6 September 2022 (Tuesday) - Eastbourne Again

I actually slept through till three o'clock this morning, and judging by what I read on Facebook (as I scoffed brekkie) I would seem to have missed the thunderstorm. Facebook this morning was either talk of the thunderstorm or talk of the new Prime Minister. I did chuckle as I read what certain friends had posted. I have several friends who support various political parties in the same way that they support their chosen football team. For some of them it was as though the Conservatives had elected the baby Jesus, and for others it was as though Genghis Khan had returned.

It never fails to amaze me how so many otherwise intelligent people try to claim that black is white purely because their chosen favourite political party claims that is the case.

 

Once I'd refereed the dogs' squabbles (Treacle had a time out!) and scoffed toast I set off to work. I set off via fourteen dull points of interest, and as I drove the pundits on the radio were talking about the new Prime Minister as well.  She's supposedly going to sort out the cost of living crisis starting with the ridiculously high leccie and gas bills. Details of how she was going to do so were rather vague; there was a strange idea being proposed in which the bills will be spread out years into the future. Presumably Lacey, “Stormageddon – Bringer of Destruction ^TM”  and “Darcie Waa Waa ^TM”  will be paying for my leccie bills long after they have buried me.

There was then an interview with the deputy leader of the Labour party Angela Rayner. Call me a snob if you will, but when she speaks she sounds terrible. You'd think that someone who has chosen to be a public figure would have sorted her voice out, wouldn't you? I popped into Sainsburys on my way to work, and  the cleaners shrieking abuse at each other were better spoken than Ms Rayner.

On the way back to my car I capped a qrewzee and got a diamond qrate. That was a result. Or, it was a result for those who scan bar codes stuck to lamp posts. As I was driving past the filling station, I got petrol, and went in to work.

 

Work was much the same as ever. There was cake, or to be precise, baklava. Have you ever had baklava? It's a bit like an undercooked sponge which has been covered in glue. But call it what you will, cake is cake.

I spent much of the day planning the drive to Eastbourne. There was apparently a road closure at Cross in Hand and a ninety-eight per cent chance of thunderstorm when I was due to be arriving at my destination.  And then the hospital phoned me… so I left work earlier than planned and set off to Eastbourne.

This was my fifth trip to Eastbourne in less than two weeks, and it seems to me that no matter what way I go, it isn't a good drive, but I think I might have found the best way to go.

 

I got to the hospital and had a little chat with the doctor looking after Dad. He’s not responding to treatments, and the treatments are very uncomfortable for him. We’ve decided the priority is to make him as comfortable as possible as there’s not much else we can do.

I then spent a little while with him as he slept… I told him about the limescale  and the scratches on my car and the pond fun… I don’t think he heard a word.

5 September 2022 (Monday) - Limescale round my Ballcock

I had a rather bad night (again) seeing every hour of it (again). It was dark when I took the puppies out, but they soon settled with “er indoors ^TM” and I made toast.

I didn’t bother turning on the telly; instead I had a look at the Internet (which was the same as ever). A few people had a birthday today; I sent my birthday video to those with whom I’ve actually communicated in the last year. And with nothing else occurring I got ready for work. There’s no denying that I felt rather rough at six o’clock this morning. Perhaps I should have phoned in sick, but I got on with my life and spent much of the day whinging at anyone who would listen.

 

I had quite the walk to find where I'd left the car. As I walked it was rather obvious we'd had rain overnight. We could do with more of that. I got to the car (eventually) and took a little detour to cap some Munzee Points of Interest (as I do) before heading up the motorway. I say "motorway"; for all that the pundits on the radio would have us believe that "Operation Brock" has finished, the M20 is still a dual carriageway (in both directions) with a fifty miles per hour speed limit, and there are no plans to change this for a year or so.

The most frustrating part of it all was the signs saying “speed limit in force to protect workforce” when there was fifteen miles of speed limit and no workforce whatsoever.

 

As I drove there was also some zoologist on the radio being interviewed about her revelation that during lockdown animals in zoos had got "more jiggy" than usual. Lockdown was apparently quite the instigator of quite un-moral behaviour in zoo animals. For me the take-home message here was that whilst some of us were doing our best to keep the country going during the lockdown, and whilst others had been going stir-crazy, there were those who had been watching to see how randy things were getting in zoos.

And they got paid for it too...

But perhaps the most important thing mentioned was that our new Prime Minster will be freezing the prices of leccie and gas... There's no denying power costs need freezing. In fact  it needs halving. Mind you I can distinctly remember the run-up to the last general election when the Conservative party were constantly lambasting the Labour party about there not being a "magic money tree" to fund their policies. It would seem that the Tories have found one, wouldn't it?

 

As I worked (whinged at anyone who would listen) I had a message to contact the garage. Having been quoted a thousand quid to get the car sorted I decided that I shouldn't drive round in a scratched-up car when the scratching-up hadn't been my fault. I'd spent an age fighting with the insurance company's website last night, and today a garage in Dover contacted me to discuss the repairs. They will be taking my car away for at least a week at the end of November, and won't be supplying me with a courtesy car. I phoned the insurance company to demand a courtesy car, and eventually got put through to the wrong person. She assured me that the right person would phone me back... but talk is cheap. Certainly cheaper than fixing a scratched car...

 

With work worked I came home and took the dogs to the woods. We did something quite revolutionary: we went round the woods in an anticlockwise direction and didn’t meet everyone. I’ve had a theory (for some time) that everyone but us goes round anticlockwise and in doing that this evening we managed to avoid all the normal people. Result (!)

 

I then got a mini step ladder and had a look at our water tank. The thing has been overflowing for a few days. The bit controlled by the ballcock was rather encrusted with limescale. I’ve never seen such humungous lumps of limescale; they have obviously been building up for years. Have you ever looked at the ballcock in your water tank? Have you got as much limescale as I have? I’d have a look now before you have the problem I’ve got (or one of them!)

I snapped off as much as I dared, but I soon got to the point where I didn’t know whether I would be snapping off limescale or ballcock, so I’ve sent for the plumber. Hopefully he will sort out the dripping tap in the bathroom too.

 

“er indoors ^TM” came home, boiled up some scran, then went bowling. The dogs fell asleep on top of me and I watched the third episode of “House of the Dragon” which (in true “Game of Thrones” style) has given up having a plot in favour of tedious seemingly endless battle scenes.

I fell asleep…

4 September 2022 (Sunday) - Badlesmere

I heaved myself out of bed at eight o’clock this morning… and I took some heaving. I think I overdid it in the garden yesterday. Talking of which I had a little check. All looked well with the pond, which was a result.

I made toast and looked at the Internet. It was still there. I sent out a couple of birthday wishes, and had a look at what was happening on-line. There wasn’t much happening. Someone had asked (on one of the TV pages) about why the TV show “Are You Being Served” was so popular. I made the mistake of pointing out that when it was made there wasn’t any competition from other channels. BBC2 played highbrow intellectual rubbish that no one ever watched, and there was a lot of snobbery about ITV being for the lower orders… BBC1 really did have a monopoly. Other people tried to make an argument about it… I left them to it.

We got ourselves organised and drove up to Badlesmere where we met Karl, Tracey and Charlotte and set off for a little wander. We’ve got a walk which works really well round there. Mostly footpaths with only a few areas where the dogs have to be on leads, and only one stretch which could be considered “up hill”.

As we walked we had a look-see at the geocaches in the area to make sure they were all fine… they were. One or two people seemed to have had issues with one of the caches on the way. So we had a look… and couldn’t understand the problem. I re-read the instructions… You get to the given location, look to the left and see a gate. You count the wooden bars and signs on it and do some sums to get the co ordnates of the final location. What was the issue? I couldn’t see one. 

I took some photos as we walked and scoffed, and with walk walked and scoff scoffed we came home. A quick cuppa, and I woke up on the sofa four hours later buried under dogs.

“er indoors ^TM” boiled up cake and custard, and we found ourselves watching “Train Truckers”; a strangely engaging show in which a team of truckers heave trains onto trucks and drive them across the country on the roads. I would have thought the obvious way to shift a train would have been along tracks, but what do I know?