7 November 2015 (Saturday) - Before the Night Shift

I slept well last night even though I was woken in the small hours by a small dog trying to get comfortable. I resisted the temptation to take him back to his basket, then rolled over and slept through till after 8am.

Over brekkie I had a look-see on-line. Little had changed. Squabbles and knob jokes abounded on social media in equal proportion. I laughed at the knob jokes and resisted the temptation to join in with the squabbles.

I looked out of the window; the day was overcast. With heavy rain forecast within the hour I decided against going out route-planning for my New Year walk, which was a shame. I like to do something "special" on the day of a night shift before going to bed, if only to give me something to blog about.

Instead I took "Furry Face ^TM" for a shorter walk. We took a rather circuitous walk round to the back of the park to (hopefully) avoid most of the joggers who infest the park on a Saturday morning. We did avoid most of them, but we were almost forced off the path by a swarm of forty joggers who were doing a bonus lap.

To their credit they stopped and apologized for jogging ten abreast. I was tempted to ask why they bothered jogging because not one of them looked to be enjoying it, but I kept quiet.

We came home, and I spent a couple of hours emptying unwanted tat from my back room into dustbin bags and then did a tip run. It never fails to amaze me just how much rubbish I have hoarded. (If it were not rubbish then I wouldn't be so surprised to realise I hadn't thrown it away years ago).

As I came back from the tip so the drizzle started. This rather boiled my piss; we *could* have gone out for that longer walk before the rain hit after all.

I finally managed to get hold of the nice lady who organises the hall bookings for the hall in which the astro club meets. She said she'd seen all the calls I made yesterday but because she didn't recognise my number she hadn't answered it. (Oh how we laughed).

I've managed to change the date of the December meeting. It's now planned for a date which I can't make because I made my arrangements based on a date which was originally decided upon in a formal committee meeting over a year ago.

As "er indoors ^TM" set off to today's geo-meet I had a shower and over a spot of lunch watched this week's episode of "Detectorists". I then took myself off to bed for the afternoon. I slept as well as I could for a couple of hours despite next door's clanging their infernal piano.

I'm off to the night shift now. Much as I say I like the night work I actually like the fact that working longer shifts means I work less of them and consequently have more days off in the week.

But I'm coming to actively dislike the day time before the night shifts. I spend the morning desperately wanting to actually do something so the day isn't wasted and the afternoon trying to sleep whilst next door clangs their piano.

I've got another tomorrow...

6 November 2015 (Friday) - Wet Day Off

I've whinged about the bin men before. Today they excelled themselves. They actually did empty the recycling bin (because we'd left it blocking the pavement because they won't walk two steps into the front garden to get it). But having emptied it they then abandoned the thing on the pavement closest to where the bin lorry was at the time. Admittedly I only had a round trip of fifty yards to retrieve it but it was as well that "er indoors ^TM" had put lame daffodil stickers on it so I knew which one to fetch back.

I had intended to go out on a second recce for my planned New Year's walk today but the weather forecast had put me off. So instead I took "Furry Face ^TM" for a shortened walk.

About two months ago someone did one of my Wherigos and said the actual cache itself was in a sorry state. I never got the message, and only found out by chance a day or so ago. So I replaced it this morning, and having done so we carried on with our walk round to the park where we picked a fight with a staffie. You would think my dog would have learned his lesson from the last staffie who handed him his arse on a plate.

We got home just as the rain started, and as "er indoors ^TM" set off to work so I put some washing in to scrub. I then phoned the washing machine fixer people. Our washing machine has a dial from which you can select twenty or more programs. Now you can *select* them, but whatever you select, it just does a quick wash cycle.

The fix-it man is coming on Monday morning.

I then spent a little time working on my presentation for the next astro club meeting. It won't be as long as it might be but hopefully it will entertain the masses. I also tried to get in touch with the nice lady who does the bookings for the hall in which the astro club meets. (It's been decided that we should try to change the date of the December meeting). The nice lady wasn't in all day.

Seeing how the bin men had done their thing this morning and the bin was now empty, I then bleached the recycle bin; it had been getting a little bit whiffy. I also tried to do some hoovering but despite "angle-able head rollerball technology" I couldn't get it to work. It was as floppy as the neck of the pheasant that Fudge had the other week, and after a few minutes I gave up with the thing.

"Daddies Little Angel ^TM" and Fia arrived with the littlun and Sid. Chesse on toast was scoffed all round, then Fia went off. I then met Cheryl at the KFC and we brought home second lunch.

The girls then set about a mini tidy-up of the kitchen. That was nice of them. They also gave the hoover a once over. The thing was as dead as the pheasant that Fudge had the other week so we took it (and some rubbish) to the tip. We then collected Lacey from school; she stays late on Friday for German class.

I took the girls back to Cheryl's where we had coffee and Rolo expressed his love for Sid as only a boy dog can. It was at this point that I left the girls to it and came home,

I dozed through "Upstairs Downstairs", and then slept through episodes of Star Trek and Bug Bang Theory until "er indoors ^TM" finally came home. Apparently she's been driving "Daddies Little Angel ^TM" home. had I known I could have taken her home and saved three hours waiting around.

Bearing in mind I'm working the next two nights I wouldn't have minded going out and doing somthing this evening. Fireworks would have been a good choice, but the constant rain of the last two days rather put paid to that plan.

So instead I sulked...

5 November 2015 (Thursday) - Bonfire Night?

Being on a late shift I didn't have an alarm set for this morning and so I slept a while lot better. And it is amazing how much warmer the house is at 7am rather than at 5am.

Once brekkied I took "Furry Face ^TM" round the park for our walk. I think I confused him a little by not following our usual route. I had this plan to get a photo of him in front of the fountain so I went on one side of the hedge whilst he went on the other. When he realised what had happened he tried to run through said hedge. And got just the teensiest bit stuck.

With walk walked I then drove down to Folkestone. As I drove there was a program on the radio which could have been rather interesting. It started off trying to explain the way in which algorithms can be used. I say "trying" because the presenter didn't like the term "algorithm". He would have preferred "estimate" or "best guess" and wasted five minutes of air time making a big fuss about it. He then seemed to get rather stressed when the experts being interviewed told him that (bearing in mind how little he understood of basic maths and science) the application of prime number factorisation to DNA analysis and cryptography simply couldn't be dumbed down enough to be explained to him in thirty seconds.

It rather amazes me that Radio Four presenters expect the listeners to be conversant with the most obscure books and plays, but don't understand the most basic mathematical or scientific concepts.

I'd gone down to Folkestone a little earlier than I needed to because last night I'd solved a geo-puzzle. I had this naive idea to go find it today. I didn't find it. I found myself scrambling up a muddy slope to rummage in a jungle; I gave up after five minutes and went round to see the littun.

Littlun was watching a new (to me) TV show. "Paw Patrol" is best described as "Thunderbirds done by dogs"; I quite liked it. I would have watched more, but work was calling.

As I drove toward Hawkinge I felt rather peckish so I stopped off at the roadside burger van. The fact that there was a geocache not ten yards from the van was neither here nor there. I had a rather good saugage in a baguette and got fried onions all down my shirt.

I called in to Sainsburys as I was passing. Normally I wouldn't go there but time was pressing and it was the only supermarket I was passing. I needed supplies so I got a jar of their own-brand strawberry jam and a jar of their own-brand marmalade. Both costing nearly three times the price of what Morrisons charge for their own-brand stuff.

I got to work and had a rather horrendous day. For those who understand such things I had a case with a serious haemmorage with a concomitant anti-Fy(a) followed by an anaemic anti-M. For those to whom this is akin to the application of prime number factorisation to DNA analysis and cryptography, let's just say it was something of a brown alert (like a red alert but needing fresh pants).

In fact the shift was such that despite working overlooking (sort of) the county cricket ground I didn't get to spend hours staring out of the window watching their firework display. There's no denying that I was rather vocal in my complaints on the matter.

Mind you once home I did watch the Rocky Horror Show Live which was being broadcast on the Sky Arts channel. What with that and the landscape artist of the year competition that's twice I've watched the Sky Arts channel this week.

I must be getting cultured...

4 November 2015 (Wednesday) - New Wellies

After an hour of laying awake I got up and was watching "Chewing Gum" shortly after 6am. A rather overlooked series; it is actually quite good.

I then spent a little while having a look-see on Amazon (dot com). "Daddies Little Angel ^TM" has recently shown an interest in post-apocalyptic fiction and I was seeing what was going cheap in the genre. There are quite a lot of rather good books of that type by John Wyndham and Edmund Cooper. I wonder what she will make of Triffids and the Kraken?

It was raining as I set off to work. That reminded me I needed to get new wellies so I went to B&Q. I got there and asked where the wellies were. I was rudely directed to the garden section by some old battleaxe who clearly didn't like being at work at 7am. I'd already tried the garden section - the door to that area was locked. So I told that to the old battleaxe who sighed and marched over to the automatic doors which were indeed locked. Using brute force she wrenched them open and told me that if I got locked in I should shout and someone would come and let me out.

I found the wellington boots in a heap. Some had sizes on them; some did not. So I forced open the doors from the garden section to the main store and walked out.

On 7 January of this year I blogged about how rude the staff in B&Q are. I keep forgetting what a crap shop it is; every time I go there I always end up wasting my time and then going somewhere else.

The morning's news boiled my piss (as it so often does). The Health Secretary is offering junior doctors a stonking great pay rise. Or so it seems. He's actually offering a pay rise on the one hand whilst cutting overtime rates. Been there, had that shoved down my throat...

But it speaks volumes that no one cares what is he offering physiotherapists, pharmacists, optometrists, biomedical scientists, audiologists, transfusion practitioners, painters, gardeners, porters, cleaners, cooks, electricians, plumbers, secretaries, radiographers and all the other NHS workers who aren't doctors and nurses.

I got to work, did some, and came home via the garden centre in Chartham where I got my wellies. Once home I took "Furry Face ^TM" for his walk. He then had his tea, and with "er indoors ^TM" off flogging candles I had mine. Before 8pm which was really good.

Mind you being home alone means I'm bored. And next door has been clanging the same irritating scales on their f@*@ing piano for three hours now. It is Mrs next door who does it. She does it purely to irritate nutty Mr next door.

His drunken screeching will start soon...

3 November 2015 (Tuesday) - Not Foggy

Despite a rather early night last night I was still wide awake this morning at 4am. I woke to find myself cuddling my dog as though he was a teddy bear. Mind you he didn't seem overly bothered by the arrangement.

I lay awake for an hour, then got up and watched last night's episode of "South Park" in which Tweek and Craig were outed as being gay. Apparently this was a decision made by the Japanese. One learns so much from that program.

And then with a little time before I had to go to work I watched more "Toddlers and Tiaras". In today's show one mother was ranting at the camera about how much her child likes doing the pageants whilst the child was ranting that she didn't want to be there. This mother went on to extol the virtues of home schooling as it fits in with the pageants whilst her daughter complained that she missed her schoolfriends. Another mother likened the entire thing to a dog show and one of the judges then said how it is good (and rare) to see a genuine smile on any of the children.

I *love* that show; the whole thing is so fake.

As I watched the thwarting of the overpowering mothers I had a quick look-see on line. Preparations are going well for the New Years Day event. The actual event itself has been published and already has a dozen people signed up for it. And the first draft of the walk I have planned has got the thumbs-up as well. I just need to get new (non-leaking) wellies and go out and have another recce.

My car was parked right outside the house this morning. As I started the engine I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. What looked like a very large cat was walking past. I looked again; it was a fox. Bold as brass marching up the pavement.

And so to work. Yesterday the pundits on the radio were talking about how the thick fog had settled in for the week. This morning as I drove off to work I noticed that the fog had gone.

Much of the talk on the radio this morning was about the broadcaster Peter Donaldson who had recently died. Whilst any death is sad, I can't help but feel that there was rather too much air time spent on the matter. Perhaps I'm just a miserable old git, but I listen to Radio Four because it is about the news and not about the celebrity presenters.

There was also consternation about the house-building crisis. It turns out that nowhere near enough houses are being built in the UK.

There was an interview on the radio on this subject with one of the country's leading builders. The show's presenters tried to make big issue of the fact that the government has been hoping for tens of thousands of houses to have been built near Ebbsfleet. Actually there have only been about six hundred built. The builder being interviewed took no responsibility for the housing crisis. He said that if the government wants tens of thousands of houses he will build them. At a price. He made the observation that as a private company they were out to make money, not to provide a service at a loss. And (at the moment) there is not much money to be made from building houses.

He rather implied that this is (yet another) failing of running a country by market forces rather than by social decency. I might have remarked on this occasionally in the past.

I got to work for the early shift, and did my bit. And then came home again. Even on an early shift it is now dark when I get home. I took "Furry Face ^TM" round the block, and quite enjoyed nosing through the windows of all the people who haven't realised it gets dark earlier now and had left their curtains open.

Once walked "Furry Face ^TM" had his dinner, and (under instruction from "er indoors ^TM") I put our dinner on to boil. It didn't turn out too badly. And with dinner scoffed we set off to Somerset Road where we watched budgies squabbling and had some rather good cheese crisps. Whilst we were there the landlady from the Queens Head in Kingsnorth phoned me. On Saturday when I called in they grudgingly took my phone number and said they might get back to me (for which I was clearly supposed to be grateful). They got back to me this evening and were rather vague as to whether they would even be open on New Year's Day. But still seemed shocked that I had already booked with another pub that wasn't openly dismissive of me.

Oh - and here's another date for your diaries...

2 November 2015 (Monday) - Still Foggy

I can distinctly remember intending to feed grubby trousers into the washing machine last night, so I was rather surprised to see them laying where I left them this morning. So as I scoffed my toast and watched "Dad's Army" the washing machine did its thing with them.

Regular readers of this drivel may recall that over the last few months I put a lot of effort into putting out a series of geocaches around Bethersden. This morning I had an email telling me of a "Did Not Find" on one of the cache hides. Has it gone missing? For all that I enjoyed the setting up of the series I now have the ongoing mundane routine maintenance. Do I wait for someone else to go out and also be unable to find it (and effectively be wasting their time) or do I go out and find it is exactly where I left it (and be wasting my own time)?

"Furry Face ^TM" was itching to get outside this morning. Usually he needs to be actively turfed out; this morning he was pawing at the door. Naively assuming he was as desperate for a tiddle as I usually am, I let him outside. He flew into the darkness barking for all he was worth. I wish he wouldn't do that before 6am.

Mind you the neighbours on one side were already up with the baby, and the day the neighbours on the other side refrain from clanging their piano or from drunken ravings at all hours (or both) is the day I listen to any of their complaints about noise.

I then spent a few minutes trying to remember where I'd left the car. Eventually I fouind it some way down Christchurch Road; there had been nowhere closer after astro club on Friday night. At the time I'd intended to move the car closer during the weekend but never got round to it.

Once in the car I set off to work slowly. I'd allowed myself a little extra time to get to work this morning. Yesterday had been a day of thick fog, and today looked to be much the same. Unusual weather conditions have apparently blanketed the country in a thick fog which looks set to stay for a little while.

As I drove to work the radio spewed its usual stuff. Much of the world are squabbling. Much of the world does that. And those that aren't squabbling are apparently using phone apps to secure easy sex. This is apparently causing something of a mini-epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases and is a major cause for concern for those who have to deal with that sort of thing. To say nothing of those who wanted a cheap trill and have had their nasty turn green and fall off.

I got to work, did my bit despite feeling very tired all day, and came home through the dark. I don't like these dark evenings. Once home I ran "Furry Face ^TM" round the block then came home and fed my shirts and smalls to the washing machine.

"er indoors ^TM" came in, swore, and then took what she'd just bought back to the shop. Fish and chips made for a good bit of tea, then as "er indoors ^TM" went bowling so I started ironing my shirts whilst my undercrackers tumble dried.

And in closing there's going to be a new Star Trek series in a year or so...

1 November 2015 (Sunday) - Longfield Hill

I got up this morning and was just a little disappointed to see the huge bag of Haribos still untouched. The idea was to have something for the Trick or Treating kiddies we had been expecting last night. But none came. Not one. "er indoors ^TM" has this theory that we are supposed to put out a pumpkin or something as a signal that they are welcome?

Over brekkie I found I was suffering. Perhaps I should go see the doctor about his self-diagnosed tennis elbow? I think I overdid it on Friday at astro club putting the chairs out and then putting them away again. And carrying a small grandchild yesterday didn't do it any good. I've also been having a few twinges in my back from an old washing-up injury I sustained in 1981 (really!)

I'm getting a bit hacked of with this getting older lark. I'm not entirely decrepit but as time goes on these aches and pains are becoming rather troublesome. And I *want* to put the chairs out at astro club. And I *want* to carry my grandson about.

Totally ignoring physical discomfort we collected Suzy and her associate, and then drove up to Longfield Hill which is somewhere in North Kent. (I'm a little vague as to exactly where). We soon met Martin, Claire and Rob and set off on a little geo-stroll. The day was very foggy; the fog did lift for a while, but only for a while. Mind you for all that it was foggy it wasn't cold. We were walking in T shirts for much of the day.

Our walk started off along the main road but we were soon walking through wet crops. Today was the first outing of my new gaiters; they worked well. Mind you having spent out on new gaiters I've found the old ones, but such is life.

We had an excellent walk; according to "Hannah" we walked just over five miles. At one point of the walk we were up a tree, at another we were playing the popular board game "Guess Who" (actually playing it in a wood!). In all we found thirty caches. We were walking for two hours and stopped for one and a half hours. It never fails to amaze me just how much standing about there is in this geo-caper.

We arrived back at the cars at 1.30pm then drove a little way down the road to where the monthly Kent Cacher's geo-meet was in full flow. We arrived to find many of our friends and soon were chattering away. I quite liked the pub which had been chosen for today's meet-up. Not only was the ale good, they did a cracking roast dinner, and the place was dog friendly so I could sit and pass scraps under the table to a waiting "Furry Face ^TM".

With roast dinner devoured I had a pint of afters, and some cake. We said goodbye to Martin, Claire and Rob, and (as is the way at these monthly meets) teamed up with Tracey, Carl, Victoria, Jessica and Charlotte. Whilst we'd been scoffing dinner so three new geocaches had gone live near the pub, so we went to find them whilst walking off the third pint.

As we walked we had a minor geo-success. We found we were having to walk what seemed to be a long way to get to the latest concealed sandwich box; we wondered if this was because there might be a geo-puzzle in the way. (Geocaches are not allowed to be hidden very close to each other because they fight).

With that in mind as we walked, we found... well, I won't say what we found, but I will say that it at was exactly the sort of place where I would put a geocache. Tracy hit on the idea of looking at the hint for the closest geo-puzzle (even though the icon on the map was half a mile away). The hint fitted exactly with where we were, and within a few seconds we had the cache in hand. The thing even had the cache name on it, so we logged it as a find with a clear conscience. Perhaps an unorthodox way of finding a cache, but we did so without cheating.

By now the light was fading and it was getting dark, so we made our way back to the car and I slept for much of the way home. As always I took a few photos whilst we were out. Once home I put those piccies up onto Facebook, did the geo-admin, and then tested out a Wherigo (in simulation). A friend has been working on his first one, and I've been actively encouraging him. It is no secret that they take a lot of effort to set up, and it is also no secret that there are only four people locally who make this effort (and I'm one of them). If I can encourage more people to get involved with this icon type I can have more fun myself going out and doing more Wherigos.

After the exertions of the day an evening in front of the telly was very much in order...