The Ten Things That Annoy Me Most In This House
I’m getting increasingly annoyed with some of the features of this house.
1. The Front Door
It doesn’t shut properly in the wrong sort of weather and sometimes, I inadvertently leave it open. It also sometimes locks me out, when I say put something in the bin.
I’ve had three people come to quote to fix it, but I’ve never received a quote and it’s as bad as ever.
2. My Bathroom Cabinet
Virtually, every time I brush my teeth, I bump my head on it. In one case it did this when I got up from the toilet.
3. The Lack Of Handrails on the Staircase
I was trained in how to avoid accidents at ICI in the late 1960s and consequently, I always use handrails for safety. But I want them, in brass to match the theme of the house. People look at me, as if I’m mad, but I’m just safety and design conscious.
4.Poor Lighting Everywhere
Where I’m typing this is dark, unless She puts the big light on and every room has some of the worst lighting I’ve ever seen. One of the problems it’s not fixed is that I can’t find any lights that satisfy me. I’ve searched all over London and there is nothing.
5. The Mixer Taps In The Kitchen
If I’m washing up in the sink and want some cold water, it’s impossible unless I run the water to get it really cold. The spout is also so low, with anything in the sink, you can’t do something simple like fill a kettle.
6. The Small Fridge In The Kitchen
The fridge is just too small. But at least the one I bought, is better than the one that was supporting the work top, when I moved in.
7. The Lack of a Freezer In The Kitchen
I suppose I could have one if I had a small one in the fridge! But that would make the fridge smaller.
8. The Inaccessible Cupboards In The Kitchen
The idiot who designed these needs to be banned from any design or building work, for serious crimes against practicality and design.
9. The Inability to Control Temperature and Humidity
I’ve had a new control system and boiler installed and am running a big humidifier, but still the humidity won’t go anywhere near the value I want. There must be an expert somewhere, who can tell me what to do.
10. The Lack Of Lights In The Wardrobes
Try finding the right clothes in the dark.
And those ten, were just for starters!
A Miserable Start To The New Year
I went to bed last night about ten thirty and slept well, as I generally do.
I got up about seven and sorted out my e-mails and checked my finances. But where was the news on television and radio. It seems the world stops for two weeks, when in reality it just goes on.
And why do we get endless reviews of the year? It doesn’t get any better the second, third or fourth time round.
I can’t wait for next Monday! At least, I have made my first New Year resolution and that is to make sure, I’m not at home by myself next year. Or in fact ever again!
I had thought about going to Australia to see the cricket this year. So at least I called that one right!
I needed a bit of shopping this morning. But of course my usual Waitrose isn’t opening today. So I walked around the corner to the small Sainsburys and bought the few things I needed.
And I got wet in the miserable rain!
I didn’t get any meaningful e-mails, except spam too!
At least I’ve got football this afternoon. But I suspect that will be miserable too! I wonder what odds, I canb get on them losing six-nil?
A Well-Mapped City Centre
Peterborough city centre is well provided with maps.
Some are typical of other cities, but in all my travels, I’ve never seen a map of virtually a whole city centre laid out on the floor, as the big map was in the Queensgate shopping centre.
One of the sections of the big map, shows the area, where my paternal grandmother was born in Whitsed Street.
Peterborough Cathedral
Peterborough is one of my favourite cathedrals, but it is generally underrated by tourists and often is quite empty.
Now that the square in front of the cathedral has been restored and upgraded, it must become a place more likely to be visited.
I particularly liked their little exhibition, which described the construction and history of the cathedral. They were particularly honest about relics and their collection.
Cathedral Square, Peterborough
When I was last in Peterborough, the Cathedral Square was a large building site.
It’s all finished now and is possibly one of the best central squares in East Anglia.
Tories Fear Scots Will Break Away
This is the headline on a piece on the front page of The Sunday Times today.
Whether the Scots vote for independence is up to them, and I don’t care one jot, as I see advantages in both outcomes.
If the Scots leave the United Kingdom, whether we are English, Scots or Welsh, we’ll see a whole lot of tortuous and very lengthy negotiations, which will make those in Northern Ireland at the present time, seem like a couple of two year-old twins arguing over a cake.
On the other hand if they stay, we’ll avoid any hassle with lots of domestic things, like travel, banking, insurance and energy. At the present, I don’t use any companies domiciled outside of England for my basic needs, as I don’t want a foreign government interfering in my affairs.
But there’s the advantage if the Scots leave, in that the English parliament would then be able to vote for what is best for England and Wales. We could for example move our time to that of France, Germany and most of Europe, as Scottish backwoodsmen wouldn’t be able to sink the legislation.
If Scotland breaks away, they will probably take control of their fishing industry and pictures like this one, will become more common.
Peterhead fish In London
I lkike good fish, but whether the EU would let them keep it from the Spanish and the Dutch is another matter.
If they did break away, that would of course, be the end of it and we wouldn’t have to have the argument again. Unless, they wanted to rejoin, but I do think the English would have a view on that!
Scotland would probably make a go of it alone, for one of the same reasons Ireland did. There is a large diaspora, who will support the country, through thick and thin.
At the moment the English and the Scots are like a couple trapped in an unhappy marriage. Both, to kiss and make up and go for a divorce are better options than struggling on!
I do hope that both sides accept this referendum as a full and final conclusion. but I doubt they will!
An Unusual Sight On Boxing Day Morning
I was surprised to see the binmen at work in the dark on Boxing Day.
An Unusual Sight On Boxing Day Morning
I didn’t put my rubbish out, as there was virtually nothing.
Is This The World’s Most Annoying Christmas Present?
A guy on the radio, has just claimed he had a Match of the Day mug for Christmas.
That bit is fine.
But every time he picks it up to drink, the mug plays the theme tune.
Now that is a superb way to annoy someone!
Getting Back To Normal
After yesterday’s disaster on getting to Doncaster, which was compounded by Ipswich playing extremely well and winning three-nil, things seem to be getting back to normal.
They are dual-handed on BBC Breakfast with Naga Munchetty and Jon Kay.
Even our cricketers are doing better!
But I’ve still got a long list of things to sort out.
My e-mail and e-commerce computer has a missing R on the keyboard. I think a USB keyboard and mouse will solve that one.
I’m typing this on my other computer, which I hate because it’s Windows 7 and Office 2010, which is just another case of fiddling and is far inferior for my purposes to Vista and Office 2007. I also hate the keyboard on this computer, as the Delete key is in the wrong place amongst many design faults. Can’t they leave well enough alone. All PCs and laptops must have the same keyboard! It should be the law!
I’m also virtually typing in the dark, as I have this computer at the other end of the table, and Jerry’s lights are crap. I need to grow another pair of hands, so I can put the Anglepoise up at this end of the table. When I first saw this house, I said that the lights must be replaced, but short of tearing down the ceiling, no-one seems to have any idea on how to do it. Obviously, Jerry used to walk around with a miner’s helmet on.
I must hope that the plumber can get over to fix my heating system. It’s just nineteen in here.
The humidity is up to forty six, which is better, but that is due to my little humidifier, I bought at John Lewis. The humidifier, I hired at great expense has failed.
One of the weird things about this house is that small electrical things fail. One of my Nokia 6310i’s needed repair and the menders thought I’d dropped it in water. I hadn’t. The latest casualty is an expensive mouse, which seems to have given up the ghost. It wouldn’t even let me change the battery, as it seemed to have glued itself solid. So I’m using an old fashioned USB mouse shared between my two computers. And both have their USB ports on the left, which means the cable runs in front of me and constantly gets tangled up in my dressing gown.
Life could be worse!
Can This Christmas Get Any Worse?
Yesterday’s lunch with my son and his friends went well, but I had to come home, as I wasn’t feeling well! Nothing serious and I suspect it was just the effect of the cold dry weather, affecting my gut. I don’t think I ate any gluten, but it was as if I had. So it was alone and back to watching old Two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise on BBC2.
To make matters worse, when I returned home, I did find that I’d left a window open, when I went out. The house had a temperature of eighteen. At least, the open window only let the cold in.
At least, I was able to use the air conditioning to take the chill off of the temperature. But of course, the humidifier I’d hired in to get the humidity up had failed. Although, I’m doubtful it was ever working properly.
Why does she hate me so much? You can understand, why I feel that religion and God, herself, is so much rubbish.
I went to bed at about ten last night, as bed was the one warm place in the house. The temperature was about 20 °C with a humidity somewhere in the low thirties.
I slept well as I always do and decided to get up at five, as I was fully awake. I thought there might be some good news on the cricket and with the air-conditioning on, I might get the temperature up to twenty-three or so.
But of course, the news from Melbourne was its usual load of old rubbish.
And then the letter R on my e-mail computer packed up. Try typing anything sensible without that letter. It could have been worse, as the E might have failed. So now, I’m using my other computer, which is not as easy for my one-handed typing. It also doesn’t run my preferred Windows Vista.
At six-thirty, I decided to have a hot bath. That was good, but the bathroom is stone cold, as the heating isn’t really working.
In an hour or so, I’m going to get my paper and see if I can find a nice warm cafe. Sadly, there isn’t a hotel near me with a restaurant I can trust. Carluccio’s don’t open until eleven.
At least though, I’ve got plenty of porridge and some bacon, eggs and beans for a fry-up. I’d love to have some sausages, but they’re all in my freezer. But would they freeze out before next weekend, if I got them out now? The nearest supplier is one of two Sainsbury stores, which open at ten. I’ll need to go to one, as I’m virtually out of gluten-free bread.
I still intend to get to Doncaster, and as I write this, I haven’t got a lift. I did think there’d be someone in the area going north with a space, so I didn’t make alternative provisions. This would have been to book a place on the coach from Newmarket. I can get there by taking a train to Stansted and then using a taxi. But it is now too late to book the coach.
So if I do go, it’ll be a 113 bus to Apex Corner and then hitching up the A1.
I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and the return to some degree of normality.
Next winter, I’ll book myself into a five-star hotel on Christmas Eve. Then when it all goes pear-shaped, I’ll at least ruin the Christmas of a lot of other people.
The Anonymous Widower 