Things

I've been reminded it's a long time since I last posted. I've not been away just busy. Back later with some details.

I'm back a relief for those of you who thought I'd never return or perhaps not. Anyway what have I been so busy with I've neglected to blog? Well stuff ... thats right stuff. So much stuff I've forgotten what it all was. I do recall it involved driving to Warwick University, Coventry, Nottingham, Malvern and Rugby a few times. It involved seeing my daughter, son, brother, sister, sister in law, aunt and mum. Sometimes more than one at a time but never all together. Sometimes getting stuck in traffic sometimes having a clear run.

Trips to stations in Pershore, Worcester and London. I seem to recall at least one trip to London but there may have been more. This lack of recollection may be because trips to London also involved trips to pubs with daughter and after some time spent in pubs my memory does funny things. Time also in bookshops (always good) and in restaurants and pubs elsewhere. Tutorials and meetings for the OU, the CAB and trips to Malvern to see films and events. Evenings round at Owls End pretending to be sober whilst drinking fizzy wine and home made blackberry champagne, eating delicious food and laughing the night away.

Phone calls to Koraput. Emails to Koraput from iPhone Mac and PC. Putting yellow rice in hair and taking photo to amuse Koraput H.

The occasional Google chat with Koraput; usually from the comfort of my bed with a cup of tea. Doing data analysis for Koraput, looking at content management systems for Koraput and wondering why their website has so much redundant code, PC support for Koraput H. This is otherwise known as doing VSO from home.

And finally getting round to updating barely read blog.

Marking - sigh!

Very grumpy, Hilary will be glad she's not here. I've been sat upstairs most of the day marking assignments. This always makes me grumpy but it has to be done. I was behind because I had a day or so off with the cold but I'm catching up with myself now. Task being made pleasanter by some good answers which always helps!

Off to Birmingham tomorrow to present my well honed Induction Session, I've now done this one so often I can almost recite it. The great thing is I know it will be different again tomorrow with a new bunch of students. That's what I really enjoy about the job - you never quite now what's coming!

I've got accompaniment to my marking in the form of a local music festival held in the park across the road. I would have gone but I really did need to catch up with my marking. Still its not too noisy and this afternoon seemed mostly to consist of bongos accompanying various things, it's gone a bit more soulful now. No problem with getting to sleep though, its a family friendly 2200 finish! Not like the festivals I attended in my youth.

I'm cold

Before

I've got a cold and Autumn has arrived. I'm currently wearing two fleeces (OK so one of them is a thin one) and a woolly hat. I am not turning the heating on; although it may be time for a thicker duvet on the bed.

Only sympathetic comments will be permitted. Any sarcastic references to "man flu" will be removed as soon as I spot them!

After

The after photo shows the effects of hot sweet chai accompanied by lemon curd on hot buttered toast. No alcohol required!

Strangeness and Charm

It's a very strange experience being apart from someone you've lived with for 30 odd years (and some of them were very odd!). The thing is everything seems to me to be more or less going on as normal. I wake up and have my early morning cup of tea around 6.00 in bed, walk the dog every morning, collect the paper, check my emails, do some OU work and then make a very poor attempt at the Guardian Crossword . It all feels completely normal but something's missing...

Now and then I forget that something's missing and turn to share a half baked idea and then remember. It's odd. There are compensations though; I wake up to lovely emails delivered overnight, while I sleep, to my iPhone which I can read as I drink my morning tea. I do miss being the "smart arse" who can supply the last answer to the Quick Crossword and receive a glare in return. It's funny what you miss...

I haven't got long of the solitary life left as Becca(daughter) will be starting her PhD at Warwick soon and spending part of the week here with me, so I better make the most of it while I can! I'm quite looking forward to Becca being around, partly because she reminds me so much of her mum. Not in her looks, they're completely different but in her mannerisms. In particular that air of quiet exasperation when I do something ever so slightly stupid - again. I think it's the again that does it!

Then there's the charming bit, the emails I've mentioned. The "I can't talk now I'm in a rickshaw" response to a phone call. "I'm in the pub", I've heard before but "I'm in a rickshaw"?! The cheery phone calls letting me know all's well on the other side of the world and asking for my advice or opinion on something. Just for a while it is if there's nothing missing. I like that!

My Legs Still Hurt

A Trip to the Brecons

The plan was that Sam (son) would come down to Worcester for a couple of nights and on Thursday afternoon we'd load the car up with camping gear and the dog and head for North Wales to do Tryfan on Friday. Then we read the weather forecast, gales and rain for North Wales. I've done Tryfan a few times at least 3 of them in heavy rain and howling winds and to be honest the prospect of doing that again somehow didn't feel that attractive especially if it also meant sharing a tent with a wet dog! So over a cheap curry in a Balti House on Lowesmoor we came up with an alternative plan. Forget driving anywhere on Thursday, get up early Friday and take the at most 2 hour journey down to Brecon to do Pen-y-Fan.

Seven o'clock or not long after and walking gear and dog were safely in the car, by 0845 we were in the car park at the bottom of Pen-y-Fan. We worked our way East round the base of Alt Ddu and after some battles with bracken got ourselves on the path going up Cwm Cynwyn, crossing Nant Cynwyn just above some waterfalls we made our way over untracked slopes up on to Bryn Teg and then up a steep rise to the summit of Crybin. I think I should now mention that I'd managed to forget something - my walking poles and because of that I felt every last one of my 56 years by the time I reached the summit of Crybin where Sam and Ben (dog) were sat waiting in a howling gale.

That was the hard bit done and it wasn't 1200 yet, just a couple of hundred meters of height to lose and three hundred meters to the top of Pen-y-Fan and then if we could find shelter - lunch! I perhaps should mention that the gales and showers had migrated South and we'd got wet and dried out three times already and nearly been blown off our feet going up Bryn Teg. Anyhow I eventually made the summit of Pen-y-Fan where once again son and dog were waiting patiently for me.

It was now I really regretted the forgotten sticks , the descent back to the valley over wet grass and slippy rock with a pair of boots which are well worn - they need replacing. It was also when the weather decided it hadn't had enough fun already and decided that we needed to walk through a hail squall for around 20 minutes. Me and Sam not impressed but the dog didn't seem to notice! Still no shelter for lunch and the car park 15 minutes away we decided that lunch would be eaten in the car - as is traditional.

I was getting changed into dry clothes while another father and son team were getting ready to start up Pen-y-Fan. As we chatted it emerged that they too had been planning a trip to Tryfan and changed there minds on the basis of the forecast. They set off as we finished lunch and left the car park for the trip home. Again I regretted the forgotten sticks and worn boots as I experienced intermittent cramp in my ham strings! A short stop for strong tea and a welsh cake each just before Abergevenny and home for 1645. A good day out rounded off with a pie and a couple of pints at the Oak for dinner.

No photo's too windy and wet!

Grrrrrrrrr: Or a Short Rant!

Now, I'm a very patient man as those who know me well will testify. Yes Hilary I can hear you laughing! Anyway there are some things with which I lose patience and the latest is the VSO blogging system. Why, well it produces the worst html I've seen since I saw a page which had been word processed in Works and then converted. I wouldn't use the Word editor in this blog to edit anything other than a couple of lines of text it's horrid, horrid, horrid.

I'm sat here using it on a fast Broadband connection; what using this tool must be like for someone using a slow connection in a remote part of the world I dread to think. Actually I've got a pretty good idea because Hilary emails me her frustrations and I then edit the code for her. At least it seems to have stopped inserting superfluous code into my html. I don't think I've ever edited out so many non breaking spaces, superfluous paragraphs containing said non-breaking spaces and seemingly random line breaks. And if anybody can explain to me how it produced spans for a currency converter text I'll buy them a (virtual) pint!

No wonder there appear to be so few VSO bloggers using it; I'd have given up by now and moved elsewhere - Hilary however is made of sterner stuff!

Rant over!

Things I do to avoid marking

One of the great benefits of having to do my marking on a PC is that the biggest time waster ever invented is only a mouse click away. Those of you who know me will appreciate that the combination of marking and temptation draw me into some of the more interesting corners of the Internet. (No not that interesting ...)

Anyhow in an effort to keep abreast of all things Indian I've developed a taste for the Times of India which is a wonderful publication and has a terrific website; although not quite as good as my beloved Guardian. It does have one thing the Guardian lacks though, the most wonderful relationship advice page which is giving me invaluable tips on how to behave on Hilary's return.

I also take the opportunity to keep up with Ben Goldacre's blog on his Bad Science page which is where I came across this marvelous piece of footage. Do make sure to have your sound turned on!

There we have it, marking successfully avoided for another 20 minutes!

Footpaths and WayMarkers

Here's a nice picture of a waymarker we erected last week at the crossroads of the paths to Cowsden Hall, Peopleton Road, Lower Cowsden and Owl's End.

The paths around Queens Copice got some maintenance along with the one behind College Road. The broken stile in Owls End leading to Holy Oak Farm was replaced with a gate. Ben doesn't seem to have noticed this and is having to be held back from jumping it as he used to always jump the stile ... daft mutt!

It suddenly went sunny here yesterday - I'd almost forgotten what a day without rain was like. Becca was visiting and enjoying doing her Hindi homework in the garden. Unfortunately it got too hot - yes really - so we went off to Homebase and acquired a nice new parasol. After some "issues" erecting it - what do you expect from two academics - I took this rather nice photo of Becca doing her Hindi homework.

Can you see Ben trying to catch flies by the pond?

Jon's First Post

Hiya,

Let's start with a picture of my favourite woman who's away at the moment.

Hilary

I'll add more explaining what I'm getting up to in later posts but you can get an idea in this response to one of Hilary's Blog Posts.