget you're going need to survive. Alternatively you can take inspiration from the last depression and sign up as a pin-striped Mobster.

It surely can't be long to the appearance of the first, wholly tax free and wholly Patricia Hewitt - free, smoke-easies.

thanks to wellohorld of flickr for the pic.

obama smoking depression recession mob austerity gangster tobacco cigarettesare delightful

A completely un-Americanised authentically religious Christmas greeting to you all....

2008-12-28T12:58:00.008Z

...and I mean that most sincerely. I really really do. Even though its a bit late.

The run-in to Christmas provided a little bit of local entertainment with a visit to the Comedy on the Common.

This is located in the Greenwich Rugby Football Club clubhouse on the Common near Plumstead Manor School.

It is a pretty comic venue all round.

R and I had the surreal pleasure of walking past it just before kick-off for the last Rugby (Union) World Cup. It was dark and we risked the dog mess and cut across the Common and past what seemed like an abandoned outhouse only to hear vast roars of excited voices coming from within. There are no obvious windows and no external lighting and the effect was pretty odd. It also has something of a tardis about it - you can't imagine getting many people inside it but you can as we joined fifty odd others in there for the comedy night.

The night was good - they had bottles of real ale behind the bar which dealt with worry number one. Worry number one is that clubhouses are the natural home of nasty old lager and keg bitters of the worst quality. The bad news was that they ran out towards the end of the evening so I unwisely resorted to a bootle of Koppaberg Perry.

The bill was advertised as four acts though it was actually two and a half, the half being the athletic compere Aj James. Dave Thomson kicked off and stripped off and Tony Law and his fantastic bizarre and hilarious imagination finished us off for the evening. Very funny- seek him out.

You can check out the acts (apparently- I haven't checked this) at www.comedycv.co.uk.

It started as a monthly event but its more like twice a month now. The evening is organised by someone called Nick and you can email for details at Comedyonthecommon@ntlworld.com. It's a bit of hike up the hill from Plumstead station but you can't complain for a "£10 including one drink" entrance price. And you certainly can't complain if you live in Plumstead as it makes an encouraging change to the normal entertainments in these parts.

Now that booze is off the agenda I am a bit uncertain if I'll be rushing to go again - "alternative" comedy certainly needs a bit of lubrication to work properly and I'm not sure if mineral water will quite hack it.

Thanks to k2d2vaca for Corn Crib and jaquian for Fire.

plumstead comedy greenwich rugby football club

Happy Holidays Everyone

2008-12-28T12:56:00.001Z

Happy Holidays Everyone
Originally uploaded by MsBlueSky

Hi - sorry about the greeting but if I change it it might mess up the attribution for the image. This Christmas has been not only smoke free but alcohol free as we have decided to go dry. It wasn't too bad as it goes - its unlike giving up smoking where you run into temptation quite quickly. The ability to stay dry requires the passgae of time other wise it just becomes a holiday from drinking that is soon followed by business as usual. R is finding it quite a novelty. And I am finding R quite a novelty too.

Death comes to visit our house

2008-11-15T20:15:00.003Z

Funeral Wreath Arrangement
Originally uploaded by aiaichristmas

The kitchen to be more exact. Underneath the unique "dishwasher-on-wheels" to be even more exact.

Yes Death snapped his jaws down on the snoozle of one of the visitors. Not nice for the mouse - not nice for us. But at least the paranoia about people playing bizarre mouse-related tricks on us has eased a bit.

Apparently the second set of traps weren't working because the mice are babies and therefore too light to set them off - at least that is what the mousetrap salesman told R when she went back to complain. Obviously the free chocolate fattened one of them up sufficiently to trigger the trap. It reacted quickly but not quickly enough so spend an undisclosed amount of time with its snout crushed and unable to move.

R originally stated that the mouse was lying beside the trap unattached in any way as if it had had a heart attack beside it by pure coincidence. Or had ate a dodgy crumb elsewhere and succumbed to a dreaded disease and deliberately crawled to the trap in pursuit of a swifter death and not quite made it.

It couldn't have been too long suffering as we have been checking them frequently and it certainly seemed dead when I put it in the recycle bin.

I wonder what it will be recycled into?

Another method and its associated problems is discussed here. (For internet historians I don't think this is a blog, look at the dates, it's just a standard webspace provided by an ISP).

Thanks to aiaichristmas at flickr for the picture Funeral Wreath Arrangement

A clean sweep

2008-11-08T00:30:00.002Z

come on.. group hugs!
Originally uploaded by NeedMoreCoffeeMan

No wonder they're looking so pleased with themselves.

We got back and checked the traps tonight.

All of the Nutella was gratefully received by our local mouse community - it even looks like they've put the traps in the dishwasher after eating off them and then carefully put them back. No deado mice unfortunately

R thinks this means there are tens of thousands of mice in the house -"Think about it - three traps in three different places far apart in the house. It couldn't be a one man job. It must be a team effort."

She doesn't know mice like I do - their greed and cunning must never be underestimated.

I also suspect that the traps we bought aren't very good.

The only unmolested Nutella is in the humane trap - they're simply not daft enough to venture in there yet. But -look on the bright side-last night's binging might mean they've developed a taste for the brown stuff now and won't be able to resist.

Bring it on.

mouse

Guess who's back?

2008-11-06T22:56:00.003Z

Mickey's Hooked!
Originally uploaded by Hardcore Shutterbug

Yes the pesky bastards are getting a bit cocky - a pale looking R reported to me at turning-in time last night that she had just seen two mice in the kitchen. They had run and hid behind the sink. They had then proceeded to mock her with their squeaking.

So the Nutella's been out tonight - the traps have been unpacked and primed with a professionalism that would make Jason Bourne blush and we're ready for action.

An all night vigil would be in order but its much more difficult without a steady supply of smokes as I found out trying to watch the US Election the other night. The deep monotony of BO's voice would put our mice to sleep. Without the countervailing stimulus of nicotine I couldn't keep awake. Which is just as well - the body needs rest after all.

And what kind of squeaky little critter does John McCain remind me of? Don't ask...I'm having one of my turns.

Thanks to Hardcore Shutterbug for his picture "Mickey's Hooked"

mouse election

Communication Strategies

2008-10-02T20:39:00.000+01:00

I was amused (some months ago) to see this little innovation at the Pelton Arms in Greenwich. It's a little leaflet that you place on your beer glass to stop the bar staff sweeping it up whilst you're outside having a cigarette.

I wish I had something similar myself the other day - not for a cigarette of course but to use the loo. Good bar staff don't snatch away seemingly unattended glasses the first time they see them - but this pub was the Market Porter and standards aren't the best. They have one concern which is to serve quickly and take your money - and they do serve quickly. When your change is back in your hand that's it - the deal's over and that's that. Don't trouble them with talk of short pints or anything else. They neither know about it nor care. Or rather it seems that way nowadays. Anyway - I didn't dare leave it at the bar without some little note. A smoker might have been better prepared these days. Having been amused by the hipster pda in the past perhaps it is time to carry around some more index cards. Write your note "Having a quick ciggie" then place it on top of the glass. No need to mention toilets at all. Another unintended plus to the smoking ban. (If you have a soft spot for low tech alternatives have a look at the DIYPlanner site - its a hymn of praise to pens and paper).

Which leads seamlessly to...I accompanied R into town to see her doctor the other day. She forgot her mobile so we when we decided to go to two different places and meet up at an unspecified time we had to dig out some old skills. "When will you be finished R?" I asked "I don't know Erik. Where will you be?" she asked "I haven't got a clue R". With two functioning mobiles such utter vagueness presents no problem. Without them you need to work out a PLAN. Plans are not too difficult if you both speak reasonable English. They are free and you are not tied into any contract. They are about the same length as a text message. "When I come out I will look in all the cafes in Lower Marsh""OK I will be in one of the cafes in Lower Marsh when you come out". It kind of worked but there must have been a bit of interference on the line as I saw R lurch past the cafe's window without looking in and I had to chase after her. Our second "plan" was "I'll do Starbucks you do Sainsbury's and we'll meet at the pie shop". It didn't take me long before I got to the pie shop with our coffees. R was immersed in a "Woman in Shop Situation". So this was how it was before mobiles I thought as I stood there waiting. It was all based on waiting: waiting in cafes, waiting in pubs, waiting beneath clocks,waiting...waiting..waiting. Except, one difference, I would be able to break up the wait with a cigarette in those far off days. It was the perfect consumable for some one who was waiting. It was quick, it was easy to handle, it was stimulating, it was relatively cheap. Luckily I had my latte to sip on but coffee has its limits. I could hardly distract myself with a steak and onion pie every time I had to wait for someone - the weighing scales are suffering enough as it is. Could the drive against smoking have been so dominant if the mobile phone hadn't become so available?

thanks to onkel_wart for the waiting picture linked to above

smoking Market Porter mobile phones 43Folders DIY Planner

Door of Perception

2008-09-01T18:47:00.002+01:00

The Devils Door
Originally uploaded by St0rmz

The work on the bathroom continued yesterday and I was set to clean the old glass door before R put it back in place.

It is a flowery glass panel door. The former owners, or at least one of them, smoked and the fine veins of the leaves were embedded with tar. I couldn't help think of the same material still hanging around in my lungs despite a gap of more than two years. A lot of heavy scrubbing was required and eventually most of it shifted.

Most of the tobacco was on the inside bathroom side of the door. It was very late in my smoking career before I started smoking in the bath. It is an extraordinarily tricky procedure - avoiding the water is easy enough it is avoiding wetness as a whole that is the difficult bit. But it diid have its rewards. Locked away in warm foamy tub puffing on a roll-up felt wonderfully relaxing.

Well the former owners know what I'm on about even if no one else does.

When the going gets tufty....

2008-08-03T22:01:00.003+01:00

If it's not one thing it's another.

About this time last year we were tackling swifts in the loft, feral mice hanging around in gangs in room corners and slugs dripping off the ceiling.

I was called off of our sofa by an anxious R the other night. There were footsteps in the loft – were the builders we are in dispute with planning a surprise attack on us or stealing our roof as a part payment? It was a possibility but only briefly – the sound and speed of the footsteps would have meant they had hired an impossibly manic dwarf assasin with clawed toes.

It was a creature of some sort however and neither R or I wanted to go up and have a look to find out what it was. “I'll go up there tomorrow” I promised.

By the time I got up R had already called out a pest control company. The man came quickly and just as quickly concluded it was a squirrel. This was a relief – at least it wasn't a rat or a Japanese loft dwelling demon.

Some rather large traps were laid.

“I kill 95% of reported squirrels” he said.

He said he will return in a week to remove the body.

So far it appears the squirrel belongs to the 5% Club. He was still re-arranging the furniture, or whatever they do, the other night. (R is worried that it's vandalising a watercolour of a parrot that she has up there - the philistines!!!).

I listen out for his scratchy little sprints across the roof wondering when a mad dash will be terminated with a nasty snapping sound.

UPDATE: Saturday has come again and guess what? No corpse...no trace of squirrel activities...not a single monkey nut consumed. The man will come next week but this one is deinitely looking like a five-percenter. Or it is a ghost demon after all.

This scenario isn't unknown to this blog - remember this from a post a year back?

(The image link above is to an image from the film "the Grudge" if you care about such things).

grudge horror squirrel pest

Greenwich Beer and Jazz festival 2008

2008-07-24T22:22:00.003+01:00

This was the first one in Greenwich - and it was somehow related to Catford's demise because of greedy landlords at their old venue. It was in the grounds of the Naval College.

Was it any good?

Well. I went on a Sunday. There was practically no beer. It was expensive and the charging seemed to take no account of the usual depletion of stocks that always happens at the last day of beer festivals.

It had one of those signs that really really really annoy me. It went something like this "Due to the immense popularity of this event the selection of beers is greatly reduced" and then something like "so don't complain - just count yourself lucky we let you in". Total rubbish - "the reason it's so bad is because it is so good". " We haven't let you down you have let yourself down by bothering to come here". "Don't blame us for your stupidity". Tossers.

You couldn't see the river despite being located right up close to it. Nuts.

The Jazz? Well I can take it or leave it. That's if the million and one jobsworth security guards would let me take or leave anything without first getting their permission.

Al fresco joy - they did get that right (on the Sunday at least). But open air is not my preferred way of doing beer.

A complete lack of pillocks in jangly hats and people wearing anti-EU T-shirts. Hardly any beards longer than mine. I consider these to be bad signs.

I know a big concern might be keeping out some of the baseball-hat wearing brigade but the net effect was far too twee and smart-arsed. Looking at this extended Dejeuner Sur L'herbe I felt a quick machine-gunning wouldn't have gone amiss. And didn't Catford always manage to deal with the anti-socials without using looney high prices and batallions of block head security guards? And without turning it into Brideshead Revisited?

The beer seemed more expensive but there have been tax changes so I'll let the government get the blame for that one. But you can't pin the over-priced hot-dogs on Mr Brown or the soft drinks.

The location and weather were lovely (despite the stage blocking out the river) and some of the people serving were amusing - some because they were drunk or incompetent but others because they were pleasant people. The company I was with was very nice too but they certainly weren't provided by TGBJF.

Up to now I had considered a visit to a Twickenham Festival years back to have been the worst I had attended. It was the last hour or so and there was a not very interesting bit of mild on offer and that was that. I still enjoyed my pint. It cost about 50p and there wasn't any charge for coming in to the event itself. And the people were a laugh and it wasn't a police state and I always remember it warmly when I recall it with friends who were there.

Did the Jangly hat people know it was one to avoid? Did they sense it in their bones?

It does seem hard to think I won't go to this in future - after all we were so excited there was going to be one so near. Maybe things will evolve -maybe it will get better or maybe it will change its name to a "Hoegaarden and Sol Festival" and we can all forget about it.

Verdict - completely misconceived , exploitative rubbish peopled with the worst kind of Greenwich poseurs, a dreary soundtrack but a nice location.

Catford whereforth art thou?

greenwich beer festival camra london

Co-op Funeral

2008-07-24T21:15:00.000+01:00

Oh dear.

The Co-op in Lakedale Road is about to bite the dust. I was in there a few days ago in the vain hope of finding some black pudding and some clingfilm. Despite the Soviet-style empty shelves I did manage to get some clingfilm. Black pudding is tricky in Plum. I thought it was even worse than usual and then silly me I saw the "We are closing down" sign.

Me and R are partly responsible. I fully expected to be a regular user of the Co-op when I turned up here. Even got myself a membership form (that I still haven't filled in). I had no real impression of the Somerfield when I used to visit my friends - I never strayed that far up the High Street.

I guess I knew the Somerfield was here by the time we moved in but still had the Co-op to the front of my mind. It did have a good range of real Ale. But so did Somerfield - but Somerfield had one beer in particular which is part and parcel of our life here. Badger Original - fresh clean not too strong and only £1.19 a bottle.

We did give it some custom but it had little to offer apart from its co-operative principles. This was frequently not enough to justify the extra few hundred feet in distance.

It closing is not the worse thing. It is not a sign of new and better things to come. At the moment nothing seems lined up for the site and with the general gloom descending it may be a while - just an empty space or charity shop. I hope whatever comes deserves its place. Lakedale is a pretty important little corner of the town I think. Invest now.

plumstead co-op badger beer

Will you just quit!!!

2008-07-05T16:45:00.002+01:00

I received this email.

"Dear future self,
I'm reminding you about your stated goal on 43 things,
to "Quit Smoking".
How's it going?

Sincerely,
Your past self"

Well past self my answer is similar to last year's answer.
"I'm doing all right. Now can you please let me get on".

Who needs the police state with self-naggers like me around?

smoking quit smoking 43 things

Fuming

2008-07-01T21:12:00.001+01:00

This picture is taken from the Museum of London's exhibition "the Big Smoke".You'll find it here.

In my more snorty libertarian moments I think I have referred to a dystopian Musuem of Smoking without the Smokers.

Is this show the fulfilment of my dark vision?

I am not too sure but judging by a quick read of a free paper today it looks like there is something of interest going on there. I should drag myself over there sometime.

Meanwhile Duncan Ballantyne is taking on the tobacco companies, and a whole load of foreign johnnies whilst he's at. He feigns affectation for a coakroach and sneers.

Is the the term Health Fascist now finding actual physical form too?

OK - that's a bit hard on Dunky- but exporting our moral concerns to poor countries who would be a lot worse off without tobacco doesn't seem right to me. I'll have a little listen to the man right now. Here's something about the show...here.

smoking museum of london bannatyne museum london

Make that Seven Things

2008-06-29T12:29:00.002+01:00

If you're lucky you can participate in a rare Plumstead double this weekend.

Firstly there is the Mela - the celebration of Asian culture on the common. I visited this a few times with local friends before moving here. The main attraction for me is the food but there's various other stalls and music and dance going. Its not a mind-blowing affair but ,if the weather's ok, makes for a pleasant Sunday afternoon diversion.

I am not sure if it's a coincidence but the Annual Old Mill Beer Festival is taking place as well this weekend. I made a couple of visits yesterday. It's a laid back affair with a fair range of ales (no real ciders unfortunately). You buy half pint vouchers at the main bar but most of the beers are out in the back garden. Here are some pictures,1 and 2.

Though real ale and real curry is an excellent combination it is not perfect. Because of the event on the common all beer will have to be sold in plastic glasses irrespective of where you take your drink. The barman at the back said bringing your own pewter tankard would be ok. Where is it though? If I started looking now I might just find it before next year's festival.

plumstead beer festival london beer camra pubs summer what's on

Five Good Things About Plumstead

2008-06-14T12:32:00.002+01:00

Camelot, Plumstead
Originally uploaded by veghead

I was going to get to three and then run out as some kind of joke - but actually five isn't enough. Five will have to do though:

1) Everywhere else --- you can get to some really pleasant greenery in Kent and the London borders quite easily. You're not too far away from Ebbsfleet and the Continent.

2) Commuting - a bit like point one but specific to working in town. I get a seat and have a half-hour journey into Waterloo East on a train service that runs reasonably well. If the trains are totally up the spout you can use the tube to North Greenwich then a bus. Not a quick but nice to have the option. There's a 24 hour bus service too. I got a late night bus from Elephant and Castle once and it whizzed home without any traffic.

3) Easy going multiculturalism. A nice mix of backgrounds and a nice feel on the street.(edit - neighbour was woken at 3am by a guy banging on the door whose face had been slashed by someone - so not always as easy going as it should be).

4) Curry - an important part of the mix in item 3 is the Indian community. We have a temple adjoining our back garden, our builders were Sikhs. There are some pretty authentic curry outlets - more cafes than restaurants. Its not Brick Lane by if you fancy a curry you'll be well catered for here. And if you want something healthier you can always get some fried chicken from one of the many many many outlets.

5) The Hill - it's both an enemy and a friend depending on which way you are going of course (up or down) but it offers some great views down to sides of the Thames and over to Essex. You won't get to see much of the river itself but I always get a little buzz when freewheeling down especially at night time. And you can always cop a look at Dave Courtney's Camelot on the way down for added stimulation.

Thanks to veghead from Flickr for the picture

Five Best Things Plumstead list london curry list

Absent Friends

2008-05-21T13:55:00.002+01:00

Went up to Norfolk for some friends' house-warming. Or should that be Rectory-warming? It was a very open-air affair. As a smoker I would always feel a bit uneasy smoking in the open countryside - it seemed especially perverse to inhale smoke when having all that fresh air around. No perversity at this house-warming however - well not any I noticed.

I had a huge obstacle course of a journey home from Cantley to Plumstead on the following Sunday. Is the Lord's Day Observance society in charge of engineering works at National (sic) Rail? It was the kind of circumstance that a smoker hates - rushing to your next connection rather than lighting up, getting a seat in a coach only to find there was plenty of time to have a cigarette but you're stuck at the back now and if you nip out they are bound to shut the doors and you're stuffed.

No such nicotine-related stress on this journey luckily. It was one old friend I could live without.

Oh I actually met a reader at this party so a special hello to Miss B and woof-woof to young Ribbon too.

'Mare of London

2008-04-26T10:21:00.004+01:00

So what are the choices facing us electors next week in London's Mayoral elections?

On the one hand you have the media-savvy one with the unruly hair, a shopping list of uncosted policies and the funny accent. On the other hand you have the astute political performer with years of experience and friends in high places, basking in his subtle shift to the centre ground.

As for the gay one with the fetching smile and penchant for nicking the other candidates policies - well he hasn't got a hope in hell of winning so why even bother considering him? I think he kind of knows that anyway hence his newfound knockabout style.

Who, oh who, can save us from all this?

boris london mayor elections mayor

The Dangers of Cake

2008-04-10T18:18:00.001+01:00

So it is TWO YEARS WITHOUT SMOKING.....HIP HIP HOORAY

What's it been like? Do I still miss it?

Relatively painless thanks to 1)pressure from R 2)inspiring efforts from AB and others 3)I forgot was three was.

I have managed to get through a new job (to be honest the new job helped me adjust - my routine was less set in its ways) and, amazingly, I have got through the stress of buying and moving into a new house. This only leaves divorce as a true testing ground of how successful my change-around has been. R take note ;-)

In a respiratory way I do feel better but my sedantry lifestyle and extensive self-pampering have puffed me up considerably. Its not only my habits that have been transformed.

My quitometer has gone a bit mad as I had been warned it would. It has now started deducting money saved - I have only saved £200 now instead of the £1,000 odd I had reached last year.

Perhaps it is more realistic than I thought. Maybe it will also start stating that my life expectancy is going down rather than up. Even if that is the case I think I still prefer the feeling that I am less chained down to my addictions.

R had an anniversary of a more normal kind - her anniversaire in fact. At one point we found ourselves in the garden (yard more accurately) of the Greenwich Union. It was a bit drizzly but it was a well covered. There had been a couple there but they moved back inside as soon as we turned up. I saw an ashtray and suddenly remembered that gardens are where smokers are supposed to go when visiting pubs. Where were they all? At home I guess or walking around the street swigging cans. Perhaps they've all given up.

Playing with my Asus Eeepc I have looked into the world of ebooks a bit. There is a good reader bundled that handles a few common Ebook formats the sort you can get at the Gutenberg Project and Memoware. I downloaded a copy of Vanishing England written way back ages ago and it was lamenting the passing of the traditional boozer too. The older you get the more lamenting you do. Smoking around the fire was the only tobacco reference he made. Most of the desriptions centred around food. Pubs packed to the seams with everyone caning cigarettes isn't the way it always was anyway.

I am about to walk from the Juice Bar to the Sussex in Baylis Road - it's trying to do food a bit more, "Proper Pie 'n Mash" in fact with tables decked out in the fashion of a pie and mash shop. I hope its successful because I like the landlord. I am surprised they're feeling the pinch as they have a lot of outside seating. So food marches back to it's central position in the life of our taverns and my waistline really doesn't stand a chance.

smoking smoking ban london pubs

Plumstead High Street

2008-04-01T21:15:00.000+01:00

I love this picture - its got a wild west feel to it. It's looking from the west to the east. The lamp post on the right is the entrance to what is now Mineral Street- or at least I think it is.

A made a tentative start to a mini-project : photographing the High Street. I am curious to see if I will ever be able to complete it. By the time I have photographed both the north and south sides something will have changed again - another estate agent opened, another pub closed.

When I went out for my first 'shoot' early on a Sunday a few weeks back my batteries ran out after half a dozen snaps and I couldn't be bothered to go back and start off again. Its got to be done in order or I will get too muddled at the editing end of the process. And the weather was horrible.

I have attempted to stick a couple up on Google-Earth. I am a total newb as far as adding content (kml/z files etc...) so I be interested to see if they have turned up yet.

Oh yes - the High Street has a central role in what seems like a new blog in Plum. It's called Planet Plumstead and wants to get a debate going about the High Street. I'm off to check it out right now in fact. ( Blogger is giving me an error so here's the link long-hand www.planetplumstead.co.uk )

If you've got Google Earth my two pics are supposed to be at the Walmer Terrace and Griffin Road junctions with the High Street. Haven't got a clue if they're up there yet though.

plumstead google earth photography

Railing again

2008-03-11T14:07:00.000Z

I have just been trialling the eeepc as an on the move blog-assister. You can check the results here.

eeepc

Specious Drivelly

2008-03-07T22:18:00.002Z

I am in a bit of a rage about good old postie and his jolly ol' chums. (Such as Nick Clegg below).

I won't bother you with the details (just yet) but I was a bit surprised to see how little gets thrown up on the web when you type into Google "Royal Mai*^~~~*****!!!!! ****** bad *******improvement needed from the little ****s"

Maybe I am in a tiny little minority of one with my postal misfortunes.

The only thing that really cheered me up was coming across this site promisingly called Hellmail.

I immediately started looking for its forum so I could vent my rage, get help advice and all those forumy things. Turns out they don't have one. Not any more they don't.

The site has a general feel of "the Royal Mail do slip up from time to time but they're all human and they do a tremendous job given the circumstances".

Take this attitude and combine it with what they say on their site and their speling ...well draw your own conclusions (front front front). I love the begging letter at the end.

On 31st August 2007, we closed our busy and highly succesful forums after two years, to concentrate on news and editorial. It was not an easy decision to make and we still, to this day, mourn the loss of so many valued contributors but we felt that forum content often sat at odds with editorial, was enormously time consuming, and could in some cases be damaging to businesses and jobs(my italics-erik). Hellmail has since that time become an important source of information for news and informationand arguably m(o)re effective.We still believe in everyone having the opportunity to put forward their own viewpoint and many of those original forum members went on to become Hellmail writers (see 'Extended Writing Team' above..Editor: "We particularly welcome views from former-members including TMFTPO, Amber Leaf, Singing Postman wherever they may be. Their contribution was enormous."

Yes Comrade Editor we agree gratitude is due to such exemplars of the Postal IdeaL Nothing to do with this outfit I guess.

(EDIT: I have since got a couple of responses to emails that I sent to Hellmail and they were really nice and I feel totally rotten for mocking them)

I'm in general raging mood and will slip into politics briefly.

Nick Clegg is promising "an in-and-out Referendum on Europe. As in "in-and-out of my manifesto whenever it suits matey"?

In one sense Labours betrayal is far more disgraceful - after all the people who voted for them did it in the knowledge they might actually form a government.

But they are the Liberal Democrats...does that mean nothing? Perhaps it means "let the Liberals do the choosing for you (plebs)"?

The Cameron squeeze seems to mean the Libs have to break their manifesto promises just to get some attention.

And all the crap that has come out defending it all...."that's what we pay MPs for" "the issues are too complex" and "media's undue influence". They should all get jobs at the Royal Mail immediatement

(EDIT - I have subsequently heard a Radio 4 profile of Nick Clegg and I don't feel the least bit rotten. Its not him anyway - if it was "he" could easily be "solved". Unfortunately its a bit more widespread and deep-seated than that).

thanks to sarahmonster for the sentiment on flickr

europe referendum betrayal nick clegg
royal mail stalin mister bean

Fast Food

2008-03-05T12:55:00.000Z

A couple of Plumstead chums (ages various) have taken it into their heads to run for literally mile and mile to raise money for people needier than themselves.

The prospect of completing this gruelling course is highly likely given the intense training routines they have committed to.

If you have a few pennies to spare why not sponsor the Blah Blah Fishcakes as they join Sport Relief's big event?

plumstead sport relief

Fags passed

2008-03-03T08:36:00.003Z

A comment on my last post prompted me to do a bit more nostaglia searching.

Yahoo answers (1 and 2) featured strongly for some reason. There must be some kind of search-engine-users profiling that might explain why that is -- Google images was unable to provide a single image of Player's Number 6 but that was probably because of my apostrophe.

It did provide an Embassy picture though with a link to a pertinent site.

Are Players still going? The short answer is a "Wikipedia Yes". The full story is here.

Our yeah I did find a Players No.6 picture somewhere. A beermat as it happens. When I smoked them I didn't have much legal reason to come across such a thing - I was too young for pubs.

I gravitated towards No.10 myself. I could fit one into a Swan Vesta match box - the idea being that this would be a clever disguise if a teacher chose to search my pockets.

"Ah...so what do we find here Fuller?"

"A matchbox sir - like for non-expellable activities like aimless match-flicking and minor acts of arson all totally innocent sir"

" Right! You better not be lying to me Fuller....move along"

My preferred Half Coronas wouldn't fit obviously so extra care had to be taken on the suspicion-raising front.

Embassy smoking 1970s Swan Vesta
Players cigarettes

You're never alone with a Flickr

2008-03-01T10:29:00.004Z

This attractive dummy appears on the pages of a little Flickr group I came across this morning. Nice isn't she?

The group is called Smooth Smoke Slogans and it specialises in good old fashioned cigarette adverts.

I used to love the look and feel of adverts as a young impressionable smoker. I can always recall to my mind an advert in Hampton Hill High Street for a packet of Carltons - a cool purple type of affair (as were the packets) and thought I would try and fit a packet into my extensive sampling programme. I didn't get round to it partly because I had half an idea that the lads at school might pick up on the fact that the packaging was a bit, hmmm, feminine. I also think that the unavailability of the brand in packets of ten was another off-putting factor. I didn't want to blow two weeks tobacco budget on an untested smoke despite that colour being so lush and enticing.

Who knows what impact buying some Carltons might have had on my future development? I might have been humiliated by my mates ("No thanks Fuller, I'd sooner wear high heels") and given up on the whole cool smoker act and gained an extra ten years of life. Alternatively it might have led to me discovering I did like wearing high heels as well. Though I confess I am wearing my partner's polka dot pyjama bottoms as I write this, that's about the limit of my cross-dressing. Honest.

More cigarettes presented similar problems for the adolescent male smoker. I always liked cigars and cheroots and More obviously looked cigar-like. You could just about get away with them for a few days before buckling down to some proper cigs again. But More Menthols? No way, no never no way.

Thanks to hier-houd-ik-van for his picture "Mary Long".

You can find a bit more cigarette nostaglia here.

smoking cigarette advertising flickr advertising hampton hill

But where's the Blog-o-matic?

2008-02-29T23:05:00.001Z

If you're giving up smoking you could do worse than turn to the world of gadgets for a bit of therapy.

They've certainly been helpful to me in the past. Another ex-smoker I know rewarded himself with the money he had saved by buying an iPod – and in case that seems a bit commonplace it's worth pointing out it was a few years back and it was the purchasing equivalent of buying an iPhone with the full 99 year contract. Or drinking champagne for breakfast for six months on the trot and not the supermarket own brand.

Although the need to reward myself has now waned the need to renew oneself with gadgets remains and there have been a few in my life recently. And heh! This is a blog for chrissakes and what are blogs about? Technology for stevessakes. (I did have a dream about Steve Jobs the other night – the bit with him playing with the train set is fresh in my mind).

First up and slightly more modestly priced than the early iPods and present day iPhones is the Lidl stopwatch. This is a standalone device with a modal operating systems. The four modes are Timer, Stopwatch, Alarm clock and some other time thing - I can't remember. Its wireless so you can use it in the kitchen to time eggs/pasta as well as use it to wake up in the middle of the night if you forget to reset the hourly reminder tinkle. I don't know if the hourly tinkle is for the overly hyper (time is slipping through my fingers) or the “time weighs heavily” types (only another hour...I'm sooo depressed..tick...tock...). It's pretty useless and I'm surprised Nameless Plastic Items at Lidl Limited bundled it with the more useful features in this gizmo.

Another stopwatch enabled device I picked up was the Nokia 6233 which is a neat little 3g phone. You can't video-call with it due to the lack of a front-facing camera and its only a Series 40 type phone meaning you're stuck with some limited applications. I did install MobyExplorer on it from Bermin software but it hasn't run smoothly and despite stumping up for the licence have had zero support from them. Its a file manager with some encryption software and a FTP feature and a text editor thrown in. Its also supposed to be certificated. this is important because without it the 6233 keeps throwing up a dialogue asking if I give it permission. MobyExplorer's website gives precise instructions and I managed to get the trial version to function smoothly. What's really annoyed me is that the licencing process involves installing a new version rather than just inserting the reg code (unlike Tracker and Fileman for my A925).

I'm very happy with the phone itself - I have lugged around a big phone for a while and this does most of what I want.

More importantly it is my first “generic phone purchase”. That is – it is not linked to a phone network -neither is it a phone that was previously linked to a network and has subsequently been unlocked and or re-flashed.

This does create a few problems but the advantages are major. You don't have a device that has been geared to pointing you towards services you do not want. Certain options that would normally be blocked out are there.

However it's frustrating that I can't allow whatever software I want (such as Bermin's) to run. So, although I escape the clutches of the network I remain within the clutches of the manufacturer. They presumably want to avoid the hassle of support calls from people that have messed up their phones and then have the gall to complain about it. Surely PC manufacturers have to deal with the same thing (multiplied a hundredfold) and have introduced measures to head off those problems. I have heard that this is a Nokia problem rather than with generic phones in general.

My network is the 3 network and that is the main reason why I got a 3g phone. I don't have a contract and wouldn't want one at this stage. I guess I could have got a locked PAYG phone deal and transferred my SIM over but I do like the opportunity to stick any card in if I, or R. need to. And when you do the locked PAYG prices with the compulsory minute purchasing and compare with a generic phones prices it begins to look less prohibitive.

Obviously the higher-end phones have scary prices. But that is what they cost. If we could break our association with handset and network so that something akin to the computer world took place we could spend less time going insane trying to calculate the benefit of handset and bundle offer over another.

Now those scary priced phones only cost money because they are pretty much little computers. And so we move seamlessly to my third gadget – the ASUS Eeepc.

The first thing to say about it is that it doesn't have a scary price. It doesn't have a hard drive. It doesn't have a DVD drive. But it does have an awful lot of what you would expect in a laptop and it is great. The early ones are Linux (Xandros) but you can install XP. Later ones will come pre-installed with Windows and relunctantly I would say that may be what drives the Asus (and an entire industry based on affordable ultraportables) forward. It has Wifi but seeing as this is Britain that doesn't mean two much. More importantly for me it has an ethernet port (unlike the Macbook Air and the Nokia Internet tablets). With the help of some Homeplugs we now have a two PC household where I can be writing a blog whilst R checks her emails. (And no I haven't written a blog with it yet – the small screen and keyboard seem a bit daunting for such a mesy blog creator a s myself. I need all kinds of things cutting and pasting across each other to make the simplest post. I will use it but there's a lot more configuration to do first. For everything else – emails, browsing, playing music and watching BBC iPlayer streams its a star. And its principally as an internet device for around the house that I got it. I can time my eggs with my Lidl stop watch whilst listening to Delia explain the finer points of a successful boil.

asus Nokia 6233 eeepc lidl

Doing it in the Road

2008-02-17T13:29:00.003Z

157 George Street.
Originally uploaded by mr walker

I was walking up our road last night and confused to see people standing outside of their houses smoking. Not everyone in the street of course because then I would have known I was dreaming.
Two sets of people. A bit strange.

There is a lot of rented accomodation down our road so perhaps they were incredibly scrupulous tenants observing the no-smoking clause in their agreements. I could also understand the smokers being in the minority in their households and stepping outside at the behest of their non-smoking co-habitants. It was the standing outside bit on the pavement that confused me- our street consists of small terraced houses each with reasonably sized backyards. If I was them I would much rather smoke in my private space around the back than stand in the street with bloggers brushing by me with their shopping and such like.

The second pair spoke to each other in a foreign language. Perhaps they were only recently arrived to this country and have seen the way the natives like to stand outside in the street smoking their cigarettes? Perhaps they haven't made the link with smoking and standing in the street at all and they think there are loads of spontaneous street happenings in the offing in the UK in general or Plumstead in particular and are coming outside full of expectation.

A more prosaic reason might be that my mystery smokers don't want to die young. Not from cancer but being burnt alive. There was a fire in the street a few months back (druggies we were reliably informed). It might explain why they don't stand around the back too. There are no back paths out onto the street as far a I know.

Nah - it's got to be my street party theory.

Thanks to mr.walker at flickr for his photo 157 George Street.

plumstead smoking ban smoking

Smokin' the Shark

2008-02-07T00:24:00.001Z

Smokin' the Shark
Originally uploaded by l_cheese.please_l

Ok.."Erik" is just a a label for this one but isn't that shark victim costume just brilliant?

Erik & Stefan

2008-02-07T00:21:00.001Z

Erik & Stefan
Originally uploaded by Mögelfar

How's that for a party trick? Erik inhales and Stefan exhales (or vice versa).

2000.04.25: Erik smoking

2008-02-07T00:19:00.001Z

2000.04.25: Erik smoking
Originally uploaded by Sixfoot6

Ok it's not me. But i have found there's a few Erik Smoking type photos on Flickr. I feel a series coming on.

Trusty Tar

2008-02-01T17:58:00.000Z

I was playing with my new phone and came across this. What a cheeky lad I was when I smoked. How gay and care-free.

Sorry about the appalling quality but it is a cameraphone from a few years back. I understand technology has moved on since then but my 2mb camera at least seems as bad as my good old NEC 808. I understand there are more quality options with the video capture on the Nokia though.

Happy New Year

2008-01-03T00:11:00.000Z

So the Year of the Ban has come and gone and is any one much bothered?

A couple I know have given up having the occasional visit to the pub by themselves. Either they had to sit alone whilst the other half had a cigarette or they both went for one together - that is they went to stand on a pavement together on a freezing winter night. Not exactly a hot date. They just stay at home now and smoke to their hearts content.

Another wavering smoker is very happy with the ban - she's so glad she doesn't come home from the pub smelling of smoke. She has the occasional cigarette but not down the pub - she has to find other excuses. And she does (find other excuses).

For my part it is my second new year without a cigarette and I don't miss it at all.

A lot of people will have given up as a New Year Resolution. Good luck. I did it once using the Alan Carr method - it was the nuttiest January I have ever had wrestling the mini nicotine monsters he encourages you to visualize whilst undergoing cold-turkey. Never again.

Literally.

Hopefully.

A poke from behind

2007-12-16T20:54:00.000Z

Today I got this in my gmail inbox:

" Dear future self,
I'm reminding you about your stated goal on 43 things,
to "Quit Smoking". How's it going?

Sincerely,

Your past self "

It was from a social networking site called 43Things.

I can't remember setting it up but I doubt a Superbrain computer did it off it's own bat.

So what do I say to my past self?

Yeayyyy!!!! I have actually gorn and done it - I have not smoked since whenever it was - April 2006.

I still have the odd one in my dreams and I occasionally make jokey remarks about needing one if something particularly stressful has taken place - but yes Past Erik, the Erik of Christmas Present is currently a non-smoking Erik. Can you believe it?

smoking quit smoking

Thanks to tarnie at flickr for "xmas past"

The Chicken Party

2007-11-28T21:18:00.001Z

Krunchy Fried Chicken
Originally uploaded by hugovk

I was busily not helping around the house last weekend when I heard R deal with some visitors to the front door.

I later found out they had been canvassers for the forthcoming local elections - R mentioned her annoyance with one particular council policy but being the conscientious democrat that she is, she took a leaflet outlining the main planks they were standing on for her to study later .

It contained one of those questions that it is often unwise for a politician to ask. It went something like this - "did you know the Council is engaged in a major redevelopment program for Plumstead?" I thought the obvious answer would be no. But reading the detail it mentioned the refurbishment of shopfronts and it slowly dawned on me that I had in fact noticed it. I had been a bit bemused to see that the Chick-Chicken shop had renewed its hoarding a few weeks ago. A few days later I noticed another shop that sells an odd mixture of things including fried chicken had also had its sign renewed. I believe I even chucked a little comment up on my Facebook status line along the lines of "Erik is wondering if the refurbishment of all the fried chicken shops in Plumstead is a sign of development or retrenchment."

That's what the development programme seems to amount to anyway - at least as far as appearances are concerned. (It's just occurred to me that I saw a particularly dodgy estates agents had decided to have a a paint job-struck me as odd at the time). For a bold development program the council seemed to be making some odd choices as to what needed improving. The Chick-chicken shop had a perfectly adequate sign anyway. After all who needs a good shopfront when your marketing team have come up with such an excellent brand name?

Picture: Krunchy Fried Chicken
Originally uploaded by hugovk

fried+chicken plumstead local+elections london

Crimes and Misdemeanours

2007-11-24T14:31:00.000Z

I've been feeling tired all week. I was woken in the night by Mr Scuttles who has taken over from John and Wayne apparently (did I tell you that Wayne was found looking uncomfortably dead in a trap in the bathroom?) Mr Scuttles was making a fair bit of noise - it sounded like he was trying on my hiking boots at one point.I made a mental note to kill him then went back to sleep. In fact my sleep has been relatively undisturbed but I still feel in need of more.

Is it the stresses and strains of the jury service I have just completed? I'm pretty sure I am not supposed to mouth off about the details but we found him guilty and the whole thing was pretty lame. There was a brutal murder closely connected to it but it was itself a mini-saga about the possession of controlled medecines. It was a bit unsavoury but I certainly didn't lose any sleep over it - it made me laugh a bit and it made me feel sad a bit but it was hardly the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Perhaps it's the troubles faced by Civil Servants this week? I am a bit annoyed that all read/write access to DVD drives and support for flash drives has been removed at work. Getting rid of the ability to copy to them makes sense of sorts - in fact you needed special permissions to write to CD/DVD before the debacle as far as I could work out. But not being able to read from them seems beside the point. We are all going around self-satisfied that it would never happen in our own particular corner of the world and have definitely not felt the need to pull duvets over our heads either metaphorically or actually.

Was it the dismal awfulness of the England versus Croatia game? Did that take it out of me? When I heard Israel beat Russia, coming back from my Irish friend Mariadphod's Birthday drink, I leapt up in the train , spun round and shouted the result down the carriage and one hundred Nigerians,Poles,Lithuanians,Indians, and Finns looked back at me blanky. Two sweet old ladies from Ghana asked me what I was excited about but I am not sure they understood. The Italian and Australian to my right at least knew there was a game a called football but were much more interested in Rugby. After this realisation that no one in England really cared about what happened to England's football team the defeat was a lot easier to take.

Perhaps its all due to not enough cigarettes all round.

Mr Scuttles certainly would not want to be poking around my smoke-ridden bedroom risking passively contracted mouse cancers.

If I had been desperate for a cigarette during our deliberations the jury would have moved along a bit quicker.

I would be getting regular breaks from my computer for fag breaks.

I could have enjoyed a quiet smoke instead of annoying all my fellow passengers.

I bet more members of the Croatia squad smoked than their English opponents.

And I am missing out on the enlivening effects of the plant itself - I now have to rely on the narrow gauge of caffeine that irritates more than it soothes.

A ghastly image of Fag Free Britain arises before my eyes - knackered and stressed and generally useless at everything.

Thanks to BlackScarletLove for the photo

football croatia england hmrc discs cd smoking smoking-ban cigarettes mouse mousetrap

Starlight Foundation

2007-11-10T11:15:00.000Z

These are the links to donation forms the Starlight Foundation in the UK and the Australian Foundation respectively. You can click back to their homepages to see the kind of work they do brightening the lives of children with serious conditions.

The UK Starlight

https://secure.paradisii.net/Starlight/payment_details.asp

The Australian Starlight Homepage - click through to make a donation

http://www.starlight.org.au/Default.aspx?TabId=1374

Down Under

2007-11-09T20:49:00.001Z

Melbourne 2006 : Flowers
Originally uploaded by simv

I have just found out about the sudden death of my uncle David.

He emigrated with Margaret and the children to Australia many years ago but I remember staying at their house, that David built himself, in Woodstock.

I last saw him at my cousins wedding and he seemed happier than ever.

I am glad that he got to meet my partner before he died - they got on like a house on fire.

My thoughts are with Margaret, Christine, Kevin and Colin and all the family.

He was buried this afternoon in Melbourne.

Gifts have been requested to go to the Starlight Foundation, a hospice for terminally ill children.

When I can find an obvious link that's suitable for UK citizens I will post it up.

The Gr8 Heelr

2007-11-08T22:00:00.001Z

58/365 Shut up you stupid girl
Originally uploaded by Toxic Cherry Girl

I came across the following on my internet travels today.

I have no idea what search terms led me to it. Its a Bebo blog.

"Today was ok quiet wiv out becky though, she went to london 2 get a photo shoot done. had grease rehearsel after school that was funny joey didnt half look soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! becky would hav loved 2 be there as she would hav gone all mental coz danny didnt half look cool he look exactly like the lad off grease the part he is playing. danny said 2 me in english is BBT in and i said no she had gone 2 london he shouted yes and smiled.i hav had nothing 2day 2 eat coz i had noone 2 go in2 the canteen wiv me. i am so pissed off wiv chloe i hope i batter her she so has pissed me off i h8 her 4 it i wish i had never told her that little bitch any way fingers r hurting now so im gonna give it a rest
posted by name edited

1 Comment:

(name edited)said... 981 days ago

hey babe lovin ur journal i still fink that dan is sooooooooooooooooooooooo fit even if he did say yes
(and for those who dont know bbt is becky big tits)yes thats me becky big tits"

So far so good.

My tenuous excuse for posting this is that it was the last post I could find for this particular blogger - it was 981 days ago.

It makes me wonder if things have been patched up wiv chloe. I also wonder whether joey still looks soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fit or whether he has lost his charm.

981 days is a long time. It is longer than the period I have not been smoking. A lot longer - I estimate about 411 days longer.

Fingers r hurting now.

(Thanks to Toxic Cherry Girl for the pic)

Get it off my chest

2007-10-29T22:03:00.001Z

flu
Originally uploaded by taylorbrinton

I was going to write pithily about the vast array of chicken joints in Plumstead but I think I must have got bird 'flu and just sending in this is about the best I can do. Once again I'm pretty grateful for having given up smoking at times like these. Its very odd as the cold seems to have gone into my chest and I am having these unusual things called coughs - chesty coughs in fact. It brings back memories. Most of my coughing was pretty low-key as a smoker. Small irritating little affairs they were. R was amazed that I didn't seem to cough at all. She suspected that I didn't inhale properly as she remembers always have a big coughing session every morning when she was a smoker. Others might not have noticed my coughs but I certainly did - and now this little virus has reminded me of something I now largely live without. Luckily.

geeking and squeaking

2007-10-07T22:09:00.000+01:00

R decided to have a peek under the computer room "day" bed and thought that there was a mouse dead in the trap. She was right.

I was too busy to remove it immediately. A neighbour's computer had a suspiciously slow connection to the internet and I had undertaken to have a look at it. I have done a help-outs at work but this was the real thing. I didn't quite get to the bottom of it but whilst I was not quite getting to the bottom of it I noticed a mouse making its way round the skirting board of the room and then disappearing.

As I was trying to determine whether it was the same error I had had with explorer.exe trying to access inaccessible folders or whether it was in fact a trojan I was also juggling with the thought that the non-humane trap was also empty. The mouse had somehow released itself and ambled off to sniff out crumbs at its leisure.

The trap wasn't empty and I delivered a complicated lesson about a workaround for the slow connection issue. Progress was made in all departments - apart from that particular mouse's "survive as long as possible" department. I wonder if it was Wayne or John.

R has laid another trap. We are on a roll. We will not rest till all their necks are snapped. Ha Ha !!!

Well smack my little bald head

2007-10-05T19:10:00.000+01:00

I was messing around a bit with the template today - mainly so I could stick that Movie thing in my sidebar - its supposed to 1) update movies I have thought about whilst browsing 2) connect interestingly and pertinently to other sites. If you click the little blue squares you're given a few options to explore further. I tried the War of the Worlds option and was taken to YouTube and this clip. I love being productive at my PC.

You'll notice this traditonal hyperlink link has the same blue square located just to the right of it...and so it goes on...for ever...

Be warned...this video contains scary scenes evocative of the Seventies

tecnorati tags benny hill blueorganiser adaptiveblue smartlink funny youtube video semantic web

Interesting Dream Last Night

2007-09-30T23:10:00.001+01:00

smoking kills
Originally uploaded by engintepe

Interesting Dream Last Night

I was smoking last night. In fact I had been smoking for a period of months - about 4-5 a day for a period of months whilst making out on this blog with the Quit-o-meter that I was completely clean.

I was enjoying my smoke, feeling a bit disappointed that I had relapsed but at the same time confident I would be able to go back to being a non-smoker. I was unsure how I was going to adjust the Quit-o-meter if I was to confess via the blog that I had had relapses. I was totally confused by all this when I was waking up. It took a bit of time for the relief to kick with the realisation it was just a dream.

Its just short of a year and a half since I gave up.

(PS No thanks to either Flickr or Blogger or both for having such a flimsy blogging set-up. I hate re-writing posts).

It's quite simple..

2007-09-30T11:22:00.000+01:00

We were hunting round the reclamation yards of South East London yesterday and popped into the Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre. The Elly Centre is not what you'd call state of the art and the range of shops is limited to say the least. But I have enjoyed those few trips I have made. There's a definite ambience about the place on a weekend morning. When R and I lived nearby we saw one of those editorial pieces promoting nearby shops and there was an article about the centre and it was what originally inspired us to go along. When we got there I found it chimed with some positive reports from a friend about interesting goings-on on the top floor.

So we were desperate for a nice coffee yesterday and there was nothing decent until we got to Waterloo-unless we stopped at the Elephant of course. We ended going to both the "it's quite simple: brilliant Coffee" outlet and the Colombian La Bodeguita cafe bar. Our first coffees had been so good, really good, but we had finished them before getting back in the car so needed another. It meant we could do a direct comparison between the two stalls.

Although it had the advantage of meeting a desperate need the first round of coffees, from "Brilliant Coffee" were a clear winner in my opinion. Mine was a medium caramel cappuchino -the froth must have been made from full cream Jersey milk and had a solidity to it that made taste like an impossibly delicate meringue. The chocolate topping was spot on.

La Bodeguita beats the Brilliant Coffee hands down on charm - the service point is like walking into Santa's grotto. You are immediately transported away from the grot that is Elephant. This is the place to come and chill out for a while - there's even a library if your Spanish is up to it. It's also about 50 pence cheaper for a similar round. The coffee is good - they do are decaff though R found the authentic bitter cocoa a bit of a surprise. The take-aways were served extremely hot so we were far away from shop before we finished them. The extra shot I had ordered seemed to be missing from my cappo (and from the price) and the two sugars were hiding down the bottom somewhere. The flavour was there, if a bit subtle, but the froth was half-hearted. A decent enough coffee though and probably not their speciality. I'll try the hot chocolate next time. But still a lovely place and definitely worth a visit if for some unknown reason you find yourself in the Elly. But if you're just after simply brilliant coffee to take away just read the sign.

london coffee Elephant and Castle

Smokers and non-smokers agree: Bans are okay in public places

2007-09-25T21:08:00.001+01:00

Ok. I'm feeling lazy. And I told you I'm obsessed. So what?

clipped from www.synovate.com

Smokers and non-smokers agree: Bans are okay in public places

Smokers also willing to pay price for tobacco-friendly flights

As smoking bans continue to make headlines in Germany, Australia and the UK, findings from international market research firm Synovate's latest survey show that 80% of respondents in 15 countries across the globe are in favour of such bans, primarily because of the positive influence these are perceived to have upon public health.

Smoking bans win global support

More than 70% of people believe that smoking in public is fine as long as there is adequate ventilation or designated smoking spaces, according to the Synovate study.

Read more

Clipmarks-My Latest Obsession

2007-09-20T14:14:00.001+01:00

You can only fully use this with IE6 + or Firefox or Flock browsers. I had it for yonks on FF but had given up on it- now all of a sudden it makes sense. Its now on my IE7 too (though the toolbar doesn't integrate so well). It is there to help me waste even more time. Also the printing snippets thing in this article sounds like its actually useful - it hadn't occurred to me until I came across this article- using Clipmarks of course.

clipped from www.pcpro.co.uk

COMPANY: Clipmarks

RATING:

The extension reviewed here is one of the ones that we simply couldn't live without.

That's where Clipmarks comes in. Whether you want to save to a file, to a shared clipping website with a Digg-alike rating system, or to print. All you do is click on a toolbar button and move your mouse around the screen as various page elements get boxed in - one click and they're all clipped. Best yet, you can compile multiple clips from multiple pages and save them when you're ready. We find it works best when you want to print information from multiple pages or sites, but only that which is pertinent. If you save clips to clipmarks.com, there's a pitiful character count limit; on the positive side, you can quickly build a searchable database of your own preferred web content.

Wass den fecken?

2007-09-15T10:51:00.000+01:00

And now Bloggers inviting me to anfahren nach meinen Bloggeposten or something -aaaaAAArrRGGHH. And I've got to enter some poncey little word verification again and it will reject it again...and it did reject me again I was only joking. Sob sob snarl snarl. And agin - right the next one is nycdaeva there is no way I will get that wrong anymore than I got the others wrong. And it did reject me. The torture must STOP.

Flickring out

2007-09-15T10:38:00.002+01:00

That is the last time I use that blog option on Flickr. It may not be Flickr's fault but if you change one character from the original post you lose the title and link beneath the picture. I am sure an html wizard can fix it but my various "messings-with" have never worked. It is something to do with the total amount of characters in the post. Anyway I have had to let the typos go in the post below. There's always going to be one or two and I'm not always that concerned about accuracy but I can lose the will to live adding a single apostrophe sometimes.It involves re-acquiring two URLS and creating two links to credit the photo and I think sod copyright and sod Lynne Truss and sod blogging and sod life and sod mice.

Hampstead Heath expands to Woolwich

2007-09-15T10:38:00.001+01:00

HPN_0037.JPG
Originally uploaded by Arthur Pewty

I know what all the Gormley talk has been about Woolwich now. Actually they are by Peter Burke - though finding that out was a harder google than I imagined. Flickrs direct blogging tool is such a pain as I have to give the full link to the page that gave the answer and I won't be able to edit it without messing up the photographers credit. The link is the Cass Sculpture Foundation site. Such a pain Flickr/Blogger/Whoever!

edit - yes I did edit this anyway as it was totally incomprehensible and though I can see the links under the photo as I write I bet they will be gone if I click PublishPost. So here they are, painstakingly recreated. The picture is enigmaticallyentitled HPN_0037.JPG and the artist is Arthur Pewty.

The trap shuts

2007-09-13T17:36:00.000+01:00

Last night we were disturbed by some loud frantic rattling. R was convinced it was coming from inside our bedroom. I surmised quickly (not bad for 3am at any rate) that the noise was from the next door room and that the mouse had got caught in the humane trap . They work on a pivot system - they smell the peanut butter at the far end of the tube - he then enters the tube, the weight tilts the tube forward and the door shuts behind him.

The noise was almost disturbing. He went quiet suddenly. I thought he might have died from a heart attack. We heard some more noise -less desperate- later on and managed to go back to sleep.

I got up and checked it this morning. The trap had indeed closed shut. Victory at last. My earlier dismissive comments about the trap's usefulness were instantly retracted and I did a "huntsman returning in glory" dance up and down the stairs. I had to go to work and didn't have time to release him straight away. I got home and thought I better not delay any further - he might suffocate or something. I got my gloves on placed the trap in a bag and armed with a camera set off to the nearest open ground. I think I understand the warning on the label a bit better now.

video mousetrap funny

Forward to the Past

2007-09-12T22:01:00.000+01:00

I'm just slightly worried that when I went to hospital on Monday they didn't discuss my latest blood test but instead pronounced me dead. England has just won again with Owen and Heskey as frontmen. This can't be true can it?

I have also come back home after the match and seen the builders are still here working away.

Forget it. I'm dead. I'm definitely dead. Ate a bad prawn or something.

Life was good whilst it lasted but not as amusing as it is now. If you are still alive and receiving this post via a seance or something then "hello and fear not - the afterlife is serene and witty. Especially the Emile Heskey bits. Love to mum and dad. Bad to Wayne and John- but don't kill 'em or they'll end up here."

dot.com crash bang wallop

2007-09-11T20:26:00.000+01:00

If you click on this image you will see how my plans to displace YouTube and Facebook are coming along. According to Google-Analytics even I don't visit this site any more. Sigh.

Meanwhile John and Wayne have got themselves ear-muffs and this time it's personal. I need to get tooled up for round two though - I was far too lily-livered in the first round. The humane trap actually says on its packaging something like "due to the difficulty of capturing live mice this product might not work". Can you imagine that with a CD player - "due to the difficulty of digitalising music this product might just transmit a dull whirring noise".

And as for the Sonic Devices - pah! At least the veggie-traps tell you they don't work. I am going down to a bog standard fancy goods shop and buying a shed-load of conventional traps which I am going to manically lay around every corner of the house à la Tom & Jerry, then I am going to sit me down in a comfy chair with a beer and wait till I hear that sound...then it's bye bye guys - eat trap!

Thanks to www.rodentcontrolsupplies.com for the pic

mice mousetrap murder google analytics

Liberal Fags

2007-09-10T09:02:00.000+01:00

You often hear it said in the blogosphere that the BBC is not entirely free of truth destroying tendencies. Well you probably don't hear it expressed like that exactly - usually its getting flack for its liberal slant or words to that effect. Today it decided to address the imbalance with a solid piece of social authoritarian propaganda.

Apparently since the smoking ban in Scotland was introduced death has been cured. Well almost - there have been dramatic decreases in admissions to hospital for heart attacks. The kids at the Beeb who run the show seemed to have loved this and gave it carte blanche in their usual fashion- slip in one probing question to show impartiality then lay on the "truth" with a trowel.

The people's reaction up in Scotland, or something else, must really be worrying the anti-smoking establishment up there for them to come up with this poor stuff. Where are all the passive smoking type diseases that everyone was going on about? All of sudden it's about reduced heart attacks not preserving the lungs of Christian trumpeters.

There's obviously something that doesn't add up here - we'll see if any blogs pick up on it.

smoking ban bbc scotland bias

Disturbance Works

2007-09-09T21:51:00.001+01:00

working mouse
Originally uploaded by Flecto

We've got visitors at the house. The builders are in and the house seems to be disappearing before our eyes. Will a new house emerge or is the whole frail structure just going to vanish?

Alongside the builders John and Wayne have decided to up their profile. These are the names I have given the mouse infestation that has appeared over the last few days.

I couldn't decide on the best approach to controlling them - we found a dead mouse who had evidently been poisoned when we stripped out the kitchen. Its facial expression was a bit like something out of the Ring. I decided against poison. So the bedrooms are equipped with sonic mouse repellents and both humane and chopper mouse traps. I figure giving the little blighters half a chance is better than none at all. If either Wayne or John is daft enough to walk into the humane trap I will take him far away and he can starve there. As for the sonic blasters devices they are just a classic method of displacing anti-social behaviour rather than stopping it.

I heard one of them (perhaps there only is one) gnawing away at bag the other night so put a sonic device there - the next night he appeared in the neighbouring room. So another one was added to that room. Today I saw him in the garden. Perhaps the nasty noise from all corners has finally driven him out. As there is one in the garden as well perhaps he's run out of options and is slowly being driven insane, Avengers-fashion, by the unrelenting psychedelic torture sounds all around him.

Its not easy on your conscience this extermination lark.

Thanks to Flecto at Flickr for "Working Mouse"

Put that funnel out

2007-08-26T22:20:00.000+01:00

As time progressed with giving up smoking I had a lot of "first time I went there and did not smoke" moments. Now I am having lots of "first time I have gone there and no one was allowed to smoke there at all" moments. Yesterday it was East Thurrock Football ground (an extremely open-air environment), waiting for the connection at Dartford, smoking on the platform is now banned, visiting two pubs in Gravesend where everyone was outside(well it was hot) and then the ferry over to Tilbury. Perhaps that accounted for the ferryman's grumpiness. "Can't even smoke arn me own cussed ferry" I can imagine him muttering. Standing on the deck of his ferry is going to kill no one passively or otherwise. It's only a short journey so passengers don't have to forgo much for long - but he's stuck on it for hours on end and has to forgo a fag even if he has no passengers.

Rose again

2007-08-26T12:23:00.000+01:00

And here's another strange thing. I wrote a couple of posts back about the demise of Rose's Free House. Well I was drinking in it again last night. Apparently it was only closed for a couple of days. When I first went in it I thought Fullers had taken it over (this would have guaranteed its continuance in the mid-term).

It hasn't been taken over by Fullers thought - it is under new management and they have decided to go with that brewer as well as stocking a guest ale.

So if you want a decidedly un-Woolwich like chill out real ale joint to continue I think you had better get down there and experience and support it now. Otherwise the next closing down might be for real.

A little learning can be...

2007-08-26T11:49:00.001+01:00

Commuting in the other day there were three girls discussing an acquaintance's welfare. They were a bit incredulous about the bruise on her cheek being caused by a kiss from her boyfriend. Apparently this had been a very unlucky young lady who had had a string of bad'uns as boyfriends. The three girls briefly speculated on why that should be. "I reckon its because she got good GCSE's" one of them stated authoritatively.

2007-07-29T18:45:00.000+01:00

When it says here that half of people start smoking at school I assume they mean Infant School?

Thinking a bit more about Rose's - it was just fine minus it's traditional smokey atmosphere today (and on my more recent visits) though I can't help noticing one of my favorite pubs has closed within a short time of the ban. Perhaps it's just coincidence.

And something else I am noticing...people smoking in the street. I used to avoid it at some points and places in my life as it was an invitation to be harassed by a beggar. Now millions of people are snatching their fags between the non-smoking location they have just left and the non-smoking location they are about to arrive at.

And finally what are we to make of this tragic story?

2007-07-29T18:12:00.000+01:00

A Rose by Another Name

Went to have a last drink at the Prince Albert aka Rose's this afternoon. R and I had encountered it a few years ago when we were visiting the area (a tip from the CAMRA supporting Kev and Mrs T I think) and have since enjoyed the great beer, Jackie's brilliant rolls and its well known 'time-warp' atmosphere whenever chance has allowed.

When contemplating the move out here it played a positive role - we could fantasise about soaking in its mellow atmoshere on some weekend evening.

Then we move here and R comes across it in an auction website and today its history. Not so much history - more a small collection of happy memories for me and R and a much larger collection for all the long-term locals who came to pay their last respects today.

It was extraordinary in this day and age for any type of retail outlet to go out of its way to look as if it was closed - Gordon's Wine Bar in Villiers Street could be another example. Whether it was deliberate or not I don't know but there was almost a Narnia feeling in walking through its front door. The contrast between the warm womb of the place and the harsher goings on outside couldn't be more extreme. I spent one summer afternoon sipping beer there listening to the biggest of barnies between a mad bus driver, an insane car driver and what seemed like a hundred hot and bothered kebab customers from the shop over the road. The door was wide open and there was nothing between us and it but the goings-on still seemed very far away - no more real than as if someone had started showing a Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" on the uncharacteristically 21st century plasma screen.

Even timelessness, it seems, must come to an end.

Technorati Tags woolwich camra SE18 london rose's pub sad old fashioned real ale beer

2007-07-25T22:53:00.001+01:00

In the olden days when you moved to a new area you perhaps got hold of a local map and plan yourself a little walkabout to familiarise yourself with your new surroundings.

Now thanks to Google (Windows Live does something similar) you can peruse the rooftops of your neighbours often with quite a bit of detail.

It is a great bit of software and hardly a new one. I was moved to throw up this quick post because it seems to be performing much better nowadays in Ubuntu than my first experiences of it which were painfully slow despite working fine with XP. So hooray to someone - Google or Canonical I don't know which.

PS - Does it look familiar to anyone?

2007-07-24T22:39:00.000+01:00

From the East to the West

It was time for the M and R's annual barby last Saturday so I prepared for a longer than usual journey. I was also up for a comparison of train services which is exciting isn't it? I had been discussing it with my friends on the Common (upstairs) and though they acknowledged SET had improved it was as nothing compared to services out of Waterloo proper. My outbound journey seemed to confirm that the pootling along in the old jallopy to London Bridge then a change then to Waterloo East then to Waterloo and then- bang!- I am on the Bullet train to Surbiton catching my breath in a top notch carriage with not a scratched window in sight. (getting a ticket at Waterloo was a bit of a mare though - almost as bad as Victoria). I get off the train and jump aboard, after a short wait, a reasonably unvandalised 281 which took me straight to the burning, if slightly damp, flesh.

(Argh ...Opera in Ubuntu didn't like this webpage (or vice versa) for some reason...rudely interrupted again. Switched to Firefox)

So South West wins round one. The next day with a bad head, probably induced by all that burger fat, I start the return leg. Again a 281 appears quickly and gives me an attractive ride up and down Surbiton Hill, parking straight outside the white facade of the station. Then it looked like the problems were about to start. Surbiton on a Sunday has always had millions of passengers and never enough staff. Add to that complicated enquiries by people whose first language is not English and other complicated season ticket procedures and you are going to die before you get to the end of that queue. There used to be two rubbish automated machines that also had long queues and the paper money slot would stop working just as it was your turn and you would find the fare was ten pence more than you had in change. Dreadful. However when I went there this Sunday though the endless queue was there were also a bank of intelligent machines that take plastic. So South West gets out of jail on this point - a marked improvement (though still a bit inadequate I would think for the commuter station par excellence).

But... I get to the platform and a not so handsome train is sitting there as dead as a doornail and the platform is packed with passengers. The train arrives and it is a struggle to grab a rather hard seat. Again there are more people than services out here. I get to Waterloo and walk straight through to catch a train to Plumstead. It pootles along as usual but it is not at all crowded - the opposite in fact, almost deserted.

Now of course millions of bored and cash rich Surrey-ites heading for a stroll down the South Bank is never going to matched by some mad Sunday exodus to SE18 but the point of all this is that a train service is more than the rolling stock, even the punctuality. The body/seat ratio is pretty important too. Since moving here I have never had to stand on either end of the journey and this is without me adjusting my normal hours. A train journey of fifteen minutes is a nice thing but 25 minutes when you can sit down and enjoy the views isn't too bad either. I doubt it will last sadly...all those new homes further east and all these disappearing transport schemes mean we might all feel a little more Surrey-like.

2007-07-16T21:39:00.001+01:00

A friend has snapped this. I think some of this anti-smoking ban might just be a bit excessive - not only can you not smoke within the confines of a bus shelter you must be assisted in understanding that you cannot smoke with a Gigantic Banner. Dark references must be made to the law and oh yes there is the striking symbol in the colours black, white and red. And what are you supposed to do with that phone number? Is it a denunciation line or an information line? What kind of information? - "Hello I am phoning up to establish if I can in fact smoke in your bus shelter despite a sign of noticeable proportions suggesting otherwise?" "Please hold sir - I will just need to check that with my supervisor."

Some dreadful Finance Director mistook me for a "helpline" today. I sort of am one but he thought I was a vulnerable contact centre employee stuck in a warehouse in Gateshead pummeled into a near automaton. He was obviously in bullying mood. He started screaming at me when I told him his tone was aggressive "I AM NOT BEING AGGRESSIVE!!!!" If you put it in a comedy sketch it would be considered a lame cliché. I stepped out of the call and he apparently calmed down later (having got nowhere) but he has sent me into a black depressed rage all day. These people who are primed to say "put me through to someone who can help" before they have even started their inquiry are so patronising and disgusting it's not true. I have tried to buoy myself up with memories of the Month of Sundays event for Resonance FM that I went to last night. Pharaoh Overlord are a hoot - if you like your hoots on the weird side that is.

I can no longer get a clear signal for Resonance radio itself but the webcast sees me through.

Speaking of depressed, I am not sure if this lady and this one are overly excited by the smoke free joy of their bus shelter.

Thanks to AB for the photo

2007-07-16T01:12:00.000+01:00

Avez-vous broadband? Avez-vous something to do?

Well that's my meagre effort - I would turn the sound down. I feel embarrassed by the "faster faster" exclamations I made.

These are better - firstly my favourite by parakletosuk then these two: number one and number two.

Bon voyage. Vive Le Plumstead.

technorati plumstead tour de france technorati london

2007-07-12T13:59:00.000+01:00

French à Plum

And we all had a lovely time one and all.

It was curiously exciting walking up my road to the High Street to see it all closed off and policed-up in a relaxed way. There were sufficient vehicles making their way down the course (or whatever you call it) to hold my attention whilst I waited there in limbo with only the vaguest sense of when they would arrive. It was busier than these two photos make out - the Volunteer had even made an attempt to acknowledge what was taking place - it was festooned with red and white balloons. This was the only theming I saw down most of the length of the High Street.

R appeared at my shoulder unexpectedly and told me that Mr and Mrs R and the kids had decided against Greenwich and were in the High Street where they had bagged a good spot. The final moments before they arrrive are really stirring with a load of cars and bikes roaring ahead of the cyclists and finally a sudden splash of colour appeared at the bridge crossing the railway and they were here. And then they were gone. And we went home and started waiting for the next great event to come to Plum....whenever that might be.

Technorati Tag tour de france

2007-07-05T22:47:00.000+01:00

The great day has come and gone - July the First. I have been mildly amused by the various sights offered up by the implementation of the ban.

This evening it was a guy standing outside a bookies having a fag and craning his neck so much to view a race that he was to all intents and purposes inside the place.

R thought it was only a ban in pubs and even I was a bit surprised by the sight.

I have been in a couple of pubs this week - my old grotty favorite the Hole in the Wall and the lovely Royal Oak in Tabard Street.

The former has miraculously developed a yard with three tables in it - the pub was the deadest I have ever seen it but it was an unusual time of day for me to be in it.

The Royal Oak is a gorgeous Harveys pub down a back street near Borough Tube which does great food. I met a friend for a meal there just before quitting and he found its smokey atmoshere a bit too much despite being an ex-smoker himself.

No smoke now in either of these two boozers. The smoke has been fully replaced with the smell of chip fat. The new excuse of those who can't admit to getting old is quickly being formed. "I don't go to pubs much myself -I can't stand the smell of old fat on my clothes the next morning."

smoking ban london pubs

2007-07-05T22:43:00.001+01:00

Kids Bike Eddie
Originally uploaded by eddiemalone

It looks like there is finally a tenant in sight for R's flat after a brief spell of nervousness.

To celebrate the world bicycling community are gathering at the end of our road to do the old Tour de France.

Can Plumstead cope with the strain of something actually happening? We will find out on Sunday.

2007-06-27T21:18:00.000+01:00

Plumstead links

I am going to stick a few on the sidebar thingy when I get time. Don't know why really...apart from the obvious. Now this one I think I may have referred to before its a kind of residents association/activist one with some wistful vision stuff thrown in. The vision usually takes the form of a jazz cafe which doesn't quite work for me - like I haven't the foggiest what one is. A kind of Milk Bar but replacing the Skiffle band with an ipod-type set-up oozing Charlie Parker or something. I have enjoyed visiting sibonetics site...it made me feel welcome in a funny kind of way. He has had a bit of a dispute with another blogger recently which reminds me of what our neighbour said when we moved in "you can hear a pin drop most of the time round here but it can suddenly get very noisy".

Then there's arthurpewty and his amazing maggot sandwich.
He's not exactly Plumstead but near enough and is forthright about some of the local ethnic groups - one in fact- the baseball hat wearing youth . He likes Linux too so might be interested to hear I am writing this using a Live CD because I can't boot Ubuntu yet again. Like sibonetic he likes Doctor Who too.

There's a forum thing going on that I've only just noticed - it styles itself as Plumstead Common for some reason. There's a bit of an upstairs downstairs thing going on in Plumstead.

And finally another photographer though I'm not sure how active he is at the moment. I think he's the only one of the blogs representing the Asian community here.

All worth a visit if you want to smell out the area. So to speak.

2007-06-27T20:52:00.000+01:00

At various points in this blog I have pasted up some stats from the Quit-o-meter that ticks away (whenever I am in XP) adding up all the minutes of life and pennies of pounds saved as a result of My Big Give Up. Perhaps we need one that operates on a national scale that we could start running from 01 July - the Nation's Big Quit. It should have things like Lives Saved of course and number of pence not spent on fags but should also include perhaps Amount of Tax Increased in Other Areas to Cover Shortfall, Amount of Additional Health Expenditure as people's decripitude is extended further and Number of Humorless Morons Stomping Around in an Oppression Frenzy.

What the country needs is a ban on Revolting Sniffers of the Train. (Is it something to do with South East London or have I forgotten my commutes from the South and West?) I have been lumbered with 3 in the last two weeks. Yuk.

2007-06-11T21:21:00.001+01:00

Another Plumstead evening
Originally uploaded by Boxley

Another Plumstead Evening

The big move has taken place. R is still a bit of a stranger to these parts spending more time back at the flat preparing to get a tenant in.

I am listening to a nature prog on Radio 4 in the new "Media Centre" room (the old pc and a portable radio). As I do our family of blackbirds chirp merrily outside.

I think there is a bit of wild life inside the house as well but that's another matter.

Tomorrow I will give this commuting thing a crack after a break of more than a year.

Smoking will be banned inside all stations on July One. Not that there is much 'inside' to your average overground station. It will apply throughout which I think is a bit unfair.

One of the great things about smoking was as an occupational therapy when the rubbish railway companies were proving they were rubbish. Now the smokers must move themselves beyond the boundary of the station. Stand on one side of the line and blow in towards the station and you're fine. Stand on the other and blow out away from the station and you risk being bundled into a van and gang-raped by the fag police.

These risks are no longer mine I am glad to say - but they are entirely man-made risks.

Why add to the stresses of life with all these petty laws?

(Thanks to Boxley at Flickr for the pic- very lovely it is too)

2007-05-29T14:08:00.001+01:00

Big Issue Vender, Bold St Liverpool. 1
Originally uploaded by andy_sunley

Crossing Hungerford Bridge today a guy wanly repeating "B'shoo 'elp de 'omeless B'shoo 'elp de 'omeless". And me "sorry old bean must dash got to zip off a CHAPS payment for the new mansion".

I have spent more money in a single day than I have before or will ever do again.

So I think it will be a medium sized cappo from the Caffee Nero on my way in to work this afternoon.

The photo is by andy_sunley

Dream House

2007-05-28T20:15:00.001+01:00

Dream House
Originally uploaded by Basile1

Oh yes. Home ownership. Now this isn't it exactly but given its location in the so-called Thames Gateway it could look a bit like it at short notice.

As I said there is a lot to worry about when you first become a property owner.

2007-05-28T20:05:00.000+01:00

Now that I am about to become a home owner there are just so many things to worry about.

2007-05-16T23:58:00.000+01:00

Now here is a pub that isn't going to be too worried by the forthcoming smoking ban. It is the Pembury Tavern in Hackney.

I had vaguely heard of it through the SPBW (Rose signed up and gets the Pint in Hand) and had confused it with a boozer I used to frequent when I lived nearby in Rowhill Road. I was wrong it turned out. Despite being located on a major junction that I walked passed several times a week I had no recollection of the building. It was quite possible it was in its burnt out stage then but I doubt it. there were loads of vast boozers around Hackney at that time, and probably still are, and I am sure I would have noticed it in a disapproving kind of way. My dole office was located not very far away but I can't remember heading for a post sign-on beer up there. I was too near the flat I guess.

To cut a long blog short - it has undergone a bit of a transformation. To be honest I am surprised to find such a pub in Hackney despite the passage of the years.

What made me drag myself across London to get there? In the end it was an accidental purchase of a Linux magazine, "Linux User and Developer", one that I don't really like because it's a bit waffly and short on practicalities. It was accidental because its colour scheme put me in mind of Linux Format a magazine that I do like. There was one good article in it however about this man, Steve Early, who had developed his own opensource EPOS system . His thinking was pragmatic about the issue - he didn't want to be beholden to EPOS companies who deliberately lock in their customers data to their systems and who are at the same time often small outfits vulnerable to going bust. Not only has the combination of Steve's programming talents and existing opensource software protected his data he can flex it around in various creative ways. He also has the potential of putting his ideas out to other businesses with similar needs and possible making some money from offering system support.

The article also listed some classic pieces of OSS that I feel suffer because of their familiarity. Open Office is certainly one of them. Just because its commonly bundled with distros doesn't mean we should take its capabilities for granted. Less well known outside of the Gnu/Linux world is Gnucash. I have started to look at it on my Ubuntu install. The article was reminder of what a powerful set of tools are available to people without the stranglehold of closed formats and code or , less importantly, licence fees.

Steve's other interest is beer and he is a founding director of Individual Pubs a mini-chain of pubs who's main speciality is real ale. The Milton Brewery plays a leading role in the beers usually available but guest ales aren't in short supply either. (like Samuel Smiths they also avoid your bog standard products like Fosters Guiness or Coca Cola). There was a nice looking cider on when I visited but at 7% it was beyond my reach.

The Pembury has been a non-smoking pub since its re-opening under the Individual Pubs banner and this can only be to its advantage. Not one of their devoted band of customers is going to be changing their drinking habits one bit. And others attracted by the beers and light spacious atmosphere but put off by the smoking restriction will suddenly be without an excuse to avoid the place. (Perhaps a pub garden or nice area to smoke outside is missing-the junction they are located on isn't the noisiest but neither is it the nicest).

They do a great menu. The bar staff are lovely and the management think out of the box. I hope they go on to bigger things. (I also hope they spare a thought for the neglected world of SE18 - me and R might soon be in need of an individual pub ourselves.)

hackney real ale pembury tavern

The Fist Project -- Unity is Within Everyone

2007-05-08T22:18:00.001+01:00

The Fist Project -- Unity is Within Everyone
Originally uploaded by Still Vision.

I haven't got a clue what the Fist Project is...but I think they'll be none too happy on July The First.

2007-05-08T22:10:00.000+01:00

More blogging weirdness.

All of a sudden I have to moderate comments. Google must have changed my settings.

Help - where's the off switch?

2007-05-07T21:18:00.000+01:00

July the First

Not long to go before the UK ban.

Apparently the punishment side of things is aimed at two groups - the individual smokers themselves who can face £50 fines "if caught in banned areas" (presumably for smoking - not just being smokers).

Secondly it is the managers of the premises who get a larger set of fines. They can be fined £1000 for not displaying no-smoking signs irrespective of whether anyone has ever smoked on their premises.

A friend of mine has received his guidance pack from the Government. He employs himself as a computer contractor so therefore he gets a pack - a bit daft and a bit expensive. I suppose some of the money from all those lovely fines will contribute to to cost of this waste.

Apparently he can still smoke in his own house where his "office" is. But if someone was visiting on official business, a Smoking Ban Enforcement Officer for example, he would have to protect that workers entitlement to a smoke free environment. He would also have to get that 'no smoking' sign up pronto to remind the Officer of his legal duty to protect that smoke free environment.

At least this friend smokes - I guess the same would apply to non-smokers in the same situation. They would have to stick up signs to remind themselves not to do something they wouldn't dream of doing.

smoking+ban

2007-04-15T18:45:00.000+01:00

When I say below "lovely biscuit" I mean stuff like this.

Twittering on and on

2007-04-15T18:17:00.001+01:00

Twitter has a rival

But I don't have enough time to investigate it...I am wasting all my time on twitter.

That's a lie.  Had the last big away trip of the season yesterday down in Folkestone yesterday.

I guess the point of Twitter and other "personal presence" websites is that those who cared to find out that fact could have done it more easily than accessing a full-blown blog.

I maintain that  one of the main roles of blogs is a simple public notice saying "I am alive." 

The problem is just about everyone either loses your address or thinks you've stopped or moved your blog.  What they mean is they can't be bothered to visit your webpage.  They'd rather do something more interesting or useful.

 I also maintain RSS is an essential component of blog checking half bearable.  However for some reason people can't face up sorting out an RSS solution.  Even they way I have just described it would put people off.  It sounds simply too technical.

Much easier to sign up for a twitter account or myspace where the same concepts used without any jargon and with only a moderate expenditure of effort.

Why navigate to Verbal Diary to establish I'm alive via a long-winded post like this when my name flashing up announcing "Just had a lovely biscuit" can do the same trick?

Thank you!

2007-04-15T17:58:00.001+01:00

Thank you!
Originally uploaded by Nakken18.

This amused me ..... guess you don't see this sign much in the Celtic countries.

2007-04-11T09:35:00.000+01:00

Who needs all this waffle - the world of the one line blog has arrived.

I found myself signing up for this a few months back not entirely sure if it had any legs. I then I saw it mashed up with Google maps and a new addiction has been born. Check it out Twittervision

2007-04-11T09:32:00.000+01:00

---
1y 2d 01:04 smoke-free, 9,176 cigs not smoked, £1,064.42 saved, 1m 1d 20:40 life saved

Yeah - One year and two days. Speeding towards the two year point. Go boy go boy.

(This post is for the purposes of self support only)

2007-04-09T22:02:00.000+01:00

Hmmm....I must have misunderstood something because today it says

---
1y 13:32 smoke-free,
9,145 cigs not smoked,
£1,060.82 saved,
1m 1d 18:05 life saved

Which is correct...the one year bit at least is correct.

When I looked at it yesterday it looked like it was missing a few days. But calenders are weird things as Easter constantly (inconstantly) reminds us.

2007-04-09T20:33:00.000+01:00

One Year Today

Well, well done to me. Today its my First Anniversary of packing in smoking. So yippee.

The quit-o-meter disagrees with me about this for some reason and I will post what it has to say about it in a few minutes when I boot back into Windows.

I can't read what I wrote in my last post about the effect of the forthcoming English smoking ban.

Of course I haven't the foggiest what will happen to the "pubs I like". They could very well prosper.

I do know the one thing that really nearly stopped me following up my decision to give up smoking on the 9 April 2006 was the sight of Patricia Hewitt leaning over the dispatch box licking her lips with glee as she announced the full-on ban (even though it was a reversal of the government's earlier policy of a partial ban).

I have never much liked the direct action route to advance your causes but perhaps a "letter-tray" campaign might stir things up - you send stubbed out cigarettes in envelopes to members of the ghoulish anti-smoker politburo and see them have kittens on Question Time and the like..

The downside is that some people think even fag ends emit death rays so you could still end up being lynched.

Thanks for the flickr picture to sluggo

smoking ban smoking terrorism

smoking ban in action

2007-04-07T09:44:00.001+01:00

smoking ban in action
Originally uploaded by tigerweet.

"I don't smell and I'm not going to die horribly, but you know, it'd be nice if smokers at least took turns going outside for a ciggy rather than leaving me alone for most of the night." says in the text accompanying the photo - my mind flashes back guiltily to the days when the non-smokers would be dragged over to the smoking section.

Its also interesting that these memories of non-smoking sections in pubs are fairly numerous and go back a long way - combined with good air conditioning there was plenty of opportunity to get all the supposed benefits that the progandists say have snowed down on the Irish and Scottish since their bans were imposed.

I think the ban will kill off certain pubs - they happen to be the pubs I really like with or without a fag in my hand.

2007-03-22T19:56:00.000Z

Just come back from a short stay with my folks in Portugal.

It looked like a possible escape route for smokers - there is a large Brit ex-pat thing going on there. I went to watch a game in the Bull Pub in Luz and it made we wonder about the forthcoming smoking ban. Would it tilt people into wintering in Portugal or even moving full-time?

Apparently the Portugese are bringing in there own ban - it applies to any bar or cafe less than 10m sq. This size encompasses the vast majority of venues...but what does it matter anyway? I was getting sunburnt yesterday whilst England had snow. A smoking ban inside cafes in Portugal is like a ban on nudity in South Antartic. People will continue sitting outside just like they do now. And none of the urban elite need be effected as they sit in their open-plan offices.

Meanwhile Scottish bars are reporting a downturn in business since the ban - you're not even allowed to sit outside there.

One thing that is leading to the downturn is that people are moving on a lot quicker ratrher than making an evening of it down the pub - presumably they going home to blow smoke on the kids who in turn will grow up to vote only for parties that are less vindictive in their policies.

If I had to choose between Scotland and Portugal for a holiday it would be a terrible wrench but I might just choose Portugal.

2007-02-25T22:50:00.000Z

Another week another pound shed.

One thing I depend on quite a bit is sugar-free chewing gum so I am quite galad a gum war has broken out with Cadbury's introducing their Trident range of gums to the UK.

I love them but R is sticking to the old ways as usual.

One mystery has been solved - why did Wrigleys ditch the tradition foil wrapped stick of gum in favour of wallets. It was in preparation for the packets used by Cadbury's. The Cadbury's ones are better designed though- the gum doesn't fall out into your pocket like the Wrigleys packets do.